How do you say that? articles, 'il y a' and 'il n'y a pas' | French

Starter quiz

What does the verb 'écouter' mean?
- to listen, listening ✓
- to read, reading
- to speak, speaking
- to write, writing
- to understand, understanding
Match the articles with their description.
- le
  
  ⇔
  
  the (masculine singular nouns) ✓
- la
  
  ⇔
  
  the (feminine singular nouns) ✓
- les
  
  ⇔
  
  the (plural nouns) ✓
- l'
  
  ⇔
  
  the (singular nouns beginning with a vowel or silent 'h') ✓
What is 'there isn't' in French?
- je ne suis pas
- je n'ai pas
- ce n'est pas
- il n'y a pas ✓
- il n'est pas
Order the French numbers from smallest to biggest.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  un
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  trois
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  quatre
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  sept
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  huit
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  dix
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  douze
The masculine indefinite article is 'un'. What is the feminine definite article?
- 'une' ✓
Which words contain silent final consonants?
- deux ✓
- enfant ✓
- garçon
- toujours ✓
- timide

Exit quiz

'Dans la maison il y a une chemise'. Which sound-symbol correspondences (SSCs) appear in this sentence?
- [a]
- [é/er/ez]
- [i] ✓
- [silent final -e] ✓
- [silent final consonant] ✓
Match the French and English.
- l'homme
  
  ⇔
  
  the man ✓
- la porte
  
  ⇔
  
  the door ✓
- l'ordinateur
  
  ⇔
  
  the computer ✓
- la voiture
  
  ⇔
  
  the car ✓
- le livre
  
  ⇔
  
  the book ✓
- le chien
  
  ⇔
  
  the dog ✓
'Il y a ______ portables'. Which article is correct?
- un
- une
- des ✓
- de
- d'
Order the words to say: 'There is no computer'.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  il
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  n'
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  y
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  a
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  pas
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  d'
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  ordinateur
Which phrase uses liaison?
- huit fruits
- des chiens
- deux portes
- trois ordinateurs ✓
- six vélos
Match the definite article to the noun.
- les
  
  ⇔
  
  vélos ✓
- le
  
  ⇔
  
  portable ✓
- la
  
  ⇔
  
  chemise ✓
- l'
  
  ⇔
  
  homme ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Sound-symbol correspondences help us with spelling and pronunciation of new and familiar vocabulary.
All nouns have a grammatical gender in French, masculine or feminine.
The indefinite article is 'un' for masculine singular nouns, 'une' for feminine singular nouns and 'des' for plurals.
The French definite articles are 'le, 'la', 'l''and 'les'.
Use 'il y a' + indefinite article/number say what there is and 'il n' y a pas' + de/d' to say what there isn't.

Common misconception

Use the same articles after 'il y a' and 'il n'y a pas'.

Use the indefinite article, depending on gender and number after 'il y a' but after 'il n' y a pas', always use de regardless of gender/number and d' for any nouns starting with a vowel.

Keywords

Sound-symbol correspondence - relationship between letters and their sounds
Noun - word for a person, place or thing
Gender - grammatical categorisation of all nouns as masculine or feminine