ISC Class 12 French Syllabus 2026-27

French is offered as a modern foreign language elective in the ISC Class 12 board examination by CISCE. It is assessed as both a language and a literary subject, requiring students to demonstrate advanced proficiency in reading comprehension, written expression, grammatical accuracy, and literary analysis. The ISC Class 12 French syllabus is designed to bring students to an upper-intermediate level of language competence (approximately CEFR B1 to B2) while engaging them with prescribed French literary and non-literary texts.

This complete guide covers the full ISC Class 12 French syllabus for the 2026-27 session, including the reading, writing, grammar, and literature components, the exam pattern, marking scheme, and expert preparation tips.

Quick Facts: ISC Class 12 French 2026-27

ISC Class 12 French Exam Pattern 2026-27

The ISC Class 12 French written examination carries 100 marks and is 3 hours long. The paper is divided into four sections covering reading comprehension, writing skills, grammar, and literary or textual study.

Section A: Reading Comprehension (25 Marks)

•        Seen text questions: questions based on passages from the prescribed textbook, answered in French

•        Unseen text: an unfamiliar French passage testing reading comprehension, vocabulary in context, and inference

•        Vocabulary questions: meanings and uses of words and phrases as they appear within a passage

•        Answers must be written in complete, accurate French sentences

Section B: Writing Skills (30 Marks)

•        Redaction / Composition (Essay): a structured written piece of 200 to 250 words on a given topic in French

•        Lettre (Letter Writing): formal or informal letters in French following correct French epistolary format

•        Resume (Summary): a concise summary in French of approximately one-third the length of the original passage

•        Other composition formats: guided writing tasks, short descriptions, reports, or paragraph writing as specified

Section C: Grammar and Language Use (25 Marks)

Grammar exercises drawn from the prescribed grammar syllabus covering morphology, syntax, and sentence transformation tasks. All answers are in French.

Section D: Literature and Textual Study (20 Marks)

Questions on the prescribed French prose and poetry texts, testing comprehension, literary analysis, character study, theme identification, and the ability to discuss language and style in French.

Section A: Reading Comprehension Syllabus

Seen Text Comprehension

•        Reading and understanding passages from the prescribed textbook with questions answered in French

•        Identifying the main idea, supporting details, and the author's purpose

•        Specific (factual) and inferential questions: both types are tested

•        Vocabulary in context: explaining the meaning of words and phrases as used within the passage

•        Identifying tone, register, and purpose of different types of French text

Unseen Text Comprehension

•        An unfamiliar French text of approximately 250 to 350 words from which comprehension questions are asked

•        Text types may include: informational articles, newspaper extracts, blog posts, interviews, letters, or descriptive passages

•        Questions test the ability to locate information, draw inferences, and interpret vocabulary

•        All answers must be written in complete, grammatically accurate French sentences

•        Demonstrating understanding of the text without recourse to a dictionary

Section B: Writing Skills Syllabus

Redaction / Composition (Essay Writing)

•        Structured essay of 200 to 250 words on a given topic in French

•        Types of writing tasks: descriptive (a place, person, or event), narrative (personal experience or story), argumentative / discursive (for and against), and expository (explaining a topic or process)

•        Essay structure: a clear introduction (introduction), developed body paragraphs (developpement), and a rounded conclusion (conclusion)

•        Discourse markers and connectives: cependant, pourtant, par consequent, en revanche, d'une part... d'autre part, en outre, de plus, par exemple, en conclusion, a mon avis, il faut noter que

•        Common essay topics: l'environnement et le changement climatique, la technologie et les reseaux sociaux, l'education et l'avenir, les voyages et le tourisme, la sante et le mode de vie, la famille et les relations, la jeunesse et la societe, la culture francaise et la francophonie

Lettre (Letter Writing)

•        Lettre formelle (formal letter): letter of complaint, application letter, letter of inquiry, letter to an authority or institution

•        Lettre informelle (informal letter): letter to a friend or family member, describing events, sharing opinions, or responding to news

•        French formal letter format: nom et adresse de l'expediteur (top left or right), lieu et date, nom et adresse du destinataire, objet (subject line), formule d'appel (salutation), corps de la lettre, formule de politesse (closing), signature

•        Formal salutations: Monsieur, Madame, Monsieur le Directeur, Madame la Directrice

•        Formal closings: Veuillez agreer, Monsieur / Madame, l'expression de mes salutations distinguees; Je vous prie d'agreer, Monsieur / Madame, mes sinceres salutations

•        Informal salutations: Cher..., Chere..., Salut...

