DELF A1 Production Ecrite: Guide to Writing a

Postcard in french about your vacation

(1) Guide to writing a letter or a message declining an invitation

(2) Guide to filling out a form in French

In the Production Ecrite section of your DELF A1 exam, you will have to do an exercise
which consists of writing a message consisting of 40 to 50 words. It can be about:
 Responding to an invitation
 Giving an invitation
 Telling someone about your vacation
 Describing your new life in a new place
This message can be in the form of a postcard, letter or an email.
This article provides a step by step guide on how to write a postcard telling someone about
your vacation.
How to plan your postcard
It is possible to plan and practice various response to the possible exercises before the date
of your exam. In general, when you are writing a postcard there are certain information you
may include, such as:

1. Greetings
2. Where you are
3. How you went (montagne, plage, campagne, ville…)
4. When / with whom you went
5. Where or with whom are you staying? (à l’hôtel, chez l’habitant, dans un camping, dans
un gîte…)
6. What you saw or visit/did or are doing, etc
7. Are you enjoying yourself?
8. What is the weather and or the place like
9. When are you coming back?
10. Farewells
11. Sign your name
While it is not necessary to provide all of the above information, It is important to note that
DELF exam instructions, sometimes select from the list above and specifically ask you to
include such information. As a result, it is important to practice different response which will
include different combination of the suggestions above. The ones highlighted in red are the
basics and should almost always be included in your postcard.
Writing your postcard
It is important to use as much as possible the grammar and vocabulary that you are required
to have at this level. As a result, use more than one tense, give your opinion and even make
a recommendation if there is space.

Sample Exercise:
Exercise 1 15 points

Vous êtes en vacances à Nice. Vous envoyez une petite carte postale a un ami à Paris.
Vous lui parlez de temps, de vous activités et vous lui donnez votre date de retour. (40 à 50
mots).

Sample Response:
Bonjour Jean,

Je suis en vacances à Nice pour cinq jours. C’est une ville très sympa. Hier, j’ai joué au
volley sur la plage.Super! Maintenant, je prends le déjeuner dans un petit café. Il fait très
beau, avec beaucoup de soleil. Je rentrerai chez-moi samedi prochain.

Bises

Janet

(Word count = 49)

Sample Exercise for You!

Salut______________,
Je suis en vacances à _____________ pour _________________.
C’est une ville très ______________. je visite_________________.
c’est________________. Il fait______________ . Je rentrerai chez-moi
_____________________.

A bientôt

________________

Evaluation:

1. Greetings : Bonjour Jean ( We could also use: “Salut Jean“ “Cher Jean” . Use “Chère”
only if it is a female)
2. Where you are and for how long: Je suis en vacances à Nice pour cinq jours
3. What you did or are doing: Hier, j’ai joué au volley sur la plage. Maintenant, je prends le
déjeuner dans un petit café.
4. Are you enjoying yourself? Super!
5. What is the weather and or the place like: Il fait très beau, avec beaucoup de soleil.
6. When are you coming back?: Je rentrerai chez-moi samedi prochain.
7. Farewells: Bises ( We could also use: “A bientôt” “or “a samedi!” or “a la semaine
prochaine !” or “au revoir”)
8. Sign your name: Janet
There is agreement of adjective and verb: un petit café. Plus I have used three tenses:
 Le présent: je prends, Il fait,
 le passé composé: j’ai joué
 le futur: Je rentrerai.
I have included the specific information that they had asked for. I have also stayed within the
word limit.
Warning!
Remember to stick to the word limit and follow the instructions that are given. If they want
you to provide any specific information such as when you are coming back, the weather,
what you visited etc this must be included in your postcard. You will lose points if this is not
done.

Check for Errors

Remember to read carefully through your text. Check to ensure that plural words have a
plural ending. Make sure that there is agreement between adjectives and the nouns they
describe (such as une belle église, un beau chateau). Check all to ensure that all verbs are
in the right tense and that the endings match the subject (such as Je vais for the present
but Je suis allé for the past). Check to make sure you have followed the instructions and fully
used all the structures that you have learnt during your study.
 Guide to Writing an invitation in french
n the Production ecrite section of DELF A1 and DELF A2 you may be asked to write an
invitation to someone for a particular event. In this article we will be looking at how to write a
message or email inviting someone in french.

