English words that came from French
Tests: 8 of 12 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 7 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 36 of the french course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗
Your mate goes, "French and English have nothing in common, bruv." What do you say?
- 1. Thousands of English words came from French — ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 2. Only the word "bonjour" is shared — ← Mova's choice · score 9
- 3. English came from French completely — score 4
- 4. He's right, they share no words at all — score 9
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 9, tied with another option at 9 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 36, line 18: «Garage is a French word: French says "ga-RAZH"; British English often says "GARR-idge" and American English "guh-RAHZH", and both are fine in English.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same thing acted on «french word» (+4). The right option, 1, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★ · right ✓
Liam from Dublin goes, "Sure the cow stayed English and the dinner went French?" Is he right?
- 1. Yes: the animal kept its English name, the meat got a French one — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. No: both words are English — no support
- 3. No: both words are French — no support
- 4. Yes: but only in Ireland — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗
Ava from Ohio texts "walla!" after finishing her art. What should she write?
- 1. walla, it's fine as it is — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. wallah, with an h at the end — no support
- 3. voilà, with an accent on the à — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. voila, with no accent at all — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · right ✓
★ Charlie from Leeds says, "Mayday is about May Day, the spring holiday, like." What's true?
- 1. It comes from French m'aider, "help me" — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 2. He's right, it's about the spring — no support
- 3. It means "today" in old English — no support
- 4. It comes from an English king called May — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 36, line 11: «The emergency call Mayday comes from French m'aider, "help me"; it has nothing to do with the month of May.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «come» (+5); the same place «french m'aider» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★ · right ✓
Mia from Melbourne sees RSVP on a party invite and goes, "What even is that, heaps confusing." What should she do?
- 1. Reply to say if she's coming — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Arrive very early — no support
- 3. Wear fancy dress — no support
- 4. Bring a present for the host — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · right ✓
★ Ben from Boston shouts "Encore!" at a concert in Paris. What would French people more often shout?
- 1. Bis ! — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 2. Voilà ! — no support
- 3. Bon voyage ! — no support
- 4. Au revoir ! — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 36, line 5: «Borrowed words can change on the way: souvenir means any memory in French, chauffeur means any driver, and French audiences shout "Bis !" where English audienc…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same thing acted on «bis» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · right ✓
Isla from Edinburgh writes "J'ai de bons souvenirs de Paris." Her pal thinks it means she bought fridge magnets. What does it mean?
- 1. I have nice postcards from Paris — no support
- 2. I have good memories of Paris — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 3. I have good friends in Paris — no support
- 4. I bought lots of keepsakes in Paris — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 36, line 5: «Borrowed words can change on the way: souvenir means any memory in French, chauffeur means any driver, and French audiences shout "Bis !" where English audienc…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same thing acted on «memory» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗
★★★ A French bus driver, a taxi driver and a posh limousine driver - which of them can be called chauffeur in French?
- 1. None of them — no support
- 2. Only the limousine driver — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 3. Only the taxi driver — score 8
- 4. All three — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 36, line 17: «Chauffeur means any driver in French; it comes from chauffer, to heat, because the first drivers of steam engines kept the fire hot.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+5); the same thing acted on «driver» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★ · right ✓
Kai from Auckland says, "Chur, so all ballet words are French? Plié, pirouette..." Why?
- 1. Ballet grew up at the French court — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Ballet was invented in New Zealand — no support
- 3. French is the language of all sports — no support
- 4. They were just chosen because they sound nice — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗
Harry from Kent says "GARR-idge" and his US cousin says "guh-RAHZH". Who's right?
- 1. Only the cousin, the American way — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Both are fine in English; French says "ga-RAZH" — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Only Harry, the British way — no support
- 4. Neither, it's "GAR-age" with a hard g — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★ · right ✓
What would happen if you said "déjà vu" in English with a hard English j, "day-ja voo"?
- 1. It would mean "never seen" — score 2
- 2. Nobody would understand at all — no support
- 3. People would understand, but the French says a soft zh — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 4. It would sound like a rude word — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 36, line 18: «Garage is a French word: French says "ga-RAZH"; British English often says "GARR-idge" and American English "guh-RAHZH", and both are fine in English.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+2); the same doer «french» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 12 · ★ · right ✓
★★★ Beef, pork and mutton come from bœuf, porc and mouton. Veal comes from French veau. Which English animal word did the farmers keep for it?
- 1. calf — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 2. cow — score 8
- 3. lamb — score 8
- 4. goat — score 8
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 34, line 11: «Quebec has its own words: une tuque is a woolly hat (un bonnet in France) and un dépanneur is a corner shop.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «word» (+4); the same circumstance (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the historical event which occasioned the entry of a great number of French words into English.
- 1. The arrival of the Romans in 43 AD — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The rule of England by the Normans after 1066 — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 — no support
- 4. The invention of printing in 1440 — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
Ascertain the French expression from which the distress call "Mayday" is derived.
- 1. médaille — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. m'aider — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. mai — no support
- 4. maison — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
State in full the French expression abbreviated as RSVP.
- 1. Restez sur votre place — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Répondez, s'il vous plaît — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Rendez-vous, s'il vous plaît — no support
- 4. Revenez s'il vous plaît — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Determine the meaning of "chauffeur" in contemporary French.
- 1. Exclusively a driver of private cars for the wealthy — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Any driver of a vehicle — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. A person who cooks in a restaurant — no support
- 4. A person employed to heat a building — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/french/36-english-words-that-came-from-french/