DELF · CEFR A2 · elementary user
DELF A2 prep
The complete A2 prep guide for English speakers: format, scoring, the exact 50-verb / 2-tense scope, the passé composé auxiliary trap, and a strict-accent practice drill.
What A2 actually means
CEFR A2 is the waystage level, you've moved beyond pure survival and can now talk about the past, make basic plans, and write short personal texts. The vocabulary expands to include past events, opinions ("I liked the movie"), comparisons, and time markers (hier, la semaine dernière, l'année prochaine). The big grammatical leap from A1 is the passé composé: the ability to narrate what you did yesterday, last week, on holiday. That single tense doubles what you can express.
What gets tested, exactly
| Section | Time | Score | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral comprehension | 25 min | /25 | Listen to 4 short audio docs (announcements, voicemails, short conversations). Each heard twice. Answer MCQ + short answers. |
| Written comprehension | 30 min | /25 | Read 4 short documents, typically a personal note, a public notice, a magazine snippet, a forum post. Identify factual details, intent, opinion. |
| Written production | 45 min | /25 | Two short texts of around 60–80 words each: (1) describe a past event (passé composé!), (2) write a personal message (invitation, thank-you, apology). |
| Oral production | ~8 min (+ 10 min prep) |
/25 | Three tasks: (1) guided interview about yourself (~2 min), (2) monologue on a familiar topic from prompt cards (~2 min), (3) simulated dialogue / role-play (~3 min). |
The verb & tense scope you actually need
Active production
- Présent indicatif on top ~50 verbs (the A1 list + verbs like venir, partir, sortir, dormir, mettre, lire, écrire, ouvrir, attendre, vendre, choisir, finir).
- Passé composé with correct auxiliary choice. The 14 être verbs (DR MRS VANDERTRAMP) cold. Basic past-participle agreement with être verbs.
- Futur proche for plans (demain je vais aller, l'année prochaine on va déménager).
- Impératif (tu, nous, vous) for advice and instructions.
- Negation in both présent and passé composé, je n'ai pas mangé, je ne suis pas allé.
Passive recognition (read/hear it, basic understanding)
- Imparfait introduced for description in the past (il faisait beau, j'étais petit). You don't need to actively narrate in it, that's a B1 skill, but you should recognise it.
NOT tested at A2
- Futur simple · Conditionnel présent · Subjonctif présent · Plus-que-parfait.
The four A2 verb mistakes that cost candidates points
1. J'ai allé instead of je suis allé(e)
The defining A2 error. The 14 être verbs are a closed list (plus all pronominals). The trick is to drill the 14 to automaticity rather than try to remember a rule on the fly. Mnemonic: DR MRS VANDERTRAMP, Descendre, Rentrer, Monter, Revenir, Sortir, Venir, Aller, Naître, Devenir, Entrer, Rester, Tomber, Retourner, Arriver, Mourir, Partir. Drill them in passé composé until j'ai allé physically sounds wrong.
2. Past-participle agreement on être verbs
With être verbs, the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: elle est allée, nous sommes partis, elles sont arrivées. The exam will hand a female candidate a writing prompt with passé composé and grade whether they wrote je suis allée with the final -e. Don't miss easy points by skipping the agreement on your own gender.
3. Irregular past participles
The top 20 irregular past participles are the highest-leverage memorization at A2: été (être), eu (avoir), fait (faire), dit (dire), pris (prendre), mis (mettre), vu (voir), su (savoir), pu (pouvoir), voulu (vouloir), dû (devoir), bu (boire), lu (lire), écrit (écrire), ouvert (ouvrir), offert (offrir), venu (venir), tenu (tenir), mort (mourir), né (naître). If you don't know these cold, half of every A2 writing task will trip you up.
4. Time markers + wrong tense
Time markers signal which tense to use. Hier, la semaine dernière, en 2020, ce matin → passé composé. Souvent, tous les jours, toujours, autrefois + past description → imparfait (recognition only at A2). Demain, la semaine prochaine, dans un mois → futur proche. Misalignment between marker and tense is the #1 thing the examiner flags in oral production.
Recommended timeline (A1 to A2-ready)
- Weeks 1–4, Passé composé with avoir. 15 minutes of typed drill daily on the top 20 verbs in passé composé. Build 30 personal past sentences ("Hier, j'ai mangé une pizza", "Le mois dernier, j'ai visité Lyon").
- Weeks 5–6, The 14 être verbs. Drill them as a separate block. Write 14 narrative sentences using each one.
- Weeks 7–8, Past-participle agreement basics. Focus on être verbs (subject agreement), you can ignore avoir agreement until B1.
- Weeks 9–12, Communicative A2 tasks. Practice describing yesterday, last weekend, last holiday in 80 words each. Practice the role-play prompts (booking, ordering, complaining).
- Weeks 13–16, Mock exams. One full past paper per week. Get the writing marked.
Free + paid prep resources for A2 specifically
- Past papers (free): France Éducation international publishes free A2 épreuves blanches.
- Listening: RFI Le journal en français facile is technically B1 but slowed enough to be useful at strong A2.
- Reading: Easy-reader graded series, ELI Readers A2, CLE International "Découverte" A2.
- Textbook: Le DELF A2 100% réussite (Didier).
- Speaking: iTalki tutor weekly. Ask for "DELF A2 dialogue practice."
- Verb drill: Bonjour Verbs, covers all 50 A2 verbs across présent and passé composé with strict-accent typed answers.
Practice DELF A2 verb scope right now
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