Reading habits: pronouns 'il(s)' and 'elle(s)' meaning 'it' and 'they', 'faire'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use the pronouns 'il, elle' and 'ils, elles' to mean 'it' and 'they' in French in the context of reading.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The consonants d, s, t and x are often silent at the end of a word. We call this SFC, Silent Final Consonant.
- The vowel 'e' is often silent at the end of a word. This is SFe, Silent Final ‘e’. The final consonant is pronounced.
- Many verbs that end in -ate in English have in fact come from French verbs ending in -er: 'éliminer' - 'eliminate'.
- Every noun has a gender in French. 'Il' and 'elle' can mean 'it', and 'ils' and 'elles' mean 'they' (people and things).
- The verb 'faire' is an irregular verb meaning 'to do, make'.
Keywords
SFC - silent final consonant: silent letter (d, s, t, x) at the end of a word
SFe - silent final 'e': silent 'e' at the end of a word
Il, elle - French pronouns meaning 'he', 'she' and 'it'
Ils, elles - French pronouns meaning 'they' (masculine and feminine)
Faire - French verb meaning 'to do, make'
Common misconception
'Il' and 'elle' mean he and she and can only refer to people.
Every noun has a gender in French. Therefore 'il' and 'elle' can mean 'it', and 'ils' and 'elles' mean 'they' (people and things).
Teacher tip
Ask pupils to bring in and describe their favourite book in French.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following French words is an example of a Silent Final Consonant (SFC)?
Q2.What is the English meaning of the French verb "éliminer"?
Q3.Which French pronoun would you use to refer to a masculine singular noun (like le livre - the book) when you mean "it"?
Q4.Which verb do we use to say 'to do' or 'to make' in French.
Q5.Match the French pronoun to its English meaning:
she/it (feminine)
they (masculine or mixed group)
they (feminine)
he/it (masculine)
Q6.Which of these English verbs is most likely to have come from a French verb ending in '-er'?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.If you were talking about "the chair" (la chaise - a feminine noun), and you wanted to say "it is comfortable," which French pronoun would you use for "it"?
Q2.Which of these sentences correctly uses a pronoun to refer to les romans (the novels - masculine plural)?
Q3.Complete the sentence: The English verb 'to separate' comes from the French verb 'séparer'. This shows that many English verbs ending in -ate come from French verbs ending in ...
Q4.In the phrase "C'est un livre. Il est nouveau." (It's a book. It is new.) What does the pronoun 'il' refer to in this sentence?
To help you plan your 9 French lesson on: Reading habits: pronouns 'il(s)' and 'elle(s)' meaning 'it' and 'they', 'faire', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 French lesson on: Reading habits: pronouns 'il(s)' and 'elle(s)' meaning 'it' and 'they', 'faire', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 3 French lessons from the Everyday life: subject and object pronouns, present tense unit, dive into the full secondary French curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.