Summer activities: modal verbs in two-verb structures

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Select je veux / il veut and je dois / elle doit
Keep an action verb in the infinitive after a modal
Distinguish a wish from an obligation in a short message

Vocabulary: je veux = I want · il/elle veut = he/she wants · je dois = I must / have to · il/elle doit = he/she must / has to · visiter = to visit · préparer = to prepare

Retrieve previous learning

In ‘Nous allons visiter un musée’, which verb changes for the subject and which stays infinitive?

Check: Allons changes for nous; visiter remains infinitive. The same two-verb distinction matters with a modal.

Learn the concept

Vouloir expresses a wish; devoir expresses an obligation or necessity. In the present singular, use je veux and il/elle veut, but je dois and il/elle doit. The final letter changes in writing even when the sound seems similar. Choose the form from the person who wants or must act: ‘Je veux visiter un musée’; ‘Elle doit préparer un sac.’ A name may be used with the third-person form without inferring a pronoun.

After a modal, the action verb stays in its infinitive. ‘Il veut jouer’ means he wants to play, while ‘Il veut joue’ is not this pattern. ‘Je dois partir’ means I have to leave, whereas ‘Je veux partir’ means I want to leave. Do not merge the meanings when translating: a learner's desire is not the same as a rule or obligation.

Original fictional message: ‘Je veux visiter le jardin. Léo doit préparer un sac. Il veut jouer après la visite.’ The speaker's wish is to visit the garden, Léo's task is preparing a bag, and his later wish is to play. A written reader can label each intention and necessity. If a teacher reads a new message with the text hidden, the pupil can show listening by separating those meanings from what they heard.

Worked model

Choose the meaning ‘She has to prepare a bag’: necessity calls for devoir.
Choose the third-person singular form because the subject is elle: doit.
Keep the action verb préparer in the infinitive: ‘Elle doit préparer un sac.’
Contrast a wish: ‘Elle veut préparer un sac’ changes the meaning.

Guided practice

Complete ‘Je ___ visiter Nice, mais Maya ___ préparer un sac’ for ‘I want to visit Nice, but Maya has to prepare a bag.’ Explain the two modals.

Hint: A wish uses vouloir; a necessity uses devoir.

Check the guided answer

‘Je veux visiter Nice, mais Maya doit préparer un sac.’ Veux expresses the speaker's wish; doit expresses Maya's necessity. Both action verbs stay infinitive.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

Read a new fictional message with the transcript hidden. A teacher then observes a new spoken sentence using a modal; written answers do not establish pronunciation or listening.

Distinguishes a wish and an obligation in an unseen spoken message
Produces an intelligible original modal + infinitive sentence
Uses a subject-appropriate modal form in a teacher-observed response

Find and correct a misconception

“The action verb after je veux or elle doit also changes for the subject.”

Correction: Only the modal is conjugated: je veux visiter; elle doit préparer.

Extend and reflect

Write a fictional club note with one wish and one necessary preparation.

Guidance: Explain which is a choice and which is a requirement. Avoid presenting an invented travel or safety rule as real policy.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Select je veux / il veut and je dois / elle doit. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Vocabulary and grammar · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Describe what others want and must do

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Use tu veux, il/elle veut, tu dois and il/elle doit
Follow each modal with an infinitive
Distinguish a wish from an obligation

Vocabulary: tu veux = you want · elle veut = she wants · tu dois = you must · il doit = he must · visiter = to visit

Retrieve previous learning

What remains unchanged after ‘je vais’ in ‘je vais visiter’?

Check: Visiter is an infinitive; the first verb carries the subject form.

Learn the concept

Vouloir expresses wanting; devoir expresses having to. For singular subjects, compare tu veux / il veut and tu dois / elle doit. Add an infinitive for the action: ‘Elle veut nager’ means she wants to swim; ‘Elle doit étudier’ means she must study. The action verb does not change for the subject in this two-verb structure.

A wish and an obligation are not the same. ‘Sam veut visiter le parc’ reports a preference; ‘Sam doit rentrer à six heures’ reports a requirement. Do not infer a real person's obligation from a model sentence; these are fictional summer plans. The sound of final letters may not reveal the written form, so use the subject to check spelling.

Worked model

Choose subject elle and obligation devoir: elle doit.
Choose the action infinitive partir, not part.
Write ‘Elle doit partir’ and contrast ‘Elle veut partir’, which describes a wish.

Guided practice

Translate ‘You must read, but she wants to swim’.

Hint: Use tu dois and elle veut before two infinitives.

