Why is "Using être for age (je suis quatorze ans)" a common mistake in Self, family and pets?

Why it happens: English says 'I am fourteen', so beginners translate it word-for-word with 'to be'. How to avoid it: Always use avoir for age and keep the word ans: *j'ai quatorze ans*. Memorise the question *Quel âge as-tu ?* (uses *as*, from avoir) as a reminder. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 3 & 4 (accuracy)

Why is "Choosing son/sa by the owner's gender (sa père for 'his father')" a common mistake in Self, family and pets?

Why it happens: English 'his/her' shows the owner's gender, so learners assume French does too. How to avoid it: Pick the possessive from the **noun owned**: *père* is masculine, so it is always *son père* — his OR her father. Practise *sa mère* (his/her mother) and *son frère* (his/her brother). Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)

Why is "Forgetting adjective agreement (ma mère est grand)" a common mistake in Self, family and pets?

Why it happens: English adjectives never change, so learners leave the masculine form unchanged. How to avoid it: Match the adjective to the person: feminine adds -e (*grande*), plural adds -s (*petits*). Learn irregulars as pairs: *gentil/gentille*, *beau/belle*, *sportif/sportive*. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 2 & 4

Why is "Keeping un/une after a negative (je n'ai pas un chat)" a common mistake in Self, family and pets?

Why it happens: Learners apply the positive article *un* automatically and don't change it in the negative. How to avoid it: After *ne… pas*, switch *un/une/des* to *de* (or *d'* before a vowel): *je n'ai pas **de** chat*, *je n'ai pas **d'**animal*. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)

Why is "Dropping the reflexive pronoun (je appelle Marie)" a common mistake in Self, family and pets?

Why it happens: Beginners don't realise s'appeler is reflexive and treat it like an ordinary verb. How to avoid it: Keep the pronoun that matches the subject: *je m'appelle*, *tu t'appelles*, *il/elle s'appelle*. The same applies to *je m'entends* (I get on). Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 3 & 4

Why is "Giving bare statements with no opinion or reason" a common mistake in Self, family and pets?

Why it happens: Beginners answer the literal question (*J'ai un frère*) and stop, missing the chance to develop. How to avoid it: Add an opinion and justify it: *J'ai un frère et je l'aime bien parce qu'il est sympa.* Use connectives (*et, mais, aussi*) to extend every answer. Source: Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 3 (Speaking), communication

Cambridge IGCSE French (0520)

Self, family and pets

0% Complete

Detailed Study Notes

Detailed notes on Topic Area 2 - Personal and Social Life for Cambridge IGCSE French, covering key concepts, explanations, examples, and exam-focused revision points.

Talking about yourself, your family and your pets — Cambridge IGCSE French 0520 (2025-2027)

A complete beginner's toolkit for describing who you are, naming your family, and talking about pets in French — with ready-made sentence frames, opinions and connectives that earn marks in the Speaking and Writing papers.

At a glance

To introduce yourself you only need a handful of verbs: être (to be), avoir (to have), s'appeler (to be called) and habiter (to live).
Say your name with je m'appelle… (my name is…), your age with j'ai … ans (I am … years old) — French uses avoir (to have), not 'to be', for age.
Family words come in masculine/feminine pairs: le père / la mère (father / mother), le frère / la sœur (brother / sister).
Possessive adjectives change with the noun, not the owner: mon (my, masc.), ma (my, fem.), mes (my, plural) — mon père, ma mère, mes parents.
Adjectives agree with the person described: il est grand (he is tall) but elle est grande (she is tall) — add -e for feminine.
Pets use avoir + an article: j'ai un chien (I have a dog), j'ai une tortue (I have a tortoise); to say you have none, use je n'ai pas de… (I don't have any…).
Lift your mark with opinions + reasons + connectives: J'adore mon chat parce qu'il est mignon mais il est paresseux (I love my cat because he is cute but he is lazy).
Question frames are reusable: Comment t'appelles-tu ? (What's your name?), Tu as des frères et sœurs ? (Do you have brothers and sisters?), As-tu un animal ? (Do you have a pet?).

What you’ll learn

Mapped to the Cambridge IGCSE 0520 syllabus (2025-2027).

