grammar

GRAMMAR

The student is expected to recognise and use the following grammatical items:

VERBS

Basic features: person and number, regular verbs, common irregular verbs

MOOD :

Indicative : Je fais mes devoirs

In French, the present tense, or the indicative is used to express all of the following:

• Current actions and situations

Je suis fatigué.

I am tired.

• Habitual actions

Il va à l'école tous les jours.

He goes to school every day.

• Absolute and general truths

La terre est ronde.

The earth is round.

• Actions which will occur immediately

J'arrive !

I'll be right there!

• Conditions, such as in si clauses

Si je peux, j'irai avec toi.

If I can, I will go with you.

Si vous voulez.

If you like.

Note:

The present tense is not used after certain constructions that indicate an action that will occur in the future, such as après que (after) and aussitôt que (as soon as).

Imperative : Paul, fais tes devoirs!

The imperative, called l'impératif in French, is a verb mood which is used to

• give an order

• express a desire

• make a request

• offer advice

• recommend something

Unlike all other French verb tenses and personal moods, the subject pronoun is not used with the imperative:

Fermez la porte.

Close the door.

Mangeons maintenant.

Let's eat now.

Ayez la bonté de m'attendre.

Please wait for me.

Veuillez m'excuser.

Please excuse me.

The above are called "affirmative commands," because they are telling someone to do something.

"Negative commands," which tell someone not to do something, are made by placing ne in front of the verb and the appropriate negative adverb after the verb:

Ne parle pas !

Don't speak!


French imperative conjugations:

There are only three grammatical persons that can be used in the imperative: tu, nous, and vous, and most of the conjugations are the same as the present tense - the only difference is that the subject pronoun is not used in the imperative.

-ER verbs

The imperative conjugations for nous and vous are the same as the present indicative, and the tu form of the imperative is the indicative minus the final s.

Parler

(tu) parle

(nous) parlons

(vous) parlez

Lever

(tu) lève

(nous) levons

(vous) levez

Aller

(tu) va

(nous) allons

(vous) allez

Verbs which are conjugated like -ER verbs (meaning that in the indicative the tu form ends in -es), such as ouvrir and souffrir, follow the same rules as -ER verbs.

Ouvrir

(tu) ouvre

(nous) ouvrons

(vous) ouvrez


-IR verbs and -RE verbs

The imperative conjugations for all regular and most* irregular -IR and -RE verbs are the same as the present indicative conjugations.

Finir

(tu) finis

(nous) finissons

(vous) finissez

Attendre

(tu) attends

(nous) attendons

(vous) attendez

Faire

(tu) fais

(nous) faisons

(vous) faites

*Except for verbs conjugated like -ER verbs and the following four irregular imperative verbs:

Avoir Être

(tu) aie (tu) sois

(nous) ayons (nous) soyons

(vous) ayez (vous) soyez

Savoir Vouloir

(tu) sache (tu) veuille

(nous) sachons (nous) n/a

(vous) sachez (vous) veuillez

Subjunctive: il faut que tu fasses tes devoirs... bien que je sois malade

The subjunctive is a simple French verb mood which indicates actions that are subjective. The subjunctive mood is used to express actions or ideas which are subjective or otherwise uncertain: will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgment. It is nearly always found in dependent clauses introduced by que or qui, and the subjects of the dependent and main clauses are usually different.

Je veux que tu le fasses.

I want you to do it.

Il faut que nous partions.

It is necessary that we leave.

Je veux que Luc le voie.

I want Luc to see it.

C'est dommage qu'il ne vienne pas.

It's too bad that he's not coming.

To conjugate all regular verbs ending -ER, -IR, and -RE, as well as some irregular* ones, take the 3rd person plural ils form of the present tense of the verb, drop the -ent ending to find the stem, and add the subjunctive endings:

Subjunctive endings :

Parler Choisir Rendre Partir Sortir Mettre

ils parlent choissens rendents partent sortent mettent

stem parl- choisiss- rend- part- sort- mett-

…que je -e parle choisisse rende parte sorte mette

…que tu -es parles choisisses rendes partes sortes mettes

…qu’il/elle/on

-e parle choisisse rende parte sorte mette

…que nous -ions parlions choisissions

rendions partions sortions mettions

…que vous -iez parliez choisissiez rendiez partiez sortiez mettiez

... qu' ils/elles

-ent parlent choisissent rendent partent sortent mettent

Subjunctive: il faut que tu fasses tes devoirs... bien que je sois malade

Five verbs have irregular subjunctive stems but take the same endings as above:

