Choosing gifts: what a pain!

"Choisir des cadeaux : quelle galère !"
French C1 writing exercise

Magalie dislikes having to buy gifts, and she tells us why!

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "anything more [adj.] than...", "a recipient (gift)", "to assume that... + [Subjonctif]", "to manage to [do]", "decent (gift)", "unless you... + [Subjonctif]", "to run the risk that... + [Subjonctif]", "to plan to [do]", "to get a gift", "don't get me started on...", "the latest trendy [thing]", "to end up [doing]", "to be out of stock of [things]", "in the end", "that's why...", "the receipt".

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

Personally, I don't think that there is anything more frustrating than looking for a gift that will please the recipient. To start with, most people already have everything they need. But let's assume that you manage to find a decent gift idea... Unless you literally live with the person or (that) you see each other every day, you always run the risk that they've already bought what you're planning to get them. And don't get me started on children's gifts! They always have to want the latest trendy toy, which stores always end up out of stock of, and you spend so much time tracking one down, only to end up with the grandmother and you giving them the same toy twice! That's why I make sure to keep all the receipts, just in case gifts need to be exchanged.

I'll be right with you...