French Verb conjugations
- Created by: Matt Sparavalo
- Created on: 28-02-13 22:00
Present Tense
There's one form of the present tense in French
Many verbs fall into 3 main groups with infinitives ending in "-er" "-ir" or "-re"
Present tense stem: remove 2 leter ending, add following regular endings
-er -ir -re
je e is s
tu es is s
il/elle/on e it / (nothing)
nous ons issons ons
vous ez issez ez
ils/elles ent issent ent
Irregulars in the present
AVOIR (to have): j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont
ETRE (to be): je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont
ALLER (to go): je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont
VENIR (to come): je viens, tu viens, il vient, nous venons, vous venez, ils viennent
FAIRE (to do/make): je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font
PRENDRE (to take): je prends, tu prends, il prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent
DORMIR (to sleep): je dors, tu dors, il dort, nous dormons, vous dormez, ils dorment
DIRE (to say): je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous disez, ils disent
Irregulars in the present continued
écrire (to write): j'écris, tu écris, il écrit, nous écrivons, vous écrivez, ils écrivent
lire (to read): je lis, tu lis, il lit, nous lisons, vous lisez, ils lisent
mettre (to put): je mets, tu mets, il met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils mettent
recevoir (to receive): je recois, tu recois, il recoit, nous recevons, vous recevez, ils recoivent (sedilla on the Cs)
voir(to see): je vois, tu vois, il voit, nous voyons, vous voyez, ils voient
connaître (to know): je connais, tu connais, il connait, nous connaissons, vous vonnaissez, ils connaissent
The Perfect Tense
Usage:
- To express a completed action in the past
Formation:
- you need 2 parts
- Auxiliary (present tense of avoir or etre) + Past Participle
Avoir taking Verbs:
- Most verbs take avoir
E.g Il a pris un sandwich
Etre taking verbs:
- Verbs of motion or movement, can use MRSVANDERTRAMP to remember these
- The participle must agree with the SUBJECT of the verb, sometimes you need to add an -e if the subject is feminine, -s if it is plural and -es for feminine plural
E.g Je me suis amusé hier
The formation of the past participle
This is a key element of the perfect tense
-er: take off the ending and add é
-ir: take off the -er and add i
-re: take off the -re and add -u
Irregular past participles
Infinitive Past participle
avoir eu
boire bu
connaître connu
courir couru
devoir dû
dire dit
écrire ecrit
être ete
faire fait
lire lu
mettre mis
mourir mort
naître ne
ouvrir ouvert
pouvoir pu
prendre pris
recevoir recu
savoir su
venir venu
vivre vecu
voir vu
vouloir voulu
The Imperfect Tense
Usage:
- General description of the past
- continuous or interrupted action in the past
- repeat or habitual action in the past
Formation:
-take the stem (nous form of the present tense)
- remove the "-ons"
-add the endings shown below
je: -ais
tu: -ais
il/elle/on: -ait
nous: -ions
vous: -iez
ils/elles: -aient
The Immediate Future
Usage:
- talking about the near future
- used to when saying something "is going to" happen
Formation:
- present tense of aller + infinitive
The Future Tense
Usage:
- to make predictions and statements
- used to say something "will" happen
Formation:
-most verbs have regular future tense
-future tense endings are the same for all 3 regular groups
-tense endings are added to the infinitives
je: -ai
tu: -as
il/elle/on: -a
nous: -ons
vous: -ez
ils/elles: -ont
Irregulars in the future
Some verbs have irregular future stems
The endings are still regular though
aller: ir-: j'irai
avoir: aur-: j'aurai
devoir: devr-: je devrai
envoyer: enverr-: j'enverrai
etre: ser-: je serai
faire: fer-: je ferai
pouvoir: pourr-: je pourrai
savoir: saur-: je saurai
venir: viendr-: je viendrai
voir: verr-: je verrai
vouloir: voudr-: je voudrai
falloir: faudr-: (il) faudra
The Conditional Tense
Usage:
-it's a mood not a tense
-used to convey what "would" happen
Formation:
-future tense stem
-add conditional endings (they're the same as for the imperfect tense)
je: -ais: regarderais
tu: -ais: regarderais
il/elle/on: -ait: regarderait
nous: -ions: regarderions
vous: -iez: regarderiez
ils/elles: -aient: regarderaient
The Pluperfect Tense
Usage:
- to talk about what "had happened"
Formation:
-Imperfect of etre/avoir + Past Participle
Examples:
j'avais fait
j'étais allé
The Subjunctive Mood
Usage:
- convey speaker's attitude to action described
-nearly always used in a subordinate clause
-introduced by "que"
-used when statements are taken as a matter of judgement/attitude
Formation:
-for most regulars: present subjunctive formed from stem
-ils/elles form of present tense
- take off the final -ent
- add the endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent
Irregular Subjunctives
Aller: aille, ailles, aille, allions, alliez, aillent
Avoir: aie, aies, ait, ayons, ayez, aient
Etre: sois, sois, soit, soyons, soyez, soient
Faire: fasse, fasses, fasse, fassions, fassiez, fassent
Falloir: il faille
Pouvoir: puisse, puisses, puisse, puissions, puissiez, puissent
Savoir: sache, saches, sache, sachions, sachiez, sachent
Vouloir: veuille, veuillles, veuille, voulions, vouliez, veuillent
Passive Voice/Present Participles
Passive Voice:
Usage:
- "Passive" expressions say what happens to someone/something on receiving end of action
Formation:
- etre in the relevant tense i.e present, perfect, imperfect, future
- add a past participle
- NOTE: Past participle must agree with the subject
Present participles:
Usage:
-Can by used by itself, at beginning of a sentence or to express the idea of "since"
- in English, present participles end in "ing"
Formation:
- take nous form of present tense
-change the "ons" on the end to "ant"
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