Jobs: plural 'avoir' or 'être'. Article use with professions | French

Starter quiz

What does 'avoir' mean in English
- to be
- to have ✓
- to listen
- to speak
- to write
Match the English to the French.
- je dors
  
  ⇔
  
  I sleep, am sleeping ✓
- je suis
  
  ⇔
  
  I am ✓
- il / elle est
  
  ⇔
  
  he/she is ✓
- il / elle dort
  
  ⇔
  
  he/she sleeps, is sleeping ✓
- j'ai
  
  ⇔
  
  I have ✓
- il / elle est
  
  ⇔
  
  he/she has ✓
Match the English to the French.
- assez
  
  ⇔
  
  quite ✓
- billet
  
  ⇔
  
  ticket ✓
- parfois
  
  ⇔
  
  sometimes ✓
- sous
  
  ⇔
  
  under ✓
- sur
  
  ⇔
  
  on ✓
- visiter
  
  ⇔
  
  to visit ✓
What is the negative form of 'il y a'?
- 'il n'y a pas' ✓
Make the statement into a question using 'est-ce que': tu es prudent.
- 'Est-ce que tu es prudent ?' ✓
Yes/no questions in French can be formed using intonation, est-ce que or ...
- 'inversion' ✓

Exit quiz

Match the jobs in English and French.
- directeur
  
  ⇔
  
  male headteacher ✓
- directrice
  
  ⇔
  
  female headteacher ✓
- avocat(e)
  
  ⇔
  
  lawyer ✓
- serveur
  
  ⇔
  
  waiter ✓
- facteur
  
  ⇔
  
  postman ✓
- médecin
  
  ⇔
  
  doctor ✓
Which of the following phrases have a liaison?
- ils ont ✓
- elles sont
- nous avons ✓
- tu as
- vous êtes ✓
How do you say 'they have' when referring to a group of boys and girls, in French?
- 'ils ont' ✓
Add the missing word to the sentence 'She wants to be a secretary in a big office'. 'Elle veut être ______ dans un grand bureau'.
- 'secrétaire' ✓
He is a lawyer and they have a lawyer.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  il
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  est
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  avocat
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  et
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  ils
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  ont
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  un avocat
What is the French word for 'quite'?
- 'assez' ✓

Worksheet

Loading worksheet ...

Presentation

Loading presentation ...

Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

Omit indefinite articles with être + profession but include articles when describing jobs in general or with adjectives.
être means 'to be, being', nous sommes means 'we are', vous êtes means 'you are' and ils/elles sont means 'they are'.
avoir means 'to have, having', nous avons means 'we have', vous avez means 'you have' and ils/elles ont is 'they have'.
Pronounce the 's' at the end of 'ils' when it is followed by a vowel; it sounds like a 'z'.

Common misconception

'Ils ont' and 'ils sont' sound the same.

Although these two verbs sound similar, there is a distinction between the 'z' sound created by s-liaison in 'ils ont' and the 's' sound at the beginning of 'sont' after the silent 's' on 'ils'.

Keywords

Avoir - verb 'to have, having'
être - verb 'to be, being'
Liaison - pronouncing a usually silent final consonant because a vowel follows