french verb summary

5/28/2018 French Verb Summary

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French Verb Summary

Indicative Tenses

The Present (Le Prsent)J'tudie les verbes franais. I study / am studying French verbs.

The Past Perfect (Le Pass Compos)J'ai tudi les verbes franais. I studied French verbs.

The Imperfect Past (L'Imparfait)J'tudiais les verbes franais. I was studying French verbs.

The Pluperfect Past (Le Plus-Que-Parfait)J'avais tudi les verbes franais. I had studied French verbs.

The Immediate PastJe viens d'tudier les verbes franais. I just studied French verbs.

The Future (Le Futur)

J'tudierai les verbes franais. I will study French verbs.

The Future Perfect (Le Futur ntrieur)J'aurai tudi les verbes franais. I will have studied French verbs.

The Immediate Future (Le Futur Pro!"e)Je vais tudier les verbes franais. I am going to study French verbs (right now).

Conditional Tenses

The onditional (Le Conditionnel)J'tudierais les verbes franais. I would study French verbs.

The Past onditional (Le Conditionnel Pass)J'aurais tudi les verbes franais. I would have studied French verbs.

The Imperative

The Imperative (L'Impratif) # tu form$tudie les verbes franais. !tudy French verbs.

The Imperative (L'Impratif) # vous form$tudie% les verbes franais. !tudy French verbs.

The Imperative (L'Impratif) # su&&estive$tudions les verbes franais. "et#s study French verbs.

Subjunctive Tenses

The Present !ubjunctive (Le Prsent du ubon!tif)Il faut ue nous tudiions les verbes franais.$e have to study French verbs.

The Past !ubjunctive (Le Pass du ubon!tif)Je veu* ue vous a+e% tudi les verbes franais avant demain.I want you to have studied French verbs before tomorrow.


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%&P%' %*'+,TI%!

tre/avoirauxiliary usage

ompound tenses are formed using a conjugated form of ,tre oravoirplus the past participle of theverb. &ost verbs use avoir with the following two e-ceptions (in which case ,treis used)

) 0efle-ive verbs1 all refle-ive verbs use ,tre as the au-iliary verb

Je me suis lev les mains.I washed my hands.

2) The so1called 3house3 verbs aller arriver devenir entrer mourir natre partir rester retournerrevenir tomber venir.,lso included in this list are 4 other verbs that use avoirwhen used with a directobject5 and ,tre otherwise (the meaning of the verb changes slightly depending on the presence of adirect object)

des!endre

/lle est des!endue vite. /lle a des!endu la valise.!he came down 6uic7ly. !he brought down the suitcase.

monter

/lle est monte vite. /lle a mont l'es!alier.!he went up 6uic7ly. !he went up the stairs.

passer(note0 se passer 1to ta2e pla!e1 is a different verb from passer)

/lle est passe !"e% moi. /lle m'a pass le sel.!he came by my house. !he passed me the salt.

/lle a pass l'e*amen.

!he too7 the test.

rentrer

/lle est rentre t3t. /lle a rentr le !"at dans la maison.!he returned early. !he brought the cat into the house.

sortir

/lle est sortie "eir soir. /lle a sortie son mou!"oir.!he went out last night. !he too7 out her hand7erchief.

Participle Agreement

$hen using a compound tense5 there are certain cases when the ending of the part participle ischanged to agree in gender and number of another object in the sentence (subject or direct object).There are three main cases in which this happens

) ,treverbs1 the 8house9 verbs listed above5 when using ,treas the au-iliary verb5 change thepast participle to agree in gender and number with the subject. ote that montrer des!endre passerrentrer andsortirdo not use ,treas their au-iliary verb when they have a direct object5 and in thosecases5 the past participle remains unchanged (see the e-amples above for details).


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Il est all au !inema "eir soir. /lles sont alles au !inema "ier soir.:e went to the movies last night. They (f) went to the movies last night.

4ous avons a!"et une nouvelle voiture. 4ous sommes arrivs 5 la "eure.$e bought a new car. $e arrived on time.

2) $hen the compound verb appears with a preceding direct object5 the past participle agrees with

the direct object.

J'ai des!endu les valises. (no agreement; the direct object follows the verb)I too7 down the suitcases.

