Le Quiz

1. Où Mme Dubois a-t-elle perdu sa bague ?

   • a) Dans son jardin

   • b) Au café du coin

   • c) Dans le jardin des Tuileries

   • d) Dans la rue

2. Comment les enfants cherchent-ils la bague dans la neige ?

   • a) Avec des pelles

   • b) Avec de l'eau tiède

   • c) Avec des lampes

   • d) Avec des gants

3. Que font les voisins maintenant chaque dimanche d'hiver ?

   • a) Ils cherchent des bagues

   • b) Ils boivent du chocolat chaud et font des bonhommes de neige

   • c) Ils font un plan du jardin

   • d) Ils vont au restaurant

Réponses :

1. c) Dans le jardin des Tuileries

2. b) Avec de l'eau tiède

3. b) Ils boivent du chocolat chaud et font des bonhommes de neige

Full English Translation: The Treasure in the Snow

A winter adventure in the streets of Paris

It's Sunday morning in Paris, and the city is white. It has been snowing since last night, and Madame Dubois is very worried. While she was making a snowman with her grandchildren in the Tuileries Garden, she lost her grandmother's ring.

"It's a gold ring with a small sapphire," she explains to her neighbors. "It has been in my family for a hundred years."

The neighbors immediately decide to help. Mr. Martin brings shovels. Mrs. Chen arrives with thermoses of hot chocolate. The neighborhood children come with their parents.

"We'll search by zones," suggests Lucas, an architecture student who lives on the third floor. He quickly draws a plan of the garden on his phone.

Everyone works together. The children carefully melt the snow with lukewarm water. The adults use their shovels with caution. Even the garden guard participates in the search.

Suddenly, Sophie, Mrs. Chen's granddaughter, shouts: "Look! Something is shining in the snow!"

Everyone runs toward Sophie. In her hand, she holds the ring. The blue sapphire sparkles in the winter sun.

Madame Dubois cries with joy. She hugs Sophie and thanks everyone. "My neighbors are extraordinary," she says.

To celebrate, everyone goes to the corner café. Madame Dubois orders hot chocolates and croissants for the entire search team. The children tell the story like a great adventure, and the adults laugh together.

Now, every winter Sunday, the neighbors meet up to drink hot chocolate and make snowmen. And Madame Dubois? She always keeps her precious ring at home when it snows.

Key Grammar Points from "Le Trésor dans la Neige"

1. Present vs. Past Tense Usage

In this story, we see three main tenses at work:

Present Tense (for current and ongoing actions)

• "les enfants racontent" = the children tell

• "tout le monde travaille" = everyone works

• "le saphir scintille" = the sapphire sparkles

Imperfect Past (for background or continuous past actions)

• "elle faisait un bonhomme de neige" = she was making a snowman

• "il neige depuis hier soir" = it had been snowing since last night

Past Participle (for completed actions)

• "elle a perdu la bague" = she lost the ring

• "M. Martin apporte des pelles" = Mr. Martin brought shovels

2. Prepositions with Places

French uses different prepositions depending on the type of location:

À (for cities)

• "à Paris" = in Paris

Dans (for enclosed spaces)

• "dans le jardin" = in the garden

• "dans la neige" = in the snow

Au (for masculine singular places)

• "au café" = at the café

• "au troisième étage" = on the third floor

3. Possessive Adjectives

These must agree with the possessed noun, not the possessor:

Feminine Singular

• "sa bague" = her ring

• "sa grand-mère" = her grandmother

Masculine/Plural

• "ses voisins" = her neighbors

• "ses petits-enfants" = her grandchildren

4. Time Expressions

The story uses various time expressions to create narrative flow:

Duration

• "depuis hier soir" = since last night

• "depuis cent ans" = for hundred years

Frequency

• "chaque dimanche" = every Sunday

Point in Time

• "maintenant" = now

• "soudain" = suddenly

Practice Exercise:

Try reading the story again and identify:

1. Three examples of present tense verbs

2. Two examples of past tense verbs

3. Three different prepositions

4. Two possessive adjectives

This will help reinforce your understanding of these grammar points in context.