Sports and exercise
Sports et exercice
- Learn the sports
- Talk about the sports you practice
- The past tense with "avoir" and "être"
Learn to talk about sports and exercise using the passé composé with verbs like jouer (played), courir (ran), and aller (went). Practice vocabulary such as le football, la natation, and le basketball to describe recent activities and achievements.
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!
It's not the most exciting thing, we admit, but it’s absolutely essential (and we promise it'll pay off)!
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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Lesson Overview: Sports and Exercise in French
This lesson introduces you to vocabulary and expressions related to sports and exercise, using practical examples set around everyday activities and events like the Paris 2024 Olympics. You'll learn how to describe sports activities, express past experiences, and discuss preferences using the passé composé tense with the auxiliary verbs "avoir" and "être." This is an A1 level lesson designed for beginners to build foundational language skills around sports topics.
Key Topics Covered
- Vocabulary: Common sports and related terms such as le football (football/soccer), la natation (swimming), le tennis (tennis), le cyclisme (cycling), le rugby (rugby), le basketball (basketball), le stade (stadium), and general sports terms like le sport.
- Grammatical Focus: Passé composé with two auxiliary verbs:
- Avoir (to have) for most verbs (e.g., "Tu as joué au football ce week-end ?")
- Être (to be) used with motion verbs related to movement and change of state (e.g., "Je suis allé à la piscine hier.")
- Sentence Formation and Usage: Expressing past tense actions related to sports activities, such as playing, swimming, running, and attending sports events.
Examples of Useful Expressions
- "Tu as joué au football ce week-end ?" (Did you play football this weekend?)
- "Je suis allé à la piscine pour faire de la natation hier." (I went to the swimming pool to swim yesterday.)
- "Nous avons gagné le match de basketball la semaine dernière." (We won the basketball match last week.)
- "Elle a couru pendant une heure ce matin pour faire de l'exercice." (She ran for an hour this morning to exercise.)
Practical Dialogues and Activities
The lesson includes role-play dialogues to practice talking about recent sports activities, preferences, and experiences, such as:
- At the sports club discussing which sport you practiced recently.
- Talking about your favorite sports and why you enjoy them.
- Describing physical activities done after sports sessions or during weekends.
Clustered Vocabulary
You will sort and learn sports vocabulary divided into categories:
- Individual sports: la natation, le tennis, le cyclisme
- Team sports: le football, le rugby, le basketball
Grammar Highlight: Passé Composé with "avoir" and "être"
Understanding which auxiliary verb to use is essential. Verbs of motion (go, come, go up/down) use être. Most other verbs use avoir. For example:
- Elle est allée à la piscine. (She went to the pool.)
- Tu as joué au football. (You played football.)
Note on Language Differences
French uses grammatical gender and verb conjugations with two auxiliary verbs for past tense, unlike English which uses one "have". For example, "I went" is je suis allé(e), including agreement in gender. Also, some sports terms have no direct English equivalent or are used differently. For example, "faire du sport" means "to do sports" or "exercise", which in English is more often just "to exercise".
Additional Useful Sports-Related French Phrases
- faire du sport – to play sports / exercise
- jouer au football – to play soccer/football
- aller à la piscine – to go to the swimming pool
- courir – to run
- gagner un match – to win a match
- la compétition – competition
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