CEFR B2 in French: what you can do

B2 is the level where most learners stop feeling like students and start feeling like speakers. You can take part in conversations with native speakers without strain on either side, follow the main ideas of complex texts, and explain a point of view with arguments. It is the level that many French universities and employers ask for.

What you can do

Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes ordinary conversation with native speakers comfortable.
Understand the main ideas of complex text on concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussion in your field.
Present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects, and explain the advantages and disadvantages of options.
Follow most films, news broadcasts and current-affairs programmes in standard French.
Write clear, detailed text on many subjects: essays, reports, formal letters and reviews.

A quick self-check

You are probably at B2 if you can do most of these:

Debate a topic such as remote work or climate policy for five minutes without preparing.
Follow the news on a French radio station, and summarise it.
Write a formal complaint letter or a cover letter without looking up the structure.
Read a newspaper article and say what the author thinks, not just what it says.
Watch a French film without subtitles and follow most of the plot.

Typical grammar at B2

The subjunctive in more contexts

You now use the subjunctive after more triggers, not only il faut que: bien que, pour que, avant que, à condition que, quoique, il est possible que, je doute que. It also appears in the past form: Je suis content que tu aies réussi. The choice between indicative and subjunctive after verbs of opinion is a good test: Je pense qu'il viendra (indicative), but Je ne pense pas qu'il vienne (subjunctive).

Conditionals and "si" clauses

French sets strict patterns for conditions:

Pattern	Example
si + present, future	S'il pleut, nous resterons à la maison.
si + imparfait, conditional	Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais plus.
si + plus-que-parfait, conditional past	Si j'avais su, je serais venu.

Never use the conditional directly after si. It is one of the most common errors at this level.

The passive and its alternatives

Le livre a été écrit par un journaliste is the passive. French prefers alternatives in many cases: on (On parle français ici), the reflexive (Ça ne se dit pas), or the active form.

Relative pronouns, fully

Dont, lequel, auquel, duquel appear in more formal French: le sujet dont je parle, la raison pour laquelle il est parti.

Connectors for argument

Good B2 writing is built on linking words: cependant, pourtant, en revanche, d'ailleurs, par conséquent, c'est pourquoi, d'une part ... d'autre part. Use them to structure an argument, not to fill space.

The present participle and the gerund

En marchant, j'ai vu un chat (while walking) is the gerund and it is common in written and spoken French. The present participle (un homme portant un chapeau) is mainly written.

Vocabulary themes

Politics, society and the economy
Science, health and technology
Arts, culture and the media
Abstract nouns and nuance: une tendance, un enjeu, un défi
Register: familier, courant, soutenu

What you may find hard

Register. French has a wide gap between spoken and written language. A word such as bouquin (book, informal) is fine in conversation but not in an essay.
Nuance. Words like pourtant, quand même, d'ailleurs have subtle uses that textbooks rarely explain.
Spelling. Participle agreement and homophones (a/à, ou/où, ses/ces, son/sont) still cause errors, even for fluent speakers.

The DELF B2 exam

DELF B2 is demanded by many French universities. It includes writing a formal argued text, and a speaking part where you defend a point of view.

How to practise at this level

Read authentic French: newspapers such as Le Monde, short stories, podcasts. After each article, write a summary in your own words. For idioms and register, try everyday idioms. Then look at C1.