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      Messages from Barcelona: singular -re verbs like 'écrire'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use verbs like ‘écrire’ in the present tense to describe an exchange to Barcelona.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. The SSCs [tion], [ill/ille] and [ien] all contain [i] and are pronounced as in ‘attention’, ‘fille’, ‘bien’ and ‘midi’.
      2. Translate 'tout' as ‘the whole’ in English in the singular form (uncountable) and ‘all’ in the plural form (countable).
      3. The endings for verbs like 'écrire' are ‘s’, ‘s’ and ‘t’, the same as for verbs like ‘lire’.
      4. Endings are different in the plural form, so it is better to think of them as different types of -re verb.

      Keywords

      • Sound-symbol correspondence - relationship between letters and their sounds

      • Écrire - to write, writing

      Common misconception

      Verbs like 'ecrire' are formed the same way as verbs like 'lire'.

      Although verbs like 'écrire' do have the same endings in the singular persons ('je', 'tu' and 'il'/'elle'), they are different in the plural form, so it is better to think of them as different types of -re verb.

      Teacher tip

      Learning cycle 2 is aan excellent opportunity to explore further the culture of Barcelona and find out what pupils already know about the city, particularly in terms of Gaudi, and discuss French and Spanish tourism.

      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.
      What does 'lait' mean in English?

      tea
      coffee
      Correct answer: milk
      meat

      Q2.
      Match the French words to their English meanings.

      Correct Answer:Italien,italian
      Correct Answer:que,than
      Correct Answer:thé,tea
      Correct Answer:la chance,luck
      Correct Answer:l'argent,money
      Correct Answer:boire,to drink, drinking

      Q3.
      What is the name of the grammatical structure where the subject pronoun and verb switch places to form a question?

      Correct Answer: inversion, invert

      Q4.
      Put the words in the correct order to form the question 'Is he drinking milk?'

      1 - boit
      2 - -il
      3 - du
      4 - lait

      Q5.
      Which sentence correctly uses a comparison with 'que'?

      Correct answer: Il est meilleur que moi.
      Il est meilleur que je.
      Il est plus meilleur que moi.
      Il est que meilleur moi.

      Q6.
      Which sentence correctly shows an adjective agreeing with a feminine noun?

      Il boit un thé meilleur.
      Elle a une chance meilleur.
      Correct answer: Elle a une chance meilleure.
      Il a un chance meilleure.

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      Which word contains the same sound as in the French word attention?

      viande
      traduire
      Correct answer: information
      café

      Q2.
      What does 'tout le programme' mean in English?

      All the schedules
      Correct answer: The whole schedule
      A product
      A little schedule

      Q3.
      What is the endings for 'écrire' in the 'je' and 'tu' forms?

      Correct Answer: s, écris, J' écris tu écris, J' écris, tu écris

      Q4.
      Which statement is TRUE about the verbs écrire and lire?

      They are exactly the same in all forms.
      They have the same endings in both singular and plural.
      They are the same type of -re verb in every way.
      Correct answer: They have the same endings in the singular, but different in the plural.

      Q5.
      Translate into French: 'All the products are good.'

      Correct Answer: Tous les produits sont bons.

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