This beginner-level French lesson covers essential vocabulary and grammar to talk about sickness and pain, including symptoms, common health-related phrases, and using the near future tense with "aller." It features practical dialogues for medical visits, pharmacy requests, and phone calls, alongside vocabulary sorting and verb conjugation exercises to build natural communication skills in health contexts.
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Vocabulary (13) 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 these words into two categories: those that describe symptoms and those that refer to people or places related to the disease.
Symptômes
Personnes et lieux
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
La maladie
The illness
2
Se moucher
To blow one's nose
3
L'hôpital
The hospital
4
Éternuer
To sneeze
5
Le docteur
The doctor
Exercice 5: Exercice de conversation
Instruction:
- Décrivez les symptômes de chaque personne. (Describe the symptoms of each person.)
- Jouer un dialogue chez le médecin. (Play a dialogue at the doctor's office.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
Il a mal au cou. He has pain in the neck. |
Vous avez de la fièvre. You have a fever. |
J'ai mal au dos. My back hurts. |
Où avez-vous mal ? Where does it hurt? |
J'ai une toux. I have a cough. |
J'ai mal à la tête. I have a headache. |
J'ai mal au ventre. I have a stomachache. |
J'ai la nausée. I feel nauseous. |
... |
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. Je ____ prendre un médicament pour la douleur.
(I ____ going to take a medicine for the pain.)2. Tu ____ aller chez le médecin demain matin.
(You ____ going to go to the doctor tomorrow morning.)3. Il ne ____ pas éternuer devant tout le monde.
(He is not ____ going to sneeze in front of everyone.)4. Nous ____ nous moucher avant de partir.
(We ____ are going to blow our noses before leaving.)Exercise 8: A Visit to the Doctor
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Aller - Go
Présent
- je vais
- tu vas
- il/elle/on va
- nous allons
- vous allez
- ils/elles vont
Tousser - Cough
Présent
- je tousse
- tu tousses
- il/elle/on tousse
- nous toussons
- vous toussez
- ils/elles toussent
Exercise 9: Le futur proche : "Aller" + Infinitif
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The near future: "Aller" + Infinitive
Show translation Show answersvont, allez, allons, vas, va, vais
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Sickness and Pain: Learn to Talk About Health in French
This lesson introduces you to essential vocabulary and expressions related to sickness, pain, and visiting medical professionals in French. You'll learn how to talk about common symptoms like having a fever (avoir de la fièvre), a runny nose (avoir le nez qui coule), coughing (tousser), and sneezing (éternuer), helping you describe how you feel when you're unwell.
The Near Future Tense with "Aller"
A key grammar point in this lesson is the use of the near future tense (le futur proche) formed with aller + infinitive verb. For example, phrases like Je vais aller chez le médecin (I am going to go to the doctor) help you express upcoming actions related to health. You will practice conjugating aller and using it naturally in medical contexts.
Practical Dialogues and Situations
The lesson offers situational dialogues such as at the medical office, the pharmacy, and telephone calls to make appointments. These conversations allow you to practice expressing symptoms and requesting medications, thus improving your communicative skills in real-life health-related scenarios.
Vocabulary Clusters and Exercises
You will also classify words into categories like symptoms and people/places linked to illness, which helps organize your vocabulary effectively. Multiple-choice exercises focus on correctly conjugating verbs in context, while a short story puts your new knowledge into practice through a narrative about going to the doctor.
Important Notes on Language Use
In French, health-related expressions often differ from English in structure and vocabulary. For example, avoir mal à la gorge literally means "to have pain in the throat," instead of using a verb like "to hurt." Understanding these differences supports accurate and natural communication.
Expressions such as prendre un médicament (to take medicine) or fixer un rendez-vous (to make an appointment) are central phrases to master for health situations.