Grade by Grade
C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Telling, Convincing and Connecting

Les registres et les possessifs: Writing a Formal Letter

D3 C3 D1 C2 D2About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell the difference between familiar and formal French writing.
  • I can name the parts of a formal letter: place and date, greeting, subject, body, closing.
  • I can use all the possessive adjectives: mon, ton, son, notre, votre, leur and their forms.
  • I can choose the right greeting and closing for an adult or an organization.
  • I can write a short formal letter or email to ask for something.

Words to know

le registre
The level of language: familiar (with friends) or formal (with adults or officials).
familier / formel
Familiar (casual) / formal (polite and careful).
une lettre formelle
A formal letter: to a mayor, a principal, a company...
la formule d'appel
The greeting of a letter: Madame, Monsieur,
la formule de politesse
The polite closing sentence of a letter.
un adjectif possessif
A word that shows who owns something: mon, ta, nos, leurs...
une patinoire
A skating rink.
un/une bénévole
A volunteer.

Who are you writing to?

In Grade 5 you chose tu or vous and a friendly or polite greeting for an email. In Grade 6 you go further: you will learn how French writers change their whole register (registre) for their reader, and you will write a formal letter to someone important.

Compare these two texts. Same topic (skating!), very different language.

Worked example

Let's compare a text message and a formal letter

Message de Lucas à son ami Sam :

Slt Sam ! Tu viens patiner samedi ? Apporte ton bâton de hockey stp. Ma sœur vient aussi avec ses amies. À+ !

---

Lettre formelle :

Sudbury, le 5 octobre 2026

Madame la Mairesse,

Objet : Une patinoire au parc des Érables

Nous sommes les élèves de sixième année de l'école des Pins. Nous vous écrivons parce que notre quartier n'a pas de patinoire extérieure.

En hiver, nos familles doivent prendre la voiture pour aller patiner. Avec une patinoire dans notre parc, les enfants peuvent jouer dehors près de leurs maisons. Nos parents et nos grands-parents aiment aussi patiner !

Nous voulons aider. Notre classe peut faire des affiches, et des parents bénévoles peuvent arroser la glace le soir.

Nous vous remercions de votre attention et nous espérons recevoir votre réponse bientôt.

Veuillez agréer, Madame la Mairesse, nos salutations distinguées.

Les élèves de 6e année de Madame Diallo

  1. The text message is familiar: Slt (salut), stp (s'il te plaît), À+ (à plus tard). It uses tu, short sentences and abbreviations. Perfect for a friend, never for a mayor!
  2. The letter is formal. Its parts: place and date (Sudbury, le 5 octobre 2026), a formule d'appel (Madame la Mairesse,), an objet (subject line), the body in paragraphs, a formule de politesse and the signature.
  3. Purpose: the students want to ask for an outdoor rink. Paragraph 1 says who they are and why they write. Paragraph 2 gives reasons. Paragraph 3 offers help. Then they thank the mayor.
  4. Formal choices: vous (Nous vous écrivons), complete sentences, no abbreviations, polite verbs (nous espérons, nous vous remercions).
  5. Canadian conventions: Madame la Mairesse (a woman mayor; Monsieur le Maire for a man). Arroser la glace = to flood the rink, a Canadian winter tradition.
  6. New words: le quartier (neighbourhood), extérieure (outdoor), bénévoles (volunteers), recevoir (to receive).

The text message is familiar (abbreviations, tu); the letter is formal (date, greeting, subject, paragraphs with reasons, polite closing, signature, vous).

An outdoor skating rink with wooden boards and two hockey nets in a park at dusk, next to houses with lit windows.
The students' formal letter asks the mayor for an outdoor rink like this one in their neighbourhood park. AI-generated image
Sudbury, le 5 octobre 2026Madame la Mairesse,Objet : Une patinoire au parc des ÉrablesVeuillez agréer, Madame la Mairesse, ...Les élèves de 6e annéegreetingsubjectparagraphs(3)formule depolitesseplaceand datesignature
The parts of a formal letter, labelled. Notice the place and date at the top, the Objet line, and the polite closing (formule de politesse) before the signature.
Familiar (a friend, a cousin)Formal (a mayor, a principal, a company)
Youtuvous
GreetingSalut Sam ! / Allô ! / Coucou !Madame, / Monsieur, / Madame la Directrice,
AskingTu peux...? / stpPourriez-vous...? / s'il vous plaît
ThankingMerci !Je vous remercie de votre attention.
ClosingÀ+ ! / Bisous ! / À bientôt !Veuillez agréer, Madame, mes salutations distinguées. / Salutations distinguées,
Styleabbreviations OK, short sentencesno abbreviations, full sentences, paragraphs
Choosing the register. Allô is a common Canadian French greeting. Pourriez-vous = Could you (very polite).

Abbreviations you may see

In familiar messages, French speakers often write: slt (salut), stp (s'il te plaît), svp (s'il vous plaît), bcp (beaucoup), pk (pourquoi), à+ (à plus tard).

SVP is also used on signs and notices in Canada (Fermez la porte, SVP). But in a formal letter, write every word in full.

