Year 9 - French
Childhood: then and now: key - RE and -IR verbs in the imperfect tense
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 describe things now compared to how they used to be in childhood.
Key Notes
- [ou] is pronounced as in 'nous'.
- [u] is pronounced as in 'tu'.
- Use 'un an' to count years + 'une année' to describe events or duration within a year.
- Use 'ans' with 'avoir' to describe age e.g. 'J'ai douze ans' and 'Quel âge as-tu ?' to ask someone's age.
- To form the imperfect tense (all verb groups), take the nous form of the present tense, remove –ons, add -ais or -ait.
Vocabulary To Learn
- imperfect tense: tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The imperfect tense formation is different for ir/re verbs.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
[ou] is pronounced as in 'nous'. [u] is pronounced as in 'tu'.
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: The imperfect tense formation is different for ir/re verbs. Correction: The imperfect tense is formed exactly the same way as with -er verbs. Take the present tense nous form, remove -ons and add the imperfect endings.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Celebrities: perfect and imperfect Study Guide
- Childhood: present and imperfect tenses, 'il y a' meaning 'ago' 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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