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Year 9 - French

Spring holidays: perfect tense with 'être', pronouns 'moi', 'toi', 'qui'

How things used to be: imperfect tense, ordinal numbers

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 understand the perfect tense with 'être' and pronouns 'moi', 'toi' and 'qui' in the context of spring holidays.

Key Notes

  • Sound-symbol correspondence [-ill/ille] sounds as in 'fille'; vowel + -ill/ille also has a final sound like English 'y'.
  • Use the emphatic pronouns 'moi' and 'toi' after a preposition.
  • 'Qui' (who/which/that) can be used to introduce more information about a noun.
  • Movement + change of state verbs take 'être', not 'avoir' in the perfect tense. Past participles agree in gender/number.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • sound-symbol correspondence: relationship between letters and their sounds
  • être: to be, being
  • qui: a relative pronoun meaning who/that

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Past participles with 'être' don't change, just like past participles with 'avoir'.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Sound-symbol correspondence [-ill/ille] sounds as in 'fille'; vowel + -ill/ille also has a final sound like English 'y'. Use the emphatic pronouns 'moi' and 'toi' after a preposition.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'sound-symbol correspondence'

relationship between letters and their sounds. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: Past participles with 'être' don't change, just like past participles with 'avoir'. Correction: Past participles with 'être' always agree in gender and number with the subject. Add 'e' to agree a feminine past participle and 's' to agree a plural past participle.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 9 French guide library.