6es valises7 Je les ai des!endues. (agreement; the direct object precedes the verb)) 0efle-ive verbs have past participles that agree with the subject/object5 but only if the refle-ivepronoun is a direct object. This is really just a special case of the second case (listed above)

/lle s'est lave. /lle s'est lav les mains.!he washed herself. !he washed her hands.

ote that some verbs5 li7eparler and tlp"oneronly ta7e indirect objects (5)5 and as such the pastparticiple does not change in compound tenses

Ils se sont tlp"on. /lles se sont parl.They called each other on the phone. They tal7ed to each other.

Pronoun/egative/Adverb placement

,ll personal and adverbial (+ and en) pronouns precede the au-iliary verb

Je te l'ai donn. 4ous + serons alls.I gave it to you. $e will have gone there.

$hen a compound tense is used with a negative construction5 or with an adverb5 the additional wordssurround the au-iliary verb5 or in other words5 appear after the au-iliary verb but before the partparticiple

i e n'avais pas lu le livre 'aurais mieu* aim le film.If I hadn#t read the boo75 I would have enjoyed the movie better.

Je n'ai pas le fait. 4ous n'aurions amais su.I didn#t do it. $e never would have 7nown.

If you have both an pronoun and a negative adverb5

There are two e-ceptions to this when using the past infinitive (negative constructs precede the verb asa single unit)5 and when using the negative pronounspersonne nulle part andau!un (the pronouns


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follow the part participle)

J'esp9re ne pas avoir perdu. Je n'ai vu personne.I hope I didn#t lose. I didn#t see anyone.

Je ne l'ai trouv nulle part.I didn#t find it anywhere.

P0?!?T/P,!T P,0TIIP"?!

The Present Participle (le Participe Prsent)

Formation!Ta7e the nousform of the present5 drop the -onsand add -ant

"sage!To tell how someone is doing something5 or describe a simultaneous action

Je suis partie en !ourant. /n ouvrant son sa! elle en sort une p"oto.I too7 off at a run. %pening her purse5 she ta7es out a photograph.

,lso used to show cause and effect; or the manner in which things are done

Il &a&ne d l'ar&ent en lavant des voitures. :n ne mai&rit pas en man&eant des &la!es.:e ma7es money by washing cars.


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$hen used in a compound tense with the verb ,tre the past participle agrees in number and genderwith the subject.

/lle est arrive ; Paris. Les &arons sont arrivs ; Paris.!he arrived in Paris. The boys arrived in Paris.

$hen used with a refle-ive verb5 this gets a little complicated. In such a case5 the past participleagrees with the refle-ive pronoun if and only if it is the direct object (the refle-ive pronoun is the direct

object if it is what is receiving the action).

/lle s'est lav@e. /lle s'est lav les !"eveu*.!he washed herself. !he washed her hair

$hen used in a compound tense with the verb avoirthe past participle agrees in number and genderwith a proceeding direct object (note that this e-tends across phrase boundaries5 as in the laste-ample).

:< sont les petits &=teau*7 Paul les a man&s.$here are the little ca7es= Paul ate them.

Qui a !rit les lettres7 Paul les a !rites.

$ho wrote the letters= Paul wrote them.

Paul a oubli le nom de la personne ue nous avons re!ontre !e matin.Paul forgot the name of the person whom we met up with this morning.

Important Irregulars!

asseoir - assis avoir - eu bore - bu!onduire - !onduit !ourir - !ouru !ouvrir - !ouvert!raindre - !raint !roire - !ru devoir - d> 8 duedire - dit !rire - !rit ,tre - tfaire - fait falloir - fallu lire - lumettre - mis mourir - mort natre - n

offrir - offert ouvrir - ouvert paratre - paruplaire - plu pouvoir - pu prendre - prisre!evoir - reu rire - ri savoir - susuivre - suivi taire - tu tenir - tenuvaloir - valu venir - venu vivre - v!uvoir - vu vouloir - voulu

II,TIA? &%% (L'I4?IC6IF)

The Present (le Prsent)

Formation!1er verbs 1re verbs 1ir verbs1e 1ons 1s 1ons 1is 1issons1es 1eB 1s 1eB 1is 1isseB1e 1ent 1 1ent 1it 1issent

"sage!Present action5 habitual action5 state of being5 near future5 present perfect (Je suis i!i despuis di*minutes I have been here for ten minutes)


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Important irregulars!aller - to go avoir - to have boire - to drin7vais allons ai avons bois buvonsvas alle% as ave% bois buve% va vont a ont boit boivent