Introduce yourself: give your name, age, nationality and where you live using être, avoir, s'appeler and habiter.
Name the members of a family using the correct masculine and feminine vocabulary.
Use the possessive adjectives mon/ma/mes (and son/sa/ses, ton/ta/tes) correctly with the gender and number of the noun.
Describe people physically and in personality using adjectives that agree in gender and number.
Talk about pets you have or would like, including how to say you have none.
Give and justify opinions about family and pets using opinion verbs, parce que and a range of connectives.
Ask and answer common personal questions using reusable question frames for the Speaking and Writing papers.

Introducing yourself — name, age, where you live

Four small verbs let you say who you are: s'appeler, avoir, être and habiter.

Almost every Speaking exam and every personal-description Writing task opens the same way: who are you? You can answer fully with just four verbs.

1. Your name — s'appeler (to be called / to call oneself). This is a reflexive verb, so it carries a little extra word (me, te, s'):

French	Pronunciation	English
Je m'appelle Marie	zhuh ma-PELL	My name is Marie
Tu t'appelles comment ?	tew ta-PELL ko-MON	What's your name? (informal)
Il / Elle s'appelle Paul	eel / ell sa-PELL	He / She is called Paul

2. Your age — avoir (to have). A classic English-speaker trap: in French you have your age, you are not it. Say j'ai treize ans (I am thirteen — literally "I have thirteen years"). Never drop the word ans (years).

French	Pronunciation	English
J'ai treize ans	zhay trez on	I am 13 (years old)
Tu as quel âge ?	tew a kel ahzh	How old are you?
Il a quinze ans	eel a kanz on	He is 15

3. Where you live — habiter (to live) — and être (to be) for nationality. J'habite à Londres (I live in London); J'habite en Angleterre (I live in England). For nationality use être: Je suis anglais (I am English, masc.) / Je suis anglaise (fem.).

Worked mini-example — a full self-introduction. Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Sara, j'ai quatorze ans et j'habite à Singapour. Je suis singapourienne. → "Hello! My name is Sara, I'm fourteen and I live in Singapore. I am Singaporean." Four verbs, one complete introduction.

Name: je m'appelle… (s'appeler is reflexive — keep the m'/t'/s').
Age: j'ai … ans — use avoir (to have) and never drop ans.
Where you live: j'habite à + town, j'habite en/au + country.
Nationality: je suis + adjective, which agrees (anglais / anglaise).

The family — masculine and feminine pairs

Family nouns come in gendered pairs; learn them with their le/la article.

A French family tree — note the masculine (sky) and feminine (green) pairs.

French family words almost always come in a masculine / feminine pair, and you should learn each one with its article (le / la) so you never forget its gender.

French	Pronunciation	English
le père	luh pair	father
la mère	la mair	mother
les parents	lay pa-RON	parents
le frère	luh frair	brother
la sœur	la sur	sister
le grand-père	luh gron-pair	grandfather
la grand-mère	la gron-mair	grandmother
les grands-parents	lay gron-pa-RON	grandparents
l'oncle (m)	LON-kluh	uncle
la tante	la tont	aunt
le cousin / la cousine	luh koo-ZAN / la koo-ZEEN	cousin (m / f)
le fils	luh feess	son
la fille	la fee-yuh	daughter / girl
le demi-frère	luh duh-mee-frair	half-/step-brother
la belle-mère	la bell-mair	stepmother / mother-in-law

A useful verb here is avoir again: J'ai un frère et deux sœurs (I have one brother and two sisters). To say you are an only child: Je suis fils unique (boy) / Je suis fille unique (girl).

Worked mini-example. Dans ma famille, il y a quatre personnes : mon père, ma mère, ma sœur et moi. → "In my family there are four people: my father, my mother, my sister and me." The phrase il y a (there is / there are) is a workhorse — learn it now.

Learn each family word with its article: le père, la mère.
Most come in masc./fem. pairs: frère/sœur, grand-père/grand-mère, cousin/cousine.
il y a = there is / there are — perfect for dans ma famille, il y a….
Only child: fils unique (boy) / fille unique (girl).

My, your, his/her — possessive adjectives

mon/ma/mes agree with the THING owned, not the owner — the commonest beginner error.

To say my, your, his/her in French you use possessive adjectives, and the rule surprises every English speaker: they agree with the noun that follows (its gender and number), not with the person who owns it.

