FRENCH VERBS

http://french.about.com/library/bl_timelinee.htm

Every mood and verb tense in French. Note that the moods are across the top and the tensesare listed top to bottom, with the present tensein the center.

See the website listed at the bottom right for aninteractive version of this chart, where you can click each tense/mood for an explanation of how it is used.

In the next slide, you willsee the tenses/moods we have learned this semester.

We’ll work through each one of these asthe PPT continues.

InfinitiveThe infinitive is simply an unconjugated verb. See

below for some examples of infinitives:parlerallerêtrese levervoirprendre

The infinitive translates as “to…”. To speak, to go, to be, to get up, to see, to take.

For more info, go here: http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/infinitive.htm

Conjugating verbs

To conjugate verbs, use the following subjects:

je

tu

il/elle/on

nous

vous

ils/elles

Present (indicative)This is the most commonly used and the first tense you

learn in French. There are many types of verbs conjugated in the present tense.

Regular Verbs. Drop the infinitive ending and add the following endings:

-er -ir -reje -e -is -stu -es -is -sil/elle/on -e -it -nous -ons -issons -onsvous -ez -issez -ezils/elles -ent -issent -ent

Present (indicative), continuedQuiz: Conjugate the verbs parler, choisir, and descendre and

check your work using this online conjugator: http://www.wordreference.com/conj/FRverbs.aspx.

Be sure you also know how to conjugate –ger and –cer verbs (which are not strictly irregular, but they do have spelling changes).

Some important irregular verbs: être, avoir, aller, faire, prendre, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, mettre, lire, écrire, venir, savoir, connaître, sortir, dormir, suivre. Test your ability to conjugate these verbs and then verify your work using the conjugator linked above.

Pronominal Verbs (in present tense)These verbs require an extra set of pronouns.

se lever

je me lève

tu te lèves

il se lève

nous nous levons

vous vous levez

ils se lèvent

Present participleThis is a verb form ending in –ant. Start with the “nous” form of the verb in the present tense,

then drop the –ons and add –ant. Three irregulars: étant, ayant, sachant. This verb form is often used with the preposition en.

• 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). 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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.

For more information, see this website: http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/presentparticiple.htm

Passé composé: past participleHow to form the past participle? Drop the infinitive ending and

add:ER é parler parléIR i choisir choisiRE u vendre vendu

But, of course, there are several verbs with irregular past participles:

être: été ouvrir: ouvert croire: cruvouloir: voulu mourir: mort(e) recevoir: reçuvenir: venu(e) avoir: eu pouvoir: puvoir: vu boire: bu offrir: offertmettre: mis devoir: dû faire: faitnaître: né(e) prendre: pris

Compound past AKA passé composé

The passé composé is the most common past tense in French. It is used to express actions that were completed in the past. It is formed in two different ways. Most verbs take avoir in the passé composé.

Examples: j’ai parlé, elle a dansé, nous avons mangé

Two kinds of verbs are conjugated with être in the passé composé: 1) pronominal verbs and 2) DR MR VANDERTRAMPPS. *With these verbs, the past participle must match the subject in gender and in number.*

Pronominal verbs in the passé composé

se lever

je me suis levé(e) nous nous sommes levé(e)s

tu t’es levé(e) vous vous êtes levé(e)(s)(es)

il s’est levé ils se sont levés

elle s’est levée elles se sont levées

on s’est levé

DR & MR VANDERTRAMPPSDevenir

Rester

&

Mourir

Rentrer

Venir

Arriver

Naître

Descendre

Entrer

Revenir

Tomber

Retourner

Aller

Monter

Partir

Passer

Sortir

Imperfect AKA imparfait (indicative)The imperfect is the other common past tense. It is used

to express habitual actions, states of being, emotions, descriptions, and background information.

The imperfect is very easy to form. Start with the nous form of every single verb except être. Drop the –ons and add the following endings:-ais *être uses this as a stem: ét-ais (then add the regular endings)-ait *remember that verbs like étudier,-ions manger, and commencer have -iez spelling changes (examples: nous -aient étudiions, je mangeais, je

commençais)

Imparfait vs. Passé composéGenerally speaking, the imperfect describes

past situations, while the passé composé narrates specific events. In addition, the imperfect can set the stage for an event expressed with the passé composé. 

For more info, see the following pages in the textbook: 226-227, 285, 395, 397-398.

Some verbs change meanings in the imparfait vs. the passé composé. See p. 395 for more on this.

For more info, see also this site: http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/pasttenses_2.htm

Future (indicative)The future tense is used to express what will happen. It

is easy to form. Begin with the infinitive, which for most verbs is the future stem. For regular –re verbs, drop the “e.” The stem always ends in “r.”

Irregular stems: ir-, ser-, fer-, aur-, saur-, pourr-, devr-, recevr-, viendr-, voudr-, verr-, enverr-

Then add the endings:-ai For more info, including-as some words that require-a the use of the future,-ons see pp. 314-316 in the-ez textbook.-ont

Conditional=Future stem + imperfect endingsThe conditional is used for politeness and for

hypothetical situations and is best translated as “would” + verb. This mood is formed in almost the same way as the future tense. In fact, use the future stem, which for most verbs is the infinitive. For –re verbs, drop the “e.”

Irregular stems: ir-, ser-, fer-, aur-, saur-, pourr-, devr-, recevr-, viendr-, voudr-, verr-, enverr-

Then add the imperfect endings:-ais For more info, see pp. 367--ais 368 in the textbook.-ait-ions-iez-aient

Imperative (present)There are command forms for tu, vous, and nous. First,

drop the subject from the verb. Then, for all –er verbs, drop the “s” in the tu form (exception: vas-y!).

Parle! Ne parle pas!Parlez! Ne parlez pas!Parlons! Ne parlons pas!Irregulars:être avoir savoirsois aie sachesoyez ayez sachezsoyons ayons sachons

For more information, see pp. 372-373 in the textbook.

Subjunctive (present)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, and the subjects of the dependent and main clauses are usually different.

Some expressions that require the subjunctive:il faut que il est essentiel queil est important que il est indispensable queil vaut mieux que il est nécessaire queil a fallu que vouloir quedemander que désirer queexiger que préférer queaimer que proposer quesouhaiter que suggérer que

See pp. 335-339 and 393-294 in the textbook for more information. This link also has a handy

resource: http://french.about.com/library/verb/bl-subjunctivator.htm

Subjunctive (present), continuedTo form the subjunctive for regular verbs, begin with

the ils/elles form in present indicative. ils parlent then drop the –ent and add the subjunctive

endings:-e irregular subjunctive-es stems: fass-, aill-(all-), -e boiv-(buv-), prenn-(pren-),-ions puiss-, sach-, ven-(vienn-)-iez Completely irregular:-ent avoir être

j’aietu aiesil aitnous ayonsvous ayezelles aient

je soistu soisil soitnous soyonsvous soyezelles soient