!roire # to believe devoir - must/should ,tre - to be!rois !ro+ons dois devons sois sommes!rois !ro+e% dois deve% es ,tes!roit !roient doit doivent est sont

faire - to do/ma7e lire - to read mettre - to put or placefais faisons lis lisons mets mettonsfais faites lis lise% mets mette% fait font lit lisent met mettent

mourir - to die natre - to be born partir - to leavemeurs mourons nais naissons pars partonsmeurs moure% nais naisse% pars parte% meurt meurent nait naissent part partent

pouvoir - to want prendre - to ta7e savoir - to 7nowpeu* pouvons prends prenons sais savonspeu* pouve% prends prene% sais save%peut peuvent prend prennent sait savent

suivre - to follow/ta7e valoir - to be worth5 deserve5 merit venir - to comesuis suivons vau* valons viens venonssuis suive% vau* vale% viens vene% suit suivent vaut valent vient viennent

vivre - to live voir - to see vouloir - to wantvis vivons vois vo+ons veu* voulonsvis vive% vois vo+e% veu* voule% vit vivent voit voient veut veulent

The Past Per#ect (le Pass Compos)

Formation!This is a compound verb with the present (le prsent)form of ,tre8avoir plus the past participle (le

parti!ipe pass).

"sage!This describes an action in the past with an emphasis on its completion. %ften used in conjunctionwith the imperfect (l'imparfait).

Je suis all ; l'!ole. Je dormais uand tu m'a tlp"on.I went to school. I was sleeping when you called.

The Imper#ect (l'Imparfait)Formation!

Ta7e the nousform of the present5 drop the -onsand add1ais 1ions1ais 1ieB1ait 1aient

"sage!,n ongoing action in the past (either habitually5 while another action was occurring or occurred5 amental/physical condition5 etc)


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Il lisait pendant ue '!rivais Il lisait uand e suis entr.:e was reading while I was writing :e was reading when I came in.

4ous allions ; la pla&e tous le ours.$e went to the beach every day.

J'attendais l'autobus despuis di* minutes uand il est arriv.I had been waiting for the bus for ten minutes when it arrived.

Quand ma m9re tait eune elle tait belle.$hen my mother was young5 she was beautiful.

@a allait ,tre merveilleu* mais rien du tout est all !omme nous prvisions.It was going to be wonderful5 but nothing at all went according to our e-pectations.

,lso5 when used in a si clause on its own5 this means a wish or a suggestion.

?is si tu m'aidais7 i on allait re&arder un film7:ey5 what about helping me out= :ey5 how about going to see a movie=

" si 'tais ri!"e....%h5 if only I were rich....

Important Irregulars! Important but not irregular!Ctre 1 to be avoir 1 to have@tais @tions avais avions@tais @tieB avais avieB@tait @taient avait avaient

ote!!ee si !lauses for usage with the conditional mood (see below for details).

ote!

!ome verbs have slightly different meanings between the imperfect (l#imparfait) and the past perfect(le pass@ compos@)

savoir (su)1 2neA (l#imparfait) vs. found out(le pass@ compos@)connaDtre (conn@)1 2neA(l#imparfait) vs. met(le pass@ compos@)devoir (dE/due)1 Aas supposed to (l#imparfait) vs.

probabl+8must "ave (le pass@ compos@)

The Pluper#ect $%e Plus&'ue&Par#ait(

Formation!

This is a compound verb with the imperfect (l'imparfait)of ,tre8avoir plus the past participle (leparti!ipe pass).

"sage!escribes a past event that happened before another event in the past.

Ba m9re avait d; man& uand nous sommes arrivs.&y mother had already eaten when we arrived.

J'avais tudi la leon ue le professeur a e*pliue.I had studied the lesson which the professor e-plained.


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(note the agreement of the proceeding direct object with the past participle5 even acrossclauses).

J'tais fati&u !e matin par!e ue e n'avais pas dormi "eir soir.I was tired this morning because I hadn#t slept last night.

ustav /iffel ui n'avait pas en!ore !onstruit la fameuse tour parisienne portant son nomdonnera !orps 5 la vision de Frdri!-u&ust Dart"oldi.+ustav ?iffel5 who hadn#t yet built the famous Parisian tower that carries his name5 would wor7on the vision of Frederic1,ugust artholdi.

ote!This is used in si clauses with the past subjunctive (le pass subon!tif); see sections below fordetails.

