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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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