Year 9 - French
Childhood: present and imperfect tenses, 'il y a' meaning 'ago'
How things used to be: imperfect tense, ordinal numbers
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
Pupils are introduced firstly to -er verbs in the imperfect tense to describe habitual events in the past. The imperfect of common irregular verbs is added, before pupils then contrast one-off and habitual events with the perfect vs imperfect tenses, practising this with known and new vocabulary.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to compare your life now to in the past using the present and imperfect tenses.
Key Notes
- The present and imperfect tenses are one word tenses with the same word order so only the verb endings tell them apart.
- The imperfect tense describes an ongoing action for a period of time in the past.
- 'Il y a' + noun means there is/are. 'Il y a' + time means ago.
- Translate 'year' as 'an' after a number. So, 'il y a deux ans' means 'two years ago'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- imperfect tense: tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- 'Il y a' always means 'there is/are'.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
The present and imperfect tenses are one word tenses with the same word order so only the verb endings tell them apart. The imperfect tense describes an ongoing action for a period of time in the past.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'imperfect tense'
tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: 'Il y a' always means 'there is/are'. Correction: 'Il y a ' does mean 'there is/are' when followed by a noun but it means 'ago' when it is followed by a time like in the sentence 'Il y a deux ans, j'ai visité Londres' meaning 'Two years ago, I visited London'.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Celebrities: perfect and imperfect Study Guide
- Childhood: then and now: key - RE and -IR verbs in the imperfect tense Study Guide
- Montreal - a diverse city: imperfect tense singular Study Guide
- Montreal - habitual and one-off past events: imperfect and perfect Study Guide
- Primary and secondary school: -er verbs imperfect tense, ordinal numbers Study Guide
- School in France - then and now: -er verbs imperfect tense Study Guide
- Spring holidays: perfect tense with 'être', pronouns 'moi', 'toi', 'qui' Study Guide
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