Ask about plans: inversion questions with question words
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can ask about future plans using inversion questions with question words.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The French [g] has two sounds: soft before the letters e, i and y and hard before other letters.
- We use 'aller' in the present tense followed by an infinitive to talk about future plans.
- 'They' has two different pronouns in French: 'ils' for a male or mixed gender group and 'elles' for a female group.
- Questions about future plans follow the normal patterns for closed (yes/no) and information questions.
- When forming inversion questions for future plans, only 'aller' and the pronoun swap e.g. Vont-ils venir ?
Keywords
[j/soft g] - sound-symbol correspondence like the [j] in 'jour' or the [soft g] sound in 'génial'
Ils vont - French verb meaning 'they (m) go' or 'they are going'
Elles vont - French verb meaning 'they (f) go' or 'they are going'
Inversion question - when the subject pronoun and the verb switch place to form a question
Common misconception
To create inversion questions in French, you just swap the verb and subject around.
As well as swapping verb and subject, a hyphen is needed betwen the verb and the subject pronoun when forming inversion questions, e.g. 'Vont-elles créer des vêtements ?' - 'Are they going to create clothes?'.
Teacher tip
Using students at the front of the class holding words on large sheets of paper to physically demonstrate the swapping of verb and pronoun and the addition of a hyphen when forming different inversion questions can help to highlight and explain this common mistake.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following words contain the hard [g] and the [j/soft g]?
Q2.Match up the time phrases.
tomorrow
today
at the moment
now
in the future
Q3.Match the English with the French.
behind
street
in front of
between
beach
country
Q4.Match the correct forms of the French verb 'aller' to the English.
I go, am going
they (mfpl) go, are going
he, she goes, is going
you (singular) go, are going
you (plural) go, are going
we go, are going
Q5.Which of the following are types of questions?
Q6.Which of the following are inversion questions?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following words contain the SSC [j/soft g]?
Q2.Which of the following pronouns mean 'they' in French?
Q3.Which is the correct translation of 'They (mpl) are going to prepare lunch.'?
Q4.Which of the following sentences express future plans?
Q5.Match the English questions with the French translations. There is a mix of intonation and inversion question forms.
Où vas-tu ?
Ils vont aller quand ?
Comment va-t-il voyager ?
Il va voir qui ?
Elles vont faire quoi ?
Que vas-tu dire ?
Q6.Which of the following are the two different ways in French of forming the question 'When are they (fpl) going to arrive in London?'?
To help you plan your 7 French lesson on: Ask about plans: inversion questions with question words, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 French lesson on: Ask about plans: inversion questions with question words, 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 My plans: aller + infinitive unit, dive into the full secondary French curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.