Practice Makes Perfect

30·11

EXERCICE

Translate the following paragraph using the imparfait and passé composé tenses. 

Remember that the words aussi and également cannot head a sentence in French.

Formerly I was very shy. I used to worry (s’inquiéter) a lot when I had to talk, in particular 

before a group of people. Also, I always blushed (rougir) in front of people. But soon I learned to 

calm down (se calmer). Now I can even make presentations (faire des interventions) in front of an 

audience. Naturally this did not happen (se passer) in one day.

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  practice makes perfect  Complete French All-in-One   

Written correspondence

French and English formats of letter writing are quite similar in the way letters are addressed but 

often differ in the way they are closed. In both languages there is a formal style used for legal 

matters, business, and trade, and there is a familiar style used with friends and relatives.

Addressing an envelope

When writing a person’s address on an envelope, the order of lines is the same in English and in 

French but the order in which information is given on those lines varies slightly.

The number of the house or building should be separated from the name of the street by a 

comma. However, that rule is frequently disregarded.

19, rue du Roethig 

or 19 rue Roethig

40, boulevard des Alouettes 

or 40 boulevard des Alouettes

Beware that in French-speaking countries, a street (rue) may be called allée (alley), chemin 

(path), quai (riverside), promenade (promenade) or other such creative names. These substitutes 

for rue are sometimes capitalized because they have become an inherent part of the location.

136, Allée des Aubépines 

or 136 Allée des Aubépines

22, Promenade des Anglais 

or 22 Promenade des Anglais

The zip code (le code postal) consists of five digits and appears before the name of the town 

or city in a French address. In France the first two digits of the zip code identify the county (le