Owner	+ masc. noun	+ fem. noun	+ plural noun
my	mon père	ma mère	mes parents
your (informal)	ton frère	ta sœur	tes frères
his / her	son chien	sa sœur	ses amis

The biggest shock: son and sa do not tell you whether the owner is male or female. Son père means his father or her father — it agrees with père (masculine), full stop. Sa mère means his mother or her mother.

One special rule for sound. Before a feminine noun that starts with a vowel, you swap ma/ta/sa for mon/ton/son to avoid two vowels clashing: mon amie (my female friend), never ma amie; son école (his/her school).

Worked mini-example. Translate "her brother and his sister": both use the noun's gender. Her brother = son frère (frère is masculine). His sister = sa sœur (sœur is feminine). The English owner is irrelevant.

Possessives agree with the noun owned, not the owner.
my = mon (m) / ma (f) / mes (pl); your = ton/ta/tes; his/her = son/sa/ses.
son/sa never reveal the owner's gender: son père = his or her father.
Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel use mon/ton/son: mon amie.

Describing people — adjectives that agree

Adjectives add -e for feminine and -s for plural; many sit AFTER the noun.

Once you can name people you need to describe them — appearance and personality. The golden rule of French adjectives is agreement: the adjective changes its ending to match the gender and number of the person.

The basic pattern: add -e for feminine, -s for plural, -es for feminine plural.

Masculine	Feminine	English
grand	grande	tall / big
petit	petite	short / small
intelligent	intelligente	intelligent
amusant	amusante	funny / fun
fort	forte	strong

Some adjectives are irregular and worth memorising:

Masculine	Feminine	English
beau	belle	good-looking / beautiful
gentil	gentille	kind
sportif	sportive	sporty
gros	grosse	fat / big
vieux	vieille	old
roux	rousse	red-haired

A few adjectives never change (invariable colours and sympa): marron (brown), orange (orange), sympa (nice). And adjectives already ending in -e look the same in both genders: jeune (young), timide (shy), calme (calm), célèbre (famous).

Position. Most descriptive adjectives go after the noun: les cheveux bruns (brown hair), les yeux verts (green eyes). A small group go before — remember them with BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size): un beau garçon (a good-looking boy), une vieille femme (an old woman), une petite sœur (a little sister).

Useful descriptive sentences:

Il a les cheveux courts et les yeux bleus. — He has short hair and blue eyes.
Elle est grande, mince et très sympa. — She is tall, slim and very nice.
Mon frère est paresseux mais ma sœur est travailleuse. — My brother is lazy but my sister is hard-working.

Worked mini-example. Describe a tall, kind mother: start from masculine grand and gentil, then make them feminine because mère is feminine → grande, gentille. Result: Ma mère est grande et gentille. (My mother is tall and kind.)

Adjectives agree: +e feminine, +s plural, +es feminine plural.
Learn irregulars: beau/belle, gentil/gentille, sportif/sportive, vieux/vieille.
Most adjectives go after the noun; BAGS adjectives go before.
Describe looks with avoir: il a les yeux bleus, elle a les cheveux longs.

Pets — having one, or having none

Use avoir + un/une for pets; switch to ne… pas de to say you have none.

Common French pets, and the key rule that *un/une* turns into *de* after a negative.

Pets (les animaux domestiques) are a guaranteed Speaking and Writing topic. The verb is avoir again, plus an article.

French	Pronunciation	English
un chien	uhn shyan	a dog
un chat	uhn sha	a cat
un lapin	uhn la-PAN	a rabbit
un poisson rouge	uhn pwa-SON roozh	a goldfish
un oiseau	uhn wa-ZOH	a bird
un cheval	uhn shuh-VAL	a horse
une tortue	ewn tor-TEW	a tortoise
une souris	ewn soo-REE	a mouse
un hamster	uhn am-STAIR	a hamster

Saying you have a pet: J'ai un chat (I have a cat); Nous avons deux chiens (We have two dogs).

Saying you have none — the key rule. After a negative (ne… pas), the article un/une/des changes to de (or d' before a vowel): Je n'ai pas de chien (I don't have a dog); *Je n'ai pas **d'*animal (I don't have a pet). Do not keep un here.

Wanting one: Je voudrais un chien (I would like a dog) — je voudrais (I would like) is a polite, high-value phrase.