Just for fun

Imagine writing to the mayor in text-speak: « Slt Madame la Mairesse ! On veut 1 patinoire stp. Merci bcp, à+ ! » She would need a dictionary... of abbreviations! 📱😅

The possessive adjectives (les adjectifs possessifs)

In Grade 5 you learned son, sa, ses. Here is the whole family. The possessive agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner:

Ownermasculine nounfeminine nounplural noun
je (my)mon parcma villemes amis
tu (your)ton parcta villetes amis
il / elle (his, her)son parcsa villeses amis
nous (our)notre parcnotre villenos amis
vous (your)votre parcvotre villevos amis
ils / elles (their)leur parcleur villeleurs amis
Possessive adjectives. Notre, votre, leur have one form for masculine and feminine, and another for plural.
The possessive matches the thing owned, not the owner.LucasLucas etsasœursœur is a une wordLéaLéa etsonfrèrefrère is an un word
Sa or son? Look at the noun after it, not at the owner: Lucas has sa sœur, and Léa has son frère.

Two tricky rules

  1. Before a feminine word that starts with a vowel, use mon, ton, son (for the sound): mon amie, ton école, son équipe.
  2. leur (their, one thing) vs leurs (their, many things): les élèves et leur enseignante (one teacher); près de leurs maisons (many homes).

In a formal letter, votre is polite even for one person: votre ville, votre attention.

Worked example

Let's find the possessives in the letter

Find every possessive adjective in the formal letter and explain its form.

  1. notre quartier, notre parc, notre classe → notre (our; one thing, masculine or feminine).
  2. nos familles, nos parents, nos grands-parents → nos (our; many things).
  3. leurs maisons → leurs (their; the children have many homes).
  4. votre attention, votre réponse → votre (your, polite, to the mayor; one thing).

notre (3 times), nos (3 times), leurs (1 time), votre (2 times).

Hands-on activity

Write a real formal letter or email

You need: paper or a computer, and a grown-up to help send it.

  1. Choose a real reader and a real request: ask your school principal for a French book club, ask the public library for more French comics, or thank a community helper (a librarian, a crossing guard, a coach).
  2. Plan 3 paragraphs: (1) who you are and why you write, (2) two reasons, (3) an offer to help or a thank-you.
  3. Write it with all the formal parts: place and date, Madame / Monsieur,, Objet :, paragraphs, a formule de politesse, your signature.
  4. Use at least 4 possessive adjectives (mon école, notre bibliothèque, vos livres...).
  5. Edit: no abbreviations, vous everywhere, spaces before : ? !
  6. With a grown-up, send it by mail or email, or give it in person.

Safety note: share your full name and address only with a grown-up's permission.

Your turn

1

What is the objet of the students' letter?

2

Give one reason the students give for the rink.

3

How do the students offer to help?

4

Write the familiar abbreviation stp in full.

5

Complete: ___ (our) école est grande.

6

Complete: Les joueurs cherchent ___ (their) bâtons.

7

Which greeting fits a letter to a principal (a woman)?

More practice: warm-up

1

Translate: votre maison.

2

Translate: nos amis.

3

Familiar or formal? Salut ! T'es où ?

4

What goes at the top of a formal letter?

5

What does bénévole mean?

More practice: on your own

1

Fix: ma amie

2

Fix: Les enfants et leurs mère

3

Rewrite formally: Salut ! Tu peux nous aider stp ?

4

Choose a closing for a letter to a company: À+ ! or Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguées.

5

Complete: Madame, je vous remercie de ___ (your) réponse.

Challenge

1

Write the first paragraph of a formal letter to your town library asking for more French comics. Include who you are and why you write.

2

Rewrite Lucas's text message as a polite note to Sam's mother, Madame Roy.

3

Explain why the students write Nous vous écrivons and not Nous t'écrivons.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which greeting is formal?

2.

___ (our) amis viennent ce soir.

3.

Ils aiment ___ (their) chien.

4.

Which is correct?

5.

Which does NOT belong in a formal letter?

6.

A man is mayor. The letter starts...

7.

What is the objet of a letter?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 6 students apply French sociolinguistic conventions in their writing: choosing a familiar or formal register, greetings and closings that suit the reader (D3), and recognizing these conventions when they read (C3). They identify the features of a formal letter (C2), write one for a real purpose (D1) and edit it (D2).

How to help:

  • Help your child find a real reader for the letter. A real answer is hugely motivating.
  • Ask: "Would you say it this way to the principal?" whenever you see tu, Salut or abbreviations in a formal piece.

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing registers (Salut Madame la Mairesse !).
  • ma amie, ta école: use mon/ton/son before a feminine vowel sound.
  • leur vs leurs: count the things owned, not the owners.
  • Long formal closings feel strange; Salutations distinguées, is a simpler formal option often used in Canadian emails.

Privacy: Help your child decide what personal information to include before sending anything.

Canadian French used (heard in Québec and other parts of Canada): Allô (hi), Madame la Mairesse, une patinoire extérieure, arroser la glace (flood the rink), SVP on signs.