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Lesson 26.07A2
Describing a Picture
Describing a Picture
A common A2 exam task: describe a photo aloud. These are the fixed openers and spatial phrases examiners expect to hear.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
sur la photo / in the picture — a fixed opener
French
Sur la photo, on voit... (In the picture, you can see...)
English
In the picture, you can see...
sur la photo/l'image is the standard way to anchor your description, paired with the impersonal on voit ('one sees' / 'you can see') rather than je vois — this keeps the description objective, which is the expected exam register. English 'you can see' works the same impersonal way, so the logic transfers directly even though French routes it through on rather than a generic 'you'.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Sur la photo, on voit... | sewr lah foh-TOH ohn vwah | In the picture, you can see... |
| au premier plan | oh pruh-mee-ay PLAHN | in the foreground |
| à l'arrière-plan | ah lah-ree-air PLAHN | in the background |
| à gauche | ah gohsh | on the left |
| à droite | ah drwaht | on the right |
| au centre | oh SAHN-truh | in the center |
| il semble que... | eel sahm-bluh kuh | it seems that... |
| je pense que ça se passe... | zhuh pahns kuh sah suh pahs | I think this is taking place... |
| on dirait que... | ohn dee-reh kuh | it looks like... |
| au fond de l'image | oh fohn duh lee-MAZH | at the back of the picture |