Faire (fass-)

Pouvoir (puiss-)

Savoir (sach-)

Aller (aill/all-)

Vouloir (veuill/voul-)

…que je (j’) fasse puisse sache aille veuille

…que tu fasses puisses saches ailles veuilles

…qu’il/elle/on fasse puisse sache aille veuille

…que nous fassions puissions sachions allions voulions

…que vous fassiez puissiez sachiez alliez vouliez

…qu’ils/elles fassent puissent sachent aillent veuillent

Conditional : je ferais mes devoirs si j’avais le temps...

The French conditional describes events that are not guaranteed to occur; often they are dependent on certain conditions. While the French conditional mood has a full set of conjugations, the English equivalent is just the modal verb "would" + main verb.

The French conditional is mainly used in if ... then, to express what would happen if a condition were met*

Il mangerait s'il avait faim. He would eat if he were hungry.

Si nous étudiions, nous serions plus intelligents. If we studied, (then) we would be smarter.

*Note that the conditional is in the result (then) part of the clause, not the clause that follows si (if).

The verb vouloir is used in the conditional to express a polite request:

Je voudrais une pomme. I would like an apple.

Je voudrais y aller avec vous. I would like to go with you.

However, you can't say "si vous voudriez" to mean "if you would like," because the French conditional can never be used after si.

The verb aimer is used to express a polite desire, sometimes one that cannot be fulfilled:

J'aimerais bien le voir! I would really like to see it!

J'aimerais y aller, mais je dois travailler. I would like to go, but I have to work.


There is only one set of endings for all verbs, and most of them - even many which are irregular in the present tense - use their infinitives as the root. There are only about two dozen stem-changing or irregular verbs which have irregular conditional stems but take the same endings:

Acheter > achèter- similar verbs: achever, amener, emmener, lever, promener

Acquérir > acquerr- similar verbs: conquérir, s'enquérir

Appeler > appeller- similar verbs: épeler, rappeler, renouveler

Aller > ir-

Avoir > aur-

Courir > courr- similar verbs: concourir, discourir, parcourir, more

Devoir > devr-

Envoyer > enverr-

Essayer > essaier- similar verbs: balayer, effrayer, payer

Essuyer > essuier- similar verbs: appuyer, ennuyer

Être > ser-

Faire > fer-

Falloir > faudr-

Jeter > jetter- similar verbs: feuilleter, hoqueter, projeter, rejeter

Nettoyer > nettoier- similar verbs: employer, noyer, tutoyer, more

Pleuvoir > pleuvr-

Pouvoir > pourr-

Savoir > saur-

Tenir > tiendr- similar verbs: maintenir, obtenir, soutenir, more

Valoir > vaudr-

Venir > viendr- similar verbs: devenir, parvenir, revenir, more

Voir > verr- similar verb: revoir

Vouloir > voudr-


To conjugate an -ER or -IR verb in the conditional, add the appropriate endings to the infinitive.

For -RE verbs, remove the final -e and then add the conditional endings.

For irregular verbs, add the endings to the irregular conditional stem.

For example, here are the conditional conjugations for the regular verbs parler (to speak), finir (to finish), and vendre (to sell) and the irregular verb aller (to go):

Participles : Present- (tout) en faisant mes devoirs j’écoutais ma musique préférée

Pronoun

Conditional Ending

Parler (parler-)

Finir (finir-)

Vendre (vendr-)

Aller (ir-)

Je -ais parlerais finirais vendrais irais

Tu -ais parlerais finirais vendrais irais

Il -ait parlerait finirait vendrait irait

Nous -ions parlerions finirions vendrions irions

Vous -iez parleriez finiriez vendriez iriez

Ils -aient parleraient finiraient vendraient iraient

Past: nous avons fait nos devoirs...

