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      A theft: verbs with 'à' and 'de' before the noun

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use a range of verbs with 'à' and 'de' to talk about crime and safety.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Some verbs take à or de before a noun; it's important to learn each verb together with its required preposition.
      2. The forms of 'à' and 'de' change before masculine and plural nouns to 'au', 'aux', 'du' and 'des'.
      3. Learn the genders of all nouns so that you know which form of 'à' or 'de' to use.

      Keywords

      • Preposition - a word that is used before a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun, connecting it to another word

      Common misconception

      Learning genders is not as important as learning the noun itself.

      Leaning the genders of words is essential because it affects other parts of the sentence such as which form of 'à/de' to use before a noun.

      Teacher tip

      Task A1 could be adapted to have a full cycle of French-English practice to boost confidence followed by a full round of English-French to practise spellings and genders. The mouse wearing 'un béret' might be a good opportunity to discuss the challenges of cultural stereotypes with your pupils.

      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.
      Match the prepositions.

      Correct Answer:avec,with

      with

      Correct Answer:sans,without

      without

      Correct Answer:pour,for

      for

      Correct Answer:selon,according to

      according to

      Correct Answer:contre,against

      against

      Q2.
      Match each word with its opposite.

      Correct Answer:pour,contre

      contre

      Correct Answer:sur,sous

      sous

      Correct Answer:avant,après

      après

      Correct Answer:sans,avec

      avec

      Correct Answer:près,loin

      loin

      Q3.
      How do you say, 'Its for me'?

      Correct Answer: C'est pour moi.

      Q4.
      Put the words in order to say what happened to your bag.

      1 - Paul
      2 - a
      3 - volé
      4 - mon
      5 - sac

      Q5.
      How do you say 'chez toi' in English?

      at my house
      Correct answer: at your house
      at his house
      at her house

      Q6.
      What is the French word for a person who commits a crime?

      un délit
      un crime
      Correct answer: un délinquant
      un policier

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of the phrases could be used to translate 'selon moi'?

      according to you
      Correct answer: in my opinion
      in his opinion
      according to him
      Correct answer: according to me

      Q2.
      Which of these verbs would use 'à' before a noun?

      Correct answer: téléphoner
      faire
      Correct answer: voler
      avoir besoin
      Correct answer: emprunter

      Q3.
      Put the words in order to translate, 'the dog gets closer to the girl'.

      1 - le
      2 - chien
      3 - s'
      4 - approche
      5 - de
      6 - la
      7 - fille

      Q4.
      Que penses-tu __________ films d'amour?

      du
      de la
      Correct answer: des
      de l'

      Q5.
      What is 'un voleur'?

      Correct Answer: a thief, thief

      To help you plan your 9 French lesson on: A theft: verbs with 'à' and 'de' before the noun, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...