French Grammar Lab · Independent practice for adults
DELF grammar practice for A1, A2, B1 and B2
Preparing for DELF and still hesitating over the grammar? Start with a pattern you can work on today. Try the original exercises below, understand the correction, then build your own grammar programme in French Grammar Lab.
Original grammar practice for adults working on the language they need during DELF preparation.
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Correction example: Bien qu’il soit fatigué, il continue. After bien que, use the subjunctive. The illustration shows practice, an explanation and a later review. It does not record your progress.
Where grammar fits in DELF preparation
The DELF tout public has four independent diplomas, A1, A2, B1 and B2. The exam assesses listening, reading, writing and speaking. Grammar helps you make meaning in those tasks, but a good verb answer alone does not demonstrate readiness for all four skills. See France Éducation international’s DELF overview for the official examination.
For example, the official B1 writing criteria consider sentence construction, appropriate tenses and grammatical spelling alongside other criteria. The B2 criteria also look at how an argument is developed and connected. Our selection below is a set of grammar priorities to practise, not an official syllabus or a scoring grid. Consult the official B1 writing criteria and B2 writing criteria when reviewing a complete text.
Write or say your answer before opening each correction. Follow the stated pronoun, tense and answer format: the purpose is to practise a specific choice without guessing what the question means.
A1
Make a short sentence work
Check the foundations you need to introduce yourself, describe a person or ask a simple question: subject pronouns, present-tense verbs, articles and basic word order. Keep the sentence short enough to check each choice. For the examination format and wider preparation, use our DELF A1 exam guide.
1. Complete with être
You are telling a friend where you are. Keep je (I). Use être in the present and write only the missing verb.
Je ___ à la maison.
Check the answer
suis — Je suis à la maison.
The present form of être with je is suis. The subject stays the same.
2. Use tu with one close friend
You are speaking to one close friend. Use tu, not formal or plural vous. Complete with avoir in the present; write only the verb.
Tu ___ un billet.
Check the answer
as — Tu as un billet.
Tu takes as. A different subject would require a different form; the instruction makes the intended relationship explicit.
A2
Handle an everyday exchange
Practise asking for something politely, describing a routine and recounting a completed event. Notice who is speaking, who receives the message and when the event happens. These details give the verb form a job to do.
1. Ask a stranger to repeat
You are speaking politely to one shop assistant you do not know. Use vous. Complete with pouvoir in the present; write only the verb.
Est-ce que vous ___ répéter, s’il vous plaît ?
Check the answer
pouvez — Est-ce que vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît ?
The present form is vous pouvez. Here vous addresses one person politely; it is not evidence that several people are present.
2. Describe yesterday’s meal
You are describing a completed event yesterday. Use manger in the passé composé. Keep nous and write the two-word verb phrase.
Hier, nous ___ au restaurant.
Check the answer
avons mangé — Hier, nous avons mangé au restaurant.
Use the present auxiliary avons with the past participle mangé. Keep its final accent.
B1
Connect events and avoid repeating everything
A longer answer needs relationships between its sentences. Work on the difference between background and events, pronouns with clear referents, and links between ideas. Then use the pattern in a fresh paragraph rather than copying the corrected example.
1. Set the background
Last night you were reading when the phone rang. Complete with lire in the imparfait. Keep je; write only the missing verb.
Je ___ quand le téléphone a sonné.
Check the answer
lisais — Je lisais quand le téléphone a sonné.
The reading supplies the ongoing background. The phone’s ringing is presented as the completed event in the sentence.
2. Replace the recipient
Léa is the person receiving the keys. Rewrite the full sentence, replacing only à Léa with the indirect object pronoun before the verb. Keep les clés.
Je donne les clés à Léa.
Check the answer
Je lui donne les clés.
Lui replaces a singular recipient introduced by à with this verb. It can refer to a woman or a man; it does not replace the keys.
B2
Make the relationship between ideas precise
Use grammar to distinguish a real condition from an imagined one, acknowledge an opposing point and keep references clear. Complex structures are useful when they express your intended meaning accurately. Adding them everywhere does not make an argument better.
1. Imagine a different past
This is an unreal condition about yesterday. Keep si and use avoir in the plus-que-parfait. Write the missing two-word phrase.
Si j’___ le temps, j’aurais terminé le dossier.
Check the answer
avais eu — Si j’avais eu le temps, j’aurais terminé le dossier.
The condition uses the plus-que-parfait; the imagined consequence here uses the conditional past. Keep those two jobs distinct.
2. Acknowledge a drawback
In a written argument, the project is costly but remains useful. Complete with être in the present subjunctive after bien que. Write only the verb.
Bien que ce projet ___ coûteux, il reste utile.
Check the answer
soit — Bien que ce projet soit coûteux, il reste utile.
The requested present subjunctive is soit. The clause acknowledges a drawback without abandoning the main point.
Turn one correction into a preparation routine
- Choose one repair. Take a specific grammar error from an attempt. Review the explanation and answer a different sentence without looking.
- Apply it in a longer answer. Write a short paragraph or speak about a new situation. Check that the grammar helps express your meaning.
- Return to exam conditions. Use official tasks for your level and practise all four skills. Our B1 sample-resource guide and practice-attempt review method explain two different parts of that process.
For official materials, start with FEI’s B1 resources or B2 resources. Follow the task instructions and seek qualified feedback on complete writing and speaking performances.
Keep your grammar practice in one place
French Grammar Lab combines a saved grammar profile, a personal programme, written exercises, corrections and spaced review. Recorded conversations and monologues let you hear structures in context. Your progress distinguishes practice with support from recall without help.
It is a grammar programme, not an official DELF preparation course or an examiner’s assessment. Your profile is not a DELF mark. For mission-based B1 preparation with A2 foundations, the DELF B1 Adventure Prep Kit is a separate PDF purchase; the Lab membership is not included with it.
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