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      What you do with others: -er verbs 1st persons singular and plural

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use 'je' and 'nous' with a range of -er verbs to say what I do with others.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. The final consonant of a word is often silent in French, called the silent final consonant (SFC).
      2. The -e at the end of words is also silent, called the silent final e (SFe).
      3. To say 'I' + -er verb in French, the verb ending is -e; we call this the 1st person singular of the verb.
      4. To say 'we' + -er verb, the verb ending is -ons; we call this the 1st person plural.
      5. The verb 'manger' (to eat, eating) behaves differently in the 'nous' form; it keeps the 'e' before the -ons.

      Keywords

      • Silent final consonant - Silent consonant (d, s, t, x) at the end of a word

      • Silent final e - Silent e at the end of a word

      • Nous - The subject pronoun for 'we' in French

      Common misconception

      All verbs in the 'nous' form end in -ons.

      Some verbs like 'manger' behave a little differently. The 'nous' form of 'manger' is 'mangeons' so that the g sound remains soft.

      Teacher tip

      Encouraging pupils to group together new words in categories e.g. verbs, nouns, feminine nouns, masculine nouns etc. can help them to remember chunks of vocabulary. Reminding them to revise old and new vocabulary regularly is also very important to ensure future success!

      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

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of the following words end in a silent final consonant?

      Correct answer: content
      Correct answer: mais
      Correct answer: chien
      rouge
      animal

      Q2.
      Match the English to the French.

      Correct Answer:to have, having,avoir

      avoir

      Correct Answer:to do, doing,faire

      faire

      Correct Answer:to write, writing,écrire

      écrire

      Correct Answer:to read, reading,lire

      lire

      Correct Answer:to listen, listening,écouter

      écouter

      Correct Answer:to speak, speaking,parler

      parler

      Q3.
      Which of the following nouns are masculine?

      la personne
      Correct answer: le garçon
      Correct answer: l'homme
      la professeure
      Correct answer: le livre

      Q4.
      Match the French singular subject pronouns to the English.

      Correct Answer:je,I

      I

      Correct Answer:tu,you

      you

      Correct Answer:il,he

      he

      Correct Answer:elle,she

      she

      Q5.
      What does the question 'C'est quoi ?' mean in English?

      Who is it?
      How much is it?
      When is it?
      Correct answer: What is it?

      Q6.
      Read the following sentence and match the correct halves of the English translation. J'aime écouter de la musique, tu aimes parler l'anglais, il aime écrire en français, elle aime porter un uniforme.

      Correct Answer:I like,to listen to music.

      to listen to music.

      Correct Answer:You like,speaking English.

      speaking English.

      Correct Answer:He likes,writing in French.

      writing in French.

      Correct Answer:She likes,wearing a uniform.

      wearing a uniform.

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Read the following sentence in French. How many silent final letters are there? Bonjour ! Je suis Sandra et j'aime parler avec Jacques.

      one
      two
      three
      Correct answer: four
      five

      Q2.
      Match the English subject pronouns to the French.

      Correct Answer:je,I

      I

      Correct Answer:tu,you

      you

      Correct Answer:il,he

      he

      Correct Answer:elle,she

      she

      Correct Answer:nous,we

      we

      Q3.
      Match the French to the English.

      Correct Answer:regarder,to watch, watching

      to watch, watching

      Correct Answer:préparer,to prepare, preparing

      to prepare, preparing

      Correct Answer:marcher,to walk, walking

      to walk, walking

      Correct Answer:travailler,to work, working

      to work, working

      Correct Answer:manger,to eat, eating

      to eat, eating

      Q4.
      To say 'we' + verb in French, the verb usually ends in ...

      Correct Answer: ons, -ons

      Q5.
      Which of the following verbs are in their 'nous' form?

      regardes
      Correct answer: mangeons
      travailler
      prépare
      Correct answer: marchons

      Q6.
      Match the sentences in French to their English translation.

      Correct Answer:J'aime le chien.,I like the dog.

      I like the dog.

      Correct Answer:Nous préparons le déjeuner.,We prepare lunch.

      We prepare lunch.

      Correct Answer:Nous parlons français.,We speak French.

      We speak French.

      Correct Answer:Je marche dehors.,I walk outside.

      I walk outside.

      Correct Answer:Nous regardons la télé.,We watch the TV.

      We watch the TV.


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