The French present participle is the verb form that ends in -ant. It is far less common than its English counterpart, which ends in -ing. The French present participle may be an adjective, gerund, noun, or verb. Before getting into specific uses of the present participle, there are four things that French students need to know in order to avoid very common mistakes:

1. The French present participle can never be used to talk about what someone is doing. The construction "je suis mangeant" (the literal translation of "I am eating") simply does not exist in French - you must use the present tense: je mange. To emphasize the ongoing nature of an activity, you can use the French expression être en train de: je suis en train de manger - "I'm eating (right now).

2. The French present participle cannot be used after another verb. "J'aime lisant" does not exist; to say "I like reading," you must use the infinitive: j'aime lire.

3. The English usage of the present participle as a noun indicating an activity, as in "Seeing is believing," is another case in which the French translation requires the infinitive: Voir, c'est croire. Sometimes you can just use a noun; to translate "Reading is fun," you have two options: Lire est un plaisir, La lecture est un plaisir.

4. As a verb or gerund, the present participle is invariable, except in the case of pronominal verbs, which keep the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the present participle: me coiffant (doing my hair), en nous levant (upon [us] getting up), etc.

The formation of the French present participle is very simple. For regular and all but three irregular verbs, the French present participle is formed by dropping -ons from the nous form of the present tense and adding -ant. The three exceptions are avoir, être, and savoir.

Remember that for pronominal verbs, you must keep the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the present participle: me coiffant (doing my hair), en nous levant (upon [us] getting up), etc.

*Savoir and a number of other verbs have two different spellings for the present participle, depending on how they are used - some examples:

Verb Parler Finir Rendre Voir Avoir être Savoir

N o u s Form

Parlons Finissons Rendons Voyons Avons Sommes Savons

Pr e s e n t Participle

Parlant Finissant Rendant Voyant Ayant Etant Sachant*

Infinitive : Present- (en) parlant, (en) jouant

Past-après avoir fait la vaisselle nous sommes sortis

The infinitive is the basic, unconjugated form of a verb, sometimes called the name of the verb. In English the infinitive is the word "to" followed by a verb: to talk, to see, to return. The French infinitive is a single word with one of the following endings: -er, -ir, or -re: parler, voir, rendre. We usually learn French verbs in the infinitive, since that is what you start with in order to conjugate them.

The French infinitive can be used several different ways without any conjugation. Note that it is often translated as the English present participle.

1. As a noun - the subject or object of a sentence

Voir, c'est croire. Seeing is believing.

2. After a preposition (see verbs with prepositions)

Il essaie de te parler. It's hard to believe.

3. After a conjugated verb (see lesson on dual-verb constructions)

Nous voulons manger. We want to eat.

4. In place of the imperative for impersonal commands (as in instructions or warnings)

Mettre toujours la ceinture de sécurité. Always wear (your) seatbelt.

5. In place of the subjunctive when the main clause has

- the same subject as the subordinate clause

J'ai peur que je ne réussisse pas. > J'ai peur de ne pas réussir. I'm afraid of not succeeding.

Il est content qu'il le fasse. > Il est content de le faire. He's happy to be doing it.

- an impersonal subject (if the subject is implied)

Il faut que vous travailliez. > Il faut travailler. It's necessary to work (for you to work).

Il est bon que tu y ailles. > Il est bon d'y aller. It's good to go (for you to go).

VOICE :

• Active : les Français ont gagné la bataille

• Passive : la bataille a été gagnée par les Français

• On : ici on parle français

SIMPLE TENSES :

• Present : The French present tense, called le présent or le présent de l'indicatif, is quite similar in usage to the English present tense.

je donne-je finis- je vends

Imperfect : je donnais/je finissais/ je vendais

The French imperfect is a descriptive past tense which indicates an ongoing state of being or a repeated or incomplete action. The beginning and end of the state of being or action are not indicated, and the imperfect is very often translated in English as "was" or "was ___-ing." The imperfect can indicate any of the following:

• Habitual actions or states of being: Quand j'étais petit, nous allions à la plage chaque semaine. (When I was young, we used to go to the beach every week.)

• Physical and emotional descriptions: time, weather, age, feelings”Il était midi et il faisait beau. (It was noon and the weather was nice.)

• Actions or states of an unspecified duration: Il espérait te voir avant ton départ. (He was hoping to see you before you left.)

• Background information in conjunction with the passé compose: J'étais au marché et j'ai acheté des pommes. (I was at the market and I bought some apples.)