Worked mini-example. Answer As-tu un animal ? (Do you have a pet?) two ways. With a pet: Oui, j'ai un chat qui s'appelle Minou. (Yes, I have a cat called Minou.) Without: Non, je n'ai pas d'animal, mais je voudrais un lapin. (No, I don't have a pet, but I'd like a rabbit.)

Pets use avoir + article: j'ai un chien, j'ai une tortue.
After ne… pas, un/une/des becomes de/d': je n'ai pas de chat.
je voudrais (I would like) lets you talk about a pet you want.
Name the pet with qui s'appelle… (which is called…).

Opinions, reasons and connectives — how to lift your mark

Opinion verb + parce que + connective turns a basic sentence into a high-mark one.

The single fastest way to move from a low to a high mark is to give an opinion and justify it, then join your ideas with connectives. Examiners explicitly reward this.

Opinion verbs and phrases:

French	Pronunciation	English
j'aime	zhem	I like
j'adore	zha-DOR	I love
je n'aime pas	zhuh nem pa	I don't like
je déteste	zhuh day-TEST	I hate
je préfère	zhuh pray-FAIR	I prefer
à mon avis	a mon a-VEE	in my opinion
je pense que	zhuh pons kuh	I think that

Reasons — use parce que (because): *J'adore ma sœur **parce qu'*elle est gentille. — I love my sister because she is kind. (parce que → parce qu' before a vowel.)

Connectives — join your ideas:

French	English
et	and
mais	but
aussi	also / too
ou	or
car	because / for
cependant	however
par contre	on the other hand

Building a high-mark sentence, step by step.

Basic: J'ai un chien. (I have a dog.)
- opinion: J'adore mon chien. (I love my dog.)
- reason: J'adore mon chien parce qu'il est mignon. (…because he is cute.)
- connective + contrast: J'adore mon chien parce qu'il est mignon, mais il est un peu paresseux. (…but he is a bit lazy.)

That final sentence shows an opinion, a justification, two adjectives and a contrast connective — exactly the range that earns marks in Paper 3 and Paper 4.

Worked mini-example. Upgrade Ma mère est gentille into a high-mark answer: add an opinion verb and a contrast → À mon avis, ma mère est très gentille et travailleuse, mais elle est aussi un peu stricte. (In my opinion, my mother is very kind and hard-working, but she is also a bit strict.)

Opinion verbs: j'aime, j'adore, je déteste, je préfère; phrases: à mon avis, je pense que.
Justify with parce que (→ parce qu' before a vowel).
Connect ideas with et, mais, aussi, car, cependant, par contre.
Aim for: opinion + reason + connective + a second adjective in one sentence.

Reusable question and answer frames

Learn these question–answer pairs by heart; they recur in every Speaking test.

The personal-information questions in the Speaking exam are predictable. Learn each question and a model answer, and you can adapt them on the spot.

Question (French)	English	Model answer
Comment t'appelles-tu ?	What's your name?	Je m'appelle…
Quel âge as-tu ?	How old are you?	J'ai … ans.
Où habites-tu ?	Where do you live?	J'habite à…
Tu as des frères et sœurs ?	Do you have siblings?	J'ai un frère et une sœur. / Je suis fille unique.
Comment est ta famille ?	What is your family like?	Ma famille est petite et sympa.
As-tu un animal (de compagnie) ?	Do you have a pet?	Oui, j'ai un chat. / Non, je n'ai pas d'animal.
Comment est ton/ta… ?	What is your … like?	Il/Elle est grand(e) et gentil(le).
Tu t'entends bien avec ta famille ?	Do you get on well with your family?	Oui, je m'entends bien avec mes parents.

Three ways to form a question (good to recognise and to use):

Rising intonation (easiest): Tu as un chien ? (You have a dog?)
Est-ce que…: Est-ce que tu as un chien ?
Inversion (most formal): As-tu un chien ?

All three mean "Do you have a dog?" — the inversion form impresses examiners in writing.

