On the Eduqas A Level French specification, translation carries more weight than on any other board. Component 2 Section C has two translations, one into English and one into French, each worth 20 marks and each at least 100 words. Together they make up 40 of the 100 marks on the paper.
That makes translation the most efficient place to gain marks if you are an Eduqas candidate. This page gives one practice passage in each direction, written to the length and level of the paper. Work through each passage the same way: spot the traps, write your own version, check it for common slips, then compare it with the model and tick off what you got right. Your work saves on this device as you type, and you can print it or save it as a PDF. For the marking principles that apply to every board, and six more passages, see A Level French translation practice.
Passage 1: into English (cycling in towns)
The trap in this direction is not vocabulary. You already speak English, so a clumsy version sounds acceptable to you in a way it would not to a reader coming to it cold.
Passage 1: Cycling in towns French → English
French original
Dans de nombreuses villes françaises, le vélo a longtemps été considéré comme un loisir réservé au week-end. Depuis la crise sanitaire, cependant, les pistes cyclables se sont multipliées et le nombre de cyclistes a fortement augmenté. Les municipalités qui ont investi dans des aménagements sûrs en récoltent aujourd'hui les fruits : moins d'embouteillages, un air plus pur et des habitants plus satisfaits. Il n'en reste pas moins que le partage de la route suscite encore des tensions. Les automobilistes reprochent aux cyclistes de ne pas respecter le code de la route, tandis que ces derniers dénoncent le manque de prudence des conducteurs. Pour que la cohabitation devienne enfin possible, il faudrait sans doute repenser l'espace urbain dans son ensemble.
Model version
In many French towns and cities, cycling was long regarded as a leisure activity for the weekend only. Since the Covid crisis, however, cycle lanes have multiplied and the number of cyclists has risen sharply. Councils that invested in safe infrastructure are now reaping the rewards: less congestion, cleaner air and more contented residents. The fact remains that sharing the road still causes tension. Drivers accuse cyclists of ignoring the highway code, while cyclists for their part condemn drivers' lack of care. For living side by side to become possible at last, the whole of urban space would probably need to be rethought.
What it was testing
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Tenses a longtemps été considéré A passive in the perfect with longtemps. "Was long regarded" or "was for a long time seen" both work; "has long been considered" is acceptable too, but then the contrast with depuis is weaker.
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Vocabulary and false friends la crise sanitaire The standard French term for the Covid period. "The health crisis" is accurate but less natural in English than "the Covid crisis" or "the pandemic".
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Idioms and set phrases en récoltent les fruits An idiom with en standing for "from it". "Are reaping the rewards" carries both.
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Idioms and set phrases Il n'en reste pas moins que "The fact remains that", "nevertheless". A literal version scores nothing.
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Sentence structure reprocher à quelqu'un de ne pas faire "To accuse someone of not doing" or "to criticise someone for not doing". Keep the negative.
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Natural English ces derniers "The latter". Here, naming them again ("cyclists") is clearer.
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Subjunctive and conditional Pour que… devienne The subjunctive after pour que has no visible equivalent in English; "for… to become" or "if… is to become" carries it.
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Vocabulary and false friends sans doute Means "probably", not "without doubt".
Vocabulary for this topic: La vie urbaine et rurale crossword
Passage 2: into French (leaving home)
The trap in this direction is grammar you know but forget under time pressure: agreements, tense sequence, and the subjunctive after its trigger. Every one of them sits inside a marked segment.
Passage 2: Leaving home English → French
English original
My parents have always lived in the same village, and for a long time I thought I would do the same. When I left to study in Lyon, I realised how much I had been missing without knowing it: concerts, museums, people from every background. Nevertheless, I go home whenever I can. Although life there is quieter, it is where I feel most at ease. My younger brother, on the other hand, cannot wait to leave. He says there is nothing to do and that the buses only run twice a day. I hope that he will find what he is looking for, but I suspect that one day he too will come back.
Model version
Mes parents ont toujours habité dans le même village, et pendant longtemps j'ai cru que je ferais la même chose. Quand je suis parti(e) faire mes études à Lyon, je me suis rendu compte de tout ce qui me manquait sans le savoir : les concerts, les musées, des gens de tous horizons. Néanmoins, je rentre chez moi dès que je le peux. Bien que la vie y soit plus calme, c'est là que je me sens le plus à l'aise. Mon petit frère, en revanche, a hâte de partir. Il dit qu'il n'y a rien à faire et que les bus ne passent que deux fois par jour. J'espère qu'il trouvera ce qu'il cherche, mais je soupçonne qu'un jour, lui aussi, il reviendra.
What it was testing
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Tenses have always lived Ont toujours habité. With toujours, French uses the perfect, not depuis + present.
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Subjunctive and conditional I thought I would J'ai cru que je ferais: the conditional as a future-in-the-past.
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Agreements I realised Je me suis rendu compte: no agreement on rendu, even for a female narrator, because the direct object is compte, not me.
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Sentence structure how much I had been missing Tout ce qui me manquait. Manquer à reverses the English: the thing missed is the subject.
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Sentence structure without knowing it Sans le savoir. Same subject, so sans + infinitive, not sans que + subjunctive.
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Subjunctive and conditional Although Bien que + subjunctive: soit. The most frequently tested trigger on any paper.
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Subjunctive and conditional I hope that he will find J'espère qu'il trouvera. Espérer que takes the indicative, not the subjunctive.
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Sentence structure only Ne… que, and passer is the natural verb for buses running.
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Sentence structure he too Lui aussi, with il repeated as the subject.
Vocabulary for this topic: La famille en évolution crossword
More practice
If you would like your translations marked, that is a large part of what I do in A Level lessons. See the French tuition page or book a free 15-minute call. The A Level French Grammar Course covers the structures these passages test.
The passages on this page are original. Paper structure and mark values are taken from the Eduqas specification; always confirm current requirements with the board.
