Year 10 - French
Ma ville avant : imperfect of 'être', 'avoir' and 'faire'
My neighbourhood: Là où j'habite
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit develops knowledge of the imperfect tense by focusing on the irregular verbs avoir, être and faire. The prepositions sans, pour and avant are also revisited, along with the use of emphatic pronouns (such as moi, toi, lui) after prepositions.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to talk about what your town used to be like in the past using the imperfect tense of regular and irregular verbs.
Key Notes
- 'avoir' and 'faire' have regular stems in the imperfect tense: 'av-' and 'fais-'.
- 'être' has an irregular stem in the imperfect tense: 'ét-'.
- 'être', 'avoir' and 'faire' have regular endings in the imperfect tense: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
- 'il y avait' is the imperfect tense form of 'il y a', meaning 'there used to be'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- imperfect tense: tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past, or to say what was happening
- ét-: irregular imperfect stem of 'être' (to be, being)
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- 'Être' is used to translate the phrase 'there used to be'.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
'avoir' and 'faire' have regular stems in the imperfect tense: 'av-' and 'fais-'. 'être' has an irregular stem in the imperfect tense: 'ét-'.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'imperfect tense'
tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past, or to say what was happening. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: 'Être' is used to translate the phrase 'there used to be'. Correction: Although in English, 'there used to be' has the idea of 'being', this is not the case in French. The phrase 'il y a' means there is but the verb is 'a' which comes from 'avoir'. It's the same with 'there used to be' - 'il y avait'.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Chez moi, chez toi : prepositions and emphatic pronouns 'moi', 'toi' ... Study Guide
- Découvrir d'autres pays : prepositions and emphatic pronouns 'nous' and 'vous' Study Guide
- Découvrir de grandes villes : prepositions and emphatic pronouns nous and vous Study Guide
- La transformation des villes : imperfect of être, avoir and faire Study Guide
- La vie en ville : extended writing and speaking, photo description Study Guide
- La vie quotidienne ici et ailleurs : extended speaking and writing Study Guide
- Ma ville, mon pays : prepositions and emphatic pronouns lui, elle, eux, elles Study Guide
- Où habiter : extended writing Study Guide
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