French Grammar for NCLC 7: What TCF & TEF Examiners Reward

To reach NCLC 7 (around B2) in TCF Canada or TEF Canada writing and speaking, you need accurate basics plus a small set of B2 structures used correctly: the subjonctif after necessity, doubt and bien que; the conditionnel and si-clauses; the relative pronouns dont, où and lequel; the gérondif; the passive; and the sequence of tenses in reported speech. The test owners judge both control (are your sentences correct?) and range (are they simple or complex?).

You don't need all of French grammar. You need eight structures that make your sentences more complex, mapped to the tasks where they pay off, and a plan to make them automatic. This guide gives you a priority map, each structure with the errors that cost marks and how to fix them, what you can safely skip, and a four-week plan. For one-line rules and conjugation tables, keep our French grammar cheat sheet open alongside.

What examiners mean by "grammar"

Neither test has a grammar paper for Canada, but grammar is marked in both productive skills. France Éducation international (FEI) lists, among its TCF writing criteria, grammatical accuracy, spelling and how elaborate your sentences are (degré d'élaboration des phrases), and grammatical accuracy again for speaking. Le français des affaires (LFA) asks TEF markers two questions in so many words: "Les phrases sont-elles simples, complexes, maîtrisées ?" and "Les temps et modes sont-ils correctement utilisés ?"

So there are two axes. Control: few errors, and none that block understanding. Range: subordinate clauses, varied tenses and moods, not just subject-verb-object. A text of short, correct sentences shows control but no range. A text full of ambitious, broken structures shows neither. NCLC 7 sits where both meet: on the TCF, 10–11/20 in writing or speaking, which falls inside FEI's B2 band (10–13). Our guides to NCLC 7 on the TCF Canada and NCLC 7 on the TEF Canada cover the scores for every skill.

The priority map

Tier 1 is covered error by error in our list of 20 common French writing mistakes. The rest of this guide is about tier 2.

1. The subjonctif after necessity, opinion, emotion and doubt

Where it pays: TCF task 3 and TEF Section B (opinions), TCF speaking task 3, TEF speaking Section B (persuasion), any request in a letter.

The subjunctive follows a trigger in the main clause: necessity (il faut que, il est essentiel que), will (je souhaite que), emotion (je regrette que), doubt (je doute que) and some conjunctions (bien que, pour que, à condition que, avant que). The trap at B2 is the opinion verbs: affirmative je pense que takes the indicative; negative je ne pense pas que takes the subjunctive.

Learn the ten irregular forms you'll actually use: soit, ait, fasse, puisse, aille, sache, veuille, vienne, prenne, doive. A correct bien qu'il soit shows the mood far more clearly than a regular verb, where the subjunctive often looks like the present.

2. The conditionnel: politeness, hypothesis, advice and regret

Where it pays: TCF speaking task 2 and TEF Section A (polite questions), every formal letter, TEF Section B (imagined benefits).

Present conditional for politeness (Pourriez-vous me dire… ?), advice (À ta place, je partirais plus tôt) and hypothesis (Ce serait une bonne solution). Past conditional for regret and reproach (J'aurais dû réserver). In news style it also marks unconfirmed information: Le conducteur aurait perdu le contrôle de son véhicule, a neat touch in TEF Section A.

3. Si-clauses: three patterns, one golden rule

Where it pays: TEF speaking Section B (Si tu viens, tu verras…), opinion texts, advice in TCF task 1 messages.

The golden rule: never a future or conditional right after this si. Si j'aurais le temps and si j'aurai le temps are both errors. Mixed patterns are fine and very B2: Si j'avais écouté ce conseil, je serais bilingue aujourd'hui.

4. Relative pronouns: dont, où and lequel

Where it pays: everywhere. Relatives join two short sentences into one complex sentence, which is the quickest way to raise the "elaborate sentences" criterion.

• Dont replaces de + noun: le projet dont je vous ai parlé (parler de), les outils dont nous avons besoin (avoir besoin de).
• Où is for places and times: la ville où j'habite, le jour où je suis arrivé.
• Lequel and its forms follow other prepositions: l'entreprise pour laquelle je travaille, les collègues avec lesquels je déjeune, le cours auquel je me suis inscrit.

5. The passive voice

Where it pays: TEF Section A, which is a newspaper story. Press style uses the passive when the action matters more than who did it.

