Back to school sale! Save 30% on annual Premium »

Tell me about Granddad

"Parle-moi de Papi"
French B2 writing exercise

Laura is asking her mother what her granddad was like.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "a (family) rift", "between you two", "dark green (colour)", "to refuse [to do]", "to part with [something]", "a beret", "strict (person)", "to spend one's free time [doing]", "to tinker with [things] (DIY)", "all sorts of [things]", "to be skilled with [domain]", "metalwork", "to share [something] with [someone]", "it feels nice to [do]".

Written by qualified French expert Céline Pickard PGCE, BA
Last updated: 2026-08-13

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works
You’ll practise: L'Imparfait (Indicatif), Le Présent (Indicatif), Genre féminin

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

- Mum [US: Mom], why do you never talk about Granddad? I know (that) there was a rift between you two. But I would have liked to know him a little. - You're right, Laura. My father was very tall with dark green eyes. He would refuse to part with his favourite beret even when it was really hot. Although he was strict, he could also be very generous and kind. - Do you remember what Granddad liked doing? - Of course! He spent most of his free time in his garage, where he tinkered with all sorts of things with his friends. He was extremely skilled with metalwork. I'm sure that he would have loved to share his passion with you. - Thanks! It feels nice to hear about him.

Thinking...