Ils sont venus à Paris : Present perfect
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can recognise when to use the simple past and when to use the present perfect when translating French into English, in the context of arriving to live in a new country.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The simple past is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) with a past participle.
- The present perfect is formed in the same way as the simple past, combining an auxiliary verb and a past participle.
- When translating into English, we need to think whether the simple past or the present perfect is the best translation.
Keywords
Auxiliary verb - a form of either 'avoir' or 'être' used to form the perfect tense
Past participle - a verb form that forms the perfect tense, together with the auxiliary verb
Simple past - a tense in English that describes things that happened and finished in the past
Present perfect - a tense in English that describes actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past and has a connection to the present
Common misconception
The perfect tense can only be translated as what happened in French.
The perfect tense refers to the past in two ways: what happened and what has happened. Context tells us the intended meaning. 'Hier, je suis allé en ville' - yesterday I went to town. 'Je suis déjà allé à Paris' - I have already been to Paris.
Teacher tip
When introducing 'occasion', you may wish to talk in more depth about 'faux amis' as a reminder that not all words that look like English mean the same thing.
Equipment
Mini whiteboards are used in one short checking task and would be ideal. Otherwise, students could write their responses on paper.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Direct and indirect object pronouns go the verb in French.
Q2.The perfect tense is made up of the auxiliary verb and the .
Q3.Match each past participle with its English meaning.
Q4.What is the correct word order to translate: I didn't go to France.
Q5.What is the correct word order to translate: I bought her a delicious cake.
Q6.Which question has turned this statement into a question using inversion? 'Vous avez pris le bus'.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the French words with their English translations.
Q2.Which are the three elements that make up a perfect tense verb phrase?
Q3.How many ways can this sentence be translated? 'Tu as vu la pièce ?'
Q4.Which is the correct translation in the simple past of 'Nous avons eu des problèmes récemment'?
Q5.Which is the correct translation of 'We have eaten snails before'?
To help you plan your 10 French lesson on: Ils sont venus à Paris : Present perfect, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 French lesson on: Ils sont venus à Paris : Present perfect, 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 My neighbourhood: Mon nouveau pays unit, dive into the full secondary French curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.