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Year 8

Where is that? prepositions with 'de'

Learning outcomes

I can use prepositions with de and the definite article to say where objects are.

I can pronounce [s] and distinguish between the hard and soft 's' sounds.

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New
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Year 8

Where is that? prepositions with 'de'

Learning outcomes

I can use prepositions with de and the definite article to say where objects are.

I can pronounce [s] and distinguish between the hard and soft 's' sounds.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [s] sounds like maison
  2. There are two 's' sounds in French. Use the hard 's' between 2 vowels and soft 's' in other words.
  3. The preposition 'de' can mean 'of', 'from' and sometimes it's not translated at all.
  4. 'De' changes before the definite article; use 'du' for masculine nouns, 'de la' for feminine and 'de l'' before vowels.

Keywords

  • [s] - pronounced as in 'maison'

  • Preposition - a word that is used before a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun, connecting it to another word

Common misconception

The sound 's' is always pronounced the same in French.

There are two 's' sounds, the hard 's' sound which sounds like a 'z', found between two vowels, including in liaisons and the soft 's' found in other words, often at the beginning, of words, between consonants and as a double 's'.


To help you plan your year 8 french lesson on: Where is that? prepositions with 'de', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

If time permits, directions and prepositions is a good opportunity for extra speaking and listening. You could have an object that moves around the classroom to make the vocabulary more memorable and students could even create their own map for a homework task to then use as a prompt for speaking.
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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.
Match the English to the French.
Correct Answer:saison,season
tick

season

Correct Answer:printemps,spring
tick

spring

Correct Answer:été,summer
tick

summer

Correct Answer:hiver,winter
tick

winter

Correct Answer:automne,autumn
tick

autumn

Q2.
What's the French for 'fifteen'?
cinq
quatorze
Correct answer: quinze
seize
vingt
Q3.
Match the infinitives in French and English.
Correct Answer:devoir,to have to
tick

to have to

Correct Answer:pouvoir,to be able to
tick

to be able to

Correct Answer:frapper,to hit
tick

to hit

Correct Answer:savoir,to know (how to)
tick

to know (how to)

Correct Answer:jouer,to play
tick

to play

Correct Answer:ressembler à,to look like
tick

to look like

Q4.
Tick any correct meanings of 'de'.
Correct answer: from
and
on
Correct answer: of
when
Q5.
Order the sentence 'He is showing a photo of his family' in French.
1 - il
2 - montre
3 - une
4 - photo
5 - de
6 - sa
7 - famille
Q6.
What's the French phrase that means 'there was'?
Correct Answer: il y avait

6 Questions

Q1.
Tick any words containing the hard [s].
Correct answer: chemise
sept
Correct answer: organiser
mars
dessert
Q2.
Match the prepositions in French and English.
Correct Answer:loin de,far from
tick

far from

Correct Answer:près de,near
tick

near

Correct Answer:à droite de,to the right of
tick

to the right of

Correct Answer:à gauche de,to the left of
tick

to the left of

Correct Answer:à côté de,next to
tick

next to

Correct Answer:entre,between
tick

between

Q3.
What does 'si' mean in English?
or
by
Correct answer: if
each
last
Q4.
Order the sentence 'the shop is near the church' in French.
1 - le
2 - magasin
3 - est
4 - près
5 - de
6 - l'
7 - église
Q5.
Fill in the missing word in the sentence 'Le chat est loin jardin'.
Correct Answer: du
Q6.
What's the French word for 'during'?
Correct Answer: pendant

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