A ready-made paragraph you can adapt: Je m'appelle Léa, j'ai quinze ans et j'habite à Lyon. Dans ma famille, il y a quatre personnes : mes parents, mon petit frère et moi. Je m'entends bien avec ma mère parce qu'elle est patiente, mais mon frère est parfois pénible. J'ai aussi un chien qui s'appelle Rex ; je l'adore ! → "My name is Léa, I'm fifteen and I live in Lyon. In my family there are four people: my parents, my little brother and me. I get on well with my mother because she is patient, but my brother is sometimes annoying. I also have a dog called Rex; I love him!"

Worked mini-example. Adapt the frame Tu t'entends bien avec ta famille ? into your own answer: Oui, je m'entends bien avec ma sœur parce qu'elle est amusante, mais je me dispute parfois avec mon frère. (Yes, I get on well with my sister because she is funny, but I sometimes argue with my brother.)

Memorise the predictable personal questions with a model answer.
Je m'entends bien avec… = I get on well with…; je me dispute avec… = I argue with….
Three question forms: intonation, est-ce que, and inversion (as-tu…?).
Keep one adaptable paragraph ready for the Speaking test.

Quick recap

Introduce yourself with four verbs: s'appeler (name), avoir (age — j'ai … ans), habiter (where you live), être (nationality).
Family words come in masc./fem. pairs learned with their article: le père / la mère, le frère / la sœur.
Possessive adjectives (mon/ma/mes, son/sa/ses) agree with the noun owned, not the owner.
Adjectives agree: +e (feminine), +s (plural); know irregulars (beau/belle, gentil/gentille) and BAGS adjectives that go before the noun.
Pets use avoir + un/une; after a negative the article becomes de (je n'ai pas de chien).
Give opinions and justify them with parce que, and join ideas with mais, et, aussi, car.
Learn the predictable Speaking questions with ready-made answers, and aim to include an opinion, a reason and a connective in every response.

Memorise this

Verbatim phrases and definitions Cambridge mark schemes credit.

Je m'appelle… — my name is… (keep the m').
J'ai … ans. — I am … years old (avoir, never être).
J'habite à… — I live in… (town); en/au + country.
Dans ma famille, il y a… — In my family, there is/are….
Family pairs: le père / la mère, le frère / la sœur, le grand-père / la grand-mère.
Possessives: mon (m) / ma (f) / mes (pl); son/sa/ses don't show the owner's gender.
Adjective agreement: grand → grande, gentil → gentille, sportif → sportive.
J'ai un chien / une tortue; negative → je n'ai pas de chien.
Je voudrais… — I would like…; qui s'appelle… — which is called….
Opinion + reason: J'adore mon chat parce qu'il est mignon.
Je m'entends bien avec… — I get on well with….

How it’s examined

The 'self, family and pets' theme is among the most heavily tested in Cambridge IGCSE French 0520 because it appears in every paper.

Paper 1 (Listening): Short conversations where speakers introduce themselves, describe relatives, or mention pets. You must catch ages (j'ai treize ans), relationships (ma sœur, mon oncle) and adjectives of description.
Paper 2 (Reading): Personal-profile and family-description texts. Recognise possessive adjectives and adjective agreements to identify who is being described and what they are like.
Paper 3 (Speaking): The conversation almost always opens with personal questions — name, age, where you live, family, pets. The role-play and conversation reward opinions with justifications (parce que) and a range of connectives.
Paper 4 (Writing): A common task is to describe yourself and your family. Marks come from correct possessives, adjective agreement, the j'ai … ans construction, accents, and the negative article rule (je n'ai pas de…).

Examiner reports repeatedly note marks lost through wrong adjective agreement, using être for age, and keeping un/une after a negative instead of changing it to de.

Sources: Cambridge IGCSE French 0520 Syllabus 2025-2027; Cambridge 0520 Paper 3 (Speaking) & Paper 4 (Writing) Specimen 2025-2027; Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports 2022-2024. Last reviewed 2026-06-02.

Take this whole topic with you

Step-by-step worked examples — Self, family and pets

Step-by-step solutions to past-paper-style questions on self, family and pets, written exactly the way a tutor would explain them at the board.

