COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. This section will help you understand and internalize the rules for conjugating VERB USAGE REVIEW.

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1 VERB USAGE REVIEW This section will help you understand and internalize the rules for conjugating (changing the verb so that it agrees with the subject noun or pronoun) regular, spelling-change, and irregular French verbs in all tenses and moods. You ll be given the guides you need to readily convert English forms to their French equivalent so that the process will quickly become routine. Your goal should be to become so familiar with French verbs that you can use them automatically, the way a native speaker would. Read this section first for a better understanding of which verbs will follow a regular pattern, which will require an internalized change to maintain proper pronunciation, and which will have to be memorized due to their irregular nature. After you study this information, you ll have an easier time understanding the verb charts that follow. Subject Pronouns Proper verb conjugation requires an understanding of subject nouns and pronouns and how they are used. A subject noun identifies who or what is performing the action of the verb and may be a person, place, thing, idea, or quality. A subject pronoun, which may replace the subject noun, allows for a more fluid conversation by eliminating unnecessary repetition of the same noun: Carole is my friend. She lives next door to me. Honesty is the best policy. It has always served me well. Subject pronouns indicate the endings needed to conjugate verbs in all tenses and moods. French subject pronouns have a number singular (one) or plural (more than one) and a gender masculine or feminine. They may identify any noun. In French, the verb ending must agree with the subject noun or pronoun. Table 1 shows the French subject pronouns and their equivalent English meanings. Table 1 Subject Pronouns COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Person Singular Plural 1st je (I) nous (we) 2nd tu (you) vous (you) 3rd il (he, it) ils (they) elle (she, it) elles (they) on (one, you, we, they) Note the following about the French subject pronouns: Je (I) is capitalized only when used at the beginning of a sentence. Je becomes j before a vowel or vowel sound (y and unaspirated h, which means that no puff of air is emitted when producing the h sound). This is known as elision. J aime le français. J habite à New York. I like French. I live in New York.

2 6 / The Basics on Verbs Tu is the singular informal or familiar pronoun that expresses you. Tu is used to address a friend, relative, child, or pet. The u from tu is never dropped for purposes of elision: Tu es formidable. You are terrific. Vous is the formal or polite pronoun that expresses you. In the singular, vous is used to show respect and to address an older person, a stranger, or someone whom you don t know well. Vous is the only pronoun that expresses you in the plural, regardless of the degree of familiarity: Monsieur, vous êtes très optimiste. Vous êtes mes bons amis. Sir, you are very optimistic. You are my good friends. Il (he) and elle (she) may refer to a person or a thing: Jacques est tombé. (Jack fell.) L arbre est tombé. (The tree fell.) Lisette est arrivée. (Lisette arrived.) La lettre est arrivée. (The letter arrived.) Il est tombé. (He fell.) Il est tombé. (It fell.) Elle est arrivée. (She arrived.) Elle est arrivée. (It arrived.) On refers to an indefinite person and may express: you, we, they, one, or people in general. On is often used to replace nous: On sort? Shall we go out? Ils (they) and elles (they) refer to groups of people. Elles is used only to refer to a group of females. Ils, however, may refer to a group of males or to a combined group consisting of males and females (despite the number of each within the group): Lise et Luc dansent. (Lise and Luke dance.) Sue et Lise dansent. (Sue and Lise dance.) Ils dansent. (They dance.) Elles dansent. (They dance.) Ce (C before a vowel) (it, he, she, this, that, these, those) is most frequently used before the verb être (to be) and replaces il, elle, ils, and elles in the following cases: Before a modified noun: C est un bon professeur. (He s a good teacher.) Before a name: C est Marie. (It s Marie.) Before a pronoun: C est moi. (It is me.) Before a superlative: C est le moins cher. (It s the least expensive.) In dates: C est le onze juillet. (It s July 11th.) In reference to a previous mentioned idea or action: Il est juste. C est clair. (He is fair. That s clear.) Before an adjective + à + verb infinitive ( to + unconjugated verb): C est inutile à faire. (That s useless to do.) The Basics on Verbs A verb expresses action, feeling, or existence and serves to command, emphasize, declare, or deny something. In dictionaries, verbs are shown in their infinitive, the basic form of the verb that is not conjugated and expresses to + action. French verbs must agree in number (singular or plural) with their subjects in order to express tense (past, present, future), and mood (indicative, imperative, conditional, subjunctive). The tense of the verb indicates

