Sport (AQA GCSE French): Revision Note
Exam code: 8652
Written by: Amy Bates
Updated on
Sport
To give and understand information about sports, you should be able to:
say what sports you watch, do or play, using the correct verbs
say what sports you have watched, done or played recently
give more information about a sport or activity, e.g. who you play with or against
use prepositions correctly when talking about sports and activities
Sport: vocabulary
The verbs jouer (to play) and faire (to do) are very important to talk about sports:
Use jouer for sports involving a ball, e.g. je joue au football (I play football)
Use faire for all other sports and activities, e.g. je fais de la natation (I go swimming)
Faire generally means ‘to make’ or ‘to do’, but it can also mean ‘go’ when used with sports
Jouer is a regular verb and faire is irregular. Here are their present tense forms:
jouer | faire | |
je | joue | fais |
tu | joues | fais |
il / elle / on | joue | fait |
nous | jouons | faisons |
vous | jouez | faites |
ils / elles | jouent | font |
In the perfect (past) tense, use the past participles joué and fait with the correct pronoun and form of avoir, e.g. j’ai joué au football, elle a fait de la natation
Some useful words and phrases to talk about sports are:
Category | French | Part of speech | English |
Sports, physical activities and exercise | actif, active | adj | active |
sportif, sportive | adj | sporty | |
activité | n (f) | activity | |
équipe | n (f) | team | |
exercice | n (m) | exercise | |
foot(ball) | n (m) | football | |
jeu | n (m) | game | |
match | n (m) | match | |
natation | n (f) | swimming | |
partie | n (f) | match, game | |
stade | n (f) | stadium | |
vélo | n (m) | bike, bicycle | |
courrir | v | to run | |
danser | v | to dance | |
gagner | v | to win | |
participer (à) | v | to participate (in) | |
regarder | v | to watch |
Higher tier only
These words are only required for Higher tier.
French | Part of speech | English | Examples | |
concurrence | n (f) | competition | Il y a beaucoup de concurrence entre les équipes. | There is a lot of competition between the teams. |
formation | n (f) | training | Cette formation est très utile pour devenir plus actif. | This training is very useful to become more active. |
vitesse | n (f) | speed | La vitesse est importante dans les courses. | Speed is important in races. |
nager | v | to swim | Je vais souvent à la piscine pour nager. | I often go to the pool to swim. |
pratiquer | v | to do, play | Il est important de pratiquer un sport. | It is important to play a sport. |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
It is important to learn key words for the exam, but you can also add your own personal vocabulary so you can express yourself better.
If you play a sport and might want to talk or write about it, look up the French word and make a note of it - many are cognates, e.g. le tennis, la boxe, le basket.
Say some sentences about your sport(s), making sure you use jouer or faire correctly.
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