New
New
Year 9

Free time: verbs + 'de' or 'à' + noun

Learning outcomes

I can describe what I do in my free time, including verbs with 'à/de' before nouns.

I can confidently pronounce [au].

New
New
Year 9

Free time: verbs + 'de' or 'à' + noun

Learning outcomes

I can describe what I do in my free time, including verbs with 'à/de' before nouns.

I can confidently pronounce [au].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [au] is pronounced as in 'gauche'.
  2. Many French verbs are followed by 'à' or 'de' and a noun; 'à' and 'de' link to the definite article before the noun.
  3. 'De' is 'du' before masculine nouns, 'de la' (feminine), 'des' (plural) or 'de l'' before a vowel.
  4. 'À' is 'au' before masculine nouns, 'à la' (feminine), 'aux' (plural) or 'à l'' before a vowel.
  5. The present endings for verbs like 'entendre' are -s, -s, -, -ons, -ez, -ent. 'Mettre' drops a 't' in the singular form.

Keywords

  • [au] - pronounced as in 'gauche'

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

Common misconception

'Mettre' is a verb like 'entendre' and it follows the same pattern.

'Mettre' has the same present tense endings as verbs like 'entendre' but the stem is different in the singular forms. Drop one of the 't's from the infinitive, leaving the remaining 't' as a silent final consonant.


To help you plan your year 9 French lesson on: Free time: verbs + 'de' or 'à' + noun, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Teachers could bring French culture to life by adding photos and/or videos of Jean Jacques Goldman. His bilingual song 'Je te donne' is an engaging earworm. Pupils might enjoy learning the lyrics and performing it. His work has been covered by many contemporary singers.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), 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

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6 Questions

Q1.
Order the days of the week. Start with Monday.

1 - lundi
2 - mardi
3 - mercredi
4 - jeudi
5 - vendredi
6 - samedi
7 - dimanche

Q2.
Match the French and English.

Correct Answer:écrire,to write, writing

to write, writing

Correct Answer:jouer,to play, playing

to play, playing

Correct Answer:aller,to go, going

to go, going

Correct Answer:descendre,to go down, going down

to go down, going down

Correct Answer:attendre,to wait, waiting

to wait, waiting

Correct Answer:commencer,to start, to begin

to start, to begin

Q3.
Match the French and English.

Correct Answer:février (m),February

February

Correct Answer:guitare (f),guitar

guitar

Correct Answer:porte (f),door

door

Correct Answer:maman (f),mum

mum

Correct Answer:papa (m),dad

dad

Correct Answer:fenêtre (f),window

window

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'What do you want to do?'.

1 - qu'
2 - est-
3 - ce
4 - que
5 - tu
6 - veux
7 - faire

Q5.
Write in English: 'je vais en voiture'.

Correct Answer: I go by car, I am going by car, I'm going by car

Q6.
Write in French: 'the group sings a lot'.

Correct Answer: le groupe chante beaucoup

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Which French words include the sound [au]?

Correct answer: autumn
Correct answer: present, gift
first
instrument
Correct answer: warm

Q2.
Which verbs are used with the preposition 'de'?

demander
Correct answer: dépendre
frapper
Correct answer: penser
répondre

Q3.
Match the sentence halves.

Correct Answer:je joue au,football

football

Correct Answer:je joue de la,guitare

guitare

Correct Answer:je vais à l',école

école

Correct Answer:je mange du,pain

pain

Correct Answer:je vais à la,stade

stade

Correct Answer:je bois de l',eau

eau

Q4.
Write in French: 'I hear and I put'.

Correct Answer: j'entends et je mets

Additional material

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