When, where and how? Singular verbs like 'sortir', 'venir', adverb placement | French

Starter quiz

Which words are colours?
- anglais
- rouge ✓
- blanc ✓
- chaque
- bien
Order the adverbs from most frequent to least frequent.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  souvent
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  parfois
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  rarement
Match the French and English.
- dormir
  
  ⇔
  
  to sleep, sleeping ✓
- je dors
  
  ⇔
  
  I sleep ✓
- elle dort
  
  ⇔
  
  she sleeps ✓
- sortir
  
  ⇔
  
  to go out, going out ✓
- je sors
  
  ⇔
  
  I go out ✓
- elle sort
  
  ⇔
  
  she goes out ✓
Match the French and English.
- partir
  
  ⇔
  
  to leave, leaving ✓
- tu pars
  
  ⇔
  
  you leave ✓
- il part
  
  ⇔
  
  he leaves ✓
- venir
  
  ⇔
  
  to come, coming ✓
- tu viens
  
  ⇔
  
  you come ✓
- il vient
  
  ⇔
  
  he comes ✓
Write in French: 'I am coming back'.
- 'Je reviens.' ✓
Write in French: 'you (singular) are becoming'.
- 'Tu deviens.' ✓

Exit quiz

Which words are missing the [ail/aill] sound?
- mal_____de
- trav_____er ✓
- dét_____ ✓
- anim_____
- méd_____e ✓
Which adverbs tell us where something happens?
- dehors ✓
- tôt
- hier
- demain
- ici ✓
Match the French and English.
- venir
  
  ⇔
  
  to come, coming ✓
- revenir
  
  ⇔
  
  to come back, coming back ✓
- devenir
  
  ⇔
  
  to become, becoming ✓
- sortir
  
  ⇔
  
  to go out, going out ✓
- partir
  
  ⇔
  
  to leave, leaving ✓
- dormir
  
  ⇔
  
  to sleep, sleeping ✓
Order the words to say: 'I often go out with my friends'.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  je
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  sors
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  souvent
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  avec
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  mes
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  amis
Write in French: 'he is leaving again'.
- 'Il part encore.' ✓
Write in French: 'you (singular) are sleeping today'.
- 'Tu dors aujourd’hui.' ✓

Worksheet

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

[a] sounds like 'animal'.
[ail/ail] sounds like 'taille'.
Verbs like 'sortir' and 'dormir' have the same ending pattern (-s, -s, -t) as does 'venir' with a stem change.
How/how often adverbs usually come after the verb they describe and where/when adverbs usually come at the start/end.
An exception is the adverb 'parfois' which comes at the start of a sentence. Word order can differ in French/English.

Common misconception

Word order with adverbs is the same in French and English.

Word order with adverbs is sometimes the same and sometimes different in French and English. Think about whether the adverb is a how/how often or a where/when adverb to know where to place it in French.

Keywords

[a] - pronounced as in 'animal'
[ail/aill] - pronounced as in 'taille'
Adverb - word that describes a verb or an adjective
Adverbial phrase - a group of words acting as an adverb