Ce que nous avons appris en 3ème année
Primary 4 · French
Ce que nous avons appris en 3ème année
Lesson 5 of 5
35 min
The bell rings. Mugisha plays football, Keza sings with her friends, and Habimana claps his hands to the music. Everybody is doing something different.
A little storybook from Storybooks Rwanda asks one question: « Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? » (What are you doing?). Let's read it.
You can read this story with pictures and listen to it read aloud in French. Listen once, then read along.
| The story (in French) | What it means |
|---|---|
| Je chante. | I am singing. |
| Elle fait un signe de la main. | She is waving. |
| Je tape des mains. | I am clapping my hands. |
| Elle s'étire. | She is stretching. |
| Il appelle quelqu'un. | He is calling someone. |
| Je réponds. | I am answering. |
| Elle écoute. | She is listening. |
| Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? | What are you doing? |
Look: French has no separate "-ing" form. Je chante means both I sing and I am singing.
Most French verbs end in -er in the dictionary: chanter (to sing), écouter (to listen), danser (to dance), jouer (to play), parler (to speak), marcher (to walk). To use them, take off -er and add an ending:
| Person | Ending | chanter | écouter |
|---|---|---|---|
| je (I) | -e | je chante | j'écoute |
| tu (you, one friend) | -es | tu chantes | tu écoutes |
| il / elle (he / she) | -e | il chante | elle écoute |
Good news: chante, chantes and chante all SOUND the same. You only see the difference when you write. And je becomes j' before a vowel: j'écoute.
Play the mime game with a friend. Do an action without talking: dance, sing, clap, walk. Your friend asks « Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? » and you answer: « Je danse ! » Then your friend tells the class: « Il danse ! » or « Elle danse ! »
Write three sentences about break time at your school. For example: Mugisha joue au football. Keza chante. Moi, je danse.
Tip
Chop and stick. Chop -er off the verb, then stick on -e for je, -es for tu, -e for il and elle. Chanter → chant → je chante, tu chantes, elle chante.
Write chanter with tu.
Answer: tu chantes (tu takes -es).
Complete: Keza ___ la maîtresse. (écouter)
Answer: Keza écoute la maîtresse.
Say in French: He is dancing.
Answer: Il danse.
What does « Je tape des mains » mean?
Answer: I am clapping my hands.
Your friend asks « Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? » You are reading. What do you say? (to read = lire)
Answer: « Je lis. » Lire is not an -er verb, so learn it as it is.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Quick check
Match the sentences from the story to their meanings.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
