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      What people have: 'avoir' 3rd persons singular and plural

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' to describe what they (masculine and feminine) have.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. A cognate is a word that looks and sounds the same, or similar, in English and French.
      2. 'Ils ont' and 'elles ont' are the 3rd person plural of the verb 'avoir', 'to have, having'.
      3. 'Ils ont' and 'elles ont' have a liasion; the -s in 'ils' and 'elles' is pronounced as 'z' as it is followed by a vowel.
      4. The 's' in 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' ('z') is pronounced differently to the 's' in 'ils sont' and 'elles sont' ('s').
      5. Reading a longer passage can help practise and consolidate previously learnt and newly acquired vocabulary and grammar.

      Keywords

      • Cognate - words with the same meaning and same or similar spelling in English and French

      • Avoir - French verb meaning ‘to have’

      • Ils ont - part of 'avoir', meaning ‘they have’ (mpl, mfpl)

      • Elles ont - part of 'avoir', meaning 'they have' (fpl)

      • Liaison - pronouncing a usually silent final consonant when followed by a vowel

      Common misconception

      The 's' in the liaison of 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' is pronounced like an English 's'.

      The 's' in the liaison of 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' is pronounced like an English 'z'. This is distinguishable to 'ils sont' and 'elles sont' which have the pronounciation of an English 's' (no liaison).

      Teacher tip

      You may wish to 'model read' the passage to the class and then 'share read' the passage together. Read it once to pupils as they listen, and read it a second time whilst they join in out loud. You can then ask pupils to volunteer to read a paragraph out loud independently to the class.

      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.
      Choose the words with the [(e)au] sound.

      Correct answer: peau
      Correct answer: haute
      caser
      Correct answer: seau
      jeune

      Q2.
      Put the following nouns in order of masculine noun (1), feminine noun (2), plural noun (3).

      1 - un ordinateur
      2 - une gomme
      3 - des maisons

      Q3.
      What does 'avoir' mean?

      to be, being
      to watch, watching
      to prefer, preferring
      to close, closing
      Correct answer: to have, having

      Q4.
      Match the French and the English.

      Correct Answer:j'ai,I have
      Correct Answer:tu as,you have (singular)
      Correct Answer:il a,he has
      Correct Answer:elle a,she has
      Correct Answer:nous avons,we have
      Correct Answer:vous avez ,you have (plural)

      Q5.
      Which of the parts of 'avoir' use a liaison?

      j'ai
      tu as
      il, elle a
      Correct answer: nous avons
      Correct answer: vous avez

      Q6.
      Translate the sentence into English: 'Vous avez des chemises.'

      Correct Answer: You have some shirts., You have shirts.

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      What is a cognate?

      A word that looks and sounds different in English and French.
      Correct answer: A word that looks and sounds similar in English and French.
      A word that looks similar in English and French, but has different meanings.
      A word that exists only in English and not in French.

      Q2.
      Match the French and the English.

      Correct Answer:très,very
      Correct Answer:aussi,also
      Correct Answer:pour,for
      Correct Answer:dans,in
      Correct Answer:de,of
      Correct Answer:ici,here

      Q3.
      Fill in the gap with the correct word: La soeur Sophie est amusante.

      très
      aussi
      pour
      dans
      Correct answer: de

      Q4.
      Which of the following phrases have a liaison?

      Correct answer: ils ont
      elles sont
      Correct answer: nous avons
      tu as
      Correct answer: vous êtes

      Q5.
      How do you say 'they have' when referring to a group of girls, in French?

      Correct Answer: elles ont

      Q6.
      How do you say 'they have' when referring to a group of boys and girls, in French?

      Correct Answer: ils ont

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