Talking About Social and Environmental Issues
15.3.1. The Main Idea
To talk about social and environmental issues, use words such as un problème, la pauvreté, l’injustice, la pollution, and le changement climatique.
C’est un problème important. | It is an important problem. |
La pollution m’inquiète. | Pollution worries me. |
La pauvreté me rend triste. | Poverty makes me sad. |
Il faut agir. | We have to act. |
These topics often connect with opinion, emotion, importance, and the subjunctive.
15.3.2. Social Issues
un problème social | a social issue |
la pauvreté | poverty |
l’injustice | injustice |
l’inégalité | inequality |
la discrimination | discrimination |
le racisme | racism |
le logement | housing |
l’éducation | education |
la santé | health |
la sécurité | safety / security |
les droits humains | human rights |
les sans-abri | homeless people |
15.3.3. Environmental Issues
un problème environnemental | an environmental issue |
l’environnement | the environment |
la pollution | pollution |
le changement climatique | climate change |
le réchauffement climatique | global warming |
les déchets | waste / trash |
le plastique | plastic |
la qualité de l’air | air quality |
la qualité de l’eau | water quality |
la nature | nature |
les animaux | animals |
les ressources naturelles | natural resources |
15.3.4. Asking About an Issue
Ce sujet t’intéresse ? | Are you interested in this topic? |
Qu’est-ce que tu en penses ? | What do you think about it? |
À ton avis, c’est important ? | In your opinion, is it important? |
Pourquoi ce problème est important ? | Why is this problem important? |
Qu’est-ce qu’il faut faire ? | What should we do? |
Est-ce que ça t’inquiète ? | Does that worry you? |
15.3.5. Giving an Opinion
À mon avis, c’est très important. | In my opinion, it is very important. |
Je pense que c’est un problème sérieux. | I think it is a serious problem. |
Je crois que c’est urgent. | I think it is urgent. |
Selon moi, il faut agir. | In my view, we have to act. |
Pour moi, c’est essentiel. | For me, it is essential. |
15.3.6. Expressing Emotional Reactions
Ça m’inquiète. | That worries me. |
Ça me rend triste. | That makes me sad. |
Ça me choque. | That shocks me. |
Ça me dérange. | That bothers me. |
Ça me fait réfléchir. | That makes me think. |
Ce sujet me touche beaucoup. | This topic moves me a lot. |
15.3.7. Explaining Why
C’est important parce que tout le monde est concerné. | It is important because everyone is affected / concerned. |
C’est urgent car la situation est grave. | It is urgent because the situation is serious. |
Ça m’inquiète parce que ça touche beaucoup de personnes. | It worries me because it affects many people. |
La pollution est grave puisqu’elle affecte la santé. | Pollution is serious since it affects health. |
Il faut agir parce que l’avenir est important. | We have to act because the future is important. |
15.3.8. Saying What We Should Do
Use il faut + infinitive for general advice.
Il faut agir. | We have to act. |
Il faut aider les autres. | We have to help others. |
Il faut protéger l’environnement. | We have to protect the environment. |
Il faut réduire les déchets. | We have to reduce waste. |
Il faut respecter les droits humains. | We have to respect human rights. |
Use il faut que + subject + subjunctive when you name who should do the action.
Il faut que nous agissions. | We have to act. |
Il faut que les gens comprennent. | People have to understand. |
Il faut que le gouvernement aide. | The government has to help. |
Il faut que tout le monde fasse attention. | Everyone has to pay attention. |
Il faut que nous protégions la nature. | We have to protect nature. |
15.3.9. Useful Action Verbs
agir | to act |
aider | to help |
protéger | to protect |
respecter | to respect |
réduire | to reduce |
recycler | to recycle |
changer | to change |
comprendre | to understand |
discuter | to discuss |
améliorer | to improve |
soutenir | to support |
sensibiliser | to raise awareness |
15.3.10. Useful Adjectives
important | important, masculine |
importante | important, feminine |
sérieux | serious, masculine |
sérieuse | serious, feminine |
urgent | urgent, masculine |
urgente | urgent, feminine |
grave | serious / severe |
complexe | complex |
difficile | difficult |
nécessaire | necessary |
essentiel | essential, masculine |
essentielle | essential, feminine |
dangereux | dangerous, masculine |
dangereuse | dangerous, feminine |
15.3.11. With Quantifiers
beaucoup de personnes | many people |
peu de ressources | few resources |
trop de déchets | too much waste |
plusieurs problèmes | several problems |
toutes les personnes | all people |
tout le monde | everyone |
la plupart des pays | most countries |
Examples:
Beaucoup de personnes sont concernées. | Many people are affected / concerned. |
Il y a trop de déchets. | There is too much waste. |
Plusieurs pays doivent agir. | Several countries have to act. |
Tout le monde peut aider. | Everyone can help. |
Toutes les personnes ont des droits. | All people have rights. |
15.3.12. Core Patterns
C’est un problème important. | It is an important problem. |
À mon avis, ___ . | In my opinion, ___. |
Je pense que ___ . | I think that ___. |
Ça m’inquiète. | That worries me. |
Ça me rend triste. | That makes me sad. |
Il faut + infinitive. | We have to ___. |
Il faut que + subject + subjunctive. | Someone has to ___. |
parce que / car / puisque | because / since |
15.3.13. Practice
Pollution worries me. | |
Poverty makes me sad. | |
I think it is a serious problem. | |
In my view, we have to act. | |
We have to protect the environment. | |
We have to reduce waste. | |
Everyone can help. | |
We have to act. subjunctive | |
It worries me because it affects many people. |
15.3.14. Answers
Pollution worries me. | La pollution m’inquiète. |
Poverty makes me sad. | La pauvreté me rend triste. |
I think it is a serious problem. | Je pense que c’est un problème sérieux. |
In my view, we have to act. | Selon moi, il faut agir. |
We have to protect the environment. | Il faut protéger l’environnement. |
We have to reduce waste. | Il faut réduire les déchets. |
Everyone can help. | Tout le monde peut aider. |
We have to act. subjunctive | Il faut que nous agissions. |
It worries me because it affects many people. | Ça m’inquiète parce que ça touche beaucoup de personnes. |
15.3.15. Short Dialogue
A : Qu’est-ce que tu penses du changement climatique ? | A: What do you think about climate change? |
B : À mon avis, c’est un problème très sérieux. Ça m’inquiète beaucoup. | B: In my opinion, it is a very serious problem. It worries me a lot. |
A : Pourquoi ? | A: Why? |
B : Parce que ça touche tout le monde. Il faut protéger l’environnement. | B: Because it affects everyone. We have to protect the environment. |
A : Je suis d’accord. Il faut que nous agissions. | A: I agree. We have to act. |
15.3.16. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to talk about social and environmental issues, express opinions and emotional reactions, explain why an issue matters, use quantifiers such as beaucoup de, trop de, plusieurs, and tout le monde, and say what people should do with il faut and il faut que + subjunctive.
15.3.17. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
Pollution worries me.
We have to protect the environment.
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Possible answer:
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