MockoTEF Section A of Lexique et Structure gives you a single sentence with one word missing and four options to choose from. The options are always the same part of speech and often very similar in meaning. Your job is to pick the one word that fits the context precisely: the meaning of the surrounding words, the collocations at play, and any grammatical clues in the sentence. This section covers A1 to B2 vocabulary, so even simple items can trap you if you read too fast.
What you’ll learn
- Use the surrounding words to narrow down the meaning you need
- Recognise collocations that point to one option over the others
- Eliminate options that are grammatically or semantically incompatible
- Avoid the look-alike trap where two options seem interchangeable
Read the whole sentence first
The number one mistake on gap-fill vocabulary items is stopping at the blank. Before you look at the four options, read the entire sentence and decide what kind of word you need: a verb, a noun, an adjective? Then ask yourself what the sentence is about and what meaning that blank should carry. Only after that do you check the options.
- 1Read the sentence all the way through, ignoring the blank.
- 2Decide the part of speech: verb, noun, adjective, or adverb.
- 3Think of the general meaning the missing word should have.
- 4Read the four options and eliminate any that do not fit the meaning.
- 5For the remaining options, check which one collocates best with its neighbours.
Collocations: the hidden signal
French vocabulary items often hinge on collocation: which verb goes with that noun, which adjective fits that preposition, which adverb naturally pairs with that adjective. You can have the right general meaning but pick the wrong word because it does not collocate with its neighbours.
Elle a _______ une erreur dans son rapport.
"She made a mistake in her report." The blank needs a verb. Options might be: fait, pris, mis, eu. Only "commis" or "fait" work naturally here; "pris une erreur" and "mis une erreur" are not natural collocations.
Il faut _______ attention aux détails si l'on veut réussir cet examen.
"You have to pay attention to the details if you want to pass this exam." The fixed collocation is "faire attention" (to pay attention). Options like "prendre" or "avoir" are plausible verbs but do not complete this fixed phrase.
Build a collocation list
- Whenever you learn a new noun, note two or three verbs that go with it.
- Common pairs to know: faire une demande, prendre une décision, poser une question, avoir peur, rendre service.
- Read the options aloud in the sentence. The wrong ones often sound "off" even if you cannot explain why.
Look-alike options and false synonyms
Section A often presents near-synonyms as distractors. Two words may share a general meaning but behave differently in a sentence. "Savoir" and "connaître" both translate as "to know" in English, but in French they are not interchangeable. "Apporter" and "amener" both mean "to bring", but one is for objects and the other for people.
Je _______ très bien Paris, j'y ai habité dix ans.
"I know Paris very well, I lived there for ten years." The answer is "connais" (to know a place or person), not "sais" (to know a fact or how to do something). Both appear as options on the exam.
Common false-synonym traps
- savoir vs. connaître: "savoir" = to know a fact or skill; "connaître" = to know a person or place.
- apporter vs. amener: "apporter" = to bring something; "amener" = to bring someone.
- partir vs. quitter: "partir" is intransitive (one leaves); "quitter" takes a direct object (one leaves a place or person).
- demander vs. poser (une question): "poser une question" is the fixed phrase, not "demander une question".
Using the sentence structure as a grammar clue
Even in a vocabulary section, grammar narrows your choices. If the blank follows a preposition, you need a noun or infinitive. If it follows "est", you need an adjective or noun. Look at what comes after the blank too: a direct object signals a transitive verb; "de" after the blank often signals a noun or an adjective with a fixed prepositional complement.
Mes collègues sont très _______ de leur nouveau directeur.
"My colleagues are very _______ of their new director." The structure "être + adjective + de" limits the options. "Contents" fits ("contents de" = pleased with). "Joyeux" and "heureux" do not take "de + noun" in this construction.
How to practise this
Daily practice routine
- Take any short French article and pick 5 common nouns. Look up 2 verbs that collocate with each one.
- Use a collocation dictionary (Le Robert or Larousse online) to check whether a verb-noun pair is standard.
- Write 3 gap-fill sentences for yourself each day, blanking out the word you want to learn. Attempt them again the next morning.
- On practice tests, after choosing your answer, ask yourself: "What is the collocation here?" Naming it cements the pattern.
Key takeaways
- Read the full sentence before looking at the options; decide what meaning you need.
- Collocations are the main signal: check which option pairs naturally with the surrounding words.
- Near-synonyms like savoir/connaître or apporter/amener are designed to look interchangeable.
- Grammar clues (prepositions, what follows the blank) eliminate options quickly.
