B1 is the level where French becomes yours. You stop reaching for memorised phrases and start building what you want to say: giving an opinion and backing it up, telling a story in the past, handling a situation that does not go to plan. The examiner is no longer checking that you know the words, but that you can use them to get something done.
The checklist below is the exact map of what the DELF B1 can test. Grammar and tenses are kept separate on purpose, so nothing appears twice: the grammar list is everything that is not a verb form, and the verb system lives in its own table further down.
One of the four papers you can sit right now, for free: a real B1 listening document is on the site, the two-voice radio report that carries 11 of the 25 listening points. It is played twice with no rewind, as in the exam room, and every answer is explained afterwards with the exact second of the recording where it was. It is the fastest honest answer to whether B1 is within reach.
Free 4-page guide
The eight weeks before your DELF B1
Eight weeks, week by week, from the subjonctif to the point of view, with the four papers rehearsed in the order of the real day.
- The moods and the si system B1 adds, with the triggers the paper actually tests
- The essay and the point of view, planned in the ten minutes you are given
- The last ten days, and what to put in your bag the night before
4 pages, free, sent straight away. Everything on this page stays free either way. You will also hear from me when a new guide or free deck goes up, and one click at the bottom of any email takes you off the list.
What changes between A2 and B1
If you have already passed A2, this table is your revision plan on its own.
| Area | At A2 | Added at B1 |
|---|---|---|
| Mood | Conditionnel présent, for politeness | Subjonctif présent and conditionnel passé |
| Past | Passé composé and imparfait | Plus-que-parfait, for what happened before |
| Future | Futur simple | Futur antérieur (quand j'aurai fini…) |
| Hypothesis | si + présent, si + imparfait | The full si system, plus reported speech |
| Voice | Active sentences only | The passive (la lettre a été envoyée) |
| Pronouns | qui, que, oĂą | dont, lequel, and two pronouns at once (le lui, m'en) |
The DELF B1 exam format
The DELF is awarded by the French Ministry of Education and never expires. Each of the four papers is marked out of 25 for a total of 100, you need 50/100 overall to pass, and at least 5/25 in every single paper.
| Paper | Duration | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Compréhension de l'oral (listening) | About 25 minutes | 25 |
| Compréhension des écrits (reading) | 35 minutes | 25 |
| Production Ă©crite (writing) | 45 minutes, a personal essay | 25 |
| Production orale (speaking) | 15 minutes, plus 10 minutes preparation | 25 |
Two of the four papers
The two papers you cannot mark yourself
Listening and reading you can train alone, on real exam documents and at exam speed. The production Ă©crite and the production orale are the two where the marks come from someone reading your answer and hearing how you defend it. In a 25 minute trial lesson I place you on the B1 map, listen to you argue a point, and tell you which of the two is costing you more.
Book a trial lesson · $15Grammar to master for B1
Everything here is grammar that is not a verb form. The tenses and moods are listed separately below, so nothing is counted twice.
- Les pronoms relatifs qui, que, dont, oĂą et lequelRelative pronouns qui, que, dont, oĂą, lequel
- La place et l’ordre des doubles pronoms (le lui, m’en, y en…)Position and order of double pronouns (le lui, m’en, y en…)
- Les pronoms démonstratifs et possessifs (celui-ci, le mien…)Demonstrative and possessive pronouns (this one, mine…)
- Les adjectifs et pronoms indéfinis (tout, chaque, certains, quelques-uns…)Indefinite adjectives and pronouns (all, each, some, a few…)
- Les comparatifs et les superlatifs (meilleur, pire, le mieux…)Comparatives and superlatives (better, worse, the best…)
- La négation complexe (ne… ni… ni, ne… que, ne… aucun, ne… personne)Complex negation (ne… ni… ni, ne… que, ne… aucun…)
- Les prépositions et les locutions (grâce à , à cause de, malgré, jusqu’à …)Prepositions and set phrases (thanks to, because of, despite, until…)
- Les connecteurs logiques (d’abord, cependant, par conséquent, en revanche…)Linking words (first, however, therefore, on the other hand…)
- L’expression de la cause, de la conséquence et du butExpressing cause, consequence and purpose
- L’expression de l’opposition et de la concession (mais, pourtant, bien que…)Expressing contrast and concession (but, yet, although…)
- La mise en relief (c’est… qui, c’est… que)Emphasis (c’est… qui, c’est… que)
- Les indicateurs de temps (il y a, depuis, pendant, dans, jusqu’à )Time markers (ago, since, during, in, until)
Essential B1 vocabulary
Fifteen themes. Compared to A2, they move from your immediate surroundings to opinions, society and abstract ideas.