• Wishes or suggestions: Ah ! Si j'étais riche ! (Oh, if only I were rich!)

• Conditions in si clauses: Si j'avais de l'argent, j'irais avec toi. ( If I had some money, I would go with you.)

• The expressions être en train de and venir de in the past : J'étais en train de faire la vaisselle. (I was (in the process of) doing the dishes.)

Here are the imperfect endings and conjugations for the regular verbs and the irregular verb être (to be):

Future : je donnerai/je finirai/ je vendrai

The French future tense talks about upcoming events. While the French future tense has a full set of conjugations, the English equivalent is just the modal verb "will" + main verb.

J'irai au magasin demain I will go to the store tomorrow.

The French future tense can also be used in si clauses, to express what will happen if a condition is met:

Si j'ai le temps, je le ferai. If I have time, I will do it.

There are some differences between the French and English future tenses.

1. When the action of the verb after certain constructions* will take place in the future, the future tense is used in French, whereas in English the present tense is used.

*après que (after), aussitôt que (as soon as), dès que (as soon as), espérer que (to hope that), lorsque (when), quand (when), une fois que (once):

Quand il arrivera, nous mangerons. When he arrives, we will eat.

2. In journalism and other factual narration, the future is often used in French even though the events are in the past.

Né en Martinique, Aimé Césaire étudiera à Paris et redécouvrira l'Afrique Born in Martinique, Aimé Césaire studied in Paris and rediscovered Africa.

3. In French, the future can also be used for polite orders and requests, in place of the vous form of the imperative:

Vous fermerez la porte, s'il vous plaît. Close the door, please.

Irregular Verbs :

Irregular verbs which have irregular future stems but take the same endings:*

Acheter >achèter-

Pronoun Ending Parler (parl-)

Finir (finiss-)

Etudier (etudi-)

Manger (mange-)

Etre (êt-)

Je (j’) -ais parlais finissais etudiais mangeais etais

Tu -ais parlais finissais etudiais mangeais etais

Il -ait parlait finissait etudiait mangeait etait

Nous -ions parlions finissions etudions mangions etions

Vous -iez parliez finissiez etudiiez mangeiez etiez

Ils -aient parlaient finissaient etudaient mangeaient

etaient

Acquérir >acquerr-

Appeler >appeller-

Aller >ir-

Avoir >aur-

Courir >courr-

Devoir >devr-

Future : je donnerai/je finirai/ je vendrai

Envoyer >enverr-

Essayer >essaier-

Essuyer > essuier-

Être >ser-

Faire > fer-

Falloir >faudr-

Nettoyer >nettoier-

Pouvoir >pourr-

Savoir >saur-

Venir >viendr-

Voir >verr-

Vouloir >voudr-

To conjugate an -ER or -IR verb in the future tense, add the appropriate endings to the infinitive.

For -RE verbs, remove the final -e and then add the future endings.

For irregular verbs, add the endings to the irregular future stem.

Pronoun Future Ending Parler (parler-)

Finir (finir-)

Vendre (vendr-)

Aller (ir-)

Je -ai parlerai finirair vendrai irai

Tu -as parleras finiras vendras iras

Il -a parlera finira vendra ira

Nous -ons parlerons finirons vendrons irons

Conditional : je donnerais/je finirais/ je vendrais

The conditional verb form is used:

• to express future-in-the-past, as in he said he would leave;

• to express a potential or hypothetical event, often accompanied by an if ... clause with a past verb: I'd be very upset if he couldn't come;

• for pragmatic functions such as to express politeness (I'd like ...) or conjecture (I'd say ...).

There are a few uses of the conditional in French whose parallels don't use would in English. And conversely some uses of would in English aren't usually translated by a conditional in French. We'll look at those later.

How to form the conditional in French

The conditional is easy to form if you know the future tense form of the verb in question:

The conditional is formed by adding the imperfect tense endings to the future stem of the verb.

