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I_ Regular Verbs
A- THE SIMPLE TENSE FORMS THE INFINITIVE Regular French verbs are classified according to the endings of the Infinitive: the first group ( verbs whose Infinitives end in -er); the second group ( -ir verbs); and the third group ( -re verbs). -er verbs form the majority of French language verbs ( about 75%). 1st group 2nd group 3rd group chanter to sing finir to finish vendre to sell When the ending of the Infinitive is dropped, what is left is called the root. the sets of endings that are added to the root or the Infinitive to denote person, number, tense, and mood are called conjugations. In the example above the letters in bold form the roots of the verbs. 1. Present Le présent 2. Imperfect L'imparfait 3. Simple Past Le passé simple 4. Future Le futur CONDITIONAL MOOD 5. Present conditional Le présent du conditionnel IMPERATIVE MOOD 6. Imperative Le présent de l'impératif SUBJECT PRONOUNS The subject of the verb is of first, second, or third person, singular or plural. Singular Plural 1st person je ( j' ) I nous we 2nd person tu you vous (formal singular) you vous (plural) you 3rd person il (m.)* he ils they elle (f.)** she elles they on *m.=masc. ;** f.=fem. The Present First Conjugation, -er Verbs The present tense in French is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the root of the infinitive. chanter, to sing I sing, am singing, etc. je chante I sing, am singing nous chantons we sing, are singing tu chantes you sing, are singing vous chantez you sing, are singing il chante he sings, is singing ils chantent they sing, are singing elle chante she sings, is singing elles chantent they sing, are singing on chante we, they, people sing, are singing one sings Second Conjugation, -ir Verbs finir, to finish I finish, am finishing, etc. singular Plural je finis nous finissons tu finis vous finissez il finit ils finissent elle finit elles finissent on finit Je finis mes devoirs. I am finishing my homework. Jean finit son repas. Jean is finishing his meal. Où finissez-vous vos vacances? Where are you ending your vacation? Nous finissons nos achats. We are finishing shopping. Elles finissent leur voyage à Rome They are finishing their trip in Rome. Third conjugation, - re Verbs vendre, to sell I sell, am selling, etc. singular Plural Je vends nous vendons tu vends vous vendez il (elle, on ) vend ils (elles) vendent Je vends ma maison. I am selling my house. Vendez-vous du beurre? Do you sell butter? Nous vendons aussi des œufs. We also sell eggs. Elles vendent des écharpes. They sell scarves. Ils ne vendent rien. They sell nothing The Imperfect (L'Imparfait) There are two simple past tenses in French, the Imperfect (Imparfait) and the Simple Past (Passé Simple). Their uses vary. The French Imperfect (Imparfait) 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: 1. 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. L'année dernière, je travaillais avec mon père. I worked with my father last year. 2. Physical and emotional descriptions: time, weather, age, feelings Il était midi et il faisait beau. It was noon and the weather was nice. Quand il avait 5 ans, il avait toujours faim. When he was five, he was always hungry. 3. Actions or states of an unspecified duration Je faisais la queue parce que j'avais besoin de billets. I stood in line because I needed tickets. Il espérait te voir avant ton départ. He was hoping to see you before you left. 4. Background information in conjunction with the passé composé J'étais au marché et j'ai acheté des pommes. I was at the market and I bought some apples. Il était à la banque quand il l'a trouvé. He was at the bank when he found it. 5. Wishes or suggestions Ah ! Si j'étais riche ! Oh, if only I were rich! Si nous sortions ce soir ? How about going out tonight? 6. Conditions in "si " clauses ( in conjunction with the conditional mood) Si j'avais de l'argent, j'irais avec toi. If I had some money, I would go with you. S'il voulait venir, il trouverait le moyen. If he wanted to come, he would find a way. 7. The expressions être en train de and venir de in the past J'étais en train de faire la vaisselle. je venais de finir mon devoir. The Imperfect tense is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the first person plural of the Indicative tense (minus the -ons). chanter (chantons) I was singing, used to sing, etc. je chantais nous chantions tu chantais vous chantiez il (elle, on) chantait ils (elles) chantaient finir (finissons) I was finishing, used to finish, etc. je finissais nous finissions tu finissais vous finissiez il (elle, on) finissait ils (elles) finissaient vendre (vendons) I was selling, used to sell, etc. je vendais nous vendions tu vendais vous vendiez il (elle, on) vendait ils (elles) vendaient The Passé Simple The Passé Simple, translated in English as either "simple past" or "preterite," is the literary equivalent of the Passé Composé. The Passé Simple is a unique tense in French language and I will let you do your own research and move on to the Future tense. The Future The Future tense is formed by adding the future endings to the infinitive of -er and -ir verbs. For -re verbs, the e is dropped before adding the endings. chanter finir I will sing, etc. I will finish, etc. je chanterai nous chanterons je finirai nous finirons tu chanteras vous chanterez tu finiras vous finirez il (elle, on) chantera ils (elles) chanteront il (elle, on) finira ils (elles) finiront vendre I will sell, etc. je vendrai nous vendrons tu vendras vous vendrez il (elle, on) vendra ils (elles) vendront J' apporterai les sandwichs. I 'll bring the sandwiches. Tu étudieras tout l' été. You'll study all summer. Les fruits pourriront. The fruits will rot. Nous réfléchirons à votre proposition. We 'll think about your proposal. vous défendrez votre pays. You will defend your country. The Conditional Mood The French Conditional Mood is very similar to the English Conditional Mood. It describes events that are not guaranteed to occur; often they are dependent on certain conditions. While the French Conditional Mood has a whole set of conjugations, the English equivalent is just the modal verb "would" + main verb. The French Conditional Mood is mainly used in if ... then, to express what would happen if a condition were met. The endings of the Present Conditional are, like those of the Imperfect tense, added to the whole Infinitive. chanter finir I would sing, etc. I would finish, etc. je chanterais nous chanterions je finirais nous finirions tu chanterais vous chanteriez tu finirais vous finiriez il (elle, on) chanterait ils (elles) chanteraient il (elle, on) finirait ils (elles) finiraient vendre I would sell, etc. je vendrais nous vendrions tu vendrais vous vendriez il (elle, on) vendrait ils (elles) vendraient The cause or condition for an event to occur can be implicit or explicit. The eventuality can be contained in a si-clause, in which case it is explicit. Si tu parlais plus fort, on t'entendrait If you spoke louder, we would hear you. Je grossirais si je mangeais plus. I would put on weight if I ate more. Si vous m'invitiez, je resterais. If you invited me, I would stay. When the eventuality is implied in the conditional clause, the cause and condition are implicit. Aimeriez-vous être balayeur de rues? Would you like to be a street sweeper? Auriez-vous l'audace de m'accuser de voler? Would you be so audacious as to accuse me of stealing? The conditional is also used to make a request or a refusal more polite. J'aimerais te parler. I would like to speak to you. Je ne voudrais pas la voir I would not want to see her. The conditional also expresses probability or conjecture. Il vendrait sa maison. He is probably selling his house. Est-ce qu'elle l'achèterait? would she buy it? The Imperative Mood The Imperative takes its forms from the second person singular of Indicative Present ( verbs in -er drop the s) and from the first and second person of the Indicative Present. The Imperative is a mood of action. it is used to command or persuade, with the intent of prompting result. chanter finir vendre chante finis vends chantons finissons vendons chantez finissez vendez Chante plus fort! Sing louder! Finissons notre travail Let's finish our work! Vendez votre voiture à Charles! Sell your car to Charles! |
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