•        Informal closings: Amicalement, Bises, A bientot, Cordialement

•        Register: maintaining consistently formal or informal tone and vocabulary throughout

Resume (Summary Writing)

•        Reading a given French passage and writing a concise summary in French

•        Length: approximately one-third of the original text

•        Capturing the main ideas and essential supporting points without losing key information

•        Own words: writing in the student's own French rather than lifting sentences directly from the passage

•        Using appropriate paraphrasing and reporting structures in French

Other Writing Formats

•        Description d'image ou de graphique: describing a picture, graph, chart, or statistical data in French

•        Compte rendu (report): writing a short factual report on a given situation or event

•        Dialogue writing: writing a short conversation between two or more speakers on a given theme

•        Guided writing tasks with prompts or bullet points to incorporate into the composition

Section C: Grammar and Language Use Syllabus

The grammar section tests knowledge and application of French grammatical structures at upper-intermediate level. Students are expected to use grammar accurately in context and demonstrate command of complex sentence structures.

Unit 1: Nouns, Articles, and Gender (Noms, Articles et Genre)

•        Gender of nouns: masculine and feminine; rules and common exceptions

•        Definite articles: le, la, l', les; contracted forms au (a + le), aux (a + les), du (de + le), des (de + les)

•        Indefinite articles: un, une, des; omission of articles after negation and with professions

•        Partitive articles: du, de la, de l', des; use with uncountable nouns; reduction to de after negation and expressions of quantity

•        Plural formation: regular (-s), irregular forms (-aux, -eux, -eaux, -als becoming -aux)

•        Nouns used only in singular or only in plural

Unit 2: Adjectives (Adjectifs)

•        Agreement of adjectives: masculine/feminine and singular/plural forms; regular and irregular patterns (beau/bel/belle, nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle, vieux/vieil/vieille)

•        Position of adjectives: BAGS adjectives before the noun (beau, bon, grand, jeune, joli, mauvais, petit, vieux); most adjectives after the noun

•        Comparative: plus... que, moins... que, aussi... que; irregular forms (bon/meilleur, mauvais/pire, bien/mieux)

•        Superlative: le/la/les plus..., le/la/les moins...; irregular superlatives

•        Demonstrative adjectives: ce, cet, cette, ces

•        Possessive adjectives: mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs

•        Interrogative adjectives: quel, quelle, quels, quelles

•        Indefinite adjectives: tout, chaque, quelques, plusieurs, certains, aucun

Unit 3: Pronouns (Pronoms)

•        Subject pronouns: je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles

•        Direct object pronouns: me, te, le/la/l', nous, vous, les; position in sentence

•        Indirect object pronouns: me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur; position and use

•        Order of double object pronouns: me/te/nous/vous before le/la/les; le/la/les before lui/leur; y and en position

•        Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nous, vous, se; use with pronominal verbs

•        Stressed (disjunctive) pronouns: moi, toi, lui/elle, nous, vous, eux/elles; uses after prepositions and for emphasis

•        Relative pronouns: qui (subject), que (object), dont (of which/whose), ou (where/when), lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles

•        Interrogative pronouns: qui, que/quoi, lequel; est-ce que; inversion questions

•        Demonstrative pronouns: celui/celle/ceux/celles; ce, ceci, cela/ca

•        Indefinite pronouns: on, tout, quelqu'un, quelque chose, personne, rien, chacun, plusieurs

•        Adverbial pronouns: y (replaces a + place or thing) and en (replaces de + noun or partitive)