3 Verbals / 7 the time when an action occurred, while the mood indicates an attitude on the part of the subject. The indicative mood states a fact. The imperative gives a command. The conditional expresses what would happen under certain circumstances. The subjunctive expresses, among other things, wishing, emotion, and doubt. The infinitive mood, the to form of the verb, does not require agreement with a subject. French verb infinitives consist of a stem and an infinitive ending. There are three regular infinitive endings that categorize the three main verb families: er, ir, and re. Additionally there are seven regular verbs ending in oir or evoir. Each regular verb within its respective family follows the same rules of conjugation in all tenses and moods. If, therefore, you memorize the pattern for the er family, you then know the pattern for every single verb within that family: parler (to speak), danser (to dance), chanter (to sing), just to name a few. Verbs belonging to the er family that end in cer, ger, yer, e + consonant + er, and é + consonant + er undergo internal spelling changes in certain tenses to preserve the sound of the conjugated verb form. Irregular verbs follow no particular pattern and must be memorized. Some verbs have irregularities in only some tenses. Verbals In English, verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) are words that are derived from verbs but are generally used as nouns or adjectives. Both present participles and gerunds end in ing and are distinguishable only by their use in a sentence. A present participle is used only as an adjective and a gerund is used only as a noun: I saw an amusing film. (amusing = adjective = present participle) Skiing is his favorite pastime. (skiing = noun = gerund) In French, a present participle may be used as an adjective or after the preposition en to express while or by : J ai vu un film amusant. Il parlait en regardant la télé. I saw an amusing film. He was speaking while watching television. In French, because a present participle may not be used as a noun, gerunds are expressed by the infinitive: Faire du ski est son passetemps favori. Skiing is his favorite pastime. FORMING THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE The present participle of all French verbs ends in ant, the English equivalent of ing. The present participle of most French verbs, whether regular or irregular, is formed by dropping the ons ending from the nous form of the present tense of the verb and adding ant, as shown in Table 2.

4 8 / Verbals Table 2 Forming the Present Participle Infinitive Nous Form of Present Present Participle parler (to speak) nous parlons parlant (speaking) finir (to finish) nous finissons finissant (finishing) attendre (to wait) nous attendons attendant (waiting) aller (to go) nous allons allant (going) boire (to drink) nous buvons buvant (drinking) commencer (to begin) nous commençons commençant (beginning) dire (to say, to tell) nous disons disant (saying) faire (to do) nous faisons faisant (doing) manger (to eat) nous mangeons mangeant (eating) sortir (to go out) nous sortons sortant (going out) venir (to come) nous venons venant (coming) voir (to see) nous voyons voyant (seeing) There are only three irregular present participles in French: Verb Nous Form Present Participle avoir (to have) nous avons ayant (having) être (to be) nous sommes étant (being) savoir (to know) nous savons sachant (knowing) USING THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE The present participle is used: With the preposition en to imply simultaneous actions: Elle est tombé en courant. (She fell [while, when, upon, on, as she was] running.) Tout may be used before en to add emphasis: Il parle tout en mangeant. (He speaks even while eating.) En + present participle may mean by. With the verbs commencer and finir, par + infinitive is used provided there is no direct object: Ils apprennent beaucoup en voyageant. (They learn a lot by traveling.) As-tu commencé par parler français? (Did you begin by speaking French?) Elle finit par rire. (She ends up laughing.) BUT: Il finit l histoire en riant. (He finishes the story by laughing.) Without the preposition en to show a cause, a reason, a motive, a condition, a result, an incidental circumstance, or an action that took place at the same moment as or immediately before the action of the main verb. When used as a verb, the present participle is invariable meaning that there is no agreement of the present participle with the subject: Étant fatigué, j ai cessé de travailler. (Being tired, I stopped working.) Il est sorti, oubliant son portefeuille. (He went out, forgetting his wallet.) Faisant ses devoirs, il a beaucoup appris. (Doing his homework, he learned a lot.) Nous parlions en regardant le film. (We were speaking while watching the film.) Elle est arrivée pleurant. (She arrived crying.)

