New
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Celebrities: perfect and imperfect
I can use the present, imperfect and perfect tenses to discover more about French-speaking celebrities.
Lesson 8 of 8
New
New
- Year 9
Celebrities: perfect and imperfect
I can use the present, imperfect and perfect tenses to discover more about French-speaking celebrities.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Use the imperfect tense to talk about events and actions that used to happen regularly in the past.
- To form the imperfect tense, take the present tense 'nous' form without -ons, add -ais (je/tu) or ait (il/elle/on).
- Four groups of -re verbs are: verbs like entendre, verbs like prendre, verbs like traduire and verbs like écrire.
- Three groups of -ir verbs are: verbs like choisir, verbs like partir and verbs like venir.
- Use the perfect tense to talk about specific/one-off events + actions that happened.
Keywords
Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past
Common misconception
All -re and -ir verbs follow the same pattern.
There are different groups of -ir and -re verbs that follow slightly different patterns. It's good to revisit these regularly in their own right and because they can help with other tenses.
To bring the context of the lesson to life, you could add more photos and videos of Edith Piaf and Celine Dion and see what students already know about these Francophone singers.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these verbs are in the imperfect tense?
Which of these verbs are in the imperfect tense?
Elle a travaillé
Il a mangé
Je bois
Q2.Which are the correct translations of 'J'allais'?
Which are the correct translations of 'J'allais'?
I will go
I went
I go
Q3.Translate 'I used to watch / I was watching'.
Translate 'I used to watch / I was watching'.
Q4.How do verbs like prendre, apprendre, comprendre form the present tense?
How do verbs like prendre, apprendre, comprendre form the present tense?
Q5.How do verbs like 'entendre' (attendre, répondre, perdre, dépendre, descendre, mettre, remettre) form the present tense?
How do verbs like 'entendre' (attendre, répondre, perdre, dépendre, descendre, mettre, remettre) form the present tense?
Q6.How do verbs like 'choisir' (réussir, finir, remplir, définir, réagir, réfléchir, nourrir) form the present tense? Add the correct verb endings.
How do verbs like 'choisir' (réussir, finir, remplir, définir, réagir, réfléchir, nourrir) form the present tense? Add the correct verb endings.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Translate 'à coté de'.
Translate 'à coté de'.
Q2.Which form of the verb 'boire' to drink, goes with 'nous'?
Which form of the verb 'boire' to drink, goes with 'nous'?
buvez
boivent
bois
boit
Q3.Translate 'we say,' to show how verbs like traduire, dire, conduire, interdire, construire, lire form the 'nous' form of the present tense?
Translate 'we say,' to show how verbs like traduire, dire, conduire, interdire, construire, lire form the 'nous' form of the present tense?
Q4.What is 'une tournée mondial'?
What is 'une tournée mondial'?
Q5.Put the words in order to make a sentence
Put the words in order to make a sentence
