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Year 4

I'm sick! 'Avoir' meaning 'be'

Learning outcomes

I can use 'avoir' with nouns to say how I am feeling and what hurts.

I can recognise and pronounce correctly some exceptions to the silent final consonant rule.

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New
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Year 4

I'm sick! 'Avoir' meaning 'be'

Learning outcomes

I can use 'avoir' with nouns to say how I am feeling and what hurts.

I can recognise and pronounce correctly some exceptions to the silent final consonant rule.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Many French word-final consonants are silent; words ending in -c, -r, -f and -l may be exceptions, e.g. 'mal', 'peur'.
  2. 'Être' means to be. 'Avoir' means to have.
  3. 'Avoir' can sometimes be translated as 'to be, being', with certain expressions, e.g. 'j'ai chaud', I am hot.
  4. 'Avoir mal' means 'to be in pain' or 'to be sick'.
  5. With a part of the body 'avoir mal' means that something hurts, e.g. 'j'ai mal à la tête', my head hurts.

Keywords

  • SFC - silent final consonant, silent letter (d, s, t, x) at the end of a word

  • Avoir - French verb meaning 'to have, having'

  • Être - French verb meaning 'to be, being'

Common misconception

Expressions such as 'I am cold' must use the verb 'être' (to be) when translated into French, as in English. The verb 'avoir' can only be translated as 'to have'.

Certain expressions that use 'to be' in English, such as 'I am cold', actually use the verb 'avoir' in French: J'ai froid. 'Avoir' means 'to have' but it can also be translated as 'to be' with set expressions.


To help you plan your year 4 french lesson on: I'm sick! 'Avoir' meaning 'be', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

To further practise 'j'ai mal à ...', you may wish to play a game of charades with pupils to guess which body part 'is hurting'.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which words have a silent final consonant (SFC)?
peur
Correct answer: comment
Correct answer: unique
mal
soif
Q2.
Which phrase means 'I am hungry'?
J'ai soif.
Je suis faim.
Elle a raison.
Correct answer: J'ai faim.
Il a faim.
Q3.
Match the French adjectives to the English.
Correct Answer:sympa,kind
tick

kind

Correct Answer:triste,sad
tick

sad

Correct Answer:heureux, heureuse,happy
tick

happy

Correct Answer:sérieux, serieuse,serious
tick

serious

Correct Answer:content, contente,content
tick

content

Correct Answer:pratique,practical
tick

practical

Q4.
Translate the French into English: 'Tu as les yeux verts'.
Correct Answer: You have green eyes.
Q5.
Match the French phrases to their English meaning:
Correct Answer:Elle a soif.,She is thirsty.
tick

She is thirsty.

Correct Answer:J'ai peur.,I am scared, frightened.
tick

I am scared, frightened.

Correct Answer:Tu as froid.,You are cold.
tick

You are cold.

Correct Answer:Il a chaud.,He is hot.
tick

He is hot.

Correct Answer:J'ai mal.,I don't feel well, I am in pain.
tick

I don't feel well, I am in pain.

Correct Answer:Tu as raison.,You are right, correct.
tick

You are right, correct.

Q6.
Match the French body parts to their English meaning.
Correct Answer:le nez,nose
tick

nose

Correct Answer:la bouche,mouth
tick

mouth

Correct Answer:les yeux,eyes
tick

eyes

Correct Answer:le pied,foot
tick

foot

Correct Answer:la tête,head
tick

head

Correct Answer:l'oreille,ear
tick

ear

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the French to the English.
Correct Answer:J'ai mal à la tête.,I have a headache.
tick

I have a headache.

Correct Answer:J'ai mal au pied.,I have a sore foot.
tick

I have a sore foot.

Correct Answer:Tu as mal a l'oreille.,You have earache.
tick

You have earache.

Correct Answer:Il a froid.,He is cold.
tick

He is cold.

Correct Answer:Elle a chaud.,She is hot.
tick

She is hot.

Correct Answer:Il a mal à la bouche.,He has a sore mouth.
tick

He has a sore mouth.

Q2.
Complete the following sentence: 'Aujourd'hui ma famille a mal. Moi, __________ chaud et ma soeur, __________ froid.'
je suis
tu es
Correct answer: j'ai
il a
Correct answer: elle a
Q3.
In which words would you pronounce the final consonant?
chaud
Correct answer: bonjour
livre
Correct answer: neuf
Correct answer: sac
Q4.
Write in French: 'my friend (m) is very serious'.
Correct Answer: Mon ami est très sérieux.
Q5.
Order the words to say: 'I am hot but my brother is cold'.
1 - j'ai
2 - chaud
3 - mais
4 - mon
5 - frère
6 - a
7 - froid
Q6.
What is the plural form of 'oeil' (eye) in French?
les oreilles
les mains
Correct answer: les yeux
les pieds
les oiels

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