New
New
Year 5

New Year's traditions: 'vous' meaning formal you

Learning outcomes

I can distinguish between the different forms of 'you' in French and I can form sentences with -er verbs and plural nouns.

I can read a French poem.

New
New
Year 5

New Year's traditions: 'vous' meaning formal you

Learning outcomes

I can distinguish between the different forms of 'you' in French and I can form sentences with -er verbs and plural nouns.

I can read a French poem.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The SSCs [é], [er], [et] and [ez] are spelt differently but they make the exact same sound, as in the word: répéter.
  2. There are two different ways to say 'you' in French. 'Tu' is singular (one person) and 'vous' is plural (2+ people).
  3. Use 'tu' when talking to one young person or to an adult you know well.
  4. Use 'vous' when talking to one adult you do not know well. 'Vous' can be both plural or formal.
  5. To make a noun plural in French, often add an -s. Nouns ending in -au or -eu add -x. Nouns ending in -al change to -aux.

Keywords

  • [é] [er] [et] [ez] - prononced as in 'bébé'

  • -er verb - French regular verb ending in -er in the infinitive form: aimer

  • Vous - French pronoun meaning ‘you’ (when talking to more than one person or when talking to an adult you do not know well)

  • Plural noun - a word that refers to more than one person, place or thing

Common misconception

Like in English, there is just one way of saying 'you' in French.

In French there are in fact two ways of saying you. Use 'tu' when talking to one young person or to an adult you know well. Use 'vous' when talking to more than one person or to one adult you do not know well.


To help you plan your year 5 French lesson on: New Year's traditions: 'vous' meaning formal you, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

List different people (i.e teachers or pupils in your school or your community) and pupils must decipher whether they would address them as 'tu' or as 'vous'.
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

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words.

Correct Answer:cadeau,present

present

Correct Answer:cheval,horse

horse

Correct Answer:crayon,pencil

pencil

Correct Answer:fanal,lantern

lantern

Correct Answer:fleur,flower

flower

Correct Answer:gâteau,cake

cake

Q2.
Give the English for 'gomme'.

Correct Answer: rubber, eraser

Q3.
Which word means poster?

crayon
gomme
Correct answer: affiche
trousse
ordinateur

Q4.
Which items might you find in a pencil case?

Correct answer: une gomme
une fleur
Correct answer: un crayon
un cheval
un ordinateur

Q5.
Put the months in the correct order starting with December.

1 - décembre
2 - janvier
3 - février
4 - mars
5 - avril
6 - mai
7 - juin

Q6.
Give the English for 'faux'.

Correct Answer: false

Assessment exit quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
On which date is 'le jour de l’an'

25 December
26 December
31 December
Correct answer: 1 January

Q2.
Which of these words mean 'you'?

il
je
nous
Correct answer: tu
Correct answer: vous

Q3.
If you were talking to your teacher, would you use 'tu' (you) or 'vous' (you)?

Correct Answer: Vous

Q4.
Which is the odd one out (pronunciation)?

bébé
nez
jouer
Correct answer: intelligente
et

Q5.
Which is the correct plural for 'cheval'?

chevals
chevax
Correct answer: chevaux
chevalx

Additional material

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