In general for your french exam an invitation is usually for, however not limited to, :

 A wedding
 dinner
 vacation
 to see a movie
 A Christmas party
 an office party
 a party to celebrate an engagement
 a retirement party
 a party to celebrate the end of studies
 a baby shower or the birth of a baby
 a birthday party

Ensure that you are familiar with the vocabulary related to these events. In the DELF
A1 You will be asked to write 40-50 words. While in the DELF A2 you will be asked to write
60-80 words.
When asked to write a letter or a message inviting someone, no matter the type, the
structure is usually the same. Here are some basic steps to follow when writing an
invitation:

Before you start

 Read the instruction and make sure it is a letter requesting that you write an invitation
 Determine to what you need to invite someone
 Who you should be inviting
 Determine if you should be writing a friendly invitation or a professional invitation

When you are writing:

 Use the right opening greetings, depending on the type of invitation
 Say what the invitation is for
 Say when and where the event will take place
 Give them a means to confirm or refuse the invitation
 Let them know you are looking forward to seeing them at the event
 Use the correct closing for your message
For the greeting for a professional letter use:
Cher Monsieur ……………………….,
Chère Madam…………………………..,

For the greeting for a friendly letter use:

Cher………………….,
Chère………………….,
Salut……………………..,
Bonjour…………………..,

Use the following expressions to start your invitation:

Je vous invite ………………. (au restaurant).

Je vous invite…………………(a diner a la maison).

Vous voulez aller diner au restaurant? Je vous invite.

Example of an invitation:

Context french:
Vous organisez un vin d’honneur pour votre mariage et vous voulez inviter vos collègues et
amis.

Context english:
You organize a reception for your wedding and you want to invite your friends and
colleagues.

Sample message:
Cher Jean,
Ca va bien? Pour notre mariage, Sandrine et moi organisons un vin d’honneur à Versailles.
Nous espérons que tu seras des nôtres pour fêter avec nous notre bonheur. RSVP au : 06
87 45 67 00.
Amitiés.
Matthew
(Word Count: 42 words)
TIP! If you notice, based on the instruction that was given, I reused almost all the words
that was given. I do not try to find words. This is extremely useful when you have limited
vocabulary.

Now it is your turn:

Cher/Chère________ [use the first name if it is someone that you are familiar with or
the last name if is someone you do not know very well ],
Pour notre mariage, nous organisons un vin d’honneur/ un cocktail à/dans
________ [precise the place where it will be held ]. Nous espérons que vous/tu seras des
nôtres pour fêter avec nous notre bonheur. RSVP au : ________ [ You can write here
your postal address, your telephone number or your email address].
Amitiés.

_______________________

Guide to writing a message or letter in French

declining an Invitation
For the greeting for a professional letter use:
Cher Monsieur ……………………….,
Chère Madam…………………………..,

For the greeting for a friendly letter use:

Cher………………….,
Chère………………….,
Salut……………………..,
Bonjour…………………..,

To say you are sorry you can use the following expressions:
Je suis vraiment désolé(e), mais
Je regrette, mais
Désole(e), mais
Merci, mais

These are usually followed by expressions such as:

Je suis pris (e)
Je ne suis pas libre
Je ne peux pas
Je me vois malheureusement obligé de refuser.
J’ai quelque chose de prévu.
J’ai du travail
Ce n’est pas possible
e.g. Je suis vraiment désolé(e), mais Je ne suis pas libre.
To close a professional letter:
Cordialement.
Bien cordialement.
Cordialement vôtre.
Sincèrement.
Bien sincèrement.
Sincèrement vôtre.
Sincères salutations.
Amitiés.
Amicalement.

To close a friendly letter:

Amitiés.
Amicalement
Bien a toi
Bien a vous
Bises
Bisous
Je t’embrasse

Sample letter declining an invitation in french

Salut Alex,

Merci de ton invitation que je viens de recevoir. Je pars en vacances à Nice la semaine
prochain et malheureusement je serai absent le 25 Aout. Je le regrette beaucoup car j’aurais
aime fêter tes 32 ans avec toi.

Je penserai à toi ce jour.

Ton ami,

James

Guide to Writing a message accepting an

invitation
For the greeting for a friendly letter use:
Cher………………….,
Chère………………….,
Salut……………………..,
Bonjour…………………..,

To show that you are accepting an invitation you can use the following expressions:
Informal
Oui, avec plaisir!
C’est sympa = c’est sympathique
C’est un bonne idee
Pourquoi pas?J’accepte avec plaisir.
Je viendrai avec plaisir.

formal
volontiers.

Cela me ferait grand plaisir.

To close a professional letter:

Cordialement.
Bien cordialement.
Cordialement vôtre.
Sincèrement.
Bien sincèrement.
Sincèrement vôtre.
Sincères salutations.
Amitiés.
Amicalement.

To close a friendly letter:

Amitiés.
Amicalement
Bien a toi
Bien a vous
Bises
Bisous
Je t’embrasse

Context of invitation in french:

Vous recevez une carte d’invitation au vin d’honneur pour le mariage de votre collègue et
vous voulez accepter cette invitation.
 Sample response in french:
Cher Matthew,
J’ai bien reçu votre invitation et je vous en remercie. Je suis très sincèrement ravi(e) pour
vous deux. Il va donc de soi que j’accepte avec plaisir de me joindre à vous pour la
réception que vous donnerez à cette occasion. À très bientôt, et surtout félicitations pour cet
engagement.
Amicalement,
Jean