New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

Ce week-end: impersonal verbs

Learning outcomes

I can use impersonal verbs to tell the time, describe weather, say what there is and what is necessary in the context of making plans.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [y] and [i].

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New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

Ce week-end: impersonal verbs

Learning outcomes

I can use impersonal verbs to tell the time, describe weather, say what there is and what is necessary in the context of making plans.

I can recognise, write and pronounce [y] and [i].

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. An impersonal verb is a verb and subject that don't refer to a particular person or thing.
  2. To say what time it is use impersonal verb il est + number + heure (s) + minutes.
  3. Il est + adjective + de + infinitive can be used to express it is difficult/easy/forbidden to + a verb.
  4. Il fait (with weather expressions), il y a (there is/are) and il faut (it is necessary) are useful impersonal verbs.
  5. [y] and [i] sounds like 'midi' and 'physique'.

Keywords

  • Impersonal verb - a verb that doesn't refer to a particular person or thing, and whose subject is most often 'il' (it)

Common misconception

The subject pronoun 'il' always means 'he'.

There are a number of impersonal verbs such as 'il faut', 'il neige' and 'il pleut'. Verbs such as 'il fait' and 'il est' can also be used in an impersonal sense. In these cases, the English meaning is 'it' or impersonal 'you', 'we' as appropriate.


To help you plan your year 10 french lesson on: Ce week-end: impersonal verbs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Speaking task A3 requires students to use the present tense however, it follows a practice task using 'il y a', 'il y avait' and 'il y aura'. Teachers might wish to adapt the task to encourage students to use more tenses if appropriate for their students.
Teacher tip

Equipment

It would be useful to have mini whiteboards and pens if available.

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.
Which verbs can be used to describe the weather?
il veut
il faut
Correct answer: il y a
il peut
Correct answer: il fait
Q2.
Which verb is missing? huit heures.
il fait
Correct answer: il est
il faut
il y a
il veut
Q3.
Complete the sentence: the verbs 'apparaitre', 'naitre', 'paraitre' and 'disparaitre' are all formed in the present tense like ...
Correct Answer: connaitre
Q4.
What is the past participle of 'naitre'?
Correct Answer: né, née, nés, nées
Q5.
Translate the sentence: We are familiar with the school in this town.
1 - nous
2 - connaissons
3 - l'école
4 - dans
5 - cette
6 - ville
Q6.
Match the vocabulary.
Correct Answer:châtain,brown (hair)

brown (hair)

Correct Answer:lunettes,glasses

glasses

Correct Answer:marron,brown (eyes)

brown (eyes)

Correct Answer:roux,red/ginger

red/ginger

Correct Answer:fidèle,loyal, faithful

loyal, faithful

Correct Answer:mental,mental

mental

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the phrases together.
Correct Answer:il faut,it is necessary, must

it is necessary, must

Correct Answer:il y a,there is, there are

there is, there are

Correct Answer:il est difficile de,it is difficult to

it is difficult to

Correct Answer:il est ,it is (time)

it is (time)

Correct Answer:il fait,it is (weather)

it is (weather)

Correct Answer:il est facile de,it is easy to

it is easy to

Q2.
Match the times of day.
Correct Answer:06.25,Il est six heures vingt-cinq.

Il est six heures vingt-cinq.

Correct Answer:14.30,Il est quatorze heures et demie.

Il est quatorze heures et demie.

Correct Answer:4.30,Il est quatre heures et demie.

Il est quatre heures et demie.

Correct Answer:17.15,Il est dix-sept heures et quart.

Il est dix-sept heures et quart.

Correct Answer:7.15,Il est sept heures et quart.

Il est sept heures et quart.

Correct Answer:16.25,Il est seize heures vingt-cinq.

Il est seize heures vingt-cinq.

Q3.
Choose the correct translation of 'it is forbidden to'.
Correct answer: il est interdit de
il faut
il est facile de
il fait
il est difficile de
Q4.
The impersonal verb structures 'il est difficile de', 'il est interdit de' and 'il faut' are followed by an ...
Correct Answer: infinitive, infinitive verb
Q5.
Which words contain the sounds [i] or [y] in French?
Correct answer: there
Correct answer: bed
to send, sending
cat
brother
Q6.
Translate: he thinks that it is relatively cold today.
1 - il
2 - pense
3 - qu'il
4 - fait
5 - relativement
6 - froid
7 - aujourd'hui

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