New
New
Year 9

The French Revolution: present and perfect tenses, 'ne…jamais'

I can use a range of adverbs in the perfect tense and talk about what already/never happened.

New
New
Year 9

The French Revolution: present and perfect tenses, 'ne…jamais'

I can use a range of adverbs in the perfect tense and talk about what already/never happened.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Adverbs that tell us when and where are usually positioned at the start or end of the sentence.
  2. Adverbs that tell us how (often) are usually positioned straight after the first verb in the sentence.
  3. The perfect tense can be translated into the simple past/present perfect in English depending on the context.
  4. 'Jamais' means never. In perfect tense sentences, ne …jamais surrounds the first verb (avoir), just like ne ...pas does.

Keywords

  • Adverb - word that describes a verb or an adjective

  • Negation - two elements e.g. ne … pas around the main verb expressing negative meaning

Common misconception

Adverbs always come in the same place in a sentence.

The type of adverb tells us where to place it. When and where adverbs usually come at the beginning or end of a sentence and how (often) adverbs usaully come straight after the first verb in a sentence.


To help you plan your year 9 French lesson on: The French Revolution: present and perfect tenses, 'ne…jamais', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Speaking Task B5 could be adapted to directly prompt students to give answers using certain adverbs. Students could also make notes on what their partner says and use their answers in a follow up written task.
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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.
Which statements are correct?

Correct answer: The Bastille was an old fortress used as a prison.
A crowd of Parisians stormed the Bastille in 1914.
Correct answer: July 14 is often called 'la fête nationale' in France.
Correct answer: A government replaced the monarchy in 1792.
There is still a monarchy (King/Queen) in France.

Q2.
Match the French and the English.

Correct Answer:contre,against

against

Correct Answer:magasin (m),shop

shop

Correct Answer:Noël (m),Christmas

Christmas

Correct Answer:problème (m),problem

problem

Correct Answer:vite,quickly

quickly

Correct Answer:comme,like, as

like, as

Q3.
What is the 'Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen'?

the order to execute Louis XVI
Correct answer: a human and civil rights document
the Tennis Court Oath

Q4.
Which of the following are a translation of 'comme'?

Correct answer: Like: e.g. He's like his father.
Correct answer: As: e.g. As dessert, I'll have an ice-cream.
Correct answer: Since: e.g. Since it's raining, I'll stay home.
Because: e.g. I like chocolate because its sweet.

Q5.
Put the words in the correct order to form a sentence saying what you ate yesterday.

1 - hier
2 - j'
3 - ai
4 - mangé
5 - une
6 - grande
7 - pomme

Q6.
How would you say you didn't eat a big apple?

J'ai mangé une petite pomme.
Correct answer: Je n'ai pas mangé une grande pomme.
Je n'ai pas mangé une pomme.
Je ne vais pas manger une grande pomme.

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the adverb to the question word.

Correct Answer:When,à Noël

à Noël

Correct Answer:Where,loin

loin

Correct Answer:How often,chaque jour

chaque jour

Correct Answer:How,vite

vite

Q2.
Match the adverbs / adverbial phrases.

Correct Answer:aujourd’hui,today

today

Correct Answer:près,near

near

Correct Answer:demain,tomorrow

tomorrow

Correct Answer:vite,quickly

quickly

Correct Answer:normalement,normally

normally

Correct Answer:ici,here

here

Q3.
Which is the correct translation of 'He drinks tea quickly'.

Vite, Il boit du thé.
Correct answer: Il boit vite du thé.
Il boit du thé vite.

Q4.
Translate this sentence in the past (perfect) tense. He drank tea quickly.

Il a bu du thé vite.
Il a bu vite du thé.
Correct answer: Il a vite bu du thé.
Vite, il a bu du thé.

Q5.
Translate 'ne ...jamais'.

Correct Answer: never, Never, never., Never.

Q6.
Put the words in order to translate the following sentence; I have never had any problems.

1 - je
2 - n’
3 - ai
4 - jamais
5 - eu
6 - de
7 - problèmes

Additional material

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