This introduction covers Les quatre piliers — The Four Pillars of French within Present tense: the big four (être, avoir, aller, faire) for GCSE French. Revise Present tense: the big four (être, avoir, aller, faire) in The 25 Core Verbs and the Present Tense for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 1 of 4 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🏛️ Les quatre piliers — The Four Pillars of French
If the 25 core verbs are the skeleton of French, these four are the spine. Être, avoir, aller, faire — to be, to have, to go, to do — crop up in virtually every sentence a student writes or reads. They are all irregular (you cannot guess their forms from a pattern), which means you simply have to know them. Invest time here and every AQA task becomes easier.
Practice questions for Present tense: the big four (être, avoir, aller, faire)
Which form of 'être' correctly completes this sentence? 'Nous ___ français.'
What does 'j'ai quinze ans' mean in English?
Quick recall flashcards
aller
to go — the only -er verb that is completely irregular. Also used to form the near future tense (je vais + infinitive).
How is 'être' used with nationalities?
je suis + nationality (no article, lowercase): je suis anglais(e) = I am English. il est français = he is French. elle est galloise = she is Welsh. The nationality adjective agrees with gender.