Choose exam board for KS4 Computer Science (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 English
Choose exam board for KS4 French
Choose exam board for KS4 Geography
Choose exam board for KS4 German
Choose exam board for KS4 History
Choose tier for KS4 Maths
Choose exam board for KS4 Music
Choose exam board for KS4 Physical education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Religious education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Spanish
      New
      New

      Dieppe festival: plural -er verbs, 'est-ce que' questions

      I can use present tense -er verbs in all forms and 'est-ce que' questions to discuss a festival.

      Lesson 4 of 4
      New
      New
      • Year 9

      Dieppe festival: plural -er verbs, 'est-ce que' questions

      I can use present tense -er verbs in all forms and 'est-ce que' questions to discuss a festival.

      Lesson details

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. The plural verb endings for -er verbs are -ons, -ez (pronounced like the infinitive) and -ent (silent letters).
      2. The French name for the English Channel is 'la Manche' because of its sleeve-like shape.
      3. 'On' and ‘nous’ both mean ‘we’; 'on' in informal conversation and 'nous' in more formal situations.
      4. 'On' can mean 'everyone' (or 'people'), 'you' or 'one'; ‘nous’ is only used for 'we' with the sense of 'you and I'.
      5. To ask information questions with 'est-ce que', keep the same word order and still use intonation.

      Keywords

      • On - common French subject pronoun meaning 'everyone' (or 'people'), 'you' or 'one'

      • Est-ce que - French questioning device

      Common misconception

      'On' and 'nous' both mean 'we' and can be used interchangeably.

      'On' and 'nous' both mean 'we' but 'on' is used more to talk about people generally, 'nous' is always used to talk about yourself and another person/people. The verb endings are different, 'on' uses il/elle verb endings and the 'nous' ending is -ons.

      If students need more practice of question forming, you could use the text they write for B1 as a stimulus for a speaking activity. Students should have access to texts from the lesson + a vocab list to help them with B1 but you could also provide them with a model/recap of verb endings if required.
      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

      Loading...

      Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.

      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of the following is a plural verb ending for -er verbs?

      ai
      -as
      Correct answer: -ez
      -a

      Q2.
      What is the French name for the English Channel?

      La Mer du Nord
      L'Océan Atlantique
      Correct answer: La Manche
      La Seine

      Q3.
      Which of the following is the most common meaning of the French pronoun 'on'?

      I
      You (formal)
      We (formal)
      Correct answer: Everyone/People

      Q4.
      Put the following words in the correct order to form a question using 'est-ce que'

      1 - est-ce
      2 - que
      3 - tu
      4 - aimes
      5 - le chocolat

      Q5.
      In informal conversation, which French pronoun is often used instead of 'nous' to mean 'we'?

      Correct Answer: on

      Q6.
      Which of the following sentences correctly uses the plural form of the -er verb 'chanter' (to sing) with the pronoun 'ils'?

      chante.
      chantes.
      chantons.
      Correct answer: chantent.

      Assessment exit quiz

      4 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of the following sentences uses 'on' correctly to mean 'we' in an informal context?

      Nous allons au cinéma ce soir.
      On allons au cinéma ce soir.
      Correct answer: On va au cinéma ce soir.
      Nous va au cinéma ce soir.

      Q2.
      Translate 'Do you watch ...?' to French using 'est-ce que':

      Correct Answer: Est-ce que vous regardez, Est-ce que tu regardes, Est-ce que vous regardez..., Est-ce que tu regardes...

      Q3.
      Which of the following can 'on' be used for?

      Correct answer: you- meaning people in general
      Correct answer: we
      Correct answer: everyone/ people
      Correct answer: one
      I

      Q4.
      Put the following words in the correct order to form a question using 'est-ce que' with an adverb and a direct object:

      1 - est-ce que
      2 - vous
      3 - mangez
      4 - souvent
      5 - des crêpes

      Lesson appears in

      UnitFrench / Music and other cultural events: être, adjectives, -ER verbs, questions

      French