1Introduce yourself in three sentences
Getting started
Question
Build a short self-introduction giving your name (Emma), your age (14) and where you live (Paris). Use the correct verbs.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Name with s'appeler (reflexive). Keep the little word m': Je m'appelle Emma. (My name is Emma.) Writing je appelle drops the reflexive pronoun and is wrong.
2. Step 2
  Age with avoir, not être. French has its age: J'ai quatorze ans. (I am 14.) Never omit ans (years), and never use je suis.
3. Step 3
  Where you live with habiter + à. Use à before a town: J'habite à Paris. (I live in Paris.)
Answer
Je m'appelle Emma, j'ai quatorze ans et j'habite à Paris. (My name is Emma, I'm fourteen and I live in Paris.)
Examiner tip
Examiner reports flag je suis quatorze ans (a direct translation of 'I am fourteen') as a recurring error. Age always uses avoir + ans. The reflexive m' in je m'appelle must also be present.
2Choose mon, ma or mes correctly
Building confidence
Question
Complete with the right form of 'my': ___ père, ___ mère, ___ parents, ___ amie (female friend). Explain each choice.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Check the gender/number of the noun, not the owner. Possessives agree with what is owned.
2. Step 2
  père is masculine singular → mon père. mère is feminine singular → ma mère.
3. Step 3
  parents is plural → mes parents (plural is the same for any gender).
4. Step 4
  amie is feminine but starts with a vowel. To avoid two vowels clashing, feminine ma becomes mon: mon amie.
Answer
mon père, ma mère, mes parents, mon amie. (amie takes mon — not ma — because it begins with a vowel.)
Examiner tip
Two things are tested here: that possessives agree with the noun owned, and the mon amie rule (use mon/ton/son before a feminine noun beginning with a vowel). Both appear regularly in Paper 4 accuracy marking.
3Make the adjectives agree in a description
Building confidence
Question
Make the adjectives agree: Ma mère est (grand) et (gentil), et mes frères sont (petit) et (sportif).
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  mère is feminine singular. Add -e: grand → grande. gentil is irregular and doubles the l: gentil → gentille.
2. Step 2
  frères is masculine plural. Add -s: petit → petits.
3. Step 3
  sportif is irregular: the masculine plural is sportifs (the -f stays for the masculine, becoming -ve only in the feminine).
4. Step 4
  Reassemble the sentence with each adjective matched to its noun.
Answer
Ma mère est grande et gentille, et mes frères sont petits et sportifs. (feminine singular: grande, gentille; masculine plural: petits, sportifs)
Examiner tip
Adjective agreement is one of the highest-frequency accuracy errors in 0520. Note the irregulars: gentil → gentille (doubled l + e) and sportif → sportive in the feminine. A masculine plural simply adds -s.
4Talk about a pet — including the negative
Building confidence
Question
Answer the question As-tu un animal ? (Do you have a pet?) twice: once with a cat called Minou, and once saying you have no pet but would like a dog.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Positive answer with avoir + article. J'ai un chat. Name it with qui s'appelle…: J'ai un chat qui s'appelle Minou.
2. Step 2
  Negative answer — the article changes. After ne… pas, un/une becomes de (or d' before a vowel): Je n'ai pas d'animal. (not je n'ai pas un animal).
3. Step 3
  Add the wish with je voudrais. Je voudrais un chien. (I would like a dog.) Here un stays, because voudrais is not a negative.
Answer
Positive: Oui, j'ai un chat qui s'appelle Minou. Negative: Non, je n'ai pas d'animal, mais je voudrais un chien.
Examiner tip
The negative-article rule (un/une → de/d' after ne… pas) is a classic accuracy mark. Keeping un after the negative (je n'ai pas un chien) is penalised. Note un is retained after je voudrais because that clause is positive.
5Upgrade a basic sentence with opinion, reason and connective
Stretch
Question
Turn the basic sentence J'ai une sœur. (I have a sister.) into a high-mark answer with an opinion, a justification and a contrast.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Add an opinion verb. J'adore ma sœur. (I love my sister.)
2. Step 2
  Justify with parce que. Before a vowel it becomes parce qu': J'adore ma sœur parce qu'elle est amusante. (…because she is funny.)
3. Step 3
  Add a contrast with a connective + a second adjective. Use mais (but): …mais elle est parfois pénible. (…but she is sometimes annoying.) Note amusante and pénible must agree — pénible ends in -e so it is already feminine.
Answer
J'adore ma sœur parce qu'elle est amusante, mais elle est parfois un peu pénible. (I love my sister because she is funny, but she is sometimes a bit annoying.)
Examiner tip
This single sentence shows an opinion verb, a justification (parce que), a connective (mais), two adjectives and an intensifier (un peu) — exactly the range Paper 3 and Paper 4 reward for a higher band. Building answers this way is the fastest route to a better mark.

