To describe an environmental action well, say what is actually done, by whom and how often, then add a careful opinion on why it helps. This skill appears in speaking and writing tasks about the environment, and it helps you read texts that mix facts with opinions.
It belongs to places, travel and the environment and uses the comparison and reasoning habits from comparing travel arrangements.
What counts as a claim you cannot support?
A claim is unsupported when it states a fact that you cannot check, such as a percentage, a number of people or a sweeping result. 80 % des gens ne recyclent pas is a claim. So is le tri des déchets va sauver la planète.
Language tasks do not need such claims. They need clear French about an action, and a reason that sounds like you. Describing what you do is something you can always support, because you know it first-hand.
How do I build the description?
- Name the action and the place. Dans mon école, nous avons commencé à trier les déchets.
- Say who and how often. Chaque classe a deux poubelles. Nous trions tous les jours.
- Add a careful opinion. Je pense que cela aide, parce que…
- Admit what you do not know. Je ne sais pas combien cela change, mais c’est un bon début.
- Finish with a personal action. Samedi dernier, j’ai apporté mon propre sac au marché.
Careful phrases to keep ready: je pense que, je crois que, à mon avis, cela peut aider, cela permet de, il me semble que, je ne sais pas si.
Worked example
Task: describe something you do to protect the environment.
Model answer: Dans mon école, nous avons commencé à trier les déchets. Chaque classe a deux poubelles : une pour le papier et une pour le plastique. Je pense que cela aide, parce que moins de papier va à la poubelle normale. Je ne sais pas combien cela change, mais c’est un bon début. Le week-end dernier, j’ai aussi apporté mon propre sac au marché pour éviter les sacs en plastique.
Step by step. The action and place come first. The detail about two bins is something you can see. The opinion uses je pense que. The honest sentence je ne sais pas combien avoids inventing a number. The last sentence adds a personal action in the perfect tense (j’ai apporté) with pour éviter plus an infinitive.
What mistake should I watch for?
Mistaken answer: Le tri des déchets va sauver la planète : quatre-vingts pour cent des gens ne recyclent pas.
The first half promises too much. The figure is invented and nothing in the task supports it.
The correction is Dans mon école, nous trions les déchets. Je pense que cela peut aider. Replace the sweeping result with cela peut aider, and replace the invented figure with something you really observe. The French is simpler, and it is accurate.
Check yourself
1. Rewrite more carefully: Les vélos résolvent la pollution.
Show answer
One correct answer: Je pense que le vélo peut réduire la pollution. The phrase je pense que shows an opinion, and peut réduire is modest instead of absolute.
2. Join the sentences with pour: Je prends le bus. Je veux polluer moins.
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Je prends le bus pour polluer moins. Pour followed by an infinitive gives the purpose, and the subject stays the same.
3. Which statement is safe to use in a speaking task: Mon école a installé trois poubelles de tri or Tout le monde gaspille l’eau?
Show answer
The first one. It is something you can describe directly. The second is a sweeping claim about everyone that you cannot support.
Where does this lead next?
Next, extract practical details from a short travel notice to practise reading facts exactly. When you want a teacher to listen to your opinion and help you phrase it with care, our online one-to-one French tuition can do that with you.