Vous -ez parlerez finirez vendrez irez

Ils -ont pareleront finiront vendront iront

Verb Future Stem Conditional Form English Translation

Donner To give

Donner- Je donnerais Tu donnerais Il donnerait Nous donnerions Vous donneriez Ils donneraient

I’d give you You’d give etc

Past historic : je donnai/ je finis/je vendis

The past historic, usually called the passé simple in French is a past tense essentially used in written narratives of a classical style. It has the following features:

• it conveys past, completed actions that are slightly "detached" from the present (actions are usually understood as occurring in sequence)— i.e. if there are two verbs written in the past historic that represent actions, the action of the first verb is usually assumed to have occurred before the action of the second verb

• it generally has very distinctive and unusual forms compared to other tenses of French

• it is an explicitly taught tense: native French speakers generally don't "naturally" acquire the past historic

Common past historic forms:

The past historic endings of a given verb are based on a "theme vowel", generally as follows:

-a for -er verbs

-i for regular -ir and -re verbs and some irregular verbs

-u for some irregular verbs, especially those whose past participle ends with a u vowel

the past historic ending is generally made up of the theme vowel plus the endings -s, -s, -t, -ˆmes, ˆtes, -rent, though with some complications in the case of -er verbs

Donner Vendre

Je Donnai Vendis

Tu Donnas Vendis

Il/Elle Donna Vendit

Nous Donnames Vendimes

Vous Donnates Vendites

Ils Donnerent Vendirent

COMPOUND TENSES :

Perfect : j’ai donné j’ai fini j’ai vendu

Pluperfect : j’avais donné j’avais fini j’avais vendu

The French pluperfect is used to indicate an action in the past that occurred before another action in the past. The latter can be either mentioned in the same sentence or implied.

Il n'avait pas mangé (avant de faire ses devoirs).

He hadn't eaten (before doing his homework).

J'ai fait du shopping ce matin ; j'avais déjà fait la lessive.

I went shopping this morning; I had already done the laundry.

AIMER (auxiliary verb is avoir)

j' avais aimé nous avions aimé

tu avais aimé vous aviez aimé

il/ elle avait aimé ils/elles avaient aimé

DEVENIR (être verb)

j' étais devenu(e) nous étions devenu(e)s

tu étais devenu(e) vous étiez devenu(e)(s)

il était devenu ils étaient devenus

elle était devenue elles étaient devenues

SE LAVER (pronominal verb)

je m'étais lavé(e) nous nous étions lavé(e)s

tu t'étais lavé(e) vous vous étiez lavé(e)(s)

il s'était lavé ils s'étaient lavés

elle s'était lavée elles s'étaient lavées

Future perfect : j’aurai donné j’aurai fini j’aurai vendu

The French future perfect is most commonly used like the English future perfect: to describe an action that will have happened or will be finished by a specific point in the future.

J'aurai mangé à midi.

I will have eaten at noon.

Quand tu arriveras, il l'aura déjà fait.

When you arrive, he will already have done it.

Elle lui aura parlé demain.

She will have talked to him (by) tomorrow.

There are a few uses of the French future perfect that don't correspond to the English future perfect:

In subordinate clauses that begin with the conjunctions aussitôt que, dès que, lorsque, quand, une fois que, and après que, the future perfect is used to express a future action which will be completed before the action in the main clause.

Quand je serai descendu, tu pourras me le montrer.

When I have come down, you can show it to me.

Nous le ferons aussitôt qu'elle sera arrivée.

We'll do it as soon as she arrives / has arrived

The future perfect can make simple assumptions regarding past events, where the English modal verb "must" would be used in conjunction with the past perfect:

Pierre n'est pas ici ; il aura oublié.

Pierre isn't here; he must have forgotten.

Future perfect : j’aurai donné j’aurai fini j’aurai vendu

Like all French compound conjugations, the future perfect may be subject to grammatical agreement:

• When the auxiliary verb is être, the past participle must agree with the subject

• When the auxiliary verb is avoir, the past participle may have to agree with its direct object


j' aurai aimé nous aurons aimé

tu auras aimé vous aurez aimé

il,elle aura aimé ils, elles auront aimé


je serai devenu(e) nous serons devenu(e)s

tu seras devenu(e) vous serez devenu(e)(s)

il sera devenu ils seront devenus

elle sera devenue elles seront devenues


je me serai lavé(e) nous nous serons lavé(e)s

tu te seras lavé(e) vous vous serez lavé(e)(s)

il se sera lavé ils se seront lavés

elle se sera lavée elles se seront lavées

Conditional perfect : j’aurais donné j’aurais fini j’aurais vendu

The French conditional perfect, or past conditional, is usually used just like the English conditional perfect: to express action that would have occurred if in the past circumstances had been different.