The Immediate/ear Past

Formation!Present tense (le prsent)of venir E deG infinitive.

"sage!'sed to e-press something that is just happened in the near past.

Il vient de man&er. *e viens de retourner.:e just ate. I just got bac7.

The Future (Le Futur)

Formation!,dd the following endings to the infinitive form of the verb1ai 1ons1as 1eB1a 1ont

ote that with verbs that end in 1re5 the final e is dropped (lirebecomes lirai liras and natrebecomes natrai natras et!). ,lso note some common orthographic changes (given below) -elerverbs (appeler)and -+erverbs (pa+er).

"sage!,ction that will ta7e place in the future.

J'irai ; Paris l't pro!"ain. J'+ penserai.I will go to Paris this ne-t summer. I#ll thin7 about it.

Je te dirai tout uand tu seras i!i.I#ll tell you all of it when you are here.

Important irregulars! (only theeformis given for the future)

a!"eter # a!"9terai appeler # appellerai aller # iraiavoir # aurai devoir # devrai envo+er - enverrai,tre # serai faire # ferai mourir - mourrai

pa+er # paierai pouvoir # pourrai re!evoir # re!evraisavoir # saurai tenir # tiendrai venir # viendrai


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voir # verrai vouloir # voudrai

,lso il faudra (falloir) and il pleuvra (pleuvoir)

ote!This is used in si clauses with the present tense (le prsent)see sections below for details.

The Future Per#ect (Le Futur Antrior)

Formation!Future tense of ,tre8avoirfollowed by the past participle of the verb you are using (le parti!ipe pass).

"sage!This tense e-presses what will have happened5 usually in relation to some other event.

Quand tu arriveras nous serons d; partis en va!an!es.$hen you arrive5 we will have already left for vacation.

J'aurai fini vers !in "eures du soir.I will have finished around 4pm.

Je te tlp"onerai uand le lettre seta arriv.I will call you when the letter arrives.

4ous partirons aussit3t ue Drid&et aura fini son travail.$e will leave as soon as ridget has finished her wor7.

The ear Future (Le Futur Proche)

Formation!Present tense (le prsent)of allerG infinitive.

"sage!'sed to e-press something that is going to happen in the near future.

Il va t'appeler. 4ous allons man&er.:e#s going to call you. $e#re going to eat.

%ITI%I," &%% (L/ C:4?I6I:44/L)

The Present Conditional (Le Conditionnel Prsent)

Formation!The present conditional mood (le !onditionnel prsent)is formed very similarly to the indicativefuture5 only with a slight change in endings

1ais 1ions1ais 1ieB1ait 1aient


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"sage!The conditional (le !onditionnel)is used

. to ma7e polite re6uests2. offer advice>. tal7 about things that might happen if something else were possibleH. e-press a desire5 and in particular what someone stated5 hoped5 or decided (in the past)

would happen in the future (just as in ?nglish).4. when you want to convey a sense of not being sure of something that will happen in the

future (contrast with the certainty of the future tense)

Je voudrais du !af.I would li7e some coffee.

/st-!e ue vous pourrie% m'aider dans mon re!"er!"es7an you help me with my research=

G votre pla!e 'abandonnerais !ette ide.If I were you5 I would give up that idea.

?ans un monde parfait il n'+ aurait plus amais de &uerre.In a perfect world5 there would be no more war.

J'aimerais bien le voirHI would love to see it

Je voudrais une &rande maison.I would li7e to have a big house.

L'Institut sera ferm demain. (future)8 L'Institut serait ferm demain. (conditional)The Institute will be closed tomorrow. / The Institute might be closed tomorrow.

,lso5 the conditional is used in past declarative speech

Baintenent elle dit u'il ira au !in. (now J present tense5 later J future tense)0ight now5 she says that he will go to the movies.

eir elle a dit u'il irait au !in. (yesterday J past tense5 later J conditional tense)


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ote!This is used in si clauses with the imperfect (l'imparfait)see sections below for details.

The Past Conditional (Le Conditionnel Pass)

Formation!This is a compound verb with the conditional present (le !ontinionnel prsent)of ,tre8avoir plus thepast participle (le parti!ipe pass).

"sage!This is used to e-press a conditional action that would have happened (but didn#t)5 or would havebeen (but wasn#t).

