New
New
Lesson 7 of 12
  • Year 10
  • Edexcel

Un nouvel élève : yes/no questions with inversion, intonation and 'est-ce que'

I can understand and form questions in the present tense using intonation, inversion and 'est-ce que' to get to know somebody new.

Lesson 7 of 12
New
New
  • Year 10
  • Edexcel

Un nouvel élève : yes/no questions with inversion, intonation and 'est-ce que'

I can understand and form questions in the present tense using intonation, inversion and 'est-ce que' to get to know somebody new.

These resources were made for remote use during the pandemic, not classroom teaching.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Yes/no questions can be formed by raising the intonation at the end of the sentence.
  2. Yes/no questions can be formed by inversion, which means swapping the position of the subject and the verb.
  3. Yes/no questions can also be formed by adding est-ce que to a statement. Est-ce que becomes est-ce qu' before a vowel.
  4. In French there is no word for 'do/does' in yes/no questions.

Keywords

  • Intonation - rise and fall of the voice in speaking

  • Inversion - when the subject pronoun and the verb switch place to form a question

  • Est-ce que - a questioning device

Common misconception

When forming yes/no questions, we need to translate the English 'do' or 'does' into French.

There is no equivalent to 'do' or 'does' in French. Use inversion, intonation or 'est-ce que' to form yes/no questions.


To help you plan your year 10 French lesson on: Un nouvel élève : yes/no questions with inversion, intonation and 'est-ce que', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Model the different ways of forming questions in classroom talk. When asking the class a question, ask three times in quick succession with inversion, intonation and est-ce que, exposing pupils to all three. When a pupil asks a question, other pupils could repeat the question using the other forms.
Teacher tip

Equipment

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

Loading...

Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the verbs to their English meaning.

Correct Answer:produire,to produce, producing

to produce, producing

Correct Answer:rendre,to return, give back

to return, give back

Correct Answer:défendre,to defend, defending

to defend, defending

Correct Answer:promettre,to promise, promising

to promise, promising

Correct Answer:perdre,to lose, losing

to lose, losing

Correct Answer:comprendre,to understand, understanding

to understand, understanding

Q2.
Which of the following translate: Est-ce que tu dessines des animaux rares ?

Correct answer: Do you draw rare animals?
Correct answer: Are you drawing rare animals?
You are drawing rare animals.
You draw rare animals.

Q3.
Match the infinitives to the vocabulary.

Correct Answer:échanger,des SMS

des SMS

Correct Answer:jouer,au basket

au basket

Correct Answer:nager,à la piscine

à la piscine

Correct Answer:danser,dans un spectacle

dans un spectacle

Correct Answer:produire ,des films

des films

Q4.
Which is the first language of most people living in Quebec in Canada?

English
Spanish
Correct answer: French
Portuguese

Q5.
What is the negative form of 'il y a'?

Correct Answer: il n'y a pas, il n'y a pas de

Q6.
Identify the short form of the verb in this statement: tu vas arriver en France.

Correct Answer: vas

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the vocabulary to the English translation.

Correct Answer:oser,to dare, daring

to dare, daring

Correct Answer:inquiétant,worrying

worrying

Correct Answer:ne...personne,nobody

nobody

Correct Answer:rencontrer,to meet, meeting

to meet, meeting

Correct Answer:accompagner,to accompany, accompanying

to accompany, accompanying

Correct Answer:surtout,above all, especially

above all, especially

Q2.
Yes/no questions in French can be formed using intonation, est-ce que or...

Correct Answer: inversion

Q3.
True or False? We directly translate the English 'do' or 'does' at the start of a yes/no question.

Correct Answer: False

Q4.
Make the statement into a question using 'est-ce que': tu danses.

Correct Answer: Est-ce que tu danses ?, Est-ce que tu danses?

Q5.
Make this statement into a question using inversion: il est canadien.

Correct Answer: Est-il canadien ?, Est-il canadien?

Q6.
Translate into French: Does he know Jean?

Correct Answer: Il connaît Jean ?, Est-ce qu'il connaît Jean ? , Connaît-il Jean ?