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      Having breakfast: perfect tense 'prendre' verbs, 'déjà' and 'ne…pas encore'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use the verb 'prendre' in the perfect tense to say what I had for breakfast.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. The verb 'prendre' (to take, taking) has an irregular past participle: pris - j'ai pris une photo.
      2. Other verbs like 'prendre' (comprendre, apprendre) have the same past participle ending: il a compris la tâche.
      3. To talk about 'having' a meal, food or drink in French, use the verb 'prendre', not 'avoir': tu as pris un café hier.
      4. The adverb 'déjà' means 'already': j'ai déjà mangé. In a question, it can also mean 'yet': tu as déjà mangé ?
      5. Adverb 'encore' means 'again': j'ai encore joué. In a negative sentence, it means 'not yet': je n'ai pas encore joué.

      Keywords

      • Prendre - to take, taking

      • Perfect tense - verb tense that describes completed actions in the past e.g. I (have) listened, you (have) played

      • Past participle - verb that forms the perfect tense, usually together with a present tense form of 'avoir'

      • Encore - adverb meaning 'again or 'yet'

      • Déjà - adverb meaning 'already' or 'yet'

      Common misconception

      Like in English, to talk about 'having' a meal, food or drink in French, use the verb 'avoir': j'ai le petit-déjeuner (I am having breakfast).

      To talk about 'having' a meal, food or drink in French, use the verb 'prendre', not 'avoir': je prends le petit-déjeuner.

      Teacher tip

      In exercise A1, as an extension, ask pupils to create their own silly story using all of the revisited vocabulary words.

      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

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match up the subject pronoun with the correct part of the verb 'avoir' (to have).

      Correct Answer:j',ai

      ai

      Correct Answer:tu,as

      as

      Correct Answer:il/elle,a

      a

      Correct Answer:nous,avons

      avons

      Correct Answer:vous,avez

      avez

      Correct Answer:ils / elles,ont

      ont

      Q2.
      Which of the following is an example of how a regular 'er' verb in French forms its past participle?

      fait
      dire
      pris
      Correct answer: mangé

      Q3.
      Match up the English and the French.

      Correct Answer:cahier (m),exercise book

      exercise book

      Correct Answer:mot (m),word

      word

      Correct Answer:manteau (m),coat

      coat

      Correct Answer:langue (f),language

      language

      Correct Answer:devoirs (mpl),homework

      homework

      Q4.
      Match up the French and the English.

      Correct Answer:faire les courses,to go shopping

      to go shopping

      Correct Answer:faire la cuisine,to do the cooking

      to do the cooking

      Correct Answer:faire le ménage,to do the housework

      to do the housework

      Correct Answer:faire les devoirs,to do homework

      to do homework

      Q5.
      Put these words in order to make the French translation of 'He watched television'.

      1 - Il
      2 - a
      3 - regardé
      4 - la
      5 - télé

      Q6.
      Fill in the missing word: The past is the verb that forms the perfect tense, usually together with a present tense form of 'avoir'.

      Correct Answer: participle

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of the following sentences (meaning 'He understood the homework') correctly uses the past participle of 'comprendre'?

      Il a comprendu les devoirs.
      Il compris les devoirs.
      Correct answer: Il a compris les devoirs.
      Il a comprisé les devoirs.

      Q2.
      Put the words in order to make the translation of 'She had breakfast in the kitchen'.

      1 - Elle
      2 - a
      3 - pris
      4 - le
      5 - petit - déjeuner
      6 - dans
      7 - la cuisine

      Q3.
      Match the French and the English.

      Correct Answer:accident,accident

      accident

      Correct Answer:avoir mal à,to be in pain, hurt or sick

      to be in pain, hurt or sick

      Correct Answer:petit-déjeuner (m),breakfast

      breakfast

      Correct Answer:déjà,already

      already

      Correct Answer:ensuite,then, next

      then, next

      Correct Answer:encore,again

      again

      Q4.
      Which of the following most accurately translates: 'He had a coffee this morning.'?

      Il pris un café ce matin.
      Correct answer: Il a pris un café ce matin.
      Il a un café ce matin.
      Il eu un café ce matin.

      Q5.
      Put the words below in the correct order to translate this sentence into French: He has not yet had breakfast.

      1 - Il
      2 - n'
      3 - a
      4 - pas
      5 - encore
      6 - pris
      7 - le petit-déjeuner

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