Unit 4: Verbs and Tenses (Verbes et Temps)

•        Present tense (Present): regular -er, -ir, -re verbs; common irregular verbs (etre, avoir, aller, faire, prendre, venir, voir, savoir, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, mettre, partir, sortir, dormir, connaitre, suivre, croire)

•        Perfect tense (Passe compose): formation with avoir and etre; agreement of past participle with etre verbs and with preceding direct object

•        Imperfect tense (Imparfait): formation; use for description, habitual past actions, and interrupted actions

•        Contrast of passe compose and imparfait: completed vs ongoing / habitual actions in the past

•        Pluperfect (Plus-que-parfait): formation and use to express an action prior to another past action

•        Simple future (Futur simple): formation for regular and irregular verbs; use

•        Future perfect (Futur anterieur): formation and use in time clauses after quand, lorsque, des que, apres que

•        Conditional present (Conditionnel present): formation; use in si + imparfait... conditionnel (Type 2 conditional)

•        Conditional perfect (Conditionnel passe): formation; use in si + plus-que-parfait... conditionnel passe (Type 3 conditional)

•        Si clauses (conditionals): all three types: si + present/futur (Type 1), si + imparfait/conditionnel (Type 2), si + plus-que-parfait/conditionnel passe (Type 3)

•        Subjunctive (Subjonctif present): formation; use after expressions of wish, emotion, doubt, necessity (vouloir que, il faut que, bien que, pour que, avant que, a moins que, quoique)

•        Past subjunctive (Subjonctif passe): formation and recognition

•        Passive voice (Voix passive): formation with etre + past participle in all tenses; agent introduced by par or de

•        Imperative (Imperatif): formation for -er, -ir, -re verbs; irregular imperatives (sois, soyons, soyez; aie, ayons, ayez; va, allons, allez); position of pronouns with imperative

•        Infinitive constructions: verbs followed by de + infinitive, a + infinitive, or direct infinitive; faire + infinitive (causative); laisser + infinitive

•        Present participle (Participe present): formation; use as gerund (en + participe present: en mangeant, en allant)

Unit 5: Sentence Structure and Negation

•        Standard word order: subject-verb-object; position of adverbs; inversion in questions

•        Negation: ne... pas, ne... plus, ne... jamais, ne... rien, ne... personne, ne... que, ne... ni... ni; position around the verb and with infinitives

•        Question formation: intonation, est-ce que, and inversion; interrogative words: quand, ou, comment, pourquoi, combien, quel

•        Reported speech (Discours indirect): tense changes; changes to pronouns and time expressions; use of que, si, and interrogative words to introduce reported clauses

•        Subordinate clauses: relative clauses, time clauses (quand, lorsque, apres que, avant que, des que), cause clauses (parce que, puisque, car), purpose clauses (pour que + subjonctif), concession clauses (bien que + subjonctif)

Unit 6: Adverbs and Prepositions

•        Formation of adverbs: -ment suffix from feminine adjective; irregular adverbs (bien, mal, vite, beaucoup, peu, souvent, toujours, jamais, deja, encore, bientot)

•        Position of adverbs: after conjugated verb; before adjective or adverb; with compound tenses

•        Comparative and superlative of adverbs: plus... que, moins... que, aussi... que; le plus, le moins; irregular forms (bien/mieux/le mieux, mal/pire/le pire)

•        Common prepositions and their uses: a, de, en, par, pour, sur, sous, dans, devant, derriere, entre, parmi, vers, chez, depuis, pendant, pendant que, avant, apres

•        Prepositions with countries and cities: en + feminine country, au + masculine country, aux + plural country, a + city

Section D: Literature and Textual Study Syllabus

Section D is based on the prescribed French prose and poetry texts approved for ISC Class 12. Students should confirm the current prescribed texts with their school or from the official CISCE website (www.cisce.org), as texts may be updated between academic sessions.

