Il faut agir : Infinitives as nouns
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use infinitives as nouns to express activities to help the environment.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- [é], [er], and [ez] all sound like 'écrire'.
- An infinitive can be used as the subject of a sentence to express an activity.
- The infinitive functions like a noun in such sentences: ‘être poli, c’est important’ - 'being polite is important'.
- We normally translate French infinitives used as nouns with the -ing form of the verb in English.
Keywords
-er verb - a verb whose infinitive form ends in -er
Infinitive - form of the verb giving its general meaning, with no subject or tense
Common misconception
The subject of a sentence can only be a noun or pronoun.
A verb can be used as the subject of a sentence. In French, it must be in its infinitive form. When translated to English, use the -ing form of the verb.
Teacher tip
There is a theme about the death of a sibling in this lesson. You may wish to check for pupils in the intended class who might be impacted by this content.
Equipment
Mini whiteboards and pen.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is an infinitive?
Q2.Which words are verbs in their infinitive form?
Q3.Match the French words with their English meanings.
to destroy, destroying
to give up, abandon
to kill, killing
wrote, written
worrying
to dare, daring
Q4.Which tense is used with 'depuis' to say how long or since when you have been doing something?
Q5.Complete this translation to English: 'Je fais mon lit depuis l'âge de trois ans.' my bed since the age of three.
Q6.Which verb phrase is needed to complete this sentence: He has been dead for over 100 years? ' depuis plus de cent ans.' He has been dead for over 100 years.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the French words with their English meanings.
earth
rubbish
warming
battle, fight
to increase, increasing
to avoid, avoiding
Q2.Which item of vocabulary from question 1 best fits in the gap in this sentence? 'Il est nécessaire d' les impôts sur le pétrole.'
Q3.Which form of verb can be used as the subject of a sentence?
Q4.Which type of word can be the subject of a sentence?
Q5.When translating a sentence where the verb 'donner' being used as the subject, which way should the verb be translated?
Q6.Which is the right order to translate this sentence? Driving an electric car pollutes less.
To help you plan your 10 French lesson on: Il faut agir : Infinitives as nouns, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 French lesson on: Il faut agir : Infinitives as nouns, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 French lessons from the Communication and the world around us: mon nouveau pays unit, dive into the full secondary French curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.