Ma ville avant : imperfect of 'être', 'avoir' and 'faire'
I can talk about what my town used to be like in the past using the imperfect tense of regular and irregular verbs.
- Year 10
- AQA
Ma ville avant : imperfect of 'être', 'avoir' and 'faire'
I can talk about what my town used to be like in the past using the imperfect tense of regular and irregular verbs.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- 'avoir' and 'faire' have regular stems in the imperfect tense: 'av-' and 'fais-'.
- 'être' has an irregular stem in the imperfect tense: 'ét-'.
- 'être', 'avoir' and 'faire' have regular endings in the imperfect tense: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
- 'il y avait' is the imperfect tense form of 'il y a', meaning 'there used to be'.
Keywords
Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past, or to say what was happening
Ét- - irregular imperfect stem of 'être' (to be, being)
Common misconception
'Être' is used to translate the phrase 'there used to be'.
Although in English, 'there used to be' has the idea of 'being', this is not the case in French. The phrase 'il y a' means there is but the verb is 'a' which comes from 'avoir'. It's the same with 'there used to be' - 'il y avait'.
Equipment
Mini whiteboards and pens are useful if available.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the French and English words linked to appearance and mood.
Q2.Match the imperfect tense verb endings with the subjects.
Q3.Which statement correctly describes the stem needed to create the imperfect tense?
Q4.Which imperfect verb best completes this sentence? 'Ils des bâtiments intéressants avant.'
Q5.Which form should the verb 'reconnaitre' take here? Nous la ville par ses bâtiments dans le passé.'
Q6.Put the words in order to make this sentence: I used to forgive the girls for being crazy.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the French and English vocabulary.
