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      Instructions at work: 'il faut' + infinitive

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      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.

      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.

      Teacher tip

      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.

      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.
      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
      Correct Answer:devoir,to have to, must, having to
      Correct Answer:préférer,to prefer, preferring
      Correct Answer:manger,to eat, eating
      Correct Answer:prendre,to take, taking
      Correct Answer:faire,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
      Correct Answer:sportive,sporty
      Correct Answer:créative,creative
      Correct Answer:positive,positive
      Correct Answer:ambitieuse,ambitious
      Correct Answer:aggresive,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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