KS2 · French · Year 6
Canada: 'dans' and 'à' both meaning 'in' and 'to'
Where I am going: 'aller' singular persons, où est-ce que
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/11
Your learning goal
I can use my knowledge of singular forms of 'aller' with the correct preposition to say where I and others are going 'to'.
1 of 11
Canada: 'dans' and 'à' both meaning 'in' and 'to': slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
Original teaching resources
The original illustrated PowerPoint is available as well as the IllumED text slides. It retains the publisher’s design and credits.
Download original PowerPoint ↓What you’ll learn
I can use my knowledge of singular forms of 'aller' with the correct preposition to say where I and others are going 'to'.
Key learning points
- The verb 'aller' is irregular and means 'to go'. 'Je vais' is 'I go', 'il va' is 'he goes' and 'elle va' is 'she goes'.
- The 's' of 'je vais' is normally an SFC but if followed by a vowel like 'à', you pronounce it; this is called liaison.
- The word 'dans' means 'in'. After 'aller' it can mean 'into' or just 'to', e.g. 'je vais dans le parc'.
- Use 'à' to talk about going to or being in a town or city; use 'dans' to talk about going to a cardinal point.
- Use 'en' to talk about going to a feminine country, use 'au' (à + le) to talk about going to a masculine country/region.
Words to know
- dans
- French preposition meaning 'in', 'into' 'inside' or 'to'
- à
- French preposition meaning 'at, 'to' or 'in'
- au
- 'à' + 'le'
- en
- French preposition meaning 'in', 'by' or 'to'
Common mistakes
I use 'à' for 'to' with cities and 'en' for countries.
We use 'en' to say 'to' for feminine countries, e.g. 'je vais en France'. If a country is masculine, however, we use 'au', e.g. 'je vais au Portugal'.
For parents, carers and teachers
- This lesson mentions Canadian cities Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. You may wish to explore these places in more detail with your students.