The conditional perfect is often used for the result clause in si clauses with the unmet condition in the past perfect:

Si je l'avais vu, je l'aurais acheté.

If I had seen it, I would have bought it.

The conditional perfect can also be used in a sentence where the unmet condition is only implied:

À ta place, je l'aurais dit.

In your place, I would have said it.

Use the conditional perfect to express an unrealized desire in the past:

J'aurais aimé te voir, mais j'ai dû travailler.

I would have liked to see you, but I had to work.

The conditional perfect can also report an uncertain / unverified fact, especially in the news:

Il y aurait eu un accident dans le métro.

An accident in the subway has been reported.

Conditional perfect : j’aurais donné j’aurais fini j’aurais vendu

Like all French compound conjugations, the conditional perfect may be subject to grammatical agreement:

• When the auxiliary verb is être, the past participle must agree with the subject

• When the auxiliary verb is avoir, the past participle may have to agree with its direct object


j' aurais aimé nous aurions aimé

tu aurais aimé vous auriez aimé

il,elle aurait aimé ils,elles auraient aimé


je serais devenu(e) nous serions devenu(e)s

tu serais devenu(e) vous seriez devenu(e)(s)

il serait devenu ils seraient devenus

elle serait devenue elles seraient devenues


je me serais lavé(e) nous nous serions lavé(e)s

tu te serais lavé(e) vous vous seriez lavé(e)(s)

il se serait lavé ils se seraient lavés

elle se serait lavée elles se seraient lavées

FUTUR PROCHE : Je vais voir cette exposition

Definition: A verb construction used to express something that is going to happen soon, an upcoming event which is going to occur in the near future.

Present tense of aller + infinitive of action verb

Je vais voir Luc.

I'm going to see Luc.

Il va arriver.

He's going to arrive.

Nous allons manger.

We're going to eat.

PASSE RECENT :

Je viens de rencontrer Marc

Definition: A verb construction used to express something that just happened.

Present tense of venir + the preposition de + infinitive of action verb

Je viens de voir Luc.

I just saw Luc.

Il vient d'arriver.

He just arrived.

Nous venons de manger.

We just ate.

REFLEXIVE :

Se lever elle se lève de bonne heure / elle s’est levée tard

These verbs need a reflexive pronoun in addition to a subject pronoun, because the subject(s) performing the action of the verb are the same as the object(s) being acted upon.

These are the French reflexive pronouns:

me / m' me, myself

te / t' / toi you, yourself

se / s' him(self), her(self), it(self), them(selves)

nous us, ourselves

vous you, yourself, yourselves

• Me, te, and se change to m', t', and s', respectively, in front of a vowel or mute H.

• Te changes to toi in the imperative.

Like object pronouns, reflexive pronouns are placed directly in front of the verb in nearly all tenses and moods:

Nous nous parlons.

We're talking to each other.

Ils ne s'habillent pas.

They aren't getting dressed.

In the imperative, the reflexive pronoun is attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen.

Lève-toi !

Get up!

Aidons-nous.

Let's help each other

Reflexive pronouns always have to agree with their subjects, in all tenses and moods - including the infinitive and the present participle.

Je me lèverai.

I will get up.

RECIPROCAL :

S’écrire ils se sont écrit

While reflexive verbs tell you that one or more subjects are acting upon themselves, reciprocal verbs indicate that there are two or more subjects acting on one another.

Here are the most common French reciprocal verbs:

• s'adorer to adore (one another)

• s'aimer to love

• s'apercevoir to see

• se comprendre to understand

• se connaître to know

• se détester to hate

• se dire to tell

• se disputer to argue

• s'écrire to write to

• s'embrasser to kiss

• se parler to talk to

• se promettre to promise

• se quitter to leave

• se regarder to look at

• se rencontrer to meet

• se sourire to smile at

• se téléphoner to call

• se voir to see

Nous nous adorons !

We adore one another!

Elles se voient le lundi.

They see each other on Mondays.

RECIPROCAL :

French Idiomatic Pronominal Verbs :

Idiomatic pronominal verbs are verbs that take on a different meaning when used with a reflexive pronoun.

