Sites worth a visit?

After talking to my Y8 pupils about the importance of learning verb endings and the irregular verbs, I started to look around for websites that might help you to help you understand a little bit more , or even to get more out of French.

There are thousands of websites, blogs from French teachers and schools, pay sites from companies and individuals, sponsored free sites, sites put up by education authorities, … the list goes on.

I’ve tried to select a few that you may find helpful. Have a look at them and let me know what you think. Maybe you can suggest some others?

http://www.verbs-online.com/ Improve your skills on verbs in different languages

 http://www.verb2verbe.com/  Enter French or English verbs in any form of conjugation.  

http://phonetique.free.fr/indexgb.htm  It is aimed at learners of French as a foreign language, but can also be used by native French speakers. On these pages, you can hear all the sounds of the French alphabet, and you will also find exercises to learn how to distinguish between sounds, as well as games to help you practise the sounds and rhythms of the French language

http://www.digitaldialects.com/ The Digital Dialects website features free to use online games for learning languages. Language resources include games for learning phrases, numbers, useful words, spelling, verb conjugation and alphabets.

http://www.frenchteacher.net/sheets.htm some great resources from Ripon Grammar School

 http://www.sunderlandschools.org/mfl-sunderland/index.htm loads of resources for language learners

 http://www.lesclesjunior.com/ news in French for kids

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/languages.shtml BBC langage sites for all key stages

Some revision – “futur proche”

We can talk about things we’re going to do soon by using the present tense of “aller” + infinitive.

 

Je vais porter un pull -I’m going to wear a jumper

Elle va regarder un film – She’s going to watch a film

 

aller – to go

 

je vais                     –         I go /  am going

tu vas                     –         you go / are going

il / elle / on va                   –         he / she goes / is going, “we” go / are going

nous allons              –         we go / are going

vous allez                –         you go / are going

ils / elles vont           –         they go / are going

Vouloir, pouvoir & devoir

Year 8  have been looking at the present tense of these verbs.

They are modal verbs and are generally followed by an infinitive.

  • Vouloir = to want to
  • Pouvoir = to be able to (“can”)
  • Devoir = to have to (“must”)

We have used these basic translations, although devoir is a verb with various meanings – it can refer to debt (Elle me doit mille euros – she owes me 1000 euros), obligation (Vous devez attendre le bus – you must wait for the bus) or probability (Le bus doit arriver à 10h – the bus is supposed to arrive at 10 o’clock). Tone of voice and gestures when speaking, or other text when reading will give you clues to the meaning of the verb each time.

  • Je peux jouer au golf – I can play golf
  • Il veux jouer au golf – He wants to play golf
  • Vous devez jouer au golf – You have to play golf

These verb are all irregular, but they do follow some of the patterns of verb endings. What can you remember?

Le weekend dernier Y8

Qu’est-ce que tu as fait le weekend dernier?

Before the end of this half term you need to create a piece of writing about what you did last weekend. You can use your imagination – it doesn’t have to be true! Try to answer these questions

  • What did I do?
  • When did I do it?
  • Where did I go?
  • Did I like it? Why?
  • Who was I with?

How are you going to present your work?

A diary? A letter? A comic strip/ A picture book? Plain text?

Have a look at this example from Storybird.

le weekend dernier

I’ll post some examples of Year 8 work a bit later.

 

Can’t remember verb endings?

Regular verb endings are fairly straightforward – you’ve just got to remember them! Here’s a little reminder of the present tense of regular -er, i-r and -re verbs, but have alook on the FROG pages for more details and examples.

er (parler)

je parle

tu parles

il / elle parle

nous parlons

vous parlez

ils / elles parlent

 

-ir (finir)

je finis

tu finis

il / elle finit

nous finissons

vous finissez

ils / elles finissent

 

-re (descendre)

je descends

tu descends

il / elle descend

nous descendons

vous descendez

ils / elles descendent