LanguagesGCSE French: tenses, opinions and translation30 min★★★ difficulty

French: three tenses that carry the whole exam

Examiners look for a range of tenses used accurately. Three tenses, secure, beat six tenses guessed at.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Use present, past and future tenses accurately and translate between French and English.

Key learning points

• Present tense
• Perfect tense
• Near and simple future
• Opinions with a reason

This lesson at a glance

30 minutes
21 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

presentfuturetensesaccuratelytranslate

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Part 1 of 21 · Discover5%

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Part 1 of 21

French: three tenses that carry the whole exam illustration

Visual introduction

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French: three tenses that carry the whole exam

Examiners look for a range of tenses used accurately. Three tenses, secure, beat six tenses guessed at.

In a nutshell

Use present, past and future tenses accurately and translate between French and English.

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 21

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Present tense

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 21

Learn

Present tense

Regular -er, -ir and -re verbs follow set endings: je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent. Learn avoir, être, aller and faire as irregular verbs first, because they also build other tenses.

Reset break

Part 4 of 21

Pause

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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 21

Learn

Perfect tense

Formed with avoir or être in the present plus a past participle: j'ai regardé, nous avons fini, elle a vendu. Verbs of movement and all reflexives take être and the participle agrees with the subject: elle est allée, nous nous sommes levés.

Quick check

Part 6 of 21

Quick check

Which auxiliary does 'aller' take in the perfect tense?

Give me a hint

Quick check

Part 7 of 21

Quick check

What is the near future of 'visiter' for 'je'?

Give me a hint

Reset break

Part 8 of 21

Pause

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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Learning cycle

Part 9 of 21

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Near and simple future

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

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Part 10 of 21

Learn

Near and simple future

The near future uses aller plus an infinitive: je vais visiter. The simple future adds endings to the infinitive: je visiterai, tu visiteras. The near future is easier to use accurately in speaking; keep the simple future for writing where you can check it.

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 21

Learn

Opinions with a reason

Never leave an opinion bare. Use je pense que, à mon avis, ce qui me plaît, c'est que, and justify with parce que or car. Add a connective such as cependant or de plus to extend, and you move from a basic to a developed response.

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Part 12 of 21

Pause

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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Quick check

Part 13 of 21

Quick check

Which phrase best develops an opinion?

Give me a hint

Quick check

Part 14 of 21

Quick check

Why does 'elle est allée' end in -ée?

Give me a hint

Explore the idea

Part 15 of 21

Worked example

Model paragraph with three tenses

Normalement, je joue au badminton le samedi matin avec ma sœur parce que c'est un sport rapide et amusant. Le week-end dernier, nous sommes allées au club et j'ai gagné mon premier match, ce qui m'a beaucoup encouragée. L'année prochaine, je vais participer à un tournoi régional, et je pense que je m'entraînerai deux fois par semaine pour être prête. Cependant, à mon avis, le plus important, c'est de rester avec mes amies. — Three tenses, two opinions, one connective and a reason: the structure of a top-band answer.

Reset break

Part 16 of 21

Pause

That's sitting 4 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Challenge round

Part 17 of 21

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Challenge round

Part 18 of 21

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

Learn avoir, être, aller and faire as irregular verbs first, because they also build other ____.

Formed with avoir or être in the ____ plus a past participle: j'ai regardé, nous avons fini, elle a vendu.

The near ____ uses aller plus an infinitive: je vais visiter.

Challenge round

Part 19 of 21

Game · Recall cards

Which auxiliary does 'aller' take in the perfect tense?

Card 1 of 4

Mastery quiz

Part 20 of 21

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: French: three tenses that carry the whole exam

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Which auxiliary does 'aller' take in the perfect tense?
2. What is the near future of 'visiter' for 'je'?
3. Which phrase best develops an opinion?
4. Why does 'elle est allée' end in -ée?

Lesson round-up

Part 21 of 21

Lesson round-up

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