The exam vocabulary

You have the pain to express you in English? Instead of to anguish you, it’s better to prepare you. Memorize these words and these expressions; they will be very useful for you, especially for oral exam.

To order its ideas

a first (of all) = (tout) d’abord

in the first place = premièrement

to begin with... = pour commencer...

to start with...= pour démarrer...

secondly = deuxième(ment)

then/next = ensuite

third(ly) = troisième(ment)

lastly/finally = enfin, pour finir

eventually = finalement

in the end = à la fin

last but not least = enfin et ce n’est pas le moins important

To express the message of the author

this text deals with... = ce texte traite de...

the author concentrates on...= l’auteur se concentre sur...

he intimates that... = il laisse entendre que...

he demonstrates that... = il démontre que...

according to him... = d’après lui...

as he says = comme il le dit

this suggests that... = cela implique que...

issue = question, problème

central issue/key issue = question clé

To express your opinion

to my mind/in my opinion = d’après moi, à mon avis

as for me = en ce qui me concerne

I wonder why… = je me demande pourquoi...

I don’t mean that... = je ne veux pas dire que...

I’d like to point out that…= je voudrais faire remarquer que...

What I find shocking here is...= ce qui me choque ici, c’est…

I can’t understand why… = je n’arrive pas à comprendre pourquoi...

I doubt whether… = je doute que…

I’m not really convinced that…= je ne suis pas vraiment convaincu que...

I approve/I disapprove of...= j’approuve, je désapprouve…

I think so/I don’t think so = je pense, je ne pense pas

I don’t share such views = je ne partage pas de telles idées

I’m strongly opposed to = je suis fortement oppose à…

I definitely disagree = je ne suis pas tout à fait d’accord

I fully agree with him = je suis tout à fait d’accord avec lui

he has good grounds to say that...= il a de bonnes raisons de dire que...

he gives an accurate analysis of...= il donne une analyse très juste de...

he’s got a point here = là, il a raison

For qualify

to a certain extent/to some degree = jusqu’à un certain point

we could also say that...= on pourrait aussi dire que...

one should not forget that...= il ne faut pas oublier que...

we must weigh the pros and cons = il faut peser le pour et le contre

To clothe the argument

besides/moreover = de plus

what is more/furthermore/in addition to that/like/similarly = de même

To lessen what one comes to tell

however /yet = cependant

nevertheless = néanmoins

all the same = tout de même

on one hand = d’une part

on the other hand = d’autre part

in spite of/despite = malgré

though/although = bien que

on the contrary = au contraire

by contrast = par contraste

To express a consequence

therefore/as a result = par conséquent

so = ainsi

To give examples

for instance/for example = par exemple

such as/namely = tel que

To clarify an idea

that is to say... = c’est-à-dire...

what I mean is that...= ce que je veux dire, c’est que...

in other words = en d’autres termes

To do a digression

by the way = au fait

that reminds me of... = ça me fait penser à...

To summarize what has been told

to sum up = pour résumer

in brief = en bref

in a nutshell/in short = en un mot

To conclude

in conclusion/to conclude = en conclusion