On se bouge ! Impersonal verbs
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use a range of impersonal verbs to give advice and instructions on the importance of health and exercise.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- 'Il est', 'il fait', 'il y a' and 'il faut' are common impersonal verbs.
- Impersonal verbs are usually only used with the pronoun 'il'.
- 'Il est' + adjective + 'de' + infinitive can be used to express 'it is difficult/easy/forbidden to' + a verb.
- Impersonal verbs 'valoir mieux' ('to be better') and 'valoir la peine de' ('to be worth') are followed by an infinitive.
Keywords
Impersonal verb - a verb that doesn't refer to a particular person or thing, and whose subject is most often 'il' (it)
Common misconception
'Il' always means 'he' in English.
Impersonal verbs nearly always have the subject 'il'. This translates as 'it' instead of 'he', e.g. 'il fait beau' - 'it is nice weather'.
Teacher tip
Teachers could extend the final speaking task by asking students to think of some additional problems of their own.
Equipment
Mini whiteboards and pens are useful, if available.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the correct meaning of the French word “taille”?
Q2.Match each French to its English meaning.
It is necessary to eat
There is a field
It is nice weather
It’s one o’clock
Q3.Put the words in the correct order to make a sentence.
Q4.Which sentence correctly uses “il faut”?
Q5.Complete the sentence so that it means 'It is too difficult to try.' Il trop difficile d' essayer.
Q6.What are the two words for 'it' in French?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which sentence contains an impersonal verb?
Q2.Match each impersonal verb phrase to its English meaning.
It is important to move
It’s necessary to do exercise
It is three o'clock
There is traffic
Q3.Put the words in the correct order to form a sentence.
Q4.Complete the sentence with the correct verb. Il __________ mieux faire de l’exercice chaque jour.
Q5.Translate to French: It is difficult to sleep.
Q6.Match the French and the English
fortunately, luckily
big
healthy
aware, conscious
active
To help you plan your 11 French lesson on: On se bouge ! Impersonal verbs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 French lesson on: On se bouge ! Impersonal verbs, 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 People and lifestyle: Faire de bons choix unit, dive into the full secondary French curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.