Choose exam board for KS4 Computer Science (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 English
Choose exam board for KS4 French
Choose exam board for KS4 Geography
Choose exam board for KS4 German
Choose exam board for KS4 History
Choose tier for KS4 Maths
Choose exam board for KS4 Music
Choose exam board for KS4 Physical education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Religious education (GCSE)
Choose exam board for KS4 Spanish

      Childhood: then and now: key - RE and -IR verbs in the imperfect tense

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can describe things now compared to how they used to be in childhood.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. [ou] is pronounced as in 'nous'.
      2. [u] is pronounced as in 'tu'.
      3. Use 'un an' to count years + 'une année' to describe events or duration within a year.
      4. Use 'ans' with 'avoir' to describe age e.g. 'J'ai douze ans' and 'Quel âge as-tu ?' to ask someone's age.
      5. To form the imperfect tense (all verb groups), take the nous form of the present tense, remove –ons, add -ais or -ait.

      Keywords

      • Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past

      Common misconception

      The imperfect tense formation is different for ir/re verbs.

      The imperfect tense is formed exactly the same way as with -er verbs. Take the present tense nous form, remove -ons and add the imperfect endings.

      Teacher tip

      During the vocabulary focus in the 2nd learning cycle, teachers may want to remind pupils about their personal word repertoire, and encourage them to add any words that are important to them to the place set aside for this.

      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

      Loading...

      Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.

      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match these words to do with religion.

      Correct Answer:foi,faith

      faith

      Correct Answer:laïcité,non-religiousness

      non-religiousness

      Correct Answer:musulman,Muslim

      Muslim

      Correct Answer:chrétien,Christian

      Christian

      Correct Answer:juif,Jewish

      Jewish

      Correct Answer:dieu,God

      God

      Q2.
      Match the nous form of these verbs.

      Correct Answer:nous construisons,we build

      we build

      Correct Answer:nous réfléchissons,we think about

      we think about

      Correct Answer:nous réagissons,we react

      we react

      Correct Answer:nous buvons,we drink

      we drink

      Correct Answer:nous vendons,we sell

      we sell

      Correct Answer:nous prenons,we take

      we take

      Q3.
      Put the words in order to make the question, 'how old are you?'

      1 - quel
      2 - âge
      3 - as
      4 - -
      5 - tu
      6 - ?

      Q4.
      What is the French word for 'non-religiousness'?

      quotidien
      religion
      liberté
      Correct answer: laïcité
      église

      Q5.
      How do you say 'free' (as in free/available to do something) in English?

      Correct Answer: libre

      Q6.
      Which of the following means 'every year'?

      tous les jours
      tous les mois
      Correct answer: tous les ans
      tous les weekends
      tous les jeudis

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Forming the imperfect tense. Put the stages in the correct order.

      1 - take the present tense nous form
      2 - remove -ons
      3 - add the imperfect endings
      4 - Je - ais, Tu - ais, Il/Elle - ait

      Q2.
      Which of the following means 'she used to believe'?

      elle écrivait
      elle prenait
      Correct answer: elle croyait
      elle appartenait
      elle donnait

      Q3.
      Which are the correct translations of 'Je partais'?

      Correct answer: I was leaving
      I left
      Correct answer: I used to leave
      I leave
      I am leaving

      Q4.
      Put the words in the correct order to explain what the people were doing yesterday. Start with 'je'

      1 - je
      2 - mangeais
      3 - une glace
      4 - mais
      5 - elle
      6 - mangeait
      7 - une orange

      Q5.
      __________ appartenais à un club de danse mais __________ n’aimait pas danser. Chose the correct option to fill in the blanks.

      Je / il
      Elle / je
      Je / je
      Correct answer: J' / il
      J' / tu

      Q6.
      J'ai passé deux en France. Add the missing word.

      Correct Answer: ans

      To help you plan your 9 French lesson on: Childhood: then and now: key - RE and -IR verbs in the imperfect tense, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...