Year 9 - French
Travel in France: more infinitive uses
People and places: present and perfect tense
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
Pupils revisit present and perfect tenses, two verb structures after aller, aimer and modal verbs and inversion questions in single and two-verb structures. The verb croire is introduced in singular persons, and feminine and plural noun formation and possessive adjectives are revised and extended.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use infinitives to describe an activity or an action in French.
Key Notes
- Words ending in -ique in French are often cognates with words ending in -ical in English: historique - historical.
- An infinitive can be used as the subject of a sentence to express an activity (like a noun): conduire, c'est difficile.
- Infinitives are also frequently used after modal verbs or 'aimer' and 'aller': il doit conduire dans la neige.
- The infinitive is translated in the -ing form in English when used as a noun and as 'to …' when after a modal verb.
- Use the infinitive after 'pour' to say why someone is doing something and after 'sans' to say 'without doing something'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- [qu]: pronounced as in 'question'
- infinitive: form of the verb giving its general meaning, with no subject or tense
- pour: preposition meaning 'for'
- sans: preposition meaning 'without'
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- There is only one translation of a French infinitive into English.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
Words ending in -ique in French are often cognates with words ending in -ical in English: historique - historical. An infinitive can be used as the subject of a sentence to express an activity (like a noun): conduire, c'est difficile.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[qu]'
pronounced as in 'question'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: There is only one translation of a French infinitive into English. Correction: An infinitive can be translated into English using the -ing form or 'to ...': conduire - to drive, driving.
More Lessons In This Unit
- At a hotel: possessives 'votre', 'vos' Study Guide
- At a restaurant: possessives 'leur', 'leurs' Study Guide
- Religion in Francophonie: feminine and plural nouns Study Guide
- Religion in Francophonie: singular 'croire', adjectives used as nouns Study Guide
- Senegal: modals, 'il faut', possessive adjectives Study Guide
- Senegal: perfect tense, inversion questions, negation 'ne... pas', 'ne … jamais' Study Guide
- Travel in France: infinitive used as a noun Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 9 French guide library.