Form: être in the right tense + past participle agreeing with the subject, optionally par + agent. Deux personnes ont été blessées. Le suspect a été arrêté par la police. Use it two or three times in a text, not everywhere: French often prefers on (On a retrouvé le chien) or a pronominal verb (Le marché se tient le samedi).

6. The gérondif

Where it pays: all tasks. One gérondif turns two clauses into one tighter sentence: J'ai amélioré mon français en écoutant la radio tous les jours.

Form: en + the nous stem + -ant (en parlant, en finissant, en prenant; irregular: en étant, en ayant, en sachant). It expresses simultaneity, manner or condition, and its subject must be the subject of the main verb.

7. Past tenses and the sequence of tenses

Where it pays: TCF task 2 (recounting an experience), TEF Section A (a news story with quotes), TCF speaking task 1 (your past).

Beyond the passé composé and imparfait, B2 writers use the plus-que-parfait for the earlier past (Quand les pompiers sont arrivés, le feu s'était déjà propagé) and shift tenses in reported speech after a past verb:

Note the time words shift too: demain → le lendemain, hier → la veille, ici → là. In TEF Section A, one direct quote and one reported statement in the same article show both skills.

8. Agreement that shows at B2

Agreement is tier 1, but a few cases only appear once your sentences get longer, so they deserve a last check:

• Les lettres que j'ai écrites: with avoir, agree with a direct object placed before the verb.
• Elle s'est lavée / Elle s'est lavé les mains: a pronominal participle doesn't agree when the direct object follows.
• Je leur ai donné leurs clés: leur before a verb never takes an s; the possessive does when plural.
• Chacun a son avis, la plupart des candidats pensent: chacun is singular; la plupart des takes a plural verb.
• Tous les jours, toute la journée, tout le monde est d'accord: tout le monde is singular.

What you can safely skip

Self-check: six B2 traps

Our own sentences, not exam questions. Each one targets a structure above.

Games are a good way to make these automatic. Lava flow drills subjunctive vs indicative, Space docking the relative pronouns, Hoops conjugation from the présent to the subjonctif, and Mine cart the passé composé with être or avoir.

A four-week grammar plan

About 30 to 45 minutes a day. The plan is ours; adapt the pace to your level. If you're further from B2, our French from zero to NCLC 7 timeline shows the bigger picture.

1. Week 1: diagnose and fix the foundations

   Write one TCF task 2 or TEF Section A under time, then underline every error and sort them: agreement, tenses, pronouns, other. Spend the week on your biggest category with the grammar cheat sheet, and 10 minutes a day of conjugation (être, avoir, aller, faire, pouvoir, vouloir in six tenses).

2. Week 2: subjonctif and conditionnel

   Each day, write a short opinion paragraph (80–100 words) that uses two subjunctive triggers and one si-clause. Say it aloud afterwards: the speaking test marks the same structures.

3. Week 3: relatives, gérondif and passive

   Take two texts you wrote earlier and rewrite them, joining short sentences with dont, où, pour laquelle and a gérondif. Write one TEF Section A news story with two passives and a reported quote.

4. Week 4: full tasks under time

   Write two complete timed tasks (TCF tasks 1–3 in one 60-minute block, or TEF Sections A and B), aiming for at least one structure from each section of this guide. Then sit a full paper such as TCF Canada mock test 4 or TEF Canada mock test 4.

Grammar shows best inside well-linked sentences, so pair this plan with our guide to French connectors for TCF and TEF writing: bien que, pour que and si bien que are grammar and connectors at once.

Practise with feedback

Write an opinion paragraph on our prompt below using at least four structures from this guide: a subjunctive, a si-clause, a dont or où, and a gérondif.

For corrections and a score, use the TCF Canada writing practice, the TEF Canada writing practice or the task-by-task TCF Canada writing drills. Speaking uses the same grammar: try the TCF Canada speaking drills or the TEF Canada speaking drills. Then check where you stand with the NCLC score converter, or start from the TCF Canada practice test and TEF Canada practice test hubs.

Our take

NCLC 7 grammar isn't about knowing every rule. It's about controlling the basics and using a few complex structures correctly, often enough that a marker notices. Choose the eight structures above, attach each to the task where it pays, and practise them until they come out under time pressure. That's when grammar stops being something you study and becomes something examiners can see.