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Childhood: present and imperfect tenses, 'il y a' meaning 'ago'
I can compare my life now to in the past using the present and imperfect tenses.
Lesson 4 of 8
New
New
- Year 9
Childhood: present and imperfect tenses, 'il y a' meaning 'ago'
I can compare my life now to in the past using the present and imperfect tenses.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The present and imperfect tenses are one word tenses with the same word order so only the verb endings tell them apart.
- The imperfect tense describes an ongoing action for a period of time in the past.
- 'Il y a' + noun means there is/are. 'Il y a' + time means ago.
- Translate 'year' as 'an' after a number. So, 'il y a deux ans' means 'two years ago'.
Keywords
Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past.
Common misconception
'Il y a' always means 'there is/are'.
'Il y a ' does mean 'there is/are' when followed by a noun but it means 'ago' when it is followed by a time like in the sentence 'Il y a deux ans, j'ai visité Londres' meaning 'Two years ago, I visited London'.
Don't be afraid to encourage students to overexaggerate the prounciation difference between the present and imperfect tenses.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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.Match the vocabulary.
Match the vocabulary.
Q2.Match the parts of the verb croire - to believe, believing.
Match the parts of the verb croire - to believe, believing.
Q3.Put the words in the correct order to tell you where to leave your phone.
Put the words in the correct order to tell you where to leave your phone.
Q4.Chose the correct translation for 'sens'.
Chose the correct translation for 'sens'.
sensible
without
sensitive
lens
Q5.Which verbs are in the imperfect tense?
Which verbs are in the imperfect tense?
tu manges
nous mangeons
il mange
Q6.Chose the correct translation for '3 years ago'.
Chose the correct translation for '3 years ago'.
Il y a treize ans
Il y a trois années
trois ans il y a
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Translate 'il y a des bonbons'.
Translate 'il y a des bonbons'.
Q2.Translate 'Three years ago'.
Translate 'Three years ago'.
Q3.Match the verbs to the tenses.
Match the verbs to the tenses.
Q4.Put the words in the correct order. When I was eating fish, he wanted to share.
Put the words in the correct order. When I was eating fish, he wanted to share.
Q5.Tick the correct meanings of 'il y a'.
Tick the correct meanings of 'il y a'.