Prescribed Prose Texts

Nature and Scope of Prescribed Prose

•        Prose selections drawn from modern and contemporary French literature, including short stories (nouvelles), novellas, and excerpts from longer works

•        Authors from the 20th and 21st century French-language literary tradition representing writers from France, Francophone Africa, the Caribbean, Quebec, and other Francophone regions

•        Thematic coverage: identity and belonging, social issues in Francophone societies, historical experience, family relationships, individual and society, colonialism and its aftermath, cultural values and change

•        Each prose text is studied for its narrative structure, characterisation, themes, language style, and cultural or historical context

Key Skills Tested Through Prose

•        Comprehension: understanding plot, character motivation, and the development of events

•        Vocabulary: explaining the meaning of words and phrases within context

•        Character analysis: describing and evaluating character behaviour, relationships, and development

•        Thematic analysis: identifying and explaining central themes and the author's message

•        Stylistic analysis: identifying narrative techniques, tone, register, and use of figurative language

•        All extended answers written in accurate French

Prescribed Poetry Texts

Nature and Scope of Prescribed Poetry

•        Poetry selections from the French lyric tradition spanning the classical, Romantic, Symbolist, Surrealist, and modern periods

•        Poets representing key literary movements: Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Apollinaire, Jacques Prevert, Aime Cesaire, Leopold Sedar Senghor (depending on prescribed list)

•        Range of forms: sonnet, ode, elegy, free verse (vers libre), calligramme, prose poem

•        Thematic coverage: nature, love and loss, social criticism, war and memory, identity and negritude, childhood, time and transience, exile and belonging

•        Each poem is studied for its central theme, tone, imagery, poetic devices, structure, and literary context

Key Skills Tested Through Poetry

•        Paraphrase (explication de texte): explaining the content and meaning of selected stanzas or lines in the student's own words in French

•        Central theme and its development across the poem

•        Poetic devices identification and explanation: alliteration (alliteration), metaphor (metaphore), simile (comparaison), personification (personnification), anaphora (anaphore), assonance, enjambement, refrain, hyperbole, antithesis (antithese), symbol (symbole)

•        Tone and mood: identifying the poet's attitude and the emotional effect of the poem on the reader

•        Versification: identification of rhyme scheme (schema de rimes), metre (metre), and stanza structure (structure strophique)

•        Comparing themes or poetic techniques between two prescribed poems where required

ISC Class 12 French Syllabus Overview

Grammar Topics at a Glance

Most Important Topics for ISC French Exam

Based on analysis of previous ISC French board papers, the following topics are consistently tested and should receive focused preparation:

ISC Class 12 French Marking Scheme 2026-27

How to Prepare for ISC Class 12 French: Expert Tips

1. Master the Contrast Between Passe Compose and Imparfait

The contrast between passe compose and imparfait is the single most important grammar topic in ISC French. Passe compose is used for completed, single actions in the past; imparfait is used for description, habitual actions, and actions in progress when interrupted. Practise identifying which tense to use in a variety of past-tense passages and write short narratives combining both tenses. This contrast is tested in Section C, Section B (essay and letter writing), and in Section D (discussing prose texts).

2. Learn the Subjunctive Triggers and Forms

The subjonctif present is tested consistently in Section C. Memorise the key trigger expressions that require the subjunctive: vouloir que, il faut que, bien que, pour que, avant que, a moins que, quoique, il est important que, il est possible que. Know the formation rule (ils-stem + subjunctive endings) and the irregular forms (etre: soit, avoir: ait, aller: aille, faire: fasse, pouvoir: puisse, savoir: sache, vouloir: veuille). Practise constructing sentences using each trigger.

3. Practise All Three Si Clause Conditional Types

Si clauses are a reliable source of Section C marks. Master all three types: Type 1 (si + present... futur) for real conditions; Type 2 (si + imparfait... conditionnel present) for hypothetical present conditions; Type 3 (si + plus-que-parfait... conditionnel passe) for hypothetical past conditions. Practise transforming sentences between the three types and writing original sentences using each structure.

