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Year 10
Edexcel

La transformation des villes : imperfect of être, avoir and faire

I can describe the changes taking place in towns using the imperfect and present tenses to contrast past and present.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

La transformation des villes : imperfect of être, avoir and faire

I can describe the changes taking place in towns using the imperfect and present tenses to contrast past and present.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The imperfect tense is used to describe how something or someone 'used to' be and what regularly happened in the past.
  2. 'il y avait' is the imperfect tense form of 'il y a', and means 'there used to be'.
  3. When a word ending in a normally silent consonant is followed by a mute 'h', the consonant is heard in liaison.

Keywords

  • Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past, or to say what was happening

  • Simple present - describes habitual events in the present: 'I do'

Common misconception

When speaking or writing about what you did regularly in the past, use the perfect tense to state the action of the sentence.

When speaking or writing about what you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect tense to state the action. This is because you are talking about something that didn't have a clear start and end point. Perfect tense is not appropriate.


To help you plan your year 10 french lesson on: La transformation des villes : imperfect of être, avoir and faire, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Task B4 has two options. Option 1 is for students requiring exposure to some higher level vocab, while Option 2 is a shortened version of the task.
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Equipment

Mini whiteboards and pens if available would be useful.

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Licence

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 words with their English meanings.
Correct Answer:sans,without
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without

Correct Answer:pour,for
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for

Correct Answer:avant,before
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before

Correct Answer:moi,me
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me

Correct Answer:toi,you
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you

Q2.
Match the subjects with the correct imperfect tense verb forms.
Correct Answer:tu,allais
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allais

Correct Answer:il,allait
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allait

Correct Answer:nous,allions
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allions

Correct Answer:vous,alliez
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alliez

Correct Answer:elles,allaient
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allaient

Q3.
Which is the correct imperfect verb ending in this sentence? 'Nous visit... souvent le musée quand j'étais enfant.'
ais
ait
Correct answer: ions
iez
aient
Q4.
What is the imperfect tense stem of être?
êt
et
Correct answer: ét
èt
Q5.
The present tense form for which subject is the starting point for creating the imperfect tense stem?
je
il
Correct answer: nous
vous
ils
Q6.
Which is the correct word order to make this sentence? They used to like going to France on holiday.
1 - ils
2 - aimaient
3 - aller
4 - en
5 - France
6 - en
7 - vacances

6 Questions

Q1.
Which tense should you use when speaking or writing about what you did regularly in the past?
perfect tense
present tense
conditional tense
Correct answer: imperfect tense
Q2.
Match the French and English vocabulary.
Correct Answer:prévenir,to let know, warn
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to let know, warn

Correct Answer:se rappeler,to remember
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to remember

Correct Answer:le commissariat,police station
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police station

Correct Answer:le tiers,third
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third

Correct Answer:bas,low
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low

Correct Answer:fermé,closed
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closed

Q3.
Which sentences are in the present tense?
Correct answer: Ma ville est grande et moderne.
Dans ma ville, il y avait des hôtels.
Correct answer: Ma ville a un aéroport.
Nous faisions les magasins chaque week-end.
Correct answer: Ils font du sport au stade.
Q4.
Write the imperfect tense correct form of the verb in brackets. 'Ils (avoir) de longs cheveux châtains.'
Correct Answer: avaient
Q5.
What is the correct imperfect form of the verb in brackets in this sentence? 'Vous (faire) de l'athlétisme quand vous étiez jeune ?'
Correct Answer: faisiez
Q6.
Complete the sentence: The translation of 'there used to be' is: il y .
Correct Answer: avait

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