Check the guided answer

‘Tu dois lire, mais elle veut nager.’ Dois agrees with tu; veut agrees with elle; lire and nager remain infinitives.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

Present this contrast orally with the text hidden. Observe a new unscripted spoken wish and obligation after the listening questions.

Distinguishes want from must when heard
Uses a singular modal intelligibly
Answers an unfamiliar question about the action

Find and correct a misconception

“Wanting and having to do something are expressed by the same French modal.”

Correction: Vouloir expresses a wish; devoir expresses necessity. Both take a following infinitive here.

Extend and reflect

Ask a peer what they want and must do tomorrow, then report one answer.

Guidance: A teacher must observe the spoken exchange; do not treat the written report as proof of listening.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Use tu veux, il/elle veut, tu dois and il/elle doit. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Vocabulary and grammar · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Distinguish possibility from learned skill

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Use singular pouvoir and savoir forms with an infinitive
Distinguish being able or permitted from knowing how
Write a careful negative with ne … pas

Vocabulary: je peux / tu peux / il peut = can / be able or allowed · je sais / tu sais / elle sait = know how · nager = to swim · jouer = to play · je ne peux pas = I cannot · je ne sais pas = I do not know how

Retrieve previous learning

Complete ‘Elle ___ préparer un sac’ for ‘She must prepare a bag’; what form is the second verb?

Check: Elle doit préparer un sac. Préparer stays an infinitive after the conjugated modal doit.

Learn the concept

Pouvoir expresses an ability, possibility or permission in context. Its singular written forms are je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut. Savoir can mean knowing a fact; before an infinitive it can express a learned skill: je sais, tu sais, il/elle sait. The action verb stays infinitive in both patterns: ‘Je peux nager’ and ‘Je sais nager’. In the second sentence, the speaker says they know how to swim. The first may mean they are able or allowed to swim in the circumstances.

Context decides the useful English translation. A fictional child may say ‘Je sais nager, mais je ne peux pas nager aujourd’hui’: they know how, but cannot swim today. This is a language contrast, not permission to enter water. Real swimming needs the appropriate adult supervision and local safety arrangements. For a negative, place ne before the modal and pas after it: ‘Je ne peux pas jouer’; ‘Elle ne sait pas nager.’ Do not place pas after the infinitive in this introductory pattern.

Original exchange: ‘Tu sais dessiner ? — Oui, je sais dessiner. Tu peux venir au club ? — Non, je ne peux pas venir.’ The first question asks about a learned skill; the second asks whether coming is possible. The answers change from tu in the question to je in the respondent's voice. A written dialogue checks these choices on paper. A teacher must separately observe comprehension of a hidden spoken exchange and an unscripted answer.

Worked model

Start with the intended meaning ‘She knows how to draw’.
Select savoir and third-person singular elle sait.
Keep dessiner as the infinitive: ‘Elle sait dessiner.’
For ‘She cannot draw now’, choose pouvoir and negate the modal: ‘Elle ne peut pas dessiner maintenant.’

Guided practice

A fictional club member who uses the pronoun il has learned to play chess but cannot attend today. Write two contrasting French sentences.

Hint: Use savoir for the learned skill and pouvoir for the present possibility.

Check the guided answer

‘Il sait jouer aux échecs, mais il ne peut pas venir aujourd’hui.’ Sait expresses know-how; ne peut pas says attendance is not possible. Jouer and venir stay infinitive.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

Keep the text hidden while a teacher reads a fresh contrast of savoir and pouvoir. Observe a relevant new response, and treat water-related examples as language practice rather than an instruction to swim.

Distinguishes skill from present possibility in unseen spoken examples
Asks or answers an intelligible new pouvoir or savoir question
Responds to the heard meaning rather than repeating a memorised sentence

Find and correct a misconception

“Je peux nager and je sais nager always mean exactly the same thing.”

Correction: Je sais nager states learned know-how; je peux nager can mean ability, present possibility or permission in context.

Extend and reflect

Compare a fictional learner's learned skills with what their schedule permits today.

Guidance: Use both modal verbs, at least one careful negative, and no unsupported real-world safety or access claim.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Use singular pouvoir and savoir forms with an infinitive. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Speaking · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Ask and answer what someone can and cannot do

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Use pouvoir with an infinitive
Negate the conjugated modal
Form a question about ability

Vocabulary: je peux = I can · tu peux = you can · il/elle peut = he/she can · je ne peux pas = I cannot · Peux-tu ? = Can you?