5 Verbals / 9 Some present participles may be used as adjectives and must, therefore, agree in number and gender with the nouns or pronouns they modify. They generally follow the noun or pronoun: Nous avons entendu des nouvelles surprenantes. (We heard surprising news.) J ai trouvé ce livre intrigant. (I found that book intriguing.) The present participle can, but rarely does, replace a relative clause (qui + verb): Elle cherche des gens qui parlent français. (She is looking for people who speak French.) Elle cherche des gens parlant français. (She is looking for people speaking French.) The present participle cannot be used: To express the English present progressive form: to be + present participle. To express that an action is in progress, use the present tense or être en train de + infinitive: Ils jouent. (They are playing.) Ils sont en train de jouer. (They are playing.) To replace an English gerund (a noun ending in ing): Aimes-tu le ski? (Do you like skiing?) Faire des gâteaux est une science. (Baking is a science.) Nous le cacherons sans qu elle le sache. (We ll hide it without her knowing it.) FORMING THE PAST PARTICIPLE The past participle of regular French verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the endings shown in Table 3. Table 3 Forming the Past Participle Verb Family Infinitive Past Participle er travailler travaillé (worked) ir choisir choisi (chosen) re perdre perdu (lost) Some French verbs have irregular past participles that fall into the following groups: Those ending in i: rire (to laugh) suffire (to suffice) suivre (to follow) ri suffi suivi Those ending in is: acquérir (to acquire) asseoir (to seat) conquérir (to conquer) mettre (to put) prendre (to take) acquis assis conquis mis pris

6 10 / Verbals Those ending in it: conduire (to drive) construire (to construct) cuire (to cook) détruire (to destroy) dire (to say, to tell) écrire (to write) produire (to produce) traduire (to translate) conduit construit cuit détruit dit écrit produit traduit Those ending in u: apercevoir (to notice) avoir (to have) boire (to drink) connaître (to know) courir (to run) croire (to believe) devoir (to have to) lire (to read) paraître (to appear) plaire (to please) pouvoir (to be able to) recevoir (to receive) savoir (to know) se taire (to be quiet) tenir (to hold) valoir (to be worth) venir (to come) vivre (to live) vouloir (to want) aperçu eu bu connu couru cru dû lu paru plu pu reçu su tu tenu valu venu vécu voulu Those ending in ert: ouvrir (to open) offrir (to offer) souffrir (to suffer) Those ending in int: atteindre (to attain) craindre (to fear) éteindre (to extinguish) joindre (to join) peindre (to paint) plaindre (to pity) Those totally irregular: être (to be) faire (to make, to do) mourir (to die) naître (to be born) ouvert offert souffert atteint craint éteint joint peint plaint été fait mort né Any compound infinitive, an infinitive comprised of a prefix + a verb, forms its past participle according to the list above, for example: comprendre (to understand) couvrir (to cover) permettre (to permit) sourire (to smile) soutenir (to support) compris couvert permis souri soutenu

7 Verbals / 11 USING THE PAST PARTICIPLE In French, as in English, the past participle is used to form the seven compound (perfect) tenses, to form the passive voice with être (to be), and as an adjective: J ai étudié pour mon examen. Le lit n a pas été fait. Les fenêtres sont ouvertes. I studied for my test. The bed wasn t made. The windows are open. In French, compound tenses may be formed with avoir or être as the helping (auxiliary) verb that precedes the past participle. In order to select the correct helping verb, keep the following in mind: The overwhelming majority of verbs require avoir as their helping verb. Reflexive verbs (those whose infinitive is preceded by the reflexive pronoun se see Appendix D) always use être as their helping verb: Je me suis lavé la figure. (I washed my face.) The most common intransitive verbs (those that do not take a direct object) use être as their helping verb. These verbs generally show motion or change of place, state, or condition and include those shown in Table 4. Table 4 Verbs That Use être as Their Helping Verb Infinitive Meaning Past Participle aller to go allé arriver to arrive arrivé descendre * to go down descendu devenir to become devenu entrer to enter entré monter * to go up monté mourir to die mort naître to be born né partir to leave parti passer * to pass by passé rentrer * to return home rentré rester to remain resté retourner * to return retourné revenir to come back revenu sortir * to go out sorti tomber to fall tombé venir to come venu Verbs with an asterisk in Table 4 use avoir instead of être when they are followed by a direct object. Note the difference in meaning: J ai descendu l escalier. J ai descendu mon livre. Je suis descendu vite. Il a monté l escalier. Il a monté son livre. Il est monté lentement. I went downstairs. I took my book downstairs. I went down quickly. He went upstairs. He took his book upstairs. He went up slowly.

