Entertainment: Grammar and Phonics (AQA GCSE French): Revision Note
Exam code: 8652
To talk about TV, music, films and reading, there are a variety of verbs you can use. Many of these verbs are regular in the present tense. Let's look at these in more detail.
Regular verbs (present tense)
Use the present tense to say what you are doing now or what you do generally, e.g. ‘I watch TV’, ‘I am listening to music’
There are three types of French verbs, organised by the ending of the infinitive: -er verbs, -ir verbs, and -re verbs
The three types of verbs all have different endings in the present tense
Most French verbs are regular, which means they follow a rule
Once you learn this rule, you can apply it to any other regular verbs
To use regular verbs in the present tense:
Step 1: remove the ending from the infinitive, leaving the part of the verb called the stem
Step 2: add the correct ending for each pronoun to the stem
-er verbs, e.g. regarder | -re verbs, e.g. entendre | -ir verbs, e.g. choisir | |
je | regarde | entends | choisis |
tu | regardes | entends | choisis |
il / elle / on | regarde | entend- (no ending added) | choisit |
nous | regardons | entendons | choisissons |
vous | regardez | entendez | choisissez |
ils / elles | regardent | entendent | choisissent |
examples | Elle regarde un film d’action. | Nous entendons une belle chanson. | Ils choisissent un roman intéressant. |
She watches an action film. | We hear a beautiful song. | They choose an interesting novel. |
Even if a verb is regular in the present tense, it might be irregular in a different tense, so always double check
Entertainment: phonics
French has five vowels, like in English - a, e, i, o, u
French vowels sometimes have accents which can change how they are pronounced
[a], [â] and [à] are the same sound in French - a sharp, short sound rather than a long [ah]
à la radio
[e] is silent at the end of a word
groupe
[e] has two different sounds depending on where it appears in a word and the letters it is combined with - listen to the [e] in the words je and avec
je joue avec mes amis
[é], [-er], [es], [ez] and et are the same sound in French
Vous allez regarder un film ?
[i] and [î] make an [ee] sound
the letter ‘y’ is also pronounced like this
il y a un artiste
[o] at the end of a word and [ô] are the same sound in French - a sharp, short sound rather than a long [oh]
un rôle dans un jeu vidéo
[u] and [û] are not pronounced like the English [oo]
form an [oo] sound with your mouth but then say [ee]
Tu es sûr que c’est ton livre ?
Examiner Tips and Tricks
It is important to know how to say and spell French words accurately. The sounds covered here can appear in any words throughout the course.
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