G ta pla!e e n'aurais pas pris ma voiture.In your place5 I would not have ta7en my car.

i 'avais tudi 'aurais russi ; l'e*amen.If I had studied5 I would have passed the e-am.

J'aurais fait le travail si 'avais eu le temps.I would have done the wor7 if I had had the time.

J'aurais voulu voir !e film.I would have li7ed to see that movie.

ous aurie% d> tudier pour l'e*amen.


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Important Irregulars!Ctre 1 sois so+e% so+onsavoir 1 aie a+e% a+ons

ote!In positive commands5 pronouns come after the verb5 and me8teare changed to moi8toi.

Kponds-moiH Lave%-vousH,nswer me $ash yourself

!'*'TIA? &%% (L/ DJ:4C6IF)

The Present Subjunctive (Le Prsent du Su!onctif)

Formation!Ta7e the -ilsform of the present5 drop -ent5 and add

1e 1ions K1es 1ieB K1e 1ent

,nother way to thin7 about it (which ma7es things a lot easier)5 is that the nousand vousforms areidentical to the imperfect (l'imparfait). This ma7es a difference when it comes to verbs with twostems; rather than thin7ing about these as irregular verbs5 if you just thin7 that the nousand vousforms as being identical to l'imparfaitit is a bit easier. For e-ample

venir 1 to comepresent tense imperfect present subjuntiveviens venons venais venions vienne venions

viens vene% venais venie" viennes venie"vient viennent venait venaient vienne viennent

Important Irregulars!

,tre aller avoir sois so+ons aille allions aie a+onssois so+e% ailles allie% aies a+e% soit soient aille aillent ait aient

faire pouvoir savoir fasse fassions puisse puissions sa!"e sa!"ionsfasses fassie% puisses puissie% sa!"es sa!"ie% fasse fassent puisse puissent sa!"e sa!"ent

vouloirveuille voulionsveuilles voulie% veuille veuillent

"sage!To e-press feelings5 judgments5 what is desirable5 opinions/advice5 possibility5 uncertainty5 what mayor may not be5 wish5 fear5 or supposition1 that which is not real. !pecifically


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#$ Aerbs of desire vouloir r,ver dsirer attendre donner...%$ Aerbs of sentiment aimer adorer dtester re&retter ,tre Made!tiveN de...)* ,fter impersonal statements il faut ue il est n!essaire ue il semble ue...

This is used much more fre6uently in French than in ?nglish. %ne reason is that with the subjunctivethere is no concordance of time as there is with the indicative. For e-ample

Je pense u'il viendra !e soir. Je pensais u'il viendrait !e soir.I thin7 that he will come tonight. I thought that he would come tonight.

ote that in the e-amples above (indicative mood)5 the present tense is followed by a subordinateclause in the future5 while a past tense is followed by the conditional. $hen using the subjunctivemood5 time is much more simple

Je veu* ue tu fasse... I want you to do...Je voulais ue tu fasse... I wanted you to do...Je voudrais ue tu fasse... I would li7e you to do...

The subjunctive used to have different tenses for time (subon!tif imparfait5 etc)5 but these forms areno longer used. rdperson singular has the same form as the subjunctive;this is one of the difficult things about the subjunctive5 as there is a lot of overlap in form with thepresent indicative5 depending on the verb. !o in the phrase on the left above5pr,te is an e-ample ofthe present indicative5 and in the phrase on the right above5pr,teis an e-ample of the subjunctive.

:owever5 not all negated phrases change between the subjunctive and the indicative. For e-ample5negating a statement of sentiment5 is still a statement of sentiment

Je suis "eureu* ue nous allions. Je ne suis pas "eureu* ue nous allions.I#m happy that we#re going. I am not happy that we#re going.

!o you need to use care when using the subjunctive and negation; sometimes the negation meansthat you switch between the indicative and the subjunctive5 sometimes not. *ust remember that thesubjunctive means subjective5 unreal5 unsure5 and that should get you through most of the time. Thisincludes some forms of interrogation

J'insiste ue vous so+e% i!i ; l'"eure. Je n'insiste amais ue vous so+e% i!i ; l'"eure.I insist that you be here on time. I never insist that you be here on time.

Il vaut mieu* u'il vienne. Il ne vaut pas mieu* u'il vienne.It would be better if he came. I wouldn#t be better if he came.