Model Answers — Self, family and pets

High-scoring sample answers for self, family and pets on the Cambridge IGCSE 0520 paper, with examiner-style notes mapping each response to the mark scheme and assessment objectives.

Question 1
Paper 4 (Writing) style. Write a few sentences describing your family for a French pen-friend.
Model answer
Dans ma famille, il y a quatre personnes : mon père, ma mère, ma petite sœur et moi. (In my family there are four people: my father, my mother, my little sister and me.)

Mon père est grand et travailleur, et ma mère est très gentille. Ma sœur a huit ans ; elle est amusante mais parfois pénible. (My father is tall and hard-working, and my mother is very kind. My sister is eight; she is funny but sometimes annoying.)

Je m'entends bien avec mes parents parce qu'ils sont patients. (I get on well with my parents because they are patient.)
Why this scores
Why this scores. It uses il y a to set the scene, correct possessives (mon père, ma mère, ma sœur), agreeing adjectives (grand, gentille, patients), the avoir age construction (a huit ans), an opinion with justification (parce que), and connectives (et, mais). That combination reaches the higher band for both content and accuracy.
Question 2
Paper 3 (Speaking) style. Introduce yourself and say whether you have a pet, giving an opinion.
Model answer
Je m'appelle Léo, j'ai quinze ans et j'habite à Genève. (My name is Léo, I'm fifteen and I live in Geneva.)

J'ai un chien qui s'appelle Rex. Je l'adore parce qu'il est mignon et fidèle, mais il est un peu paresseux ! (I have a dog called Rex. I love him because he is cute and loyal, but he is a bit lazy!)
Why this scores
Why this scores. The candidate gives name, age and home town fluently, uses avoir for the pet and for age, names the pet with qui s'appelle, and adds an opinion + reason + contrast. The object pronoun l' in je l'adore (I love him) shows control beyond the minimum and lifts the fluency mark.
Question 3
Paper 3 (Speaking) style. The examiner asks As-tu un animal ? (Do you have a pet?). You have none. Give a full, natural answer.
Model answer
Non, je n'ai pas d'animal parce que nous habitons dans un petit appartement. (No, I don't have a pet because we live in a small flat.)

Mais j'adore les animaux, et un jour je voudrais un chat ou un lapin. (But I love animals, and one day I'd like a cat or a rabbit.)
Why this scores
Why this scores. It applies the negative-article rule correctly (pas d'animal, not pas un animal), justifies with parce que, then keeps the conversation going with a positive opinion and a future wish (je voudrais) plus the connective ou. Turning a 'no' into a developed answer is exactly what examiners reward.

Key Definitions and Keywords — Self, family and pets

Definitions to memorise and the exact keywords mark schemes credit for self, family and pets answers — sharpened from recent examiner reports for the 2026 0520 sitting.

Je m'appelle…
Examiner keyword
'My name is…' — from the reflexive verb s'appeler (to be called). Keep the reflexive pronoun m'.
Example
Je m'appelle Sophie. — My name is Sophie. (Tu t'appelles comment? — What's your name?)
J'ai … ans
Examiner keyword
'I am … years old.' French uses avoir (to have), not être, for age, and ans (years) is never dropped.
Example
J'ai treize ans. — I am 13. (NOT je suis treize ans.)
habiter (à / en / au)
'To live (in).' Use à before a town, en before a feminine country, au before a masculine country.
Example
J'habite à Londres, en Angleterre. — I live in London, in England.
mon / ma / mes (possessive adjectives)
Examiner keyword
'My' in French. They agree with the gender and number of the noun owned, not the owner. (son/sa/ses = his/her.)
Example
mon père (my father), ma mère (my mother), mes parents (my parents); mon amie before a vowel.
le père / la mère, le frère / la sœur
Examiner keyword
Core family vocabulary, learned in masculine/feminine pairs with the article that shows the gender.
Example
le frère (brother) / la sœur (sister); le grand-père / la grand-mère (grandparents).
Adjective agreement
Examiner keyword
French adjectives change ending to match the noun: +e for feminine, +s for plural, +es for feminine plural.
Example
Il est grand → Elle est grande; gentil → gentille; sportif → sportive.
ne… pas de (negative article)
Examiner keyword
After the negative ne… pas, the article un/une/des changes to de (or d' before a vowel).
Example
J'ai un chien → Je n'ai pas de chien; *Je n'ai pas **d'*animal.
parce que (because)
Examiner keyword
The main connective for justifying an opinion. It becomes parce qu' before a vowel.
Example
J'adore mon chat parce qu'il est mignon. — I love my cat because he is cute.
j'aime / j'adore / je déteste / je préfère
Opinion verbs used to say you like, love, hate or prefer something — the basis of every high-mark answer.
Example
J'aime mon frère mais je déteste ranger sa chambre. — I like my brother but I hate tidying his room.
s'entendre bien avec
'To get on well with' (someone). A reflexive verb often used to talk about family relationships.
Example
Je m'entends bien avec ma mère. — I get on well with my mother.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions — Self, family and pets

