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Year 7

What isn't there: negation before a noun with 'il y a'

Learning outcomes

I can say what there isn't using 'il n'y a pas de' and what I don't have using 'avoir' and 'ne … pas'.

I can recall the sound-spelling correspondence [ch].

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New
New
Year 7

What isn't there: negation before a noun with 'il y a'

Learning outcomes

I can say what there isn't using 'il n'y a pas de' and what I don't have using 'avoir' and 'ne … pas'.

I can recall the sound-spelling correspondence [ch].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. [ch] sounds like chercher.
  2. Prepositions such as 'derrière', 'devant' and 'entre' are useful for telling us where objects are.
  3. To say what you don't have use 'ne...pas' around 'avoir'. After this all articles change to de or d'.
  4. To say 'there isn't' or 'there aren't' we use 'il n'y a pas'. After this all articles change to de or d'.

Keywords

  • [ch] - pronounced as in 'chercher'

  • Il n’y a pas - there isn't or there aren't

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

Common misconception

Use the indefinite article after 'il n'y a pas' like you would with 'il y a'.

After 'il n'y a pas' always use de (or d' before words starting with vowels) regardless of gender or number.


To help you plan your year 7 french lesson on: What isn't there: negation before a noun with 'il y a', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You could use the text in activities D2 and D3 as a full translation into English if you feel this would be useful practice for students.
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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 French and the English.
Correct Answer:l'aéroport,airport
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airport

Correct Answer:l'étranger,abroad
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abroad

Correct Answer:les États-Unis,USA
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USA

Correct Answer:l'hôtel,hotel
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hotel

Correct Answer:l'ile,island
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island

Q2.
Match the verbs in French and English.
Correct Answer:je sors,I go out
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I go out

Correct Answer:tu sors,you go out
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you go out

Correct Answer:elle sort,she goes out
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she goes out

Correct Answer:je viens,I come
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I come

Correct Answer:tu viens,you come
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you come

Correct Answer:elle vient,she comes
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she comes

Q3.
Which word is a preposition?
venir
Alger
souvent
Correct answer: sur
chanteur
Q4.
'Une personne '. Which is the correct word to say 'Algerian'?
Algérie
algérien
Correct answer: algérienne
Alger
Q5.
Order the sentence in French to say: 'There is an airport and some hotels'.
1 - il
2 - y
3 - a
4 - un
5 - aéroport et
6 - des
7 - hôtels
Q6.
What is the French verb 'to go, going'?
Correct Answer: aller

6 Questions

Q1.
What is 'the beach' in French?
le café
le cinéma
le magasin
Correct answer: la plage
la rue
Q2.
'Il a des cinémas et un collège mais il n'y a pas de poste'. This tells us that there isn't a .
Correct Answer: post office
Q3.
Which words contain the [ch] sound in French?
pet/animal
Correct answer: dog
phone
Correct answer: thing
ruler
Q4.
Choose the correct missing word: 'Je n'ai pas éléphants.'
Correct answer: d'
de
des
un
une
Q5.
Order the sentence to say in French: 'There isn't a cinema here.'
1 - il
2 - n'y
3 - a
4 - pas
5 - de
6 - cinéma
7 - ici
Q6.
Match the sentence halves.
Correct Answer:Il y a un,garçon.
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garçon.

Correct Answer:Il y a une,plage.
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plage.

Correct Answer:Il n'y a pas,de cafés.
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de cafés.

Correct Answer:Il n'y a pas d',enfant.
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enfant.

Correct Answer:Elle a des,chiens.
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chiens.

Correct Answer:Elle n'a ,pas d'ordinateur.
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pas d'ordinateur.

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