Sport and exercise (AQA GCSE French): Revision Notes
Sport and exercise
Useful vocabulary
Understanding sports vocabulary is fundamental to discussing activities and preferences in French. The following table provides essential terms you'll need for conversations about sports and exercise.
| French | English | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| le club | club | (m) |
| danser | to dance | - |
| l'équipe | team | (f) |
| l'exercice | exercise | (m) |
| en forme | fit, in shape | - |
| gagner | to win | - |
| le foot(ball) | football | (m) |
| le jeu | game | (m) |
| le match | match | (m) |
| la natation | swimming | (f) |
| le résultat | result | (m) |
| le sport | sport | (m) |
| le stade | stadium | (m) |
| tomber | to fall | - |
| le vélo | bicycle | (m) |
| blesser | to injure | - |
| nager | to swim | - |
| le terrain | ground | (m) |
| la victoire | victory | (f) |
Pay special attention to the gender of each noun, as this affects which articles and adjectives you'll use. Notice that while most sports terms are masculine, there are important exceptions like l'équipe (f) and la natation (f).
Grammar tips: choosing between "jouer à" and "faire de"
When discussing sports and activities in French, you need to choose between two key structures. This choice depends on whether you would use the word "play" in English.
The Golden Rule: If you would say "play" in English, use jouer à. If you wouldn't say "play" in English, use faire de.
Use "jouer à" when:
- You would say "play" in English
- The activity involves playing a game or sport with rules
- Examples: jouer au football (play football), jouer au tennis (play tennis)
Use "faire de" when:
- You wouldn't say "play" in English
- The activity is more of a general exercise or practice
- Examples: faire de la natation (go swimming), faire du vélo (go cycling)
Worked Example: Applying the Rule
English: "I play tennis" → Use jouer à → "Je joue au tennis" English: "I go swimming" → Use faire de → "Je fais de la natation" English: "I cycle" → Use faire de → "Je fais du vélo"
Example sentences
The following sentences demonstrate how to use both structures in context:
Present tense examples:
- Ils jouent au handball. (They play handball.)
- Elle fait de la natation. (She goes swimming/does swimming.)
- Il fait du vélo. (He goes cycling.)
Expressing preferences:
- J'aime jouer au football. (I like playing football.)
- J'aime faire de la natation. (I like swimming/doing swimming.)
- Je n'aime pas danser mais j'aime bien jouer au football. (I don't like dancing but I really like playing football.)
Time phrases for discussing activities
Understanding time expressions helps you discuss sports activities across different time periods, which is essential for achieving higher marks in speaking and writing tasks. These phrases allow you to demonstrate a range of tenses and temporal awareness.
Past tense indicators These phrases signal that you should use past tense verbs:
- hier - yesterday
- la semaine dernière - last week
- il y a deux semaines - two weeks ago
Present tense indicators These phrases work with present tense to show habitual or current actions:
- normalement - normally, usually
- en ce moment - at the moment
- maintenant - now
- toujours - always
- toutes les semaines - every week
- chaque année - each year
Future tense indicators These phrases signal future actions and plans:
- la semaine prochaine - next week
- demain - tomorrow
- bientôt - soon
Pronunciation tips
Mastering the pronunciation of sports vocabulary will boost your confidence in speaking tasks.
Key pronunciation guides:
- jouer - pronounced "zhoo-AY" (the 'ou' sounds like 'oo' in "book")
- faire - pronounced "fair" (similar to English "fair")
- équipe - pronounced "ay-KEEP" (stress on the second syllable)
- exercice - pronounced "ex-air-SEES" (the 'x' makes a 'gz' sound)
Translation practice
Testing your understanding through translation helps consolidate both vocabulary and grammar structures.
French to English
- Mon sport préféré, c'est le football mais je déteste faire du vélo car c'est nul.
- J'adore la natation. Demain je vais à la piscine avec mes amis.
English to French 3. I dance at the weekend, but I prefer team sports because they are exciting. 4. What did you do recently as exercise?
Answers
- My favourite sport is football but I hate cycling because it's rubbish.
- I love swimming. Tomorrow I'm going to the swimming pool with my friends.
- Je danse le week-end, mais je préfère les sports d'équipe parce qu'ils sont passionnants.
- Qu'est-ce que tu as fait récemment comme exercice?
Key Points to Remember:
- Use jouer à for activities where you would say "play" in English (sports with rules and games)
- Use faire de for general activities and exercises where you wouldn't say "play" in English
- Time phrases help you discuss activities in past, present, and future tenses for better marks
- Practice expressing preferences with "j'aime" (I like) and "je déteste" (I hate) to make your French more natural
- Remember that many sports vocabulary words are masculine, but there are important exceptions like "l'équipe" (f) and "la natation" (f)