8 12 / Verbals J ai passé une semaine à Paris. Je suis passé par ta maison. Elle a rentré son chat. Elle est rentrée tôt. A-t-il retourné la table? Est-il retourné du Japon? Elles ont sorti leur argent. Elles sont sorties. I spent a week in Paris. I passed by your house. She brought her cat in. She came home early. Did he turn the table over? Did he return from Japan? They took out their money. They went out. AGREEMENT OF PAST PARTICIPLES Past participles of verbs conjugated with avoir agree in gender (add e for the feminine) and number (add s for the plural) with a preceding direct object noun, pronoun, or antecedent unless the direct object is linked to the infinitive and not to the conjugated verb: Je ne l ai pas entendu(e). Regarde la lettre que j ai écrite. Ces films? Je ne les ai pas encore vus. I didn t hear him (her). Look at the letter I wrote. Those films? I haven t seen them yet. BUT: Les filles? Je les ai entendu chanter. The girls? I heard them singing. Past participles of verbs conjugated with être agree in gender and number with the subject: Elle est arrivée en retard. Nous sommes venu(e)s à l heure. She arrived late. We came on time. Past participles of reflexive verbs agree with the reflexive pronoun only when that pronoun is acting as a direct object. When the reflexive pronoun serves as an indirect object (the direct object follows the verb), there is no agreement: Elles se sont lavées. Elles se sont lavé les cheveux. They washed themselves. They washed their hair. THE INFINITIVE Although the infinitive is a verb form, it may be used as a subject: Mentir est un péché. Lying is a sin. As a command (generally on signs and in recipes): À vendre. Ne pas toucher. Laisser refroidir. Faire bouillir l eau. Faire venir le docteur. For sale. Don t touch. Allow to cool. Boil the water. Send for the doctor.

9 Verbals / 13 Or as part of a question or an exclamation: Quoi faire? Oh, avoir encore vingt ans! What should we do? Oh, to be twenty again! Certain French verbs are followed by the infinitive, as shown in Table 5. Table 5 Verbs Followed by the Infinitive aimer aimer mieux aller compter désirer détester devoir entendre envoyer espérer faillir faire falloir laisser oser penser pouvoir préférer prétendre savoir souhaiter valoir mieux venir voir vouloir J aime danser. Sais-tu cuisiner? to like, to love to prefer to go to intend to wish, to want to hate to have to to hear to send to hope to almost do, to just miss doing to make to be necessary to let, to allow to dare to intend to be able to prefer to claim to know how to to wish to be better to come to see to wish, to want I like to dance. Do you know how to cook? The infinitive is used after all prepositions except en (which is followed by a present participle) and après (which is followed by the past infinitive). Many verbs require the preposition à before the infinitive, as shown in Table 6. Table 6 Verbs Requiring à Before the Infinitive aider à s amuser à apprendre à arriver à s attendre à avoir à chercher à to help to have fun to learn (teach) to to succeed in to expect to to have to to try to

10 14 / The Basics on Verbs commencer à consentir à consister à continuer à se décider à se disposer à demander à encourager à enseigner à forcer à s habituer à hésiter à inciter à s intéresser à inviter à se mettre à obliger à passer (du temps) à penser à persister à se plaire à se préparer à renoncer à rester à réussir à servir à songer à suffire à tenir à travailler à Il commence à pleuvoir. Ça ne sert à rien. to begin to to consent to to consist of to continue to to decide to to be disposed to ask to to encourage to to teach to to force to to get used to to hesitate to to incite to to be interested in to invite to to begin to to oblige to to spend (time) to think about to persist in to take pleasure in, to enjoy to prepare to to give up to remain to to succeed in to serve to to think about to be enough to to insist on to work to It is beginning to rain. That serves no purpose. Some verbs require the preposition de before the infinitive, as shown in Table 7. Table 7 Verbs Requiring de Before the Infinitive accepter de accuser de s agir de achever de s arrêter de blamer de cesser de choisir de se contenter de continuer de convenir de to accept to accuse of to be a question of to finish to stop to blame to stop to choose to be satisfied with to continue to be fitting

