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Year 8 - French

In the headlines: pre- and postnominal adjectives

In the news: plural adjectives

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils extend their knowledge of plural formation for nouns and adjectives. They refresh their knowledge on adjectives before and after the nouns. The positioning of multiple adjectives is practised as is the use of very frequent adjectives, même, autre and plusieurs.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use prenominal and postnominal adjectives in the context of news headlines.

Key Notes

  • [em/am] is pronounced like 'temps' and [en/an] sounds like 'enfant' before a consonant.
  • [em/am] and [en/an] are the same nasal sound before a consonant and different oral sounds before a vowel.
  • Prenominal adjectives come before the noun they describe. These are Beauty, Rank, Age, Goodness and Size adjectives.
  • The acronym BRAGS reminds us which adjectives are prenominal.
  • 'Plusieurs', 'autre' and 'même' are examples of 'Rank' adjectives.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • [em/am]: pronounced as in 'temps'
  • [en/an]: pronounced as in 'enfant'
  • prenominal adjective: a BRAGS adjective (beauty, rank, age, good/bad or size) that goes before the noun: 'un vieux vélo'
  • nasal vowel: when pronounced, air passes through both nose and mouth

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • All adjectives are postnominal in French; they come after the noun.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

[em/am] is pronounced like 'temps' and [en/an] sounds like 'enfant' before a consonant. [em/am] and [en/an] are the same nasal sound before a consonant and different oral sounds before a vowel.

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

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

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: All adjectives are postnominal in French; they come after the noun. Correction: Most adjectives in French come after the noun but there are a group of prenominal adjectives. We use BRAGS to remember that adjectives of Beauty, Rank, Age, Goodness and Size come before the noun like adjectives in English.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 8 French guide library.