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Year 8 - French

How people do things: comparative adverbs

Friends and family: comparison with adjectives and adverbs

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils extend their knowledge of feminine adjective agreement before then learning the comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs and exploring these in comparative structures 'plus...que', 'moins...que' and 'aussi...que. Pupils learn the SSCs om,on and um,un before a vowel.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use adverbs to compare how things happen and know the difference between key adjectives and their adverbial forms.

Key Notes

  • Before a consonant or at the end of a word the SSCs [um/un] are identical nasal sounds.
  • When 'um' and 'un' come before a vowel the 'm' and 'n' are pronounced as two different oral sounds.
  • Adverbs describe verbs, whereas adjectives describe nouns.
  • 'Plus' or 'moins' go before adverbs to compare how things happen, e.g. Inès arrive plus vite: Inès arrives more quickly.
  • 'Better' is both adjective and adverb in English. In French, the adjective is 'meilleur(e)' and the adverb is 'mieux'.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • [um/un]: sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as the nasal sound in 'parfum'
  • adverb: word that describes a verb or an adjective
  • adjective: word that gives information about a noun

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • There is only one word for 'better' in French: 'meilleur'.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Before a consonant or at the end of a word the SSCs [um/un] are identical nasal sounds. When 'um' and 'un' come before a vowel the 'm' and 'n' are pronounced as two different oral sounds.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[um/un]'

sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as the nasal sound in 'parfum'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: There is only one word for 'better' in French: 'meilleur'. Correction: The adjective 'meilleur(e)' means 'better' in French and describes a noun, e.g.'il a un meilleur ordinateur' ('he has a better computer'). To describe an action as 'better' we use the adverb 'mieux', e.g. 'il chante mieux' ('he sings better').

More Lessons In This Unit

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