Here are the most common French idiomatic pronominal verbs:

• s'en aller to go away (to go)

• s'amuser to have a good time (to amuse)

• s'appeler to be named (to call)

• s'approprier to appropriate (to suit, adapt to)

• s'arrêter to stop (oneself) (to stop [s.o. or s.t. else])

• s'attendre (à) to expect (to wait for)

• se demander to wonder (to ask)

• se débrouiller to manage, get by (to disentangle)

• se dépêcher to hurry (to send quickly)

• se diriger vers to head toward (to run, be in charge of)

• se douter to suspect (to doubt)

• s'éclipser to slip away/out (to eclipse, overshadow)

• s'éloigner to move (oneself) away (to move s.t.else away)

• s'endormir to fall asleep (to put to sleep)

• s'ennuyer to be bored (to bother)

• s'entendre to get along (to hear)

• se fâcher to get angry (to make angry)

• se figurer to imagine, picture (to represent, to appear)

• s'habituer à to get used to (to get in the habit of)

• s'inquiéter to worry (to alarm)

• s'installer to settle in (to a home) (to install)

• se mettre à to begin to (to place, put)

• se perdre to get lost (to lose)

• se plaindre to complain (to pity, begrudge)

• se refuser de to deny oneself (the opportunity)o (to refuse)

• se rendre à to go to (to return)

• se rendre compte de to realize (to account for)

• se réunir to meet, get together (to gather, collect)

• se servir to use, make use of (to serve)

• se tromper to be mistaken (to deceive)

• se trouver to be located (to find)

PASSIVE :

Se vendre le pain se vend à la boulangerie. / cela ne se dit pas

Verbs in pronominal form only s’en aller, se moquer, de,

Se souvenir de

The passive voice is formed with the conjugated verb être + the past participle.

The past participle has to agree with the subject, not the agent, in gender and number, just like être verbs in the passé composé (more about agreement):

Le livre est écrit par des lycéens.

The book is written by high schoolers.

La vaisselle est faite par Henri.

The dishes are done by Henri.

MODAL VERBS :

• Devoir : tu dois manger, tu devais attendre, elle a dû partir,

il aurait dû payer…

• Pouvoir : il peut jouer aujourd’hui, tu pouvais aider, nous aurions pu le faire…

• Savoir : ils ne savent pas jouer, elle ne savait pas conduire, elle ne saurait pas lire…

• Vouloir : nous voulons sortir, je voudrais du café, il aurait, voulu y aller…

IMPERSONAL VERBS : Il faut travailler, il pleut, il fait chaud, il arrive des choses bizarres, il est interdit de fumer...

CAUSATIVE FAIRE :

J’ai fait construire un garage, elle s’est fait couper les cheveux

Laisser + infinitive :

Il laisse partir sa femme

VERBS OF SENSE /PERCEPTION+ infinitive :

Elle entend marcher dans la chambre, je vois venir Jean-Pierre

AGREEMENTS :

Subject + verb beaucoup d’enfants sont partis,

C’est nous qui le ferons

The rules for the agreement of past participles in compound verb forms using être and avoir

ADVERB :

• Formation : lentement (Note: vite is complete)

• Position : il parle couramment, il a déjà vu ce film

• Degree: comparative and superlative of adverbs with plus, le plus, moins, le moins and aussi / including bien, mieux, le mieux

• Negation : e.g. ne pas / ne plus / ne jamais / ne rien / ne personne / ne ... aucun(e) / ne ... nul(le), je ne vois pas, je n’ai pas vu, je ne regrette rien, personne ne viendra, qui ne risque rien n’a rien

NOUNS

• Gender : le soleil / la terre

• Number : l’homme / les hommes, une femme / des femmes

• Common exceptions : un animal / des animaux

• Apposition : Louis XIV, roi de France, – Paris, ville lumière

• Nominal phrases : une omelette au fromage, un sac de blé / un sac à blé

ARTICLES

• Definite article : le la les – le père / la mère / les parents and l’(l’air, l’eau)

• Indefinite article : un une des – un père / une mère / des parents

• Partitive article : du, de la, de l’, des and de

• De replacing the partitive after a negative : il n’a pas d’argent, pas de problèmes

article after an expression of quantity : un kilo de poires, tant de fautes

adjective preceding a plural noun de bons amis, d’autres livres

• Omission of the article : il est ingénieur, elle est avocate including expressions such as avoir faim, faire peur à, sortir tête nue

