Le Président ? (Should not be capitalised I believe).

Paul S.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Le Président ? (Should not be capitalised I believe).

This is a bit subtle, and perhaps it is more advanced than an A1 level test.

I notice in the summary of the text that Président has been capitalised. "Le Président visite un musée"

I believe this is incorrect and that this should not be capitalised in French:

le président français. = the French president.

Le président de la République française = The President of the French Republic.

Although if you were speaking to the President of France in direct address , you would address them as: "Monsieur le Président/Madame la Présidente (de la Republique).


Asked 1 year ago
Paul F.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Another Paul here to answer this. According to the following French learning site: 

https://www.thoughtco.com/use-of-french-capitalization-4085543 the term "le Président" is indeed correct in the context of this exercise. 

To copy the relevant section : Titles and occupations that replace a person's name are capitalized in French, such as le President or Madame la Directrice (madam director). By contrast, these terms are lowercase in English because only official titles that directly precede a proper noun are capitalized in English, never standalone titles. 

As the first Paul said, the capitalisation rules are indeed "subtle".

Le Président ? (Should not be capitalised I believe).

This is a bit subtle, and perhaps it is more advanced than an A1 level test.

I notice in the summary of the text that Président has been capitalised. "Le Président visite un musée"

I believe this is incorrect and that this should not be capitalised in French:

le président français. = the French president.

Le président de la République française = The President of the French Republic.

Although if you were speaking to the President of France in direct address , you would address them as: "Monsieur le Président/Madame la Présidente (de la Republique).


Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Getting that for you now...