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French for TEF Canada & TCF Canada

TCF Canada's Expression écrite Tâche 1 asks for a short message — an invitation, some information, or a request — of 60 to 120 words, addressed to a specific recipient named in the prompt: a friend, a colleague, a director, a landlord. The single biggest scoring lever on this task is register. If the prompt names a friend or a family member, you write in **tu**; if it names someone you don't know personally — a director, an organization, an administration — you write in **vous**. Getting this wrong (tutoyer-ing a Directrice, or vouvoyer-ing your best friend) reads as a fluency failure even when the vocabulary is otherwise fine, so pick your track from the addressee before you write a word.

Whichever register the prompt calls for, a strong Tâche 1 message follows the same shape: an opening that names your addressee, a line stating why you're writing, the invitation or request itself, a line asking your addressee to confirm or respond, and a closing. This lesson gives you both tracks for every stage of that shape:

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Notice how the two tracks diverge. The informal opener above uses a first name and no title; the formal one uses a courtesy title and a surname or a job title alone ("Madame la Directrice,"). That split carries through the whole message — informal requests lean on **tu**-questions and bare imperatives ("Peux-tu...?", "Dis-moi..."), while formal requests lean on conditional politeness ("Je vous saurais gré de..."), and closings run from a first-name sign-off ("À bientôt", "Bisous") on the informal side to the fixed courtesy formulas ("Cordialement", or the full "Veuillez agréer..." closing taught in Lesson 15) on the formal side. Mixing tracks inside one message — a warm *tu* opening followed by a *vous* closing, or the reverse — is one of the most commonly flagged Tâche 1 errors: hold your register from the first word to the last, including the confirmation-request line.

Budget your 60–120 words across all five beats rather than spending them all on the invitation itself — examiners are checking for the complete shape of a message, not just the ask.

TCF Writing 1 — messages and invitations

Immigration and residency procedures (la démarche, le permis de séjour)

Documents, forms and paperwork (le justificatif, l'attestation)

Living in Canada (le courriel, la fin de semaine)

Finding a job (la lettre de motivation, l'entretien)

At work (le CDI, la rémunération)

Finding a place to live (la caution, les charges)

Everyday services (l'abonnement, résilier)

Health and healthcare (l'assurance maladie)

Studies and credential recognition (la formation, l'équivalence)

News and fait divers vocabulary (le témoin, l'enquête)

The big debates (l'enjeu, la mesure)

Stating your opinion and arguing (pour ma part, en revanche)

Conceding and countering (certes..., mais)

TEF Writing A — continuing a fait divers (journalistic narration kit)

TEF Writing B — the letter to the newspaper

TEF Speaking A — the formal phone call (vous)

TEF Speaking B — convincing a friend (tu)

TCF Writing 2 & Speaking 1 — talking about yourself

TCF Writing 3 — the synthesis (reported viewpoints)

TCF Speaking 2 & 3 — getting information and giving your opinion

Question	Answer
Hi Marie! (informal opening)	Salut Marie !
Dear Martin (semi-formal opening, still informal register)	Cher Martin
Hello my dear Paul, (informal opening)	Bonjour mon cher Paul,
Hello dear friends (informal opening, to a group)	Bonjour chers amis
Hello Ms. Dupont, (formal opening)	Bonjour Madame Dupont,
Dear Director, (formal opening, title only, no name)	Madame la Directrice,
I'm writing to tell you that... (informal)	Je t'écris ce mail pour te dire que...
I'd like us to spend a day together (informal invitation)	J'aimerais qu'on passe une journée ensemble
What would you say to spending time together? (informal suggestion)	Que dirais-tu de passer du temps ensemble ?
I invite you to... (informal invitation)	Je t'invite à...
I suggest you... (informal suggestion to a friend)	Je te propose de...
Can you prepare...? (informal request)	Peux-tu préparer... ?
I would be grateful if you would kindly... (formal request)	Je vous saurais gré de bien vouloir...
We invite you to... (formal invitation)	Nous vous invitons à...
It is advisable to... (formal recommendation)	Il est conseillé de...
Are you free that day? (informal confirmation request)	Es-tu libre ce jour-là ?
Let me know if you're interested (informal confirmation request)	Dis-moi si cela t'intéresse
Can you confirm your availability? (informal confirmation request)	Peux-tu me confirmer ta disponibilité ?
Tell me by Wednesday if you're available (informal confirmation request)	Dis-moi avant mercredi si tu es disponible
See you soon (informal closing)	À bientôt
Best / Yours in friendship (informal closing)	Amicalement
I can't wait to see you! (informal closing)	J'ai hâte de te voir !
Kisses (very informal closing)	Bisous
Best regards (formal closing)	Cordialement
Thank you very much for... (neutral gratitude)	Merci beaucoup pour...
I'd be delighted to share this moment with you (informal gratitude)	Je serais ravi(e) de partager ce moment avec toi
Thank you for your invitation (formal gratitude)	Je vous remercie pour votre invitation
Hi Marie! I hope you're doing well.	Salut Marie ! J'espère que tu vas bien.
I'm writing to tell you that I'm moving next month.	Je t'écris ce mail pour te dire que je déménage le mois prochain.
What would you say to spending time together this weekend?	Que dirais-tu de passer du temps ensemble ce week-end ?
I invite you to my birthday party Saturday night.	Je t'invite à mon anniversaire samedi soir.
Can you prepare a salad for the picnic?	Peux-tu préparer une salade pour le pique-nique ?
Tell me by Wednesday if you're available to come.	Dis-moi avant mercredi si tu es disponible pour venir.
I can't wait to see you next week!	J'ai hâte de te voir la semaine prochaine !
Hello Ms. Dupont, I'm writing to you about Friday's meeting.	Bonjour Madame Dupont, je vous écris au sujet de la réunion de vendredi.
We invite you to attend the ceremony on October 10th.	Nous vous invitons à assister à la cérémonie le 10 octobre.
I would be grateful if you would kindly confirm your attendance before Friday.	Je vous saurais gré de bien vouloir confirmer votre présence avant vendredi.
It is advisable to reserve your spot before the first of September.	Il est conseillé de réserver votre place avant le premier septembre.

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