Key Stage 2 languages · Writing

KS2 languages: building new sentences and basic grammar

Once children can write a phrase from memory, they learn to change parts of it to say something new. This is where grammar begins at primary school: noticing that nouns have a gender, that adjectives and verbs change their endings, and that word order is not always the same as in English. The aim is not rule-learning for its own sake but being able to say and write sentences of your own.

Building new sentences, explained

Adapting phrases is the heart of early language learning. A child who knows “J’ai un chien noir” (I have a black dog) can change one thing at a time to say “Il a un chat noir” or “J’ai une souris blanche”. In Spanish, “Tengo un perro negro” can become “Mi hermana tiene una gata blanca”. Each change is small, but together they turn a memorised phrase into a flexible sentence frame.

The statutory grammar requirements for the key stage are short, and they depend on the language taught. Where relevant, pupils are taught masculine, feminine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to use these to build sentences; and how they are similar to or different from English. French and Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine. Neuter nouns belong to languages such as Latin or German. Children are not given long lists of rules. They notice patterns with examples such as “un/une” and “el/la”, and use them.

Verbs are introduced through a few very common ones such as “to have” and “to be”, which change form depending on who is doing the action: “j’ai”, “il a”, “elle a”; “tengo”, “tiene”. Conjugation is the word for this change. Children learning Spanish also notice that the subject word, such as “yo”, is often left out because the ending already shows who is meant. Latin verbs change in a similar way, with endings carrying much of the meaning.

Comparing the language with English is part of the work. In English, adjectives come before the noun (a black dog). In French and Spanish they usually come after it (un chien noir, un perro negro), and they agree in gender and number with the noun. Pointing out these differences helps children see that the new language is not English in disguise, and it gives them the vocabulary they will need when grammar is taught more formally in Key Stage 3.

Words your child will hear

Noun: A word for a person, animal, place or thing, like “chien” or “perro”.
Gender: Whether a noun is masculine or feminine, which decides which small words and endings go with it.
Adjective: A word that describes a noun, such as “noir” (black). It changes to match the noun.
Agreement: Changing an adjective or article so that it matches the gender and number of its noun.
Verb: A word for an action or a state, like “avoir” (to have) or “tener” (to have).
Conjugation: How a verb changes its form for different people, such as “j’ai” and “il a”.
Sentence frame: A learned sentence with gaps, where words can be swapped in to say something new.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to:

Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
Understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: changing one sentence into a new one

Start from the learned sentence “J’ai un chien noir” (I have a black dog). Use it to say “My sister has a white rabbit” and then “My brother has a white mouse”.

Say what has to change. The person is now “my sister”, so the verb will change. The animal and its colour will change too. The rest of the pattern, owner then “has” then animal then colour, stays the same.
Change the person and the verb. “My sister” is “ma sœur”, as sœur is feminine. The verb “avoir” (to have) changes from “j’ai” (I have) to “a” (he or she has): “Ma sœur a…”.
Choose the noun and its article. “Lapin” (rabbit) is masculine, so it takes “un”: “un lapin”.
Add the adjective after the noun, matching its gender. “Lapin” is masculine, so the white form is “blanc”: “un lapin blanc”. This gives “Ma sœur a un lapin blanc.”
Try the second sentence. “Mon frère” is masculine, and “souris” (mouse) is feminine, so the article becomes “une” and the adjective must be the feminine “blanche”: “Mon frère a une souris blanche.”

“Ma sœur a un lapin blanc.” and “Mon frère a une souris blanche.” In Spanish the same task gives “Mi hermana tiene un conejo blanco.” and “Mi hermano tiene un ratón blanco.” (“Ratón” is masculine in Spanish, so the adjective ends in -o.) The pattern is the same in both languages: change the owner, check the verb, then match the article and adjective to the noun.

Common mistakes and how to help

Putting the adjective before the noun

English says “a black dog”, so children write “un noir chien” or “un negro perro”. They are following English word order, not the new language.

What helps: Make the pattern a game: noun first, then describe it. Say the French or Spanish aloud many times so that “chien noir” sounds right.

Not changing the adjective for a feminine noun

Adjectives do not change in English, so “une souris blanc” or “una casa blanco” does not feel wrong. The ending is easy to forget when focusing on meaning.

What helps: Ask “Is it masculine or feminine?” before writing the adjective. Colour-coding masculine and feminine words can help children see the pattern.

Using one verb form for everyone

Children learn “j’ai” or “tengo” as a fixed phrase and carry it to all subjects, writing “ma sœur ai” or “mi hermana tengo”.

What helps: Practise the same verb with different people in short bursts: “I have, you have, he has, she has”. Link each form to the person it belongs to.

Thinking gender follows meaning

It seems logical that a masculine noun is something male and a feminine noun something female. For most nouns, though, gender is just a grammatical label: “la table” is feminine and “le livre” is masculine for no reason to do with meaning, and “une personne” is feminine even when the person is a man. Endings help, but not always: in Spanish “la mano” (hand) is feminine and “el día” (day) is masculine, although their endings suggest the opposite.

What helps: Treat the gender as part of the word and learn it along with the article. Endings can give clues, but there are always exceptions.

How to help at home

Change one thing at a time. Take a sentence from class and change a single word, then another. Ask your child to say each new sentence aloud and explain what had to change. Keeping the change small makes the pattern easy to see.
Build a substitution grid. On a sheet of paper, write who in one column, the verb in the next, and what in the last. Cut it into strips and mix them to make sentences. It gives plenty of practice with no pressure.
Spot the differences. Ask your child, “What is the same as English and what is different?” Word order, endings and the number of words in a sentence all make good starting points.
Colour-code gender. Use two colours for masculine and feminine nouns, perhaps blue and red, when writing vocabulary lists or labelling things. The colours turn a hidden rule into something you can see.