What is he or she like? Intonation questions | French

Starter quiz

Read the word 'maman'. Do you hear an oral sound, a nasal sound, or both?
- oral sound
- nasal sound
- oral sound and nasal sound ✓
Choose the words with a nasal sound.
- grand ✓
- malade
- anglais ✓
- content ✓
- sac
Match the French adjectives below to the correct English translations.
- sick, ill
  
  ⇔
  
  malade ✓
- pleased
  
  ⇔
  
  content ✓
- intelligent
  
  ⇔
  
  intelligent ✓
- amusing, fun
  
  ⇔
  
  amusant ✓
- méchant
  
  ⇔
  
  mean ✓
- calm
  
  ⇔
  
  calme ✓
Choose the odd one out.
- amusant
- méchant
- grande ✓
- petit
Change the following adjective into the feminine form: 'petit'.
- 'petite' ✓
Choose the adjectives that do not change in their masculine and feminine forms.
- calme ✓
- contente
- triste ✓
- petite
- malade ✓

Say the words pictured below out loud. Which words have a nasal sound?
Match up the correct verb parts.
- je
  
  ⇔
  
  suis ✓
- tu
  
  ⇔
  
  es ✓
- elle
  
  ⇔
  
  est ✓
How do you say 'he is' in French?
- 'il est' ✓
Who is being described in the following sentence? 'Il est malade.'
- Pierre (a boy) ✓
- Clémentine (a girl)
- we don't know
To ask a closed 'yes' or 'no' question is French, change the ______ at the end of the sentence.
- 'intonation' ✓
Look at the image pictured below and answer the following question with a yes or no in French: 'Elle est contente ?'
- 'non' ✓

Loading worksheet ...

Loading presentation ...

The sound-correspondence [an/en] can be practised with similar but contrasting sounds.
‘Je suis’, ‘tu es’ and ‘elle, il est’ are all parts of the verb ‘être’ (to be, being).
Statements become yes/no questions by raising your tone of voice at the end.

Changing intonation doesn't affect meaning.

If you raise your voice at the end, you can turn a statement into a question.

[an/en] - pronounced as in 'enfant'
Il est / elle est - from the verb 'être', meaning ‘he is / she is’
Intonation - the rise and fall of the voice in speaking
Adjective agreement - a change in adjective ending; for example, adding -e to describe a girl or woman