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Il est important ue vous fassie% le travail. I n'est pas important ue vous fassie% le travail.It is important that you do the wor7. It isn#t important that you do the wor7.

Il parat ue nous avons besoin d'aller. Il ne parat pas ue nous a+ons besoin d'aller.It seems that we need to go. It doesn#t seem that we need to go.

Il est vident u'elle te dit la vrit. Il n'est pas vident u'elle te dise la vrit.It#s clear that she is telling you the truth. It isn#t clear if she is telling you the truth (or not).

Penses-tu u'il soit s+mpa7 :ui e pense u'il est s+mpa.o you thin7 that he is nice=


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The important aspect is the doubt or lac7 of e-istence. If the implication is that something doesindeed e-ist5 the indicative is used

Il !onnat uelu'un ui veut venir ; la f,te.:e 7nows someone who wants to come to the party.

ote on Conjunctions!

The subjunctive is re6uired after some conjunctions. This seems to be a somewhat confusing andarbitrary topic5 and probably is best to be memoriBed and/or learned by rote. These conjunctivephrases usually end in ue5 and if the two clauses have the same subject are usually replaced by aform without ue5 which would ta7e the indicative.

These conjunctions always ta7e the subjunctive case5 as there is no prepositional forms to usewithout ue (therefore using the same subject in both clauses is %M)

usu'; ue untilbien ue although / despite (opposite of don!)uoiue although / despite (opposite of don!)

pourvu ue provided that

Quoiu'elle soit belle il ne l'aime pas.,lthough she is beautiful5 he does not love her.

6u ne peu* pas re!evoir ton dipl3me uu'; !e ue tu finisses tes !ours.


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Phillip left without you saying goodbye to him.

P"illippe est parti sans te dire au revoir.Philip left without saying goodbye to you.

6lp"one ; tes parents afin u'ils sa!"ent o< nous sommes.all your parents5 so they 7now where we are.

Je vais leur tlp"oner afin de !ommander une pi%%a.I#m going to call them to order a piBBa.

:< ue 'aille dans la vie e me souviendrai de votre &entillesse.$herever I go in life5 I will remember your 7indness.

i idiot ue !e soit rends-moi !e servi!e.:owever idiotic it may be5 do me this favor.

ote!,gain5 if you are stating something that you hold/feel to be true5 do not use the subjunctive. If youare denying or otherwise doubting something5 then the subjunctive is used

Je !rois ue tu est fati&u. Je ne !rois pas ue tu sois fati&u.I believe that you are tired. I don#t believe that you are tired.

,lso note that neither esperernorpenserta7e the subjunctive

J'esp9re u'il fait le mna&e.I hope that he does the housewor7.

Je pense u'il est malade auourd'"ui.I thin7 that he is sic7 today.

The Past Subjunctive (Le Pass du Su!onctif)

Formation!This is a compound verb tense5 formed by the present subjunctive (le prsent du subon!tif)of,tre8avoir plus the past participle (le parti!ipe pass).

"sage!!ame as the present subjunctive(le prsent du subon!tif)only the wish/desire clause describes anaction that too7 place before the action in the main clause. This is a very important distinction5

Il est possible u'il soit parti. Je doute u'il ait fait !ela.It is possible that he has left. I doubt that he did that.

:ow you mi- the tense of the main clause with the subjunctive present/past are all grammaticallyfine5 but do change the meaning to allow comple- constructs of meaning

Je re&rette u'il vienne. I regret (now) that he is coming.Je re&rette u'il soit venu. I regret (now) that he came.J'ai re&rett u'il vienne. I regretted (in the past5 maybe not any longer) that he is coming

(he is coming now or in the future).J'ai re&rett u'il soit venu. I regretted (in the past) that he came (he came prior to my

regretting it).


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*ust li7e the regular subjunctive5 if you have the same subject in both clauses5 it collapses to use aninfinitive form. To 7eep the idea of the secondary/subjunctive action happening before the action ofthe main clause5 this means you use the past infinitive

Je re&rette ue e sois all... &*+Je re&rette d',tre all... I*,-+

!ee the Past Infinitive below.

%T:?0 T%PI!

SiClauses

Formation!The word sican be used to create sentences with multiple clauses that correspond to if1then clausesin ?nglish. There are three main types

First conditional!This is formed with the si clause in the present indicative (le prsent)or the past perfect (le pass!ompos)and the main clause in either the present5 future5 or imperative5 depending on theintention.

