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Year 11 - French

On se bouge ! Impersonal verbs

People and lifestyle: Faire de bons choix

Unit Summary

In this unit pupils apply previous knowledge of irregular verbs, impersonal verbs, indefinite adjectives, interrogative adjectives and demonstrative adjectives. They will also meet personne ne...+ verb, rien ne...+ verb and the negative adjective determiner aucun.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use a range of impersonal verbs to give advice and instructions on the importance of health and exercise.

Key Notes

  • 'Il est', 'il fait', 'il y a' and 'il faut' are common impersonal verbs.
  • Impersonal verbs are usually only used with the pronoun 'il'.
  • 'Il est' + adjective + 'de' + infinitive can be used to express 'it is difficult/easy/forbidden to' + a verb.
  • Impersonal verbs 'valoir mieux' ('to be better') and 'valoir la peine de' ('to be worth') are followed by an infinitive.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • impersonal verb: a verb that doesn't refer to a particular person or thing, and whose subject is most often 'il' (it)

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • 'Il' always means 'he' in English.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

'Il est', 'il fait', 'il y a' and 'il faut' are common impersonal verbs. Impersonal verbs are usually only used with the pronoun 'il'.

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

a verb that doesn't refer to a particular person or thing, and whose subject is most often 'il' (it). Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: 'Il' always means 'he' in English. Correction: Impersonal verbs nearly always have the subject 'il'. This translates as 'it' instead of 'he', e.g. 'il fait beau' - 'it is nice weather'.

More Lessons In This Unit

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