Le Quiz

1. À quelle heure le chat arrive-t-il aux cafés ?

• a) Six heures

• b) Sept heures précises

• c) Huit heures

2. Que fait le chat avec la nourriture qu'il reçoit ?

• a) Il la mange tout seul

• b) Il la donne aux pigeons

• c) Il la partage avec des chatons

3. Quel accessoire porte le chat ?

• a) Un collier rouge

• b) Une clochette dorée

• c) Un foulard bleu

Réponses :

1. b) Sept heures précises

2. c) Il la partage avec des chatons

3. c) Un foulard bleu

Full English Translation: The Café Cat

A mysterious tale from the Parisian cafés

On a foggy autumn morning, the café owners in the Montmartre neighborhood notice a strange phenomenon. A large ginger cat, elegant and mysterious, begins to visit their establishments, one by one.

The cat always arrives at seven o'clock sharp. He sits near the door, delicately licks his paws, and watches the customers with his bright green eyes. Curiously, he wears a small blue scarf around his neck.

Marie, the owner of Café des Artistes, is the first to give him a piece of croissant. "He's so polite," she explains to the customers. "He waits patiently and never makes a noise." The cat thanks her with a melodious little "meow" and leaves quietly.

The next day, he visits Le Petit Parisien, where Thomas, the waiter, offers him a bit of chocolate bread. "It's incredible," Thomas says to his colleague. "This cat understands when I speak to him in French!"

Each day, the mysterious cat visits a different café. The neighborhood residents begin to talk about him. Some say he belongs to an elderly lady who lives in a pretty house near the Sacré-Cœur basilica. Others think he is the secret guardian of Montmartre's cafés.

One day, a local journalist decides to follow the cat. She discovers that after his visits to the cafés, he returns to a small garden behind a restaurant. There, he shares his croissants and chocolate breads with five little kittens!

Today, all the café owners keep a small piece of pastry for the ginger cat and his babies. And if you visit Montmartre early in the morning, perhaps you'll see an elegant cat with a blue scarf, making his rounds of the cafés.

Grammar Points in "Le Chat du Café"

1. Present Tense Usage

The story primarily uses the present tense to describe ongoing or habitual actions. Examples:

• "Le chat arrive" (The cat arrives)

• "Il s'assoit" (He sits)

• "Il attend" (He waits)

This tense is formed by using the appropriate ending for the subject:

• -e for je

• -es for tu

• -e for il/elle

• -ons for nous

• -ez for vous

• -ent for ils/elles

2. Descriptive Adjective Placement

In French, most adjectives come after the noun they modify:

• "un chat roux" (a ginger cat)

• "un foulard bleu" (a blue scarf)

• "un petit jardin" (a small garden)

However, some common adjectives come before the noun:

• "petit" (small)

• "grand" (large)

• "vieille" (old)

3. Time Expressions

The story uses several common time expressions:

• "à sept heures précises" (at seven o'clock sharp)

• "le lendemain" (the next day)

• "chaque jour" (each day)

• "aujourd'hui" (today)

• "tôt le matin" (early in the morning)

4. Articles

The story demonstrates the use of different articles:

• Definite articles (le, la, les): "le chat" (the cat)

• Indefinite articles (un, une): "une journaliste" (a journalist)

• Partitive articles (du, de la): "un morceau de croissant" (a piece of croissant)

5. Simple Past Tense (Passé Composé)

While mostly in present tense, the story includes a few instances of passé composé:

• "décide de suivre" (decides to follow)

• "découvre" (discovers)

These are used for completed actions in the past.