À table ! Partitive and indefinite articles, preverbal use of 'y' and 'en'
I can use indefinite and partitive articles accurately to describe food and drink quantities and I can recognise when 'y' and 'en' are used to shorten sentences.
À table ! Partitive and indefinite articles, preverbal use of 'y' and 'en'
I can use indefinite and partitive articles accurately to describe food and drink quantities and I can recognise when 'y' and 'en' are used to shorten sentences.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Use un/une (indefinite article) to describe whole things, and du/de la/de l' (partitive article) for parts of things.
- Uncountable nouns, such as water or money, do not have a plural form. They are used with the partitive article.
- 'Y' can replace 'à' + [a place] to mean 'there', e.g. elle y va demain.
- 'En' can replace 'de' + noun and can mean '(of) it/them', e.g. J'aime la confiture. J'en mange tous les jours.
- [en] is pronounced as in ‘enfant’.
Keywords
Y - indirect object pronoun meaning 'there', used to replace à + place
En - indirect object pronoun meaning ‘(of) it/them’, used to replace de + noun
Common misconception
The pronouns 'y' and 'en' go after the verb, as 'there' and 'of it/them' do in English.
'Y' and 'en' go before the verb in a present tense sentence e.g. 'elle y va' and 'elle en boit'.
To help you plan your year 11 french lesson on: À table ! Partitive and indefinite articles, preverbal use of 'y' and 'en', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 french lesson on: À table ! Partitive and indefinite articles, preverbal use of 'y' and 'en', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 french lessons from the Popular culture: Des pays francophones unit, dive into the full secondary french curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Mini whiteboards and pens are useful if available.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
to order, ordering
to eat, eating
bread
milk
fish
du
de la
de l'
des
Exit quiz
6 Questions
vegetable
food
chicken
quantity
pastries
chocolate