New
New
Year 8

School is out! Adverb placement and translation of the perfect tense

Learning outcomes

I can translate 'le passé compose' into both the perfect tense and the simple past in English, whilst placing adverbs correctly in French.

I can compare and contrast the consonant clusters: [th], [ch] and [qu].

New
New
Year 8

School is out! Adverb placement and translation of the perfect tense

Learning outcomes

I can translate 'le passé compose' into both the perfect tense and the simple past in English, whilst placing adverbs correctly in French.

I can compare and contrast the consonant clusters: [th], [ch] and [qu].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The SSCs [qu], [ch] and [th] are consonant clusters pronounced as in 'question', 'chercher' and 'th'.
  2. Adverbs of time (saying exactly when), and of place, normally come at the beginning of a sentence: hier, j'ai travaillé.
  3. Other adverbs, including adverbs of time saying generally when, come after the conjugated verb form: j'ai enfin mangé.
  4. The perfect tense can be translated into both the simple past and the present perfect in English.
  5. Sentences with adverbs of a specific time use the simple past in English.

Keywords

  • [th] - pronounced as in 'thé'

  • [ch] - pronounced as in 'question'

  • [qu] - pronounced as in 'chercher'

  • Adverb - a word that describes a verb

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

Common misconception

The sound-symbol correspondences [qu], [ch] and [th] are pronounced the same as in English.

The SSCs [qu], [ch] and [th] are pronounced differently in French than in English.


To help you plan your year 8 french lesson on: School is out! Adverb placement and translation of the perfect tense, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Prior to this lesson, revise adverb types in English with your pupils, looking specifically at the different adverbs of time (duration, frequency etc.).
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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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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the infinitives of the verbs.
Correct Answer:dire,to say, saying

to say, saying

Correct Answer:écrire,to write, writing

to write, writing

Correct Answer:lire,to read, reading

to read, reading

Correct Answer:traduire,to translate, translating

to translate, translating

Q2.
Which of the following are adverbs?
Correct answer: at the moment
big
Correct answer: often
blue
Correct answer: yesterday
Q3.
Which of the sentences below is in the perfect tense?
Correct answer: J'ai mangé les bonbons.
Correct answer: Ils ont écouté la musique.
Elle va manger la pomme.
Nous allons en ville.
Je commence mes devoirs.
Q4.
Put the following in order to make a past tense sentence.
1 - Hier
2 - ils
3 - ont
4 - regardé
5 - un film
6 - au
7 - cinéma
Q5.
There are two different ways of saying 'time' in French: le temps and la fois. When would you use them?
Correct Answer:le temps,to talk about an amount of time (minutes, days etc.)

to talk about an amount of time (minutes, days etc.)

Correct Answer:la fois,to talk about the number of times something happens

to talk about the number of times something happens

Q6.
Complete the sentence. J'ai vu ce film trois ...
Correct answer: fois
temps

6 Questions

Q1.
Adverbs of time (saying exactly when) normally come __________ of a sentence in French.
at the end
Correct answer: at the beginning
after the conjugated verb
in the middle
Q2.
Adverbs of time saying generally when, come __________ the conjugated verb form in French.
before
in the middle of
Correct answer: after
Q3.
Match the parts of the verb to form the perfect tense of the verb 'habiter' - to live.
Correct Answer:J',ai habité

ai habité

Correct Answer:tu,as habité

as habité

Correct Answer:il/elle,a habité

a habité

Correct Answer:nous,avons habité

avons habité

Correct Answer:vous,avez habité

avez habité

Correct Answer:ils/elles,ont habité

ont habité

Q4.
Which of these sentences are in the perfect tense? (le passé composé)
Correct answer: J'ai mangé
Correct answer: Nous avons habité
Tu manges
Il va habiter
Il mange
Q5.
Chose the correct translation. J'ai regardé la télé hier.
I am watching TV.
I have watched TV.
Correct answer: I watched TV yesterday.
Tomorrow I will watch TV.
Q6.
Put the words in the correct order to translate, 'I have finally eaten my sweets'.
1 - J'
2 - ai
3 - enfin
4 - mangé
5 - mes
6 - bonbons

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