Ils sont venus à Paris : Present perfect
I can recognise when to use the simple past and when to use the present perfect when translating French into English, in the context of arriving to live in a new country.
Ils sont venus à Paris : Present perfect
I can recognise when to use the simple past and when to use the present perfect when translating French into English, in the context of arriving to live in a new country.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The simple past is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) with a past participle.
- The present perfect is formed in the same way as the simple past, combining an auxiliary verb and a past participle.
- When translating into English, we need to think whether the simple past or the present perfect is the best translation.
Keywords
Auxiliary verb - a form of either 'avoir' or 'être' used to form the perfect tense
Past participle - a verb form that forms the perfect tense, together with the auxiliary verb
Simple past - a tense in English that describes things that happened and finished in the past
Present perfect - a tense in English that describes actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past and has a connection to the present
Common misconception
The perfect tense can only be translated as what happened in French.
The perfect tense refers to the past in two ways: what happened and what has happened. Context tells us the intended meaning. 'Hier, je suis allé en ville' - yesterday I went to town. 'Je suis déjà allé à Paris' - I have already been to Paris.
Equipment
Mini whiteboards are used in one short checking task and would be ideal. Otherwise, students could write their responses on paper.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
chose, chosen
heard
wrote, written
opened
took, taken
came
Exit quiz
5 Questions
to live, living
hope
floor
chance, opportunity
for, since