Joyeux Halloween!
How much Halloween French do you know? This fun exercise will test you on French Halloween vocabulary and grammar! Are you up to the challenge?
Halloween wasn’t actually celebrated in France until relatively recently, but it is becoming more and more popular, so knowing Halloween French vocab and phrases is important. Whether you plan to be in France or not for Halloween, much of the vocabulary crops up in other places, not just on October 31st…
French Halloween Test Questions
These exercises get progressively harder, going up in CEFR Levels. How many can you get right? Use the reveal button to see if you are correct. You can listen to the French and see a relevant lesson too!
A1.1 – Absolute Beginner
How do you say these in French?
- a ghost= un fantômeRelated lessons:
Un/une = A or An (French Indefinite Articles) - The vampire is hidden.= Le vampire est caché.Related lessons:
Le/la/l' = The (French Definite Articles) - There's a monster!= Il y a un monstre !Related lessons:
Il y a = There is/There are in French - A green mask= Un masque vertRelated lessons:
Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns in French (Position of Adjectives) - Halloween is October 31st.= Halloween est le 31 octobre.Related lessons:
Expressing dates in French
A1 – Beginner
What’s the French for:
- I love spider webs!= J'adore les toiles d'araignées !Related lessons:
Using le, la, l', les before nouns when generalising (definite articles) - We're making costumes!= Nous faisons des déguisements!Related lessons:
Conjugate faire in the present tense in French (Le Présent) - They are scared of the wicked witch.= Ils ont peur de la méchante sorcière.Related lessons:
Avoir peur de = To be afraid/scared of (French Expressions with avoir) - We are going out tonight.= Nous sortons ce soir.Related lessons:
Conjugate partir/sortir and other irregular -TIR verbs in the present tense in French (Le Présent) - It isn't scary at all!= Ce n'est pas effrayant du tout !Related lessons:
Ne ... pas du tout = Not at all (French Negations)
Too easy? Let’s challenge you with some real French…
A2 – Lower Intermediate
Can you translate these into French?
- These pumpkins are so big!= Ces citrouilles sont tellement grandes !Related lessons:
Ce/cet/cette and ces = this/that and these/those (French Demonstrative Adjectives) - She has her witch's broom already!= Elle a déjà son balai de sorcière.Related lessons:
Common mistakes with mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes and son/sa/ses (French Possessive Adjectives) - You were in the middle of making your costumes.= Vous étiez en train de fabriquer vos déguisements.Related lessons:
Expressing ongoing actions in the past in French: être en train de - We dressed up as zombies.= Nous nous sommes déguisés en zombies.Related lessons:
Conjugate reflexive verbs (+être) in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé) - You knocked over the cauldron of sweets on purpose!= Tu as fait exprès de renverser le chaudron de bonbons !Related lessons:
Faire exprès (de) = To do something on purpose (French Expressions with faire)
Still getting them right? Hardcore! Time to get serious…
B1 – Intermediate
Starting to get tricky… how are these said in French?
- His parents are the nicest!= Ses parents sont les plus gentils !Related lessons:
Le/la/les plus and Le/la/les moins = The most and the least (Superlative with Adjectives in French) - We should go door to door to get sweets.= Nous devrions aller de porte à porte pour avoir des bonbons.Related lessons:
Conjugate devoir in the conditional present in French = should (Le Conditionnel Présent) - I will make a pumpkin pie.= Je ferai une tarte à la citrouille.Related lessons:
Conjugate faire in the future tense in French (Le Futur Simple) - When you come, you'll see the Halloween decorations.= Quand vous viendrez, vous verrez les décorations d'Halloween.Related lessons:
Quand/pendant que + future tense (Le Futur Simple) - not the present tense = When/while I do something in the future (Sequence of Tenses in French) - No one has arrived yet.= Personne n'est encore arrivé. Related lessons:
Personne ne ..., rien ne ... = No one, nothing (negation) in French
If you’re still getting them all right, you deserve a Halloween high five! Let’s turn up the volume…
B2 – Upper Intermediate
These are wickeder than a wicked witch in a windstorm! What are they in French?
- You have to be there before seven o'clock to get in.= Il faut qu'on soit là avant sept heures pour entrer.Related lessons:
Il faut que + the subjunctive mood (Le Subjonctif) in French - I'm meeting you there at 6.= Je t'y retrouve à 6 heures.Related lessons:
Position of Double Pronouns in French - Direct Object Pronoun + "y" - Will you bring pumpkins for us to carve?= Tu apporteras des citrouilles pour qu'on les sculpte ?Related lessons:
Pour que + the subjunctive mood (Le Subjonctif) = So that.../In order that... in French - And as usual, they'll have drunk too much by the end of the party.= Et comme d'habitude, ils auront trop bu d'ici la fin de la soirée.Related lessons:
Conjugate avoir/être/faire and other irregular verbs in the future perfect in French (Le Futur Antérieur) - You have to take a taxi.= Il faut que tu prennes un taxi.Related lessons:
Conjugate prendre and derivatives in the subjunctive present in French (Le Subjonctif Présent)
If got these right, you are a proper pumpkin on fire!
How far did you make it before making mistakes? Did you beat your friends?
Author info
[Follow on Twitter: @gruffdavies] Despite the very Welsh name, Gruff is actually half French. Nowadays, he's a tech entrepreneur (and some-time novelist) but he used to be a physicist at Imperial College before getting hooked on inventing things. He has a special interest in language learning, speaks five languages to varying degrees of fluency and he often blogs about language learning, science, and technology. As well as co-founding Kwiziq, he is the author the Amazon best-selling SF thriller, The Looking Glass Club and the inventor of the Exertris gaming exercise-bike and Pidgin, a free online tool that makes drawing flow charts and relationship diagrams as quick and easy as describing them in pidgin English.