Sports and exercise
Sports et exercice
- Learn the sports
- Talk about the sports you practice
- The past tense with "avoir" and "être"
Learn how to talk about sports and exercise in French at the A1 level. This lesson covers the passé composé with "avoir" and "être," essential sports vocabulary, and practical dialogues to describe recent physical activities and preferences. Master key verbs and expressions to discuss sports confidently.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (15) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Classify the following words into two categories: those that are individual sports and those that are team sports.
Sports individuels
Sports collectifs
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Le cyclisme
Cycling
2
Le tennis
Tennis
3
La natation
Swimming
4
Faire du sport
Playing sport
5
Le rugby
Rugby
Exercice 5: Conversation exercise
Instruction:
- Name the type of sport and say if you do it as a team (or a pair) or alone. (Name the type of sport and say if you do it as a team (or a pair) or alone.)
- Do you do sports? How often? (Do you do sports? How often?)
- Do you like to watch sports? (Do you like to watch sports?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
Le volleyball est un sport d'équipe. Volleyball is a teamsport. |
|
La natation est un sport individuel. Swimming is an individual sport. |
|
Comme sport, je fais de la boxe. As sports I do boxing. |
|
J'aime jouer au tennis. Je joue au tennis tous les mercredis et samedis. I like to play tenis. I play tenis every Wednesday and Saturday. |
|
Je n'aime pas regarder le sport. Ça me fatigue. I do not like to watch sports. I get tired. |
|
J'aime regarder des matchs de basket. I like to watch basketball games. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Hier, j'__ joué au tennis avec mes amis au stade.
(Yesterday, I __ played tennis with my friends at the stadium.)2. Après le match, nous __ gagné et tout le monde était content.
(After the match, we __ won and everyone was happy.)3. Dimanche dernier, elle __ allée à la piscine pour faire de la natation.
(Last Sunday, she __ went to the pool to swim.)4. Tu __ couru vite pendant la course au parc ce matin.
(You __ ran fast during the race in the park this morning.)Exercise 8: A sporty day at the park
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Aller - To go
Passé composé
- Je suis allé
- Tu es allé
- Il est allé / Elle est allée
- Nous sommes allés
- Vous êtes allés
- Ils sont allés / Elles sont allées
Jouer - To play
Passé composé
- J'ai joué
- Tu as joué
- Il a joué / Elle a joué
- Nous avons joué
- Vous avez joué
- Ils ont joué / Elles ont joué
Courir - To run
Passé composé
- J'ai couru
- Tu as couru
- Il a couru / Elle a couru
- Nous avons couru
- Vous avez couru
- Ils ont couru / Elles ont couru
Gagner - To win
Passé composé
- J'ai gagné
- Tu as gagné
- Il a gagné / Elle a gagné
- Nous avons gagné
- Vous avez gagné
- Ils ont gagné / Elles ont gagné
Exercise 9: Le passé composé avec "avoir" et "être"
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The past tense with "avoir" and "être"
Show translation Show answersas gagné, as joué, a joué, a couru, avons gagné, avez couru, sont venus, suis allé
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Courir to run Share Copied!
passe_compose
| French | English |
|---|---|
| (je/j') j'ai couru | I ran |
| tu as couru | You ran |
| il/elle/on a couru | He/she/one ran |
| nous avons couru | We ran |
| vous avez couru | You have run |
| ils/elles ont couru | They have run |
Jouer to play Share Copied!
passe_compose
| French | English |
|---|---|
| (je/j') j'ai joué | I played |
| tu as joué | You have played |
| il/elle/on a joué | He/she/one has played |
| nous avons joué | We played |
| vous avez joué | You have played |
| ils/elles ont joué | They have played |
Gagner to win Share Copied!
passe_compose
| French | English |
|---|---|
| (je/j') j'ai gagné | I won |
| tu as gagné | You won |
| il/elle/on a gagné | he/she/one won |
| nous avons gagné | we won |
| vous avez gagné | You have won |
| ils/elles ont gagné | they won |
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Sports and Exercise in French: An A1 Beginner's Guide
This lesson focuses on learning how to talk about sports and exercise activities in French, using the passé composé tense with the auxiliary verbs "avoir" and "être." You will become familiar with common sports vocabulary and expressions related to physical activities and sporting events.
Key Grammar Focus: Passé Composé with "Avoir" and "Être"
The passé composé is the main past tense to describe completed actions. Some verbs use "avoir" as the auxiliary, while some, especially verbs indicating movement or change of state like "aller" (to go), use "être." For example, "J'ai joué au football" (I played soccer) uses "avoir," while "Je suis allé à la piscine" (I went to the pool) uses "être."
Essential Vocabulary
- Sports Individuels (Individual sports): la natation (swimming), le tennis (tennis), le cyclisme (cycling)
- Sports Collectifs (Team sports): le football (soccer), le rugby (rugby), le basketball (basketball)
- Other useful words: le stade (stadium), le sport (sport)
Practical Expressions and Dialogue
You will practice common questions and answers related to recent sports activities, likes and dislikes, and describing exercise routines with authentic conversational examples such as "Tu as fait quel sport cette semaine ?" (What sport did you do this week?) and responses like "J'ai joué au tennis lundi et j'ai nagé mardi." (I played tennis Monday and swam Tuesday.)
Cultural Note and Language Tips
In French, physical activities often emphasize the use of passé composé to talk about what you did, whereas English might often use simple past or present perfect. Remember that verbs of movement like "aller" require "être" rather than "avoir". Useful phrases include "faire du sport" (to do sports) and "aller à la piscine" (to go to the pool). The expression "Est-ce que tu fais du sport régulièrement?" means "Do you exercise regularly?" and represents a typical question to discuss sports routines.
By mastering these expressions and grammar points, you will be able to confidently discuss sports and exercise in everyday conversation, describe past activities, and understand French sports culture more deeply.
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