New
New
Year 7

What you can and can't do: 'pouvoir' and 'savoir' singular persons

Learning outcomes

I can use the modal verbs 'pouvoir' and 'savoir' in the singular persons to say what summer activities I can do.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [ien].

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New
New
Year 7

What you can and can't do: 'pouvoir' and 'savoir' singular persons

Learning outcomes

I can use the modal verbs 'pouvoir' and 'savoir' in the singular persons to say what summer activities I can do.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [ien].

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [ien] sounds like 'bien'
  2. Use 'pouvoir' to talk about ability or permission; use 'savoir' to talk about skills or things you have learned to do.
  3. 'Pouvoir' changes to 'peux' in the first and second persons singular and 'peut' in the 3rd person singular.
  4. 'Savoir' changes to 'sais' in the first and second persons singular and 'sait' in the 3rd person singular.
  5. If modal verbs are followed by another verb it must be in the infinitive form.

Keywords

  • [ien] - pronounced as in 'bien'

  • Modal verbs - verb of necessity or possibility used with a 2nd verb in infinitive e.g., must, can, want

  • Pouvoir - modal verb meaning 'to be able to, can'

  • Savoir - modal verb meaning 'to know how to, can'

Common misconception

There is one verb for 'can' in French like in English.

The verb for 'can' changes depending on whether you need specific skills/knowledge to be able to do it. If not, use 'pouvoir', if it does, use 'savoir'.


To help you plan your year 7 french lesson on: What you can and can't do: 'pouvoir' and 'savoir' singular persons, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

If students are familiar with the jigsaw piece activity B1 then it might be a good opportunity to do the activity a number of times, improving speed each time. You could set it up as a class or partner competition.
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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.
Which word means 'the ticket'?
Correct answer: le billet
le pont
l'erreur
la vérité
l'église
Q2.
Match the prepositions in French and English.
Correct Answer:devant,in front (of)

in front (of)

Correct Answer:dans,in(side)

in(side)

Correct Answer:derrière,behind

behind

Correct Answer:sur,on (top of)

on (top of)

Correct Answer:sous,under

under

Correct Answer:à,at, to with cities, places

at, to with cities, places

Q3.
'He wants to visit the old building.' : 'Il visiter le vieux bâtiment'.'
veux
Correct answer: veut
dois
doit
Q4.
How many silent final consonants (SFCs) are in this sentence? 'Je dois faire mes devoirs et après je vais voir mes chiens.'
Correct Answer: 8, eight, huit
Q5.
Write the missing word: 'Modal verbs are always followed by verbs.'
Correct Answer: infinitive
Q6.
Order the words to say: 'I must ask my parents'.
1 - je
2 - dois
3 - demander
4 - à
5 - mes
6 - parents

6 Questions

Q1.
Match up the verbs in French and English.
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:partir,to leave, leaving

to leave, leaving

Correct Answer:pouvoir,to be able to

to be able to

Correct Answer:savoir,to know how to

to know how to

Q2.
Select the words with the sound-symbol correspondence [ien].
pain
Correct answer: deviens
algérienne
Correct answer: combien
dessin
Q3.
Choose the correct missing word: 'Tu sais ?'
Correct answer: écrire
écris
écrit
lis
lit
Q4.
Choose the correct missing word: 'Can he come too?' - 'Il venir aussi ?'
peux
Correct answer: peut
sais
sait
pouvoir
Q5.
Write the missing word: 'I can watch TV in my bedroom.' - 'Je regarder la télé dans ma chambre.'
Correct Answer: peux
Q6.
Order the words to say: 'You can listen to music and you can play the piano'.
1 - tu peux
2 - écouter
3 - de la musique
4 - et
5 - tu sais
6 - jouer
7 - du piano

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