Year 8 - French
Having breakfast: perfect tense 'prendre' verbs, 'déjà' and 'ne…pas encore'
Past events: the perfect tense, questions
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils extend their knowledge of the perfect tense as they practise asking intonation, inversion and est-ce que questions in the perfect tense. They learn irregular past participles, practise the two English translations (I did, I have done) for the French perfect tense
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use the verb 'prendre' in the perfect tense to say what you had for breakfast.
Key Notes
- The verb 'prendre' (to take, taking) has an irregular past participle: pris - j'ai pris une photo.
- Other verbs like 'prendre' (comprendre, apprendre) have the same past participle ending: il a compris la tâche.
- To talk about 'having' a meal, food or drink in French, use the verb 'prendre', not 'avoir': tu as pris un café hier.
- The adverb 'déjà' means 'already': j'ai déjà mangé. In a question, it can also mean 'yet': tu as déjà mangé ?
- Adverb 'encore' means 'again': j'ai encore joué. In a negative sentence, it means 'not yet': je n'ai pas encore joué.
Vocabulary To Learn
- prendre: to take, taking
- perfect tense: verb tense that describes completed actions in the past e.g. I (have) listened, you (have) played
- past participle: verb that forms the perfect tense, usually together with a present tense form of 'avoir'
- encore: adverb meaning 'again or 'yet'
- déjà: adverb meaning 'already' or 'yet'
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Like in English, to talk about 'having' a meal, food or drink in French, use the verb 'avoir': j'ai le petit-déjeuner (I am having breakfast).
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
The verb 'prendre' (to take, taking) has an irregular past participle: pris - j'ai pris une photo. Other verbs like 'prendre' (comprendre, apprendre) have the same past participle ending: il a compris la tâche.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'prendre'
to take, taking. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: Like in English, to talk about 'having' a meal, food or drink in French, use the verb 'avoir': j'ai le petit-déjeuner (I am having breakfast). Correction: To talk about 'having' a meal, food or drink in French, use the verb 'prendre', not 'avoir': je prends le petit-déjeuner.
More Lessons In This Unit
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