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Year 7

What people have: 'avoir' 3rd persons singular and plural

I can use 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' to describe what they (masculine and feminine) have.

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New
New
Year 7

What people have: 'avoir' 3rd persons singular and plural

I can use 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' to describe what they (masculine and feminine) have.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. A cognate is a word that looks and sounds the same, or similar, in English and French.
  2. 'Ils ont' and 'elles ont' are the 3rd person plural of the verb 'avoir', 'to have, having'.
  3. 'Ils ont' and 'elles ont' have a liasion; the -s in 'ils' and 'elles' is pronounced as 'z' as it is followed by a vowel.
  4. The 's' in 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' ('z') is pronounced differently to the 's' in 'ils sont' and 'elles sont' ('s').
  5. Reading a longer passage can help practise and consolidate previously learnt and newly acquired vocabulary and grammar.

Keywords

  • Cognate - words with the same meaning and same or similar spelling in English and French

  • Avoir - French verb meaning ‘to have’

  • Ils ont - part of 'avoir', meaning ‘they have’ (mpl, mfpl)

  • Elles ont - part of 'avoir', meaning 'they have' (fpl)

  • Liaison - pronouncing a usually silent final consonant when followed by a vowel

Common misconception

The 's' in the liaison of 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' is pronounced like an English 's'.

The 's' in the liaison of 'ils ont' and 'elles ont' is pronounced like an English 'z'. This is distinguishable to 'ils sont' and 'elles sont' which have the pronounciation of an English 's' (no liaison).

You may wish to 'model read' the passage to the class and then 'share read' the passage together. Read it once to pupils as they listen, and read it a second time whilst they join in out loud. You can then ask pupils to volunteer to read a paragraph out loud independently to the class.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
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Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Choose the words with the [(e)au] sound.
Correct answer: peau
Correct answer: haute
caser
Correct answer: seau
jeune
Q2.
Put the following nouns in order of masculine noun (1), feminine noun (2), plural noun (3).
1 - un ordinateur
2 - une gomme
3 - des maisons
Q3.
What does 'avoir' mean?
to be, being
to watch, watching
to prefer, preferring
to close, closing
Correct answer: to have, having
Q4.
Match the French and the English.
Correct Answer:j'ai,I have
tick

I have

Correct Answer:tu as,you have (singular)
tick

you have (singular)

Correct Answer:il a,he has
tick

he has

Correct Answer:elle a,she has
tick

she has

Correct Answer:nous avons,we have
tick

we have

Correct Answer:vous avez ,you have (plural)
tick

you have (plural)

Q5.
Which of the parts of 'avoir' use a liaison?
j'ai
tu as
il, elle a
Correct answer: nous avons
Correct answer: vous avez
Q6.
Translate the sentence into English: 'Vous avez des chemises.'
Correct Answer: You have some shirts., You have shirts.

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a cognate?
A word that looks and sounds different in English and French.
Correct answer: A word that looks and sounds similar in English and French.
A word that looks similar in English and French, but has different meanings.
A word that exists only in English and not in French.
Q2.
Match the French and the English.
Correct Answer:très,very
tick

very

Correct Answer:aussi,also
tick

also

Correct Answer:pour,for
tick

for

Correct Answer:dans,in
tick

in

Correct Answer:de,of
tick

of

Correct Answer:ici,here
tick

here

Q3.
Fill in the gap with the correct word: La soeur Sophie est amusante.
très
aussi
pour
dans
Correct answer: de
Q4.
Which of the following phrases have a liaison?
Correct answer: ils ont
elles sont
Correct answer: nous avons
tu as
Correct answer: vous êtes
Q5.
How do you say 'they have' when referring to a group of girls, in French?
Correct Answer: elles ont
Q6.
How do you say 'they have' when referring to a group of boys and girls, in French?
Correct Answer: ils ont

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