11 Verbals / 15 décider de défendre de se dépêcher de s efforcer de empêcher de essayer de s étonner de éviter de féliciter de finir de se garder de menacer de mériter de négliger de s occuper de offrir de oublier de parler de se passer de persuader de se plaindre de prier de promettre de proposer de recommander de refuser de regretter de remercier de reprocher de rêver de rire de risquer de se souvenir de suggérer de tâcher de se vanter de venir de J ai oublié de te téléphoner. L enfant tâche de nager. to decide to forbid to hurry to strive to prevent from to try to be surprised at to avoid to congratulate on to finish to take care not to to threaten to deserve to neglect to take care of to offer to forget to speak about to do without to persuade to complain about to beg, to ask to promise to propose to recommend to refuse to regret to thank for to reproach to dream about to laugh at to risk to remember to suggest to try to boast of to have just I forgot to call you. The child is trying to swim. Some verbs require the pattern à quelqu un + de before the infinitive, as shown in Table 8. Table 8 Verbs Requiring à quelqu un + de commander à quelqu un de conseiller à quelqu un de défendre à quelqu un de demander à quelqu un de to order (someone) to (do something) to advise (someone) to (do something) to forbid (someone) to (do something) to ask (someone) to (do something)

12 16 / Verbals dire à quelqu un de to tell (someone) to (do something) écrire à quelqu un de to write (to someone) to (do something) interdire à quelqu un de to forbid (someone) to (do something) offrir à quelqu un de to offer (someone) to (do something) ordonner à quelqu un de to order (someone) to (do something) permettre à quelqu un de to allow (someone) to (do something) promettre à quelqu un de to promise (someone) to (do something) proposer à quelqu un de to propose (to someone) to (do something) recommander à quelqu un de to recommend (to someone) to (do something) reprocher à quelqu un de to reproach (someone) for something suggérer à quelqu un de to suggest (to someone) to (do something) téléphoner à quelqu un de to telephone (someone) to (do something) La mère permet à ses enfants de sortir. The mother allows her children to go out. J ai suggéré à mon amie de m aider. I suggested that my friend help me. Two verbs that require à quelqu un + à before an infinitive are enseigner à quelqu un à apprendre à quelqu un à J apprends à mon neveu à conduire. to teach (someone) to (do something) to teach (someone) to (do something) I am teaching my nephew to drive. Some prepositions are commonly followed by an infinitive. afin de au lieu de avant de pour sans Paul regarde la télé au lieu de faire ses devoirs. in order to instead of before in order to, for the purpose of without Paul watches television instead of doing his homework. Note: After verbs of motion, the preposition pour is generally omitted. Il est descendu écouter la radio. He came downstairs to listen to the radio. Par may follow commencer and finir in certain idiomatic expressions. Il a commencé par parler français. Elles ont fini par rire. He began (by) speaking French. They ended up (by) laughing. Most nouns and adjectives are followed by de before an infinitive. C est une bonne idée de savoir nager. Elle est heureuse de rentrer. It s a good idea to know how to swim. She is happy to go home. Note: Certain adjectives and nouns may be followed by à before an infinitive that implies a passive meaning. Ce livre est difficile à comprendre. Ce tricot est facile à tricoter. This book is hard to understand. This sweater is easy to knit.

13 French Tenses and Moods / 17 The preposition à is used with certain nouns before an infinitive to express purpose or function: Regarde ma chambre à coucher. On n emploie plus une machine à écrire. Look at my bedroom. We no longer use a typewriter. The preposition à is used before an infinitive after le dernier (the last), le seul (the only), le premier (the first), and other numerals, and after a few adjectives showing tendency, fitness, and purpose, such as habile (skillful), lent (slow), and prêt (ready). Il est le dernier à arriver. Nous sommes prêts à partir. He is the last to arrive. We are ready to leave. THE PAST INFINITIVE The past infinitive is used to express a previous action regardless of the English translation and also after the preposition après. It is formed by using the correct helping verb (avoir or être) in its infinitive form and the past participle of the verb showing the action. On l a punie pour avoir menti. Elle est partie sans avoir dit merci. Après avoir dormi, ils se sont habillés. Après être arrivée, elle s est assise. They punished her for lying. She left without saying thank you. After having eaten, they got dressed. After having arrived, she sat down. NEGATING THE INFINITIVE Both parts of a negative precede the present infinitive. Je vous conseille de ne