Starter quiz
- Match the French vocabulary below to the correct English translations.
- le début⇔beginning ✓
- la fin⇔end ✓
- bref, brève⇔brief ✓
- l'écrivain (m)⇔writer ✓
- l'état (m)⇔state ✓
- l'indépendance (f)⇔independence ✓
- A definite article is a word that means ...
- 'the'. ✓
- 'a'.
- 'some'.
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- What does the preposition 'à' mean in the following sentence? 'Je vais à l'église.'
- to ✓
- at
- about
- on
-
- How could you translate the following sentence? 'Je suis au musée.'
- I am at the museum. ✓
- I go to the museum.
- I am in the museum. ✓
- I am going into the museum.
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- Read the following words: 'liberté', 'période', 'sentiment'. On which syllable is there a slight emphasis?
- the first syllable
- the last syllable ✓
- the middle syllable
-
- In which continent are Algeria (l'Algérie) and Senegal (le Sénégal)?
- 'Africa' ✓
Exit quiz
- When 'à' is followed by 'le', what do they combine to make?
- 'au' ✓
- When 'à' is followed by 'les', what do they combine to make?
- des
- au
- aux ✓
- à l'
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- True or false? The preposition 'à' is always translated as 'to'.
- True
- False ✓
- When pronouncing French words, the stress moves to the vowel(s) before the consonant when ...
- the word ends in a consonant + -le(s). ✓
- the word ends in a consonant + é(s).
- the word ends in a consonant + -re(s). ✓
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- Read the words below aloud. Which is the odd one out?
- décembre
- terrible
- possible
- identité ✓
- surprendre
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- What is the correct translation of the following sentence? 'Amir thinks about the history of Algeria.'
- Amir réfléchit au histoire de l'Algérie.
- Amir réfléchit à l'histoire de l'Algérie. ✓
- Amir réfléchis à l'histoire de l'Algérie.
- Amir réfléchit à la histoire de l'Algérie.
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Words ending in a consonant + -le(s) or consonant + -re(s) stress the vowel before the consonant, e.g., 'terrible'.
- 'à' + definite article combine to make au/à la/à l’ or aux, depending on the gender, quantity and spelling of the noun.
- 'à' can be translated as 'at', 'to', 'in' and 'on' depending on its place and use in the sentence.
- Conflict and independence movements in Algeria and Senegal shaped their identities and relations with France.
Common misconception
'à' is always translated as 'to' or 'at'.
'à' can be translated as 'to', 'at', 'in', 'on' or 'about', depending on the context. Particular care should be taken with verbs followed by 'à', e.g., 'réfléchir à' could be translated as 'to think about' or 'to reflect on'.
Keywords
Stress - pronouncing one syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
à - preposition meaning ‘at’, ‘to’, ‘in’, ‘on’ or 'about'
Definite article - the words 'le', 'la', 'les' and 'l’', meaning ‘the’
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