New
New
Year 9

Instructions at work: 'il faut' + infinitive

Learning outcomes

I can use 'il faut' and 'il ne faut pas' to describe what must and must not be done in the context of work experience.

I can pronounce cognates with the sound-symbol correspondence [i].

New
New
Year 9

Instructions at work: 'il faut' + infinitive

Learning outcomes

I can use 'il faut' and 'il ne faut pas' to describe what must and must not be done in the context of work experience.

I can pronounce cognates with the sound-symbol correspondence [i].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. 'il faut' is a common impersonal verb, only used in the 3rd person singular, meaning 'it is necessary to'.
  2. Add 'ne ... pas' to 'il faut' to say what must not be done e.g. 'Il ne faut pas courir' (you must not run).
  3. Change -if adjectives to -ive in the feminine form.
  4. Adjectives ending -if/ive are often cognates but [i] is a longer vowel than English 'i'.

Keywords

  • Il faut - common impersonal verb used in the 3rd person meaning 'it is necessary'

  • Adjective agreement - when the ending of an adjective matches the noun it describes in gender and number

Common misconception

'Il faut' works like modal verbs, it changes for different subject pronouns.

'Il faut' is only used in the 3rd person singular and it is impersonal, it is used to talk about what it is necessary for people in general to do or what they must do.


To help you plan your year 9 french lesson on: Instructions at work: 'il faut' + infinitive, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

A written activity could be added instead of/following C2 where students write their own job adverts to practise 'il faut' + adjectives and students who are confident with basic questions should be encouraged to use other vocabulary in their personal repertoires.
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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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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word means 'work experience'?
collègue
directeur
entreprise
piscine
Correct answer: stage
Q2.
Match the French to the English.
Correct Answer:travailler,to work, working

to work, working

Correct Answer:devoir,to have to, must, having to

to have to, must, having to

Correct Answer:préférer,to prefer, preferring

to prefer, preferring

Correct Answer:manger,to eat, eating

to eat, eating

Correct Answer:prendre,to take, taking

to take, taking

Correct Answer:faire,to do, make, doing, making

to do, make, doing, making

Q3.
Order the words to say 'today, I am doing my work experience at the office'.
1 - aujourd'hui
2 - je
3 - fais
4 - mon
5 - stage
6 - au
7 - bureau
Q4.
Order the words to say 'at the office you have to dress smartly'.
1 - au
2 - bureau
3 - il
4 - faut
5 - vêtir
6 - avec
7 - élégance
Q5.
'Vous ne __________ pas utiliser votre portable.' Which word best completes this sentence?
devons
doit
Correct answer: devez
faut
dois
Q6.
Fill in the gap in this sentence 'Il travailler en silence.' It should translate as 'You must work in silence'.
Correct Answer: faut

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the meaning of 'compréhensif'?
thorough
Correct answer: understanding
busy
careful
broad
Q2.
Which words are adverbs?
négative
Correct answer: lentement
tâches
il faut
Correct answer: dur
Q3.
Match the French to the English.
Correct Answer:active,active

active

Correct Answer:sportive,sporty

sporty

Correct Answer:créative,creative

creative

Correct Answer:positive,positive

positive

Correct Answer:ambitieuse,ambitious

ambitious

Correct Answer:aggresive,aggressive

aggressive

Q4.
Order the words to say 'we have to be organised in our job'.
1 - nous
2 - devons
3 - être
4 - organisés
5 - dans
6 - notre
7 - travail
Q5.
Order the words to say 'normally, you are not allowed to leave early'.
1 - normalement
2 - il
3 - ne
4 - faut
5 - pas
6 - quitter
7 - tôt
Q6.
'He is not very polite.' Translate this sentence into French.
Correct Answer: Il n'est pas très poli

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