ADJECTIVES

• Feminine and plural forms : petit, grand, beau, nouveau, vieux of common regular and irregular adjectives

• Position : une petite maison, le drapeau français, ma chambre propre / ma propre chambre

• Demonstrative : ce cet cette ces, ce garçon, cet homme, cette école, ces écoles

• Possessive : mon ma mes, ton ta tes, son sa ses etc. son cahier, sa chaise, notre chien, nos amis

• Interrogative : quel quels, quelle, quelles, quel âge as-tu? quels sont vos passe-temps?

• Exclamatory : quel, quels, quelle, quelles/ quelle horreur! quels beaux châteaux!

• Numerals cardinal : un, deux, trois...ordinal le premier mai, la première fois...

PRONOUNS

• Subject : je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles

Je mange, il voit, nous gardons.

• Object : me, te, nous, vous, le, la, les

Je les mange, il nous voit, nous en gardons.

• Indirect object : me, te, nous, vous, lui, leur, y, en

Nous lui téléphonons, vous leur écrivez?

• Agreements preceding direct object agreement after a direct object:

Pronoun : Les fleurs? Oui, il les a achetées...

Preceding direct object agreement after the relative pronoun

‘que’, les fleurs que papa a achetées...

Preceding direct object agreement after a question

quelles fleurs a-t-il achetées?

• Reflexive : me, te, se, nous, vous, se

Je me lave, tu te laves, il/elle se lave, nous nous lavons.

• Disjunctive : moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles

Sans lui, rien n’est possible.

• Possessive : le mien, la mienne, les miens, les miennes...

‘C’est le nôtre!’ ‘non, c’est le leur!’.

• Demonstrative : celui, ceux, celle, celles

‘Tu voudrais cette robe? Oui, celle-ci’ (or celle à gauche).

• Interrogative definite : lequel, lesquels, laquelle, lesquelles

‘lequel de ces deux chiots préfères-tu?’

• Interrogative indefinite : qui / qui est-ce qui / qu’est-ce que / qu’est-ce qui / que / quoi

Qui est là? qu’est-ce qui est arrivé? de quoi as-tu besoin?

• Relative (definite) : qui / que / dont / lequel and contractions like auquel, duquel

Le chat qui miaule, le livre que mes parents adorent, le foot que

Papa adore

Le prix dont tu as envie, la date dont tu as parlé, la table sous

Laquelle...

Les peintures auxquelles tu penses...

• Relative (indefinite) : ce qui / ce que / ce dont / ce à quoi

Il voit ce qui se passe, je sais ce que tu fais

• Indefinite pronouns : quelqu’un / personne / rien / aucun(e) / nul(lle) / on / tout

Quelqu’un frappe à la porte / tout ce qui brille n’est pas

PREPOSITIONS

• Time : après minuit, avant six heures

• Location/Direction : devant la clôture, derrière la maison, vers le sud

• Linking verb + infinitive : j’essaie de faire ces maths, il invite Louise à danser

CONJUCTIONS

Parce que, car, et, donc, mais, malgré, pourtant etc.

SENTENCE AND PHRASE TYPES

• Statements : Il va au concert

• Questions : est-ce qu’il va au théâtre? va-t-elle au marché? tu vas au concert? (rising intonation) Pierre va-t-il au cinéma?

• Exclamations : Mon Dieu! Zut! Ça alors!

• Time phrases :

• Depuis- il attend depuis une heure

• Pendant-elle a habité Sydney pendant huit ans

• Pour- ils seront à Paris pour une semain

Si clauses :

• Present/Future : s’il fait beau, nous sortirons ensemble

• Imperfect/Conditional : s’il faisait beau, nous sortirions ensemble

• Pluperfect/Conditional perfect : s’il avait fait beau, nous serions sortis ensemble

Implied future : quand il neigera, nous ferons du ski, aussitôt qu’il sera arrivé, nous te téléphonerons

grammar

Documents

irregular imperative

tu form

er verbs

ir verbs

french imperative conjugations

si vous voulez

common irregular verbs

verbs basic features