4. Build Command of Pronoun Order and Replacement

French pronoun order is a consistent source of Section C errors. Memorise the fixed order: me/te/nous/vous before le/la/les before lui/leur, then y, then en. Practise sentences with two object pronouns and the placement of pronouns in affirmative and negative imperatives. Know when to use stressed pronouns after prepositions, in comparisons, and for emphasis. Pronoun replacement exercises appear in virtually every ISC French paper.

5. Study All Prescribed Texts With Detailed Notes

Section D is worth 20 marks and is based entirely on the prescribed texts. For each prose text, prepare notes on: plot summary, key characters and their relationships, central themes, important scenes or turning points, and any recurring motifs or stylistic features. For each poem, write a complete paraphrase (explication de texte) and identify all major poetic devices with quotations from the text. Thorough knowledge of the prescribed texts allows you to answer both expected and unexpected questions confidently.

6. Practise Essay Writing With Discourse Markers

The Redaction in Section B carries the highest single marks allocation in the writing section. Practise writing in a clear three-part structure (introduction, developpement, conclusion) within 200 to 250 words. Build active use of French discourse markers including: cependant, pourtant, par consequent, en revanche, d'une part... d'autre part, de plus, en outre, en conclusion, a mon avis. These connectors improve the logical flow of your writing and demonstrate command of advanced French syntax, earning additional marks for expression.

7. Memorise French Letter Format Precisely

Letter writing in Section B rewards students who know the precise French epistolary format. For formal letters, practise placing the expediteur address, destinataire address, date, objet, formule d'appel, corps de la lettre, formule de politesse, and signature in the correct positions. For informal letters, know the appropriate casual salutations and closings. Examiners award marks for correct format separately from content and language quality, so format knowledge is easy marks.

8. Solve Previous 10 Years ISC French Papers

Past papers are the most effective preparation tool for ISC Class 12 French. They reveal the typical grammar topics in Section C, the essay and letter topics in Section B, which prescribed texts generate Section D questions most frequently, and the depth of literary analysis expected. Practise completing full papers within the 3-hour time limit and review your answers for grammatical accuracy, completeness, appropriate register, and logical structure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the subject code for ISC Class 12 French?

The subject code for ISC Class 12 French is 874.

Q2. How is the ISC Class 12 French paper structured?

The written paper carries 100 marks over 3 hours. Section A (25 marks) covers reading comprehension. Section B (30 marks) covers writing skills. Section C (25 marks) covers grammar. Section D (20 marks) covers literary and textual study of prescribed French texts.

Q3. Which grammar topics are most important in ISC Class 12 French?

The most consistently tested grammar topics are passe compose vs imparfait contrast, subjunctive formation and triggers, all three types of si clauses, object pronoun order and placement, passive voice transformation, and reported speech with tense backshift. These appear in Section C of virtually every ISC French paper.

Q4. Which texts are prescribed for ISC Class 12 French 2026-27?

The prescribed prose and poetry texts are specified in the official CISCE approved reading list for ISC Class 12 French. Students should confirm the current prescribed texts by consulting their school or the official CISCE website at www.cisce.org, as prescribed texts are reviewed periodically.

Q5. How should I write a good Redaction (essay) in ISC French?

A strong ISC French essay follows a clear three-part structure: an introduction that presents the topic and your approach, two or three body paragraphs each developing one main point with an example or explanation, and a conclusion that summarises your argument or offers a personal perspective. Use varied sentence structures, appropriate discourse markers, and a range of vocabulary. Aim for 200 to 250 words and avoid direct translation from English.

Q6. Is there a speaking or listening component in ISC Class 12 French?

No. ISC Class 12 French is assessed entirely through the written examination of 100 marks. There is no separate oral, listening, or project work component in the ISC assessment. All marks are earned through the 3-hour written paper.

Q7. Where can I find the official ISC Class 12 French syllabus for 2026-27?

The official ISC Class 12 French syllabus for 2026-27 is published on the CISCE official website at www.cisce.org. Students should also confirm the prescribed texts and any syllabus updates with their school before beginning preparation.