What you can and can't do: negation with modal verbs + infinitive | French

Starter quiz

Match the verbs in French and English.
- je/tu pars
  
  ⇔
  
  I/you leave ✓
- il/elle part
  
  ⇔
  
  he/she leaves ✓
- je/tu sors
  
  ⇔
  
  I/you go out ✓
- il/elle sort
  
  ⇔
  
  he/she goes out ✓
- je/tu viens
  
  ⇔
  
  I/you come ✓
- il/elle vient
  
  ⇔
  
  he/she comes ✓
Tick any sounds which appear in the sentence 'Je suis désolé, je ne peux pas trouver la réponse'.
- silent final -e ✓
- silent final consonant ✓
- liaison
- [é/er/ez] ✓
- [u]
To negate sentences in French you need to put ne ... ______ around the verb. Add the missing word in French.
- 'pas' ✓
Put the French words in order to make the sentence 'In the future, I'm going to become a maths teacher.'
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  à
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  l'avenir
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  je
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  vais
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  devenir
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  professeur
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  de maths
Add the missing French word to the sentence 'I want to go shopping tomorrow.' 'Je ______ faire les magasins demain.'
- peux
- peut
- veux ✓
- veut
- dois
Order the French words in the sentence 'He has to arrive early at the airport'.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  il
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  doit
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  arriver
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  tôt
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  à
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  l'
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  aéroport

Exit quiz

Match the French and English infinitives
- aider
  
  ⇔
  
  to help, helping ✓
- chercher
  
  ⇔
  
  to look for, looking for ✓
- partager
  
  ⇔
  
  to share, sharing ✓
- pouvoir
  
  ⇔
  
  to be able to, can ✓
- revenir
  
  ⇔
  
  to come back, coming back ✓
- savoir
  
  ⇔
  
  to know (how to), knowing (how to) ✓
Tick any words containing [ien].
- algérien ✓
- important
- ciel
- cinq
- revient ✓
Put the French words in order for the sentence 'I can't find the answer'.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  je
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  ne
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  peux
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  pas
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  trouver
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  la
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  réponse
Add the missing French word for the sentence 'Sir, are you Algerian, do you come from Algeria?' Monsieur, êtes-vous ______, vous venez d'Algérie ?
- 'algérien' ✓
Translate the sentence 'Do you want to go to the match next week?' using an inversion question.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  veux
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  tu
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  aller
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  au
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  match
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  la semaine
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  prochaine
Fill in the missing French word in the sentence 'She likes singing but she can't go to the concert'. Elle aime chanter mais elle ne ______ pas aller au concert.
- 'veut' ✓

Worksheet

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Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

[ien] sounds like 'bien'.
[(a)in] sounds like 'train'.
In a two-verb sentence, make sentences negative by adding ne ... pas around the first verb, which should be conjugated.
Swap the position of the subject pronoun and conjugated modal verb to ask inversion questions.

Common misconception

Ne ... pas goes around both verbs in a two-verb sentence.

Ne ... pas surrounds the first verb in a two-verb sentence. If a sentence contains a modal verb and an infinitive, it will surround the conjugated modal verb.

Keywords

[ien] - pronounced as in 'bien'
[(a)in] - pronounced as in 'train'
Negation - two elements e.g. ne … pas around the main verb expressing negative meaning
Two-verb inversion - an inversion question using a two-verb structure: verb + pronoun + infinitive (e.g. 'Aimes-tu sortir ?')