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      Mother's day in 'la Francophonie': 'il' and 'elle' meaning 'it'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can read and understand a text about ‘la fête des mères’ in 'la Francophonie'.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. The letter c makes a soft sound before the letters e and i. It makes a hard sound before the letters a, o and u.
      2. The letter ç (c cedilla) makes a soft sound before a, o and u.
      3. The pronouns 'il' and 'elle' can be translated as 'it' in French, as every French noun has a gender.
      4. 'La Francophonie' refers to countries in the world which share the common language of French.
      5. La fête des mères is celebrated across 'la Francophonie'.

      Keywords

      • [c/ç] - pronounced as in 'ici'

      • Pronoun - word that takes the place of a noun, like 'it', 'you', 'she'

      • Il - French pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'

      • Elle - French pronoun meaning 'she' or 'it'

      • Francophonie - a group of countries in which the language is culturally significant

      Common misconception

      The pronouns 'il' and 'elle' can only mean 'he' and 'she' in French.

      The pronouns 'il' and 'elle' mean 'he' and 'she', they can also be translated as 'it' as all noun have a gender in French.

      Teacher tip

      Start a class discussion about French speaking countries, whether pupils have family in them, what other languages are spoken in them, research their native cultural heritage and postcolonial cultural practices.

      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 the French word to its English meaning.

      Correct Answer:frère,brother

      brother

      Correct Answer:maison,house

      house

      Correct Answer:film,film

      film

      Correct Answer:chanson,song

      song

      Q2.
      How do you say 'sister' in French?

      Correct Answer: sœur, soeur

      Q3.
      Which of these is the correct French word for 'to have'?

      être
      porter
      Correct answer: avoir
      chanter

      Q4.
      Put these numbers in the correct order from smallest to largest.

      1 - deux
      2 - quatre
      3 - huit
      4 - dix

      Q5.
      Choose the correct sentence that means 'I have a brother and a sister.'

      Correct answer: J'ai un frère et une sœur.
      Je suis un frère et une sœur.
      Tu as un frère et une sœur.
      Il a une mère et un père.

      Q6.
      Which sentence uses 'avoir' correctly?

      Elle est une maison.
      Correct answer: Tu as une chanson.
      Il est un uniforme.
      Je suis un chapeau.

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      Match each French word to its correct English meaning.

      Correct Answer:il,he or it

      he or it

      Correct Answer:elle,she or it

      she or it

      Correct Answer:sœur,sister

      sister

      Correct Answer:père,father

      father

      Q2.
      What is the keyword 'la Francophonie'?

      A French TV show
      A group of French artists
      Correct answer: Countries where French is widely spoken
      A French dish

      Q3.
      Which word below has a soft 'c' sound?

      chapeau
      Correct answer: cinq
      garçon
      chanter

      Q4.
      What is the name of the mark under the letter 'ç' that makes the 'c' sound soft?

      Correct Answer: cedilla, cédille

      Q5.
      Which of the following shows all translations for the word 'elle' in this sentence: 'Elle est grande.' ?

      she
      Correct answer: she, it
      she, girl
      girl

      To help you plan your 4 French lesson on: Mother's day in 'la Francophonie': 'il' and 'elle' meaning 'it', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...