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SavannahYear 8
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LanguagesReading and translating French texts28 min★★★ difficulty

Using grammar to translate

Translation is a puzzle: grammar clues — like word endings and word order — tell you who is doing what to whom.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Reading: Use their knowledge of grammar to understand and translate meaning from a range of written material

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Use their knowledge of grammar to understand and translate meaning from a range of written material

Key learning points

  • • Subject and verb agreement
  • • Word order clues
  • • Tense signals

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

knowledgegrammartranslatemeaningwritten

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Using grammar to translate

An English teaching video on this topic from Learn French With Alexa. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Use their knowledge of grammar to understand and translate meaning from a range of written material

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Subject and verb agreement

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

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Subject and verb agreement

Verb endings reveal the subject even if a pronoun is missing: 'mangeons' can only mean 'we eat', because of the -ons ending, helping you translate correctly even from an unfamiliar sentence.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

Word order clues

French usually keeps subject-verb-object order, but object pronouns come before the verb: 'Je le vois' means 'I see it/him', not 'I it see' in English word order — grammar knowledge prevents a literal, wrong translation.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

'Nous mangeons' can only 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

'Je le vois' translates as...

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Tense signals

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

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

Tense signals

Endings like -ai, -as, -a signal the future tense: 'Il mangera' translates as 'He will eat', not 'he eats', so recognising the ending is essential to accurate translation.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

Which ending signals future tense in 'il mangera'?

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.

Verb endings reveal the subject even if a pronoun is missing: 'mangeons' can only mean 'we eat', because of the -ons ending, helping you ____ correctly even from an unfamiliar sentence.

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Using grammar to translate

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

  1. 1. 'Nous avons visité le château' is in which tense?

  2. 2. 'Nous mangeons' can only mean...

  3. 3. 'Je le vois' translates as...

  4. 4. Which ending signals future tense in 'il mangera'?

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

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    Use their knowledge of grammar to understand and translate meaning from a range of written material

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