New
New
Year 9

Travel in France: more infinitive uses

Learning outcomes

I can use infinitives to describe an activity or an action in French.

I can pronounce words ending in -ique.

New
New
Year 9

Travel in France: more infinitive uses

Learning outcomes

I can use infinitives to describe an activity or an action in French.

I can pronounce words ending in -ique.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Words ending in -ique in French are often cognates with words ending in -ical in English: historique - historical.
  2. An infinitive can be used as the subject of a sentence to express an activity (like a noun): conduire, c'est difficile.
  3. Infinitives are also frequently used after modal verbs or 'aimer' and 'aller': il doit conduire dans la neige.
  4. The infinitive is translated in the -ing form in English when used as a noun and as 'to …' when after a modal verb.
  5. Use the infinitive after 'pour' to say why someone is doing something and after 'sans' to say 'without doing something'.

Keywords

  • [qu] - pronounced as in 'question'

  • Infinitive - form of the verb giving its general meaning, with no subject or tense

  • Pour - preposition meaning 'for'

  • Sans - preposition meaning 'without'

Common misconception

There is only one translation of a French infinitive into English.

An infinitive can be translated into English using the -ing form or 'to ...': conduire - to drive, driving.


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Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following French words is a cognate of the English word historic?
entreprise
roman
Correct answer: historique
château
Q2.
Match the French verb to its English meaning.
Correct Answer:empêcher,to prevent, preventing

to prevent, preventing

Correct Answer:pratiquer,to practise, practising

to practise, practising

Correct Answer:respecter,to respect, respecting

to respect, respecting

Correct Answer:risquer,to risk, risking

to risk, risking

Q3.
Conjugate the verb regarder (to watch) to make the sentence 'I watch'.
Correct Answer: je regarde
Q4.
What is the infinitive form of a verb?
A verb that shows who is doing the action.
A verb that is in the past tense.
Correct answer: The form of the verb that gives its general meaning, with no subject or tense.
Q5.
Which sentence uses an infinitive as the subject of the sentence?
Je regarde un film.
Regardez la télé.
Correct answer: Conduire, c’est difficile.
Ils regardent un match.
Q6.
Fill in the gap to complete the sentence to mean 'They have to wait' . Ils attendre.
Correct Answer: doivent

Assessment exit quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
Which English word is a cognate of the French word fantastique?
fancy
Correct answer: fantastic
fantasy
fascinating
Q2.
Match each French sentence to its correct English meaning.
Correct Answer:Il doit attendre.,He has to wait.

He has to wait.

Correct Answer:Ils peuvent attendre.,They can wait.

They can wait.

Correct Answer:Elle veut pratiquer.,She wants to practise.

She wants to practise.

Correct Answer:Nous devons respecter les règles.,We have to respect the rules.

We have to respect the rules.

Q3.
Put the parts in the correct order to form this sentence: 'He practises to prevent mistakes'.
1 - il
2 - pratique
3 - pour
4 - empêcher
5 - les
6 - erreurs
Q4.
Which sentence correctly uses an infinitive as the subject?
Nous devons respecter les règles.
Correct answer: Attendre, c'est difficile.
Elle veut descendre la piste.
Ils doivent pratiquer tous les jours.
Q5.
'Conduire' is the French for 'to drive' How else could it be translated in English?
Correct Answer: driving

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