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      What you can and can't do: negation with modal verbs + infinitive

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use modal verbs in negative structures and questions to talk about summer activities.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. [ien] sounds like 'bien'.
      2. [(a)in] sounds like 'train'.
      3. In a two-verb sentence, make sentences negative by adding ne ... pas around the first verb, which should be conjugated.
      4. Swap the position of the subject pronoun and conjugated modal verb to ask inversion questions.

      Keywords

      • [ien] - pronounced as in 'bien'

      • [(a)in] - pronounced as in 'train'

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

      • Two-verb inversion - an inversion question using a two-verb structure: verb + pronoun + infinitive, e.g. 'Aimes-tu sortir ?'

      Common misconception

      'Ne ... pas' goes around both verbs in a two-verb sentence.

      'Ne ... pas' surrounds the first verb in a two-verb sentence. If a sentence contains a modal verb and an infinitive, it will surround the conjugated modal verb.

      Teacher tip

      The productive tasks D2 and D3 are guided but you could challenge students to go beyond the vocabulary and structures in the slides and use everything they have learnt and reference material to extend further.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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 the verbs in French and English.

      Correct Answer:je/tu pars,I/you leave

      I/you leave

      Correct Answer:il/elle part,he/she leaves

      he/she leaves

      Correct Answer:je/tu sors,I/you go out

      I/you go out

      Correct Answer:il/elle sort,he/she goes out

      he/she goes out

      Correct Answer:je/tu viens,I/you come

      I/you come

      Correct Answer:il/elle vient,he/she comes

      he/she comes

      Q2.
      Tick any sounds which appear in the sentence 'Je suis désolé, je ne peux pas trouver la réponse'.

      Correct answer: silent final -e
      Correct answer: silent final consonant
      liaison
      Correct answer: [é/er/ez]
      [u]

      Q3.
      To negate sentences in French you need to put ne ... around the verb. Add the missing word in French.

      Correct Answer: pas

      Q4.
      Put the French words in order to make the sentence 'In the future, I'm going to become a maths teacher.'

      1 - à
      2 - l'avenir
      3 - je
      4 - vais
      5 - devenir
      6 - professeur
      7 - de maths

      Q5.
      Add the missing French word to the sentence 'I want to go shopping tomorrow.' 'Je faire les magasins demain.'

      peux
      peut
      Correct answer: veux
      veut
      dois

      Q6.
      Order the French words in the sentence 'He has to arrive early at the airport'.

      1 - il
      2 - doit
      3 - arriver
      4 - tôt
      5 - à
      6 - l'
      7 - aéroport

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the French and English infinitives

      Correct Answer:aider,to help, helping

      to help, helping

      Correct Answer:chercher,to look for, looking for

      to look for, looking for

      Correct Answer:partager,to share, sharing

      to share, sharing

      Correct Answer:pouvoir,to be able to, can

      to be able to, can

      Correct Answer:revenir,to come back, coming back

      to come back, coming back

      Correct Answer:savoir,to know (how to), knowing (how to)

      to know (how to), knowing (how to)

      Q2.
      Tick any words containing [ien].

      Correct answer: algérien
      important
      ciel
      cinq
      Correct answer: revient

      Q3.
      Put the French words in order for the sentence 'I can't find the answer'.

      1 - je
      2 - ne
      3 - peux
      4 - pas
      5 - trouver
      6 - la
      7 - réponse

      Q4.
      Add the missing French word for the sentence 'Sir, are you Algerian, do you come from Algeria?' Monsieur, êtes-vous , vous venez d'Algérie ?

      Correct Answer: algérien, algerien

      Q5.
      Translate the sentence 'Do you want to go to the match next week?' using an inversion question.

      1 - veux
      2 - tu
      3 - aller
      4 - au
      5 - match
      6 - la semaine
      7 - prochaine

      Q6.
      Fill in the missing French word in the sentence 'She likes singing but she can't go to the concert'. Elle aime chanter mais elle ne pas aller au concert.

      Correct Answer: veut

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