Childhood: present and imperfect tenses, 'il y a' meaning 'ago'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can compare my life now to in the past using the present and imperfect tenses.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The present and imperfect tenses are one word tenses with the same word order so only the verb endings tell them apart.
- The imperfect tense describes an ongoing action for a period of time in the past.
- 'Il y a' + noun means there is/are. 'Il y a' + time means ago.
- Translate 'year' as 'an' after a number. So, 'il y a deux ans' means 'two years ago'.
Keywords
Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past.
Common misconception
'Il y a' always means 'there is/are'.
'Il y a ' does mean 'there is/are' when followed by a noun but it means 'ago' when it is followed by a time like in the sentence 'Il y a deux ans, j'ai visité Londres' meaning 'Two years ago, I visited London'.
Teacher tip
Don't be afraid to encourage students to overexaggerate the prounciation difference between the present and imperfect tenses.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the vocabulary.
behaviour
club
so much, many
daily
habit
key
Q2.Match the parts of the verb croire - to believe, believing.
crois
croit
croyons
croyez
croient
Q3.Put the words in the correct order to tell you where to leave your phone.
Q4.Chose the correct translation for 'sens'.
Q5.Which verbs are in the imperfect tense?
Q6.Chose the correct translation for '3 years ago'.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Translate 'il y a des bonbons'.
Q2.Translate 'Three years ago'.
Q3.Match the verbs to the tenses.
present
imperfect
future
past (perfect)
Q4.Put the words in the correct order. When I was eating fish, he wanted to share.
Q5.Tick the correct meanings of 'il y a'.
To help you plan your 9 French lesson on: Childhood: present and imperfect tenses, 'il y a' meaning 'ago', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 French lesson on: Childhood: present and imperfect tenses, 'il y a' meaning 'ago', 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.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 French lessons from the How things used to be: imperfect tense, ordinal numbers unit, dive into the full secondary French curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.