4ous ne sortons pas s'il pleut. i 'ai le temps e le ferai.$e don#t go out if it rains. If I have the time5 I will do it.

iens me voir si tu peu*. i tu as fini tu peu* partir.ome and see me if you can. If you have finished5 you can leave.

i tu n'as pas finis dis-moi.

If you haven#t finished5 tell me.

Second conditional!This is formed with the si clause in the imperfect (l'imparfait)5 and the main clause in the presentconditional (le !onditionnel prsent). This e-presses something that is contrary to fact or unli7ely tooccur; a hypothetical that is outside of reality.

i nous "abitions ; Paris nous parlerions franais tout le temps.If we lived in Paris5 we would spea7 in French all the time.

i e &a&nais ; la loterie 'a!"eterais une nouvelle moto.If I won the lottery5 I would buy a new car.

i 'avais le temps e le ferais.If I had the time5 I would do it (implies that I do not have the time).

i tu tudiais tu serais intelli&ent.If you studied5 you would be smart (implies that you do not study)

Third Conditional!This is formed with the si clause in the pluperfect (le plus-ue-parfait)and the main clause in the pastconditional (le !onditionnel pass). This e-presses a hypothetical situation in the past that is differentfrom reality.


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i vous tie% alls ; la boum vous serie% amuss.If you had gone to the party5 you would have had fun.

i elle vous avait vu elle vous aurait aid.If she had seen you5 she would have helped you.

i 'avais su e ne t'aurais pas !out.:ad I 7nown5 I would not have listened to you.

There are other patterns besides the three common ones above; conte-t will help you figure out these6uence of tenses. The tenses will be the same in ?nglish as in French5 so just follow your intuitionand you should be %M.

i tu avais tudi (plus-ue-parfait) tu pourrais rpondre ; !es uestions (le !onditionnel).If you had studied (pluperfect)5 you would be able to answer these 6uestions (conditional).

'il fait beau (prsent) on fait souvent une promenade (prsent).If the weather is nice (present)5 we often ta7e a wal7 (present).

:n pourrait aller au restaurant (!onditionnel) si 'avais fini (plus-ue-parfait) mes devoirs.

$e could go to the restaurant (conditional)5 if I had finished my homewor7 (pluperfect).

Passive Voice

Formation!The passive voice is when the action is being done to the subject5 rather than the other way around(the actor is can be given with the prepositionpar unless the verb e-presses a state of being5 inwhich case it is de). For e-ample

Denot lit le livre. Le livre est lit par Denot.

enoDt is reading the boo7. The boo7 is read by enoDt.

6out le monde le respe!te. Il est respe!t de tout le monde.?verybody respects him. :e is respected by everybody.

nne fait la tarte. La tarte est faite par nne.,nne is ma7ing the ca7e. The ca7e is being made by ,nne.

Bes amis aiment bien ma mre. Ba mre est aime bien de mes amis.&y friends li7e my mother. &y other is li7e by my friends.

There are two ways of forming the passive voice in French The first is formed by some conjugation of,trefollowed by the past participle (le parti!ipe pass)where the mood/tense of ,treis dependent on

what the phrase is saying (all moods/tenses can apply). ote that since the recipient of the actionappears before the conjugated ,treverb5 the past participle needs to agree in gender/number withthe subject (just li7e in other compound tenses).

Franoise lit le livre. Le livre est lite par Franoise.FranNoise is reading the boo7. The boo7 is being read by FranNoise.

The passive voice can be used in any tense

Le livre a t lite par abrielle. Le livre sera lite par abrielle.The boo7 was read by +abrielle. The boo7 will be read by +abrielle.


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Le livre serait lite par abrielle. Je veu* ue le livre soit lite par abrialle.The boo7 would be read by +abrielle. I want the boo7 be read by +abrielle.

The passive voice is used as it is in ?nglish1 to put more emphasis on the performer of the action5 orto not identify the performer of the action at all.

n enfant !rit !e livre. Ce livre a t lit par un enfant., child wrote this boo7. This boo7 was written by a child.

Quelu'un a !rit !e livre en RST. Ce livre a t lit en RST.!omeone wrote this boo7 in O4. This boo7 was written in O4.

ote!

