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Year 7

What people do and don't do: 'ne … pas' negation

Learning outcomes

I can use simple prepositions to say where objects are and describe what someone does and doesn’t do in everyday life.

I can use liaison after 'ne… pas' when followed by a vowel.

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New
New
Year 7

What people do and don't do: 'ne … pas' negation

Learning outcomes

I can use simple prepositions to say where objects are and describe what someone does and doesn’t do in everyday life.

I can use liaison after 'ne… pas' when followed by a vowel.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Prepositions like dans, sur and sous tell us where objects are.
  2. To say what doesn't happen, use ne... pas around the verb.
  3. Ne shortens to n’ before a verb starting with a vowel.
  4. You can pronounce the ‘s’ in ‘pas’ when it is followed by a word starting with a vowel; this is liaison.

Keywords

  • Liaison - pronouncing a usually silent final consonant because a vowel follows

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

  • Negation - two elements e.g. ne … pas around the main verb expressing negative meaning

Common misconception

Using ne/n' makes verbs negatives in French like 'not' in English.

French negation has two parts, 'ne' before the verb and 'pas' after to say what there isn't.


To help you plan your year 7 french lesson on: What people do and don't do: 'ne … pas' negation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Teachers could consider using real life objects in the classroom to bring the prepositions to life and for more speaking and listening practice.
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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.
Tick any of the phrases with liaison.
les devoirs
les magasins
Correct answer: les hommes
Correct answer: les élèves
les partenaires
Q2.
Match the high frequency verbs.
Correct Answer:apprendre,to learn
tick

to learn

Correct Answer:dire,to say
tick

to say

Correct Answer:comprendre,to understand
tick

to understand

Correct Answer:travailler,to work
tick

to work

Correct Answer:prendre,to take
tick

to take

Correct Answer:dormir,to sleep
tick

to sleep

Q3.
Which question word is 'how' in French?
Correct answer: comment
pourquoi
quand
qui
Q4.
Fill in the missing word in the sentence 'I don't watch the TV'. Je regarde pas la télé.
Correct Answer: ne
Q5.
Which word is the French for 'sometimes'?
rarement
souvent
pas
Correct answer: parfois
aussi
Q6.
Order the sentence in French, 'The book is on the desk'.
1 - Le
2 - livre
3 - est
4 - sur
5 - le
6 - bureau

5 Questions

Q1.
What is 'under' in French?
à
dans
en
Correct answer: sous
sur
Q2.
Tick any sentences with liaison.
Je n'aime pas le vélo jaune.
Correct answer: Je ne vais pas à l'école aujourd'hui.
Correct answer: Je ne suis pas anglaise.
Je n'ai pas le temps.
Ce n'est pas moderne.
Q3.
Match the French and English verbs.
Correct Answer:je prends,I take
tick

I take

Correct Answer:tu prends,you take
tick

you take

Correct Answer:il prend,he takes
tick

he takes

Correct Answer:elle prend,she takes
tick

she takes

Correct Answer:prendre,to take, taking
tick

to take, taking

Q4.
Add the missing word to the sentence, 'She doesn't sleep well' 'Elle ne dort bien.
Correct Answer: pas
Q5.
Order the sentence, 'The book isn't on the desk'.
1 - Le
2 - livre
3 - n'
4 - est
5 - pas
6 - sur
7 - le bureau

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