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Year 11 - French

Des francophones célèbres: imperative, present participle, writing (Edexcel)

Communication and the world around us: Révisions: Personnes et lieux

Unit Summary

This unit consolidates revision of vocabulary and grammar with a focus on negation, imperatives, present participles, adjective agreement and adjective and adverb positioning. In addition it revisits all word pattern rules met throughout the course.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to understand the imperative and present participles and you can write in detail about famous French speakers.

Key Notes

  • The imperative is used to give instructions, commands or advice to one or more people.
  • The imperative exists in second person singular ('tu'), first person plural ('nous') and second person plural ('vous').
  • French present participle ends in -ant, English present participle ends in -ing.
  • For present participle, remove -ons from nous form present tense and replace with -ant, e.g. écrire, écrivons, écrivant.
  • In writing, it is important to communicate accurately but also to include varied and complex language.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • imperative: a mood used to tell somebody to do something or give instructions or commands
  • present participle: verb form that forms the present continuous

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Always use the infinitive to translate the '-ing' verb form into French.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.

The imperative is used to give instructions, commands or advice to one or more people. The imperative exists in second person singular ('tu'), first person plural ('nous') and second person plural ('vous').

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'imperative'

a mood used to tell somebody to do something or give instructions or commands. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: Always use the infinitive to translate the '-ing' verb form into French. Correction: The infinitive used as a noun in French translates the idea of 'doing' something, e.g. 'fumer est mauvais' ('smoking is bad'). The present participle translates the present continuous in English, e.g. 'étant célèbre' ('being famous').

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 11 French guide library.