New
New
Today and yesterday: perfect tense with 1st person -er verbs + avoir
Learning outcomes
I can use the perfect tense with avoir and -er verbs to say what I did.
I can confidently pronounce [gn].
Lesson 4 of 4
New
New
- Year 8
Today and yesterday: perfect tense with 1st person -er verbs + avoir
Learning outcomes
I can use the perfect tense with avoir and -er verbs to say what I did.
I can confidently pronounce [gn].
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- [gn] sounds like 'ligne'.
- The verb 'envoyer' changes spelling in the present tense from 'y' to 'ie' in all forms apart from 'nous' and 'vous'.
- To make the perfect tense with regular -er verbs, use 'j'ai' followed by the past participle.
- To make the past participle of regular -er verbs, replace -er with é.
Keywords
[gn] - pronounced as in 'ligne'
Perfect tense - a verb tense that describes completed actions in the past e.g. 'I said', 'she played'
Past participle - verb form that forms the perfect tense, usually together with 'avoir'
Common misconception
The perfect tense is made up of one part like it is in English.
You must have both parts of the perfect tense; the present tense of 'avoir' and a past participle. Regular past participles end in é.
The final productive task C4 requires students to work independently and come up with their own ideas as well as using vocabulary from the two previous tasks but you could provide students with a list of verbs they must include if you think they need more structure.
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 up the first person verbs in French and English.
Match up the first person verbs in French and English.
Q2.Put the last six months of the year in sequence.
Put the last six months of the year in sequence.
Q3.What does the verb 'envoyer' mean in English?
What does the verb 'envoyer' mean in English?
to bring
to hit
to leave
to use
Q4.Write the French for 'often'.
Write the French for 'often'.
Q5.Order the sentence 'Today, I'm eating my lunch at the office' in French.
Order the sentence 'Today, I'm eating my lunch at the office' in French.
Q6.Fill in the missing French word in the sentence 'J'ai au revoir à mon ami Amir'.
Fill in the missing French word in the sentence 'J'ai au revoir à mon ami Amir'.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match up the nouns in French and English.
Match up the nouns in French and English.
Q2.Match the subject pronouns with the correct verbs.
Match the subject pronouns with the correct verbs.
Q3.Order the sentence 'The secretary is quite hard working but he's arriving late again' in French.
Order the sentence 'The secretary is quite hard working but he's arriving late again' in French.
Q4.Tick any of the sound-symbol correspondences contained in the sentence 'Je parle espagnol, mais il parle français'.
Tick any of the sound-symbol correspondences contained in the sentence 'Je parle espagnol, mais il parle français'.
[h]
[um/un]
[aim/im]
Q5.To make the perfect tense in French, you need the present tense of the verb and a past participle which is formed by changing the infinitive ending from -er to -é
To make the perfect tense in French, you need the present tense of the verb and a past participle which is formed by changing the infinitive ending from -er to -é
Q6.Fill in the missing word in the sentence I used the computer on the desk. 'J'ai 'l'ordinateur sur le bureau.'
Fill in the missing word in the sentence I used the computer on the desk. 'J'ai 'l'ordinateur sur le bureau.'
