A school exchange: formal 'you' and informal plural 'vous' | French

Starter quiz

Match up the French and the English.
- venir
  
  ⇔
  
  to come, coming ✓
- revenir
  
  ⇔
  
  to come back, coming back ✓
- devenir
  
  ⇔
  
  to become, becoming ✓
- partir
  
  ⇔
  
  to leave, leaving ✓
- sortir
  
  ⇔
  
  to go ou, to take out ✓
Match the parts of 'être' (to be, being) with the correct form of the verb.
- je
  
  ⇔
  
  suis ✓
- tu
  
  ⇔
  
  es ✓
- elle
  
  ⇔
  
  est ✓
- nous
  
  ⇔
  
  sommes ✓
- Sam et Andeep
  
  ⇔
  
  sont ✓
Which of these pronouns are the third person plural?
- tu
- ils ✓
- elle
- nous
- elles ✓
If you wanted someone to listen which instruction would you give them?
- Écoute ✓
- Parle
- Lis
- Répète
- Écris
Fill in the word for 'without' in this sentence. Je viens ______ papa.
- 'sans' ✓
What is the third person plural form of 'venir'?
- 'viennent' ✓

Exit quiz

Match the French and the English.
- près (de)
  
  ⇔
  
  near (to) ✓
- à côté (de)
  
  ⇔
  
  next (to) ✓
- (à) gauche
  
  ⇔
  
  (on the) left ✓
- loin (de)
  
  ⇔
  
  far (from) ✓
- (à) droite
  
  ⇔
  
  (on the ) right ✓
What word would you use in for 'you' when speaking to a teacher in French?
- vous
You are talking to a group of friends in French. What word do you use for 'you'?
- 'vous' ✓
When would you use 's'il te plait' to mean 'please'?
- talking to one friend ✓
- talking to a group of friends
- talking to one child ✓
- talking to an adult you don't know very well
Translate this sentence as if you are talking to one friend: 'You like the town'.
- 'Tu aimes la ville.' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The SSC [oy] sounds like [oi] + 'yih', like the [oy] in 'envoyer' which means 'to send'.
The pronoun 'vous' means you (pl), but it can also mean you (sing) when you talk to one person in a formal situation.
This could be an older person, someone in a position of responsibility or an adult you don't know well.
We use 'tu' for you (sing) in informal situations, such as when we talk to friends, family and children.
There are two ways of saying please in French: s'il te plait (informal) and s'il vous plait (formal).

Common misconception

There is only one way to say please to a person in French: 's'il vous plait'.

There are two ways to say please in French: 'sil vous plait' for someone you don't know very well or someone in a position of responsibility like your teacher. But for friends and family you use 's'il te plait'.

Keywords

[oy] - sound-symbol correspondence like the [oy] in 'envoyer' which means 'to send'
Tu - you (singular informal)
Vous - you (plural, or singular formal)