In the headlines: pre- and postnominal adjectives
Learning outcomes
I can use prenominal and postnominal adjectives in the context of news headlines.
I can distinguish and pronounce nasal and oral vowel sounds.
In the headlines: pre- and postnominal adjectives
Learning outcomes
I can use prenominal and postnominal adjectives in the context of news headlines.
I can distinguish and pronounce nasal and oral vowel sounds.
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Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- [em/am] is pronounced like 'temps' and [en/an] sounds like 'enfant' before a consonant.
- [em/am] and [en/an] are the same nasal sound before a consonant and different oral sounds before a vowel.
- Prenominal adjectives come before the noun they describe. These are Beauty, Rank, Age, Goodness and Size adjectives.
- The acronym BRAGS reminds us which adjectives are prenominal.
- 'Plusieurs', 'autre' and 'même' are examples of 'Rank' adjectives.
Keywords
[em/am] - pronounced as in 'temps'
[en/an] - pronounced as in 'enfant'
Prenominal adjective - a BRAGS adjective (beauty, rank, age, good/bad or size) that goes before the noun: 'un vieux vélo'
Nasal vowel - when pronounced, air passes through both nose and mouth
Common misconception
All adjectives are postnominal in French; they come after the noun.
Most adjectives in French come after the noun but there are a group of prenominal adjectives. We use BRAGS to remember that adjectives of Beauty, Rank, Age, Goodness and Size come before the noun like adjectives in English.
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the English and the French
hospital
ideal
several
game
bird
Q2.Which of these is the correct definition for an 'adjective'?
Q3.Match the meaning of these adjectives
beautiful
young
old
bad
small
big
Q4.Complete this sentence with the infinitive form of 'to find': on peut un animal
Q5.Put this sentence in order.
Q6.Which of the following is true about adjectives in French?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word contains a nasal vowel?
Q2.Match the words to the correct pronunciation rule.
nasal vowel
oral vowel