La transformation des villes : imperfect of être, avoir and faire
I can describe the changes taking place in towns using the imperfect and present tenses to contrast past and present.
La transformation des villes : imperfect of être, avoir and faire
I can describe the changes taking place in towns using the imperfect and present tenses to contrast past and present.
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Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The imperfect tense is used to describe how something or someone 'used to' be and what regularly happened in the past.
- 'il y avait' is the imperfect tense form of 'il y a', and means 'there used to be'.
- When a word ending in a normally silent consonant is followed by a mute 'h', the consonant is heard in liaison.
Keywords
Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past, or to say what was happening
Simple present - describes habitual events in the present: 'I do'
Common misconception
When speaking or writing about what you did regularly in the past, use the perfect tense to state the action of the sentence.
When speaking or writing about what you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect tense to state the action. This is because you are talking about something that didn't have a clear start and end point. Perfect tense is not appropriate.
Equipment
Mini whiteboards and pens if available would be useful.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
without
for
before
me
you
allais
allait
allions
alliez
allaient
Exit quiz
6 Questions
to let know, warn
to remember
police station
third
low
closed