1 of 18

Present vs Perfect tense(avoir)

1^st person singular [I]

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Rachel Hawkes

2 of 18

Things that have happened in the past: �The Perfect Tense (for most verbs!)

To talk about an event in the past, pay attention to the verb.

Before the main verb (which expresses the meaning of the verb), there is another verb, an ‘auxiliary’. This auxiliary tells us that the event was completed in the past.

The auxiliary is often a small sound that is difficult to hear or notice when you are reading!

Here’s how you talk about the past:

Present (now) Completed in the past

je fais (I do / make)

je dis (I say / tell)

Je = I

‘The first person singular’

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

🡪 j’ai fait (I did / made)

🡪 j’ai dit (I said / told)

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Rachel Hawkes

3 of 18

Things that have happened in the past: �The Perfect Tense (for most verbs!)

Present (now) Completed in the past

regarde (watch) 🡪 regardé (watched)

regardons (we watch) 🡪 regardé (watched)

But the é at the end of main verbs is not enough. It does not tell us the event is in the past.

We need the auxiliary to tell us the event is in the past and complete.

The main verb (expressing the actual meaning) also has to change.

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

4 of 18

Écouter

Quand?
Listen to these people talking about what they normally do at the weekend and what they did last weekend. Decide whether each sentence is about the past or the present (what normally happens now). The only clue is whether you hear:�‘je’ (I + something that happens regularly), or j’ai (I + past event).
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

1

2

3

4

5

6

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

Note to teacher: Notice that these main verbs (past participles) do not sound any different in the present (fais) or past (fait) – so the only cue that the learners have is the difference between ‘je’ and ‘j’ai’.

�Click each orange number to activate the audio. Each sentence is said twice. You can click the number again to hear again.

Answers appear on each mouse click.�To complete the task, students can either write 1-6 and either N for Normalement and WD for weekend dernier OR teachers can print out the following slides for them to use.

Verb frequency rankings (1 is the most common word in French): faire (25); dire (37); finir (534);

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

�Transcript

Je fais les devoirs
Je dis bonjour
J’ai fini les activités
J’ai dit au revoir
Je finis à cinq heures
J’ai fait de l’exercice

5 of 18

Quand?
For 7-12, the main verb can’t be heard! Remember: if you hear ‘je’, the person is talking about something they do regularly in the present. If you hear ‘j’ai’, they are talking about something that they did in the past.
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
	Normalement	Le weekend dernier

7

8

9

10

11

12

Écouter

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

6 of 18

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Quand?
Listen to these people talking about what they normally do at the weekend and what they did last weekend. Decide whether each sentence is about the past or the present (what normally happens now). The only clue is whether you hear:�‘je’ (I + something that happens regularly), or j’ai (I + past event).
1	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
2	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
3	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
4	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
5	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
6	Normalement	Le weekend dernier

Écouter

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

7 of 18

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Quand?
For 7-12, the main verb can’t be heard! Remember: if you hear ‘je’, the person is talking about something they do regularly in the present. If you hear ‘j’ai’, they are talking about something that they did in the past.
7	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
8	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
9	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
10	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
11	Normalement	Le weekend dernier
12	Normalement	Le weekend dernier

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

8 of 18

1	A Oui, j'ai fait les devoirs!
	B Je fais les devoirs.
2	A J'ai fait du ski.
	B Je fais du ski.
3	A Je dis ‘bonjour’.
	B J'ai dit ‘bonjour’ en 1972!!
4	A J'ai dit 'oui'!
	B Je dis 'oui‘.

A

B

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Decide which picture the person is talking about. The first picture shows an event happening NOW. The second picture shows an event that has been completed in the PAST. Write A or B for every picture.