The passive voice is used in French5 but it is preferable to avoid it if you can. There are a couple ofways of rewording a sentence to avoid a passive construct

To focus on the performer5 use !'est0

Cette film a t faite par Barie-Claire. C'est Barie-Claire ui a fait !ette film.This film was made by &arie1larie. It was &arie1laire who made this film.

Le re!ord a t battu par 6"ierr+. C'est 6"ierr+ ui a t battu le re!ord.The record was bro7en by Thierry. It was Thierry who bro7e the record.

To avoid identifying the performer of the action5 you can use the impersonal pronoun on0

Ils ont t dits de venir ; midi. :n leur a dit de venir ; midi.They were told to come a noon. They were told to come at noon.

La voiture avait t vendue samedi. :n avait vendu la voiture samedi.The car was sold on !aturday. The car was sold on !aturday.


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It is also used to describe situations where people are made or forced to perform an action

Le professeur fait tudier les l9ves.The teacher ma7es the students study.

The use of se faire E MinfinitiveN is used to describe actions that people are having done for/tothemselves

Je vais me faire !ouper les cheveu-.I#m going to have my hair cut.

J'ai fait reparer ma montre.I had my watch fi-ed.

Idiomatic usage!faire savoirmeans 3to let someone 7now3

Faites-le moi savoir d9s ue possible."et me 7now as soon as possible.

Personal +bligation

ote!

Il faut ue E MinfinitiveN %ne should ... / %ne has to ...Il faut ue E Msubun!tiveN It is necessary that ...?evoir E MinfinitiveN I/you/etc. have to ...

Il ne faut pas ue E Msubun!tiveN %ne should not ...

Il n'a pas ; E MinfinitiveN It is not necessary to ...

Je n'ai pas besoin de E MinfinitiveN I don#t have to ...ous n'ave% obli& de E MinfinitiveN


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past participle. ote that agreement of the participle and the subject happens as per normal.

Je suis !ontent d'avoir trouv un emploi.I#m happy to have found a job.

Qu'est-!e ue tu vas faire apr9s avoir fini tes tudes7$hat are you going to do after having finished your studies=

li!e a tudi apr9s s',tre repose.,lice studied after having rested.

This form us used when you have two clauses5 one of which would be in the past subjunctive but youhave identical subjects in both clauses

Je re&rette ue nous so+ons alls au !in9ma "ier soir.I regret that we went to the movies last night.

Je re&rette d',tre all au !in9ma "ier soir.I regret that I went to the movies last night / I regret going to the movies last night.

ote that in the above e-ample5 a dewas used before the infinitive; this is dependent on the verb you

are using so caveat emptor.

ote!

$hen using a negative form (past infinitive or otherwise)5 if you want to use a negative construct withit5 all words of the negative construct go before the infinitive

Je re&rette de ne pas ,tre all au !in9ma "ier soir.I regret not going to the movies last night.

Je suis "eureu* de ne amais avoir fum.I am happy to have never had smo7ed before.

+bject, Adverbial and/or -e#lexive Pronoun +rder

Pronoun ordering!

$hen multiple pronouns are used in a sentence5 they all are placed in front of the verb and theirordering is set

me le lui + ente la leur se les

nousvous

Je montre la !arte ; mon p9re. Je la lui montre.I#m showing the letter to my father. I#m showing it to him.

Je mets la !arte sur la table. Je l'+ mets.I#m putting the letter on the table. I#m putting it there.

4e me les donne% pas.on#t give them to me.


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Il leur en a donn.:e gave them some.

This is true for all tenses and moods e-cept for the affirmative imperative. In this tense5 thepronouns do not come before the verb5 but instead are hyphenated suffi-es to the verb

?onne%-le-moi.+ive it to me.

ende%-nous-en.!ell us some

6rouve%-le-moi.Find it for me

Parle%-nous-+.Tal7 to us there

/nvo+e%-le-lui.!end it to him

a-t'en H+o away

For compound tenses5 the verb is considered to be the entire construction5 so all pronouns comebefore the au-iliary verb

Je lui ai parl.I tal7ed to him.

Il t'aurait aim.:e would have loved you.

4ous l'avons fait.$e made it.

This contrasts with dual1verb constructions5 such as when usingpouvoir devoir vouloir allerpromettre oresprer. In this case5 the pronouns go in front of the verb who#s action they areinvolved with

Je vais te le donner.I am going to give it to you.

Je promets de le man&er.I promise to eat it.

Je dois me brosser les dents.I need to brush my teeth.

french verb summary

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