At the zoo: 'il, elle' (it) and adjective agreement
Learning outcomes
I can form sentences describing zoo animals in French, using singular adjective agreement.
I can recognise and pronounce the SSC, sound-symbol correspondence [ien].
- Year 4
At the zoo: 'il, elle' (it) and adjective agreement
Learning outcomes
I can form sentences describing zoo animals in French, using singular adjective agreement.
I can recognise and pronounce the SSC, sound-symbol correspondence [ien].
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The SSC (sound-symbol correspondence) [ien] is pronounced as in the word 'chien'.
- In French all nouns are either masculine or feminine. This is grammatical gender. It is not the same as male or female.
- In English, we refer to pets as ‘he’ or ‘she’ but we use ‘it’ to refer to animals in general.
- In French, we use il (he) and elle (she) to mean it. We use il and elle to refer both to pets and to animals in general.
- Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe in French. Regular adjectives add an -e in the feminine form.
Keywords
Ien - pronounced as in 'chien'
Il - French pronoun meaning he or it
Elle - French pronoun meaning she or it
Grammatical gender - all French nouns have a grammatical gender - they are either masculine or feminine
Adjective agreement - the matching of an adjective and noun in gender and number: une tortue lente
Common misconception
Animals are referred to as 'it' in French, as they are in English: 'look at the tortoise, it is green'.
As all nouns have a gender in French, animals are referred to using 'il' and 'elle', depending on the gender of the noun (not the gender of the animal). Animals are therefore referred to using 'il' and 'elle': 'regarde la tortue, elle est verte'.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word means 'painful'?
Q2.Match the French to the English.
Q3.'La souris, elle est trop __________ pour moi.' Which words can complete this sentence.
Q4.Order the words to say 'the snake is found in the north of Spain'.
Q5.'The rabbit, it is white.' Translate this sentence into English.
Q6.'I watch the tall giraffe.' Translate this sentence into French.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which words could be used to describe 'une girafe'?
Q2.Match the French to the English.
