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Year 8 - French

Today and yesterday: perfect tense with 1st person -er verbs + avoir

Everyday life: -ER verbs in the present and past

Unit Summary

In this unit, knowledge of -er verbs in the present tense is embedded, and intonation and inversion questions with and without question words are revisited. Pupils contrast present and perfect tenses with 'avoir' for -er verbs, faire and dire. The SSCs um,un and -gn- are taught.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use the perfect tense with avoir and -er verbs to say what you did.

Key Notes

  • [gn] sounds like 'ligne'.
  • The verb 'envoyer' changes spelling in the present tense from 'y' to 'ie' in all forms apart from 'nous' and 'vous'.
  • To make the perfect tense with regular -er verbs, use 'j'ai' followed by the past participle.
  • To make the past participle of regular -er verbs, replace -er with é.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • [gn]: pronounced as in 'ligne'
  • perfect tense: a verb tense that describes completed actions in the past e.g. 'I said', 'she played'
  • past participle: verb form that forms the perfect tense, usually together with 'avoir'

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • The perfect tense is made up of one part like it is in English.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

[gn] sounds like 'ligne'. The verb 'envoyer' changes spelling in the present tense from 'y' to 'ie' in all forms apart from 'nous' and 'vous'.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[gn]'

pronounced as in 'ligne'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: The perfect tense is made up of one part like it is in English. Correction: You must have both parts of the perfect tense; the present tense of 'avoir' and a past participle. Regular past participles end in é.

More Lessons In This Unit

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