The traps other students keep falling into on self, family and pets questions — taken from recent Cambridge IGCSE 0520 examiner reports and mark schemes — and how to avoid them.

✕Using être for age (je suis quatorze ans)
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 3 & 4 (accuracy)
Why it happens
English says 'I am fourteen', so beginners translate it word-for-word with 'to be'.
How to avoid it
Always use avoir for age and keep the word ans: j'ai quatorze ans. Memorise the question Quel âge as-tu ? (uses as, from avoir) as a reminder.
✕Choosing son/sa by the owner's gender (sa père for 'his father')
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)
Why it happens
English 'his/her' shows the owner's gender, so learners assume French does too.
How to avoid it
Pick the possessive from the noun owned: père is masculine, so it is always son père — his OR her father. Practise sa mère (his/her mother) and son frère (his/her brother).
✕Forgetting adjective agreement (ma mère est grand)
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 2 & 4
Why it happens
English adjectives never change, so learners leave the masculine form unchanged.
How to avoid it
Match the adjective to the person: feminine adds -e (grande), plural adds -s (petits). Learn irregulars as pairs: gentil/gentille, beau/belle, sportif/sportive.
✕Keeping un/une after a negative (je n'ai pas un chat)
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 4 (Writing)
Why it happens
Learners apply the positive article un automatically and don't change it in the negative.
How to avoid it
After ne… pas, switch un/une/des to de (or d' before a vowel): je n'ai pas de chat, *je n'ai pas **d'*animal.
✕Dropping the reflexive pronoun (je appelle Marie)
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Papers 3 & 4
Why it happens
Beginners don't realise s'appeler is reflexive and treat it like an ordinary verb.
How to avoid it
Keep the pronoun that matches the subject: je m'appelle, tu t'appelles, il/elle s'appelle. The same applies to je m'entends (I get on).
✕Giving bare statements with no opinion or reason
Cambridge 0520 Examiner Reports — Paper 3 (Speaking), communication
Why it happens
Beginners answer the literal question (J'ai un frère) and stop, missing the chance to develop.
How to avoid it
Add an opinion and justify it: J'ai un frère et je l'aime bien parce qu'il est sympa. Use connectives (et, mais, aussi) to extend every answer.

Self, family and pets

Detailed Study Notes

At a glance

What you’ll learn

Quick recap

Memorise this

How it’s examined

Take this whole topic with you

1Introduce yourself in three sentences

2Choose mon, ma or mes correctly

3Make the adjectives agree in a description

4Talk about a pet — including the negative

5Upgrade a basic sentence with opinion, reason and connective

Je m'appelle…

J'ai … ans

habiter (à / en / au)

mon / ma / mes (possessive adjectives)

le père / la mère, le frère / la sœur

Adjective agreement

ne… pas de (negative article)

parce que (because)

j'aime / j'adore / je déteste / je préfère

s'entendre bien avec

✕Using être for age (je suis quatorze ans)

✕Choosing son/sa by the owner's gender (sa père for 'his father')

✕Forgetting adjective agreement (ma mère est grand)

✕Keeping un/une after a negative (je n'ai pas un chat)

✕Dropping the reflexive pronoun (je appelle Marie)

✕Giving bare statements with no opinion or reason