Learning French: Reinforce Your Lesson On Direct Pronouns With A Game
Teach The Lesson
You have taught your students the French direct object pronouns. They know that these pronouns are placed before all parts of the verb. You have also taught them that if a verb is followed by a verb in the infinitive, the pronoun comes before the infinitive; and that me changes to m’, te to t’ and le and la to l’ before a vowel or silent h.
Now, you would like to reinforce the lesson, and ensure that they learn to use these pronouns correctly. Teach them the following game and they will have fun. The reward for playing this game is a treasure hunt for younger students, incorporating what they have practised into your clues.
The Game
Have your younger students bring toys, or pictures which have been cut out from magazines. Have the older students bring picture cut outs or real objects. The game goes like this:
Start with toys, pictures or objects that are masculine. After a while use those that are feminine, and then mix them up, so the students go from masculine to feminine without effort, then on to the plural form. Incorporate some main verbs into this game, such as the verbs avoir, aimer, vouloir, and prendre for example. You can also choose whichever verbs you want to. Here are some ideas. One child (A) shows her toy, picture or object to another (B) and says:
J’ai un livre. Est-ce que tu l’aimes? - I have a book. Do you like it?
B replies either “Oui, je l’aime or Non, je ne l’aime pas. If the reply is yes, then A says Est-ce que tu le veux? If the reply is yes, A then says Prends le and offers it to B. A then continues with a few more masculine objects then starts with the feminine form la; for example:
J’ai une orange. Est-ce que tu l’aimes? - I have an orange Do you like it_?_
As before, depending on B’s reply. A says
Tu la veux - Do you want it?
Depending on the reply, A says Prends la. A then moves on to the plural les by showing more than one object, for example,
J’ai des letters - I have some letters
Tu les aimes? - Do you like them?
Tu les veux - Do you want them?
Prends les - Take them
The same pattern follows with some feminine objects, for example:
J’ai des images - I have some pictures
You can expand the game utilizing all the personal pronouns, for example: Il a un stylo, and elle a une pomme. Je te vois, tu me vois, Il nous regarde, Nous vous gardons, Ils les ont, Elles les prennent.
Advanced students
More advanced students can go a bit further, using the past tense, for example:
Nous avons vu le film Avatar, est-ce que tu l’as vu? with a possible reply of Oui je l’ai vu, Je l’ai bien aimé or « Non je ne l’ai pas vu.
Est-ce que tu as mangé la pêche ? - Did you eat the peach?
Oui je l’ai mangé or Non je ne l’ai pas aimé. Prends la.
Yes I ate it or No, I didn’t like it. Have it.
Est-ce que vous avez trouvé les chaussettes ? - Did you find the socks?
Your imagination can run wild using various nouns and verbs, depending on the level of your students.
Reward the younger ones with a treasure hunt of fruits they have brought, or candy you have supplied,;and be sure to include what they learnt in your clues, for example:
Il y a un indice tout près. Je le vois sous une table.
and
Je la vois dans une poche.
and
Je les ai mis près de quelque chose petite et verte;est-ce que vous les voyez.
and Je me cache derrière un grand meuble. Je t’attends ici.
Amusez-vous bien !
References
Digital Dialects
https://www.digitaldialects.com/French.htm
BBC- GCSE Bitesize
https://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/french/grammar/pronounsf/dirobjectpronounsrev1.shtml
This post is part of the series: Games for Learning French
Try these great games to use in the classroom for learning french!!
