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SavannahYear 8
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LanguagesFrench grammar in action28 min★★★ difficulty

Talking about past, present and future

Three tenses cover almost everything you will want to say. Learn one pattern for each and your French suddenly stretches.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Grammar and vocabulary: Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

Key learning points

  • • Present
  • • Perfect past
  • • Near future

This lesson at a glance

  • 28 minutes
  • 14 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

tensesstructuresconveypresentfuture

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Talking about past, present and future

An English teaching video on this topic from Pearson UK & International Schools. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Present

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

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Present

Regular -er verbs take -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. 'Je regarde' covers both 'I watch' and 'I am watching', so there is no separate continuous form to learn.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

Perfect past

Use avoir or être plus a past participle: 'j'ai regardé', 'je suis allé(e)'. Verbs of movement take être, and then the participle agrees with the subject.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

What does 'je vais manger' mean?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 14

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 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
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

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

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Near future

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

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

Near future

Aller plus an infinitive: 'je vais regarder' — I am going to watch. It is the quickest way to talk about plans without learning the full future tense.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

'Nous regardons' is which tense?

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 14

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

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 14

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

It is the quickest way to talk about plans without learning the full ____ tense.

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Talking about past, present and future

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

  1. 1. What does 'je vais manger' mean?

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

  3. 3. 'Nous regardons' is which tense?

14

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

Une journée à Lyon

Samedi matin, je me lève à sept heures et demie. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec ma sœur — du pain, du beurre et un chocolat chaud. Ensuite, nous prenons le bus jusqu'au centre-ville.

J'aime beaucoup Lyon parce qu'il y a un grand marché près du fleuve. Ma sœur préfère les magasins, mais moi, je préfère le marché : c'est moins cher et c'est plus intéressant. À midi, nous mangeons un sandwich au parc.

L'après-midi, il commence à pleuvoir, alors nous rentrons à la maison en tram. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs et je regarde un film avec mes parents.

Original text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
  2. Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
  3. Write 8–10 sentences about your own Saturday, using at least three phrases from the text.

  • Written practice

    Writing

    Write the sentences out in the language, then translate them back into English.

    8–10 sentences

  • Vocabulary page

    Working out

    Copy the new words, cover them, and test yourself. Note the ones you keep missing.

    15 words

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

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