L’infinitif

Lyrics

L’infinitif est
le verbe dans la phrase
non-conjugué;
c’est le verbe de base!
~
C'est-à-dire
Qu'il ne change pas.
Les infinitifs
Se terminent par…
~
Par ER et par IR, par RE, par OIR...
~
Quand faut-il
Utiliser
L’ Infinitif?
Est-ce que vous savez?
~
Après un autre verbe,
Après comment, pourquoi,
Après une préposition,
Ça se termine par…
~
Par ER et par IR, par RE, par OIR...

Recommended Resources
• Grammar through music CD
• CD player
• Copies of Infinitive worksheet for each student
• Copies of “working in groups” rubric
• Chalk boards, chalk (or paper on which students might complete the activity)
 Defining “infinitive”

Introduction
• Hand out a copy of the Infinitive worksheet to each student.
• Hand out the “Working in Groups” rubric to all students or have students take this rubric out
of their “Grammar through Music” folders.
• Hand out English / French dictionaries to each student, or have students take their dictionaries
out of their desks.
• Play the Infinitive song; encourage students to follow along with the lyrics written on the front
of the worksheet.

Activity
• Read question 1 with students, which asks them to define the term “infinitive.” Explain to
students that they may use a dictionary to define the word, if they choose, but that most of
the information they will need for their definitions can be found in the lyrics of the Infinitive
song, written on the reverse side of the worksheet. Explain that students are to work in pairs
to complete this question.
• Before proceeding, direct students’ attention to the “Working in Groups” rubric handed out
earlier. Read rubric thoroughly with students to ensure expectations are clear and concise.

Conclusion
• After students have completed question #1, collect worksheets, or have students place their
worksheets in their “Music through Grammar” folders.
• Play the infinitive song while students are putting their worksheets away. Encourage students
to sing along.

Assessment
Anecdotal
• Were students able to complete questions 1 without teacher assistance?
Rubric
• Use the “Working in Groups” rubric to grade how students were working in groups. Students
should be familiar with and should have a copy of this rubric.
 Refining the definition of “infinitive”
Introduction
• Ask students to place their infinitive worksheets on the desk or re-distribute worksheets that
you collected from students previously.
• Play the infinitive song.
• Ask students: what is an infinitive? Students should refer to question #3 on their worksheets,
which they should have answered last lesson.

Activity
• Explain to students that you would like one member of each group to come up to the front of
the class and write the definitions on the board that they came up with during the previous
lesson.
• After all groups have written their definitions on the board, take all answers and put them
together to create one comprehensive definition for “infinitive.” Write this definition clearly,
on the board.
• Have students copy the comprehensive definition onto their worksheets in answer to question
#2.
• Redirect students’ attention to the part of the song that explains that infinitives can come
after “comment,” or “pourquoi.” Read this out with students and write the following sentence
on the board:

“Je ne sais pas comment __________________ a l’école.”

• Students will note that there is a blank after “comment.” Ask students to get into groups and
to come up with verbs to fill in the blank. After a few minutes, ask students share their
answers with the class. Write all answers on the board. When students can think of no more
verbs to fill in the blank, look at all of the suggestions on the board. Identify the endings of
each – students will note, that all of their suggested verbs and infinitives, verbs that end in
“er,” “ir,” “oir,” or “re,” and that are not conjugated.
• At this point, explain to students, that “conjugate” means “change.” Then, ask students:

If “conjugate” means “change,” what does “non-conjugué” mean?

• Students should respond “unchanged.” Go on to explain here, that infinitive verbs are verbs in
“their natural state;” they are unchanged, unaltered, “perfect!”
• Have students complete question #3

Conclusion
• Take up the answers to questions #3 as a class. Make sure that students are correcting their
own work.
• After taking up the answers collect worksheets or ask students to place worksheets back in
their “Grammar Through Music” folders.
• Play the infinitive song while students are putting their worksheets away. Encourage students
to sing along.

Assessment
Anecdotal
• Were students able to resolve between them, who would write the definition onto the
blackboard? Were students able to resolve this conflict without teacher assistance?
 Exploring the Infinitive Form
Introduction
• Ask students to place their infinitive worksheets on the desk or re-distribute worksheets that
you collected from students last lesson.
• Play the infinitive song.
• Ask students: what is an infinitive? Discuss and review the answer to this question as a class.

Lesson
• Hand out a chalk board, chalk, and a piece of tissue paper to each student, or have students
take these materials out of their desks.
• Write the following sentence on the board: “Je marche à la bibliothèque,” and underline the
word “marche” in the sentence.
• Explain to students, that they are to write the infinitive form of the underlined conjugated verb
(in this case, “marche,”) on their chalkboards.
• Students may have difficulty with this initially, but they should catch on quickly. The answer is
“marcher.”
• Ask students to raise their chalkboards over their heads when they are finished writing their
answers.
• When all boards are raised, write the correct answer on the classroom blackboard. Have
students compare their answers to the answer on the board and make corrections as
necessary.
• Erase the sentence on the board and write another sentence on the board,. such as:

Je ne veux pas marcher le chien. (Answer : vouloir)

Nous avons beaucoup d’énergie. (Answer : avoir)
Marie va à la campagne. (Answer : aller)
Je deviens de plus en plus fatiguer. (Answer : devenir)

• Challenge students to identify verbs in the above sentences that are already written in the
infinitive form. For example, in the first sentence, “je ne veux pas marcher le chien,” the verb
“marcher” is already written in its infinitive form.
• If time allows, include sentences that incorporate content from other subjects that students
are studying. For example, if you are teaching “plants and soils” in science, you might want to
have students determine the infinitive forms of “ont” and “absorbent” in the following
sentence:

Les plantes ont des racines qui absorbent l’eau (answers: “avoir” and “absorber”).

• Encourage students to keep track of the number of questions they answer correctly by
keeping a tally of check marks at the bottom of their blackboards.

Conclusion
• Collect black boards and chalk when finished or have students place these materials in their
desks.
• Play the infinitive song again as you collect the boards. Challenge students to get their books
out for the next class, or to clean their desks before the infinitive song is over!

Assessment
Anecdotal
• Which students are the first to write down the answers and help others? This demonstrates a
high level of comprehension.