MockoTEF Reading Section B gives you short French sentences, each with one word missing. You choose from four options to complete the sentence correctly. At A1 level the gaps test basic vocabulary and very simple grammar. The trick is not to guess from the missing word alone but to read the whole sentence and use every context clue it offers.
What you’ll learn
- Use the meaning of the surrounding sentence to narrow down the correct word.
- Recognise when the gap needs a noun, a verb, an adjective, or a function word.
- Spot options that fit grammatically but not logically, and vice versa.
- Work quickly by eliminating clearly wrong options first.
What Section B looks like
Each item in Section B is one complete sentence with a blank, followed by four answer choices. The sentences describe everyday situations: shopping, travel, school, the home, simple social exchanges. The missing word is almost always a common noun, a basic verb, a simple adjective, or a short function word like a preposition.
Je voudrais acheter un ______ de lait, s'il vous plaît.
I would like to buy a ______ of milk, please. The gap calls for a container word. Options might include: bouteille (bottle), assiette (plate), couverture (blanket), fenêtre (window). "Bouteille" is the only one that collocates with "lait".
What the gap tests at A1
- Basic nouns in common categories: food, transport, home, body, daily routines.
- Simple verbs: aller, prendre, faire, vouloir, pouvoir, avoir, être.
- Elementary adjectives: grand, petit, chaud, froid, nouveau, vieux.
- Basic function words: à, de, en, pour, avec, sans, chez.
How to read a gap sentence
- 1Read the full sentence without stopping at the blank.
- 2Ask yourself: what type of word fits here (noun, verb, adjective, preposition)?
- 3Ask yourself: what is the sentence about? What topic or situation does it describe?
- 4Read the four options and cross out any that are the wrong word type.
- 5From the remaining options, pick the one that makes the sentence logical and natural.
If two options are both nouns that could fit grammatically, the deciding factor is always meaning. Think about what would make sense in real life. A person does not "take a window" to work, but they do "take a train".
Grammar clues in the sentence
Even at A1 level, the words around the blank give grammar signals that eliminate options. An article tells you whether the missing word is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. A verb before the blank tells you what form the next word should take.
Mon père lit le ______ tous les matins.
My father reads the ______ every morning. "Le" is masculine singular. This alone rules out any feminine or plural noun. Combined with the verb "lire" (to read) and the routine "tous les matins", the answer is almost certainly "journal" (newspaper).
- "une" or "la" before the blank: the answer is a feminine noun.
- "un" or "le" before the blank: the answer is a masculine noun.
- "des" or "les" before the blank: the answer is a plural noun.
- An infinitive after a modal (vouloir, pouvoir, devoir): the gap may be a second infinitive or a noun object.
- A preposition before the blank: check whether the options can follow that preposition.
Eliminating distractors
Section B options are designed to distract. A common trap is offering a word from the same topic area that does not fit the specific context. Another trap is offering two synonyms where one fits perfectly and the other is slightly off.
Common distractor types
- Same topic, wrong fit: "voiture" and "vélo" are both transport words, but only one fits a sentence about a long motorway journey.
- Similar sound, different meaning: "parti" (gone) vs "partie" (part, feminine) vs "partir" (to leave).
- Right word type, wrong meaning: four verbs all in infinitive form, but only one makes the sentence logical.
Il fait très ______ en été dans le sud de la France.
It is very ______ in summer in the south of France. Options: chaud (hot), froid (cold), humide (humid), nuageux (cloudy). "Froid" is immediately wrong by logic. "Humide" and "nuageux" could apply to some places, but for the south of France in summer the standard and expected answer is "chaud".
How to practise this
Gap-fill practice works best when you also read the completed sentence aloud afterwards. This builds the sense of what sounds natural in French, which is your best long-term tool for these items.
Practice routine
- Work through A1 gap-fill exercises in any TEF or DELF A1 preparation book.
- After answering, always read the full sentence with the correct word inserted.
- If you got it wrong, identify which clue you missed: grammar, meaning, or collocation.
- Keep a vocabulary notebook organized by topic (food, home, transport, daily life) to build the word groups most common in Section B.
Key takeaways
- Read the whole sentence before looking at the options.
- Identify the word type the gap requires before evaluating the choices.
- Use articles and verb forms as grammar filters to eliminate wrong options quickly.
- When two options fit grammatically, choose by meaning and real-world logic.
- Distractors often come from the same topic area: do not choose a word just because it belongs to the right theme.
