New
New
Year 8

School reporter: past inversion questions

Learning outcomes

I can plan questions for a school report using inversion and the perfect tense

I can compare and contrast the SSCs (sound-symbol correspondence) [s], [tion] and [c/ç].

New
New
Year 8

School reporter: past inversion questions

Learning outcomes

I can plan questions for a school report using inversion and the perfect tense

I can compare and contrast the SSCs (sound-symbol correspondence) [s], [tion] and [c/ç].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The French [s] can make a hard 'z' or a soft 's' sound: maison, société.
  2. The SSC [tion] makes a soft 's' sound: attention. The SSC [ç/c] makes a soft 's' sound: cinéma.
  3. Use the perfect tense to talk about an action that happened in the past: avoir + past participle.
  4. To ask a closed question in the perfect tense use inversion: swap the subject and the verb (avoir): as-tu commencé ?

Keywords

  • [s] - pronounced as in 'maison'

  • [tion] - pronounced as in 'attention'

  • [c/ç] - pronounced as in 'ici'

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

  • Inversion - when the subject pronoun and the verb switch place to form a question

Common misconception

When forming an inversion question in the perfect tense, the past participle comes after 'avoir'.

When forming an inversion question in the perfect tense, only the verb avoir and the subject swap. The past participle remains at the end: as-tu commencé ?


To help you plan your year 8 french lesson on: School reporter: past inversion questions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Once pupils have prepared questions for their school project, ask volunteers to present their 'school report' to the class, as Amir did in task B1. Use task B1 as a model answer on the board.
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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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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the French to the English.
Correct Answer:décire,to describe, describing

to describe, describing

Correct Answer:expliquer,to explain, explaining

to explain, explaining

Correct Answer:emprunter,to borrow, borrowing

to borrow, borrowing

Correct Answer:quitter,to leave, leaving

to leave, leaving

Correct Answer:nourrir,to feed, feeding

to feed, feeding

Correct Answer:finir,to finish, finishing

to finish, finishing

Q2.
Which words mean 'time'?
Correct answer: temps
communauté
produit
Correct answer: fois
expérience
Q3.
Order the words to say 'vaping is dangerous for young people'.
1 - le
2 - vapotage
3 - est
4 - dangereux
5 - pour
6 - les
7 - jeunes
Q4.
'Aujourd'hui je vais emprunter ton livre.' Which is the correct translation?
Today, I borrow your book.
Tomorrow, I am going to borrow your book.
Correct answer: Today, I am going to borrow your book.
Today, I am going to read your book.
Today, I am starting your book.
Q5.
'Avez-vous écrit une lettre?' Translate this sentence into English.
Correct Answer: Have you written a letter, Did you write a letter
Q6.
'Have they found a solution?' Translate this question into French using inversion into French.
Correct Answer: Ont-ils trouvé une solution, Ont-elles trouvé une solution

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these words is an adverb?
réponse
journal
autre
Correct answer: enfin
lire
Q2.
'Nous __________ parlé avec les élèves et leurs parents pour trouver une solution.' Which word best completes this sentence?
sommes
ont
parlons
avez
Correct answer: avons
Q3.
'Je quitte __________ l'école à trois heures.' Which word best completes this sentence?
déjà
Correct answer: toujours
parfois
aujourd'hui
hier
Q4.
Order these words to say 'I want to work with the local community'.
1 - je
2 - veux
3 - travailler
4 - avec
5 - la
6 - communauté
7 - locale
Q5.
'Avons-nous envoyé un e-mail urgent?' Translate this sentence into English.
Correct Answer: Have we sent an urgent email, Did we send an urgent email
Q6.
'I have already proposed a meeting.' Translate this sentence into French.
Correct Answer: J'ai déjá proposé une réunion

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