- Parler de soi : parcours, expériences, projetsTalking about yourself: background, experiences, plans
- Le travail, les métiers, la recherche d’emploiWork, jobs, job hunting
- Les Ă©tudes et la formationStudies and training
- Le logement et la vie quotidienneHousing and daily life
- La santé, le bien-être, les habitudes de vieHealth, wellbeing, lifestyle habits
- Les voyages, le tourisme, l’hébergementTravel, tourism, accommodation
- Les médias, la presse, l’informationThe media, the press, news
- Internet, les réseaux sociaux, le numériqueThe internet, social media, digital life
- L’environnement et l’écologieThe environment and ecology
- La consommation, les achats, l’argentConsumption, shopping, money
- Les loisirs, la culture, les sortiesLeisure, culture, going out
- Les sentiments, les Ă©motions, les relationsFeelings, emotions, relationships
- La ville, les services, les démarches administrativesThe town, services, admin and paperwork
- L’actualité, la société, les faits diversCurrent affairs, society, news stories
- Exprimer l’accord, le désaccord et la nuanceExpressing agreement, disagreement and nuance
Communication skills tested at B1
The B1 oral asks you to argue, narrate and react, not only to describe. Rehearse each one aloud.
- Raconter un événement ou une expérience passéeRecounting an event or a past experience
- DĂ©crire ses projets, ses rĂŞves, ses ambitionsDescribing your plans, dreams and ambitions
- Exprimer et justifier une opinion, un point de vueExpressing and justifying an opinion or point of view
- Argumenter simplement (avantages et inconvénients)Making a simple argument (pros and cons)
- Exprimer des sentiments (joie, regret, espoir, surprise)Expressing feelings (joy, regret, hope, surprise)
- Faire des hypothèses et envisager des conséquencesMaking hypotheses and considering consequences
- Donner des conseils, faire des recommandationsGiving advice and making recommendations
- Raconter une histoire, un film, un livreRetelling a story, a film, a book
- Rédiger un texte structuré (lettre ou mail formel, court essai)Writing a structured text (formal letter or email, short essay)
- Comprendre l’essentiel d’un article ou d’une émissionGetting the gist of an article or a broadcast
- Participer Ă une conversation, Ă une discussionTaking part in a conversation or discussion
- Faire une réclamation, résoudre un problèmeMaking a complaint, solving a problem
- Résumer et reformuler ce que l’on a comprisSummarising and rephrasing what you have understood
The tenses and moods you need at B1
This is the whole verb system for B1, in one place. Nothing here is repeated in the grammar list above.
| Tense or mood | What it covers | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Le présent, le passé composé, l'imparfait | Revised and used together, now without hesitation | Choosing imparfait vs passé composé across a whole story, not one sentence. |
| Le plus-que-parfait | An action finished before another past action | avait / était + participe passé, with the same agreement rules as the passé composé. |
| Le futur simple et le futur antérieur | Plans, and what will be done before a future point | Quand j'aurai fini, je t'appellerai: the futur antérieur comes first in time. |
| Le conditionnel présent et passé | Politeness, hypotheses, and regret (j'aurais dû) | The passé is the past unreal and the tense of regret. |
| Le subjonctif présent | After il faut que, vouloir que, emotions, bien que | The trigger is the conjunction or verb in front, not the subjunctive verb itself. |
| Les hypothèses avec si | si + présent + futur, and si + imparfait + conditionnel | Never a futur or a conditionnel directly after si. |
| Le discours rapporté | Reporting what someone said, with the concordance des temps | présent becomes imparfait, passé composé becomes plus-que-parfait, futur becomes conditionnel. |
| La voix passive | être + participe passé (+ par), to shift the focus | The participle agrees with the subject: elle a été invitée. |