Lire

A

B

A

B

ANSWERS

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Rachel Hawkes

9 of 18

5	A J'ai donné une pomme à la prof
	B Je donne une pomme à la prof
6	A Je finis
	B J’ai fini
7	A Je pêche
	B J'ai pêché
8	A J'ai travaillé beaucoup
	B Je travaille beaucoup

A

B

A

B

A

B

ANSWERS

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

10 of 18

Decide which picture the person is talking about. The first picture shows an event happening NOW. The second picture shows an event that has been completed in the PAST. Write A or B for every picture.
1	A Oui, j'ai fait les devoirs!	5	A J'ai donné une pomme à la prof.
	B Je fais les devoirs.		B Je donne une pomme à la prof.
2	A J'ai fait du ski.	6	A Je finis.
	B Je fais du ski.		B J’ai fini.
3	A Je dis ‘bonjour’.	7	A Je pêche.
	B J'ai dit ‘bonjour’ en 1972!!		B J'ai pêché.
4	A J'ai dit 'oui'!	8	A J'ai travaillé beaucoup.
	B Je dis 'oui‘.		B Je travaille beaucoup.

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

11 of 18

Decide which picture the person is talking about. The first picture shows an event happening NOW. The second picture shows an event that has been completed in the PAST. Write A or B for every picture.
1	A Oui, j'ai fait les devoirs!	5	A J'ai donné une pomme à la prof.
	B Je fais les devoirs.		B Je donne une pomme à la prof.
2	A J'ai fait du ski.	6	A Je finis.
	B Je fais du ski.		B J’ai fini.
3	A Je dis ‘bonjour’.	7	A Je pêche.
	B J'ai dit ‘bonjour’ en 1972!!		B J'ai pêché.
4	A J'ai dit 'oui'!	8	A J'ai travaillé beaucoup.
	B Je dis 'oui‘.		B Je travaille beaucoup.

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

12 of 18

Write four sentences about what activities you usually do and four sentences about what you did last weekend. Use a different verb in each sentence.
Normalement
1
2
3
4
Le weekend dernier
5
6
7
8

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Écrire

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Rachel Hawkes

13 of 18

1		4
2		5
3		6

Parler et écouter

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Partner A

Say a sentence to your partner about each picture. Make it clear whether it is something you normally do (in the present) or something you did in the past. Your partner has to make a note of this information.

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

Note to teacher: �Teachers may decide that some learners will need the prompts with the infinitive verbs and nouns etc. Ideally, the vocabulary would have been practised first. But… do not worry too much if the learners do not produce all the other parts of the sentence perfectly correctly – the aim now is for them to produce the auxiliary - ‘je’ and ‘j’ai’ - to communicate ‘past completeness’. They should also be able to produce the main verb (the lexical verb carrying the meaning, even if this is sometimes in the infinitive form). The nouns etc might need more scaffolding, with frames or vocabulary lists.

Verb frequency rankings (1 is the most common word in French): danser (2934); jouer (219); faire (25); écouter (429) regarder (425); manger (1338).

Source: Londsale, D., & Le Bras, Y. (2009). A Frequency Dictionary of French: Core vocabulary for learners London: Routledge.

14 of 18

Need help?

Vocabulaire

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

danser	to dance
jouer au foot	to play football
faire les devoirs	to do homework
écouter de la musique	to listen to music
faire du ski	to go skiing
regarder un film	to watch a film

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

15 of 18

	Activity?	Normally (now, in the present) or in the past?
1
2
3
4
5

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Partner B

Response Grid. Listen to what your partner is telling you about activities s/he does and did. Make notes in English.

Parler et écouter

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

16 of 18

1		4
2		5
3		6

Parler et écouter

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Partner B

Say a sentence to your partner about each picture. Make it clear whether it is something you normally do (in the present) or something you did in the past. Your partner has to make a note of this information.

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

17 of 18

Need help?

Vocabulaire

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

faire de l’exercice	to do exercise
regarder un film	to watch a film
faire les devoirs	to do homework
jouer au tennis	to play tennis
écouter de la musique	to listen to music
manger dans un restaurant	to eat in a restaurant

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

18 of 18

	Activity?	Normally (now, in the present) or in the past?
1
2
3
4
5

Emma Marsden / Victoria Hobson

Partner A

Response Grid. Listen to what your partner is telling you about activities s/he does and did. Make notes in English.

Parler et écouter

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes