Se Presenter II – JSS1 French Lesson Note (First Term)

In French, you say where a person comes from with venir de, then add donc (so) and the nationality, as in Il vient du Nigeria, donc il est nigérian.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. say where a person comes from using Il vient de…, Elle vient de… and Je viens de…
2. give the nationality of a person using donc il est…, donc elle est… and donc je suis…
3. name the nationalities of people from Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Canada, France, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, the United States and Mali
4. write the masculine and feminine forms of a nationality, such as nigérian and nigériane

What is a nationality in French?

A nationality (la nationalité) is the word that tells which country a person belongs to.

• Le pays: the country, for example le Nigeria, le Mali, la France.
• La nationalité: the nationality, for example nigérian, malien, français.
• Donc: a small word meaning “so” or “therefore”. It links the country to the nationality.
• Small letters: in French, a nationality used as an adjective after est or suis starts with a small letter.

How do we say where a person comes from?

We use the verb venir (to come) followed by de, which means “from”.

How do we use the verb venir?

• Je viens: I come, as in Je viens du Togo.
• Tu viens: you come (one person, informal), as in Tu viens du Mali.
• Il vient: he comes, as in Il vient du Sénégal.
• Elle vient: she comes, as in Elle vient du Canada.
• Nous venons: we come.
• Vous venez: you come (many people, or polite form).
• Ils / Elles viennent: they come.

Which word follows venir: du, de, d’ or des?

The word depends on the country’s gender and number.

How do we give a person’s nationality?

First say where the person comes from, then add donc, the verb être (to be) and the nationality.

1. Choose the subject: je, il or elle.
2. Say the country: vient du Nigeria.
3. Add donc.
4. Use the right form of être: je suis, il est, elle est.
5. Write the nationality in the masculine form for a man or the feminine form for a woman.

How do nationalities change for a man and a woman?

Most nationalities have a masculine form for a man and a feminine form for a woman.

• Il est…: use the masculine form, as in il est malien.
• Elle est…: use the feminine form, as in elle est malienne.
• Je suis…: a boy or man uses the masculine form. A girl or woman uses the feminine form.

What patterns help us write the feminine form?

• Add -e: nigérian becomes nigériane, américain becomes américaine.
• Double the n and add -e: canadien becomes canadienne, malien becomes malienne, ivoirien becomes ivoirienne.
• Add -e to -ais: sénégalais becomes sénégalaise, français becomes française.
• Add -e to -ois: béninois becomes béninoise.

What are ten examples of people and their nationalities?

These ten sentences show the full pattern: where the person comes from, then donc and the nationality.

Example meaning: Elle vient du Canada, donc elle est canadienne means “She comes from Canada, so she is Canadian.”

What mistakes should students avoid?

• Wrong gender: do not write elle est nigérian. Write elle est nigériane.
• Wrong verb form: do not write je vient. Write je viens.
• Wrong word after venir: use du with masculine countries, de with feminine countries and des with plural names.
• Missing donc: use donc to link the country to the nationality.

Evaluation

Complete each sentence with the correct nationality.

1. Elle vient du Canada, donc elle est …
2. Il vient du Mali, donc il est …
3. Il vient des États-Unis, donc il est …
4. Elle vient du Bénin, donc elle est …
5. Il vient du Sénégal, donc il est …

Assignment

Copy the ten sentences from the table into your exercise book. Underline the nationality in each sentence.