Retrieve previous learning

Where does pas go in ‘Je ne vais pas sortir’?

Check: Pas follows the conjugated first verb vais, before the infinitive sortir.

Learn the concept

Pouvoir plus an infinitive expresses ability or possibility: ‘Je peux nager’. Negate the conjugated modal, not the action verb: ‘Je ne peux pas nager’. For elle, write ‘Elle ne peut pas venir’. The infinitives nager and venir remain unchanged. Be careful not to confuse peut (she can) with peux (I/you can).

Ask ‘Peux-tu venir ?’ to find out whether one person can come. The conjugated peux moves before tu with a hyphen; venir remains the infinitive. A reply can contrast ability: ‘Je ne peux pas venir, mais je peux téléphoner’. This original model is a scheduling conversation; it does not imply any learner should disclose personal arrangements.

Worked model

Begin with ‘Tu peux nager’ and identify peux as conjugated.
Invert the pair to ask ‘Peux-tu nager ?’.
Answer in the first person: ‘Non, je ne peux pas nager’, placing negation around peux.

Guided practice

Ask ‘Can you come?’ and reply ‘No, I cannot come’.

Hint: Invert peux-tu; place ne and pas around je peux in the answer.

Check the guided answer

‘Peux-tu venir ? — Non, je ne peux pas venir.’ Venir stays infinitive in question and answer.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

Speak the scheduling dialogue with transcript hidden, then observe a new oral ability question and answer. Record listening and speaking separately from written grammar checks.

Identifies the possible day when heard
Asks an intelligible peux-tu question
Gives a responsive spoken negative answer

Find and correct a misconception

“Negating a two-verb ability sentence puts pas after the infinitive.”

Correction: In ‘Je ne peux pas venir’, ne and pas surround the conjugated modal peux.

Extend and reflect

Write a two-day fictional plan showing what a character can and cannot do.

Guidance: Use peux or peut according to subject and put pas before the infinitive in the negative clause.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Use pouvoir with an infinitive. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Reading · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Read and adapt an original French mini-poem

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Infer meaning from known vocabulary and modal structures
Adapt an original text while retaining grammar
Use a dictionary infinitive carefully

Vocabulary: sans tête = without a head · je peux = I can · marcher = to walk · chanter = to sing · mais = but

Retrieve previous learning

Why does ‘Je peux chanter’ use chanter rather than chante?

Check: Peux is the conjugated modal; the following action stays in its dictionary infinitive form.

Learn the concept

This DASKEREL mini-poem is original and independent of the Oak poem: ‘Je marche dans la rue. / Je peux chanter tout bas. / Sans chapeau, je regarde la lune. / Mais je ne peux pas voler.’ Its speaker can walk and sing quietly but cannot fly. Read line by line: identify the subject je, locate the action verbs and notice that pas follows conjugated peux in the last line.

A poem's image can be imaginative rather than factual. ‘Sans chapeau’ means without a hat; ‘sans tête’ in the Oak lesson title means without a head, but the DASKEREL poem does not reproduce or describe that source poem. When adapting, look up an unknown verb in its infinitive form, then decide whether it must be conjugated or remain infinitive after peux. Final written consonants are often silent, but pronunciation should be checked by listening to a reliable model and by teacher observation.

Worked model

Identify ‘je peux chanter’ as ability plus infinitive.
Replace chanter with danser to create ‘je peux danser’.
Keep the negative structure ‘je ne peux pas voler’ if the speaker still cannot fly.
Explain how the one-word change alters the image without breaking grammar.

Guided practice

Explain what the speaker cannot do, then adapt the second line to say ‘I can dance quietly’.

Hint: Find the negative modal and retain peux before the new infinitive.

Check the guided answer

The speaker cannot fly. The adapted line is ‘Je peux danser tout bas.’ Danser stays infinitive after peux.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

Read the original DASKEREL lines with transcript hidden. Separately invite a pupil to read or perform an adapted line; record heard meaning, pronunciation and written adaptation as distinct evidence.

Distinguishes possible from impossible when heard
Performs an adapted line intelligibly
Explains a chosen image in their own words

Find and correct a misconception

“A dictionary supplies the correct conjugated verb for any sentence automatically.”

Correction: A dictionary commonly gives an infinitive; choose a subject form if the verb is conjugated, but keep the infinitive after peux.

Extend and reflect

Add a third new line containing a place, then explain how sound and sense affect your choice.

Guidance: Check vocabulary and grammar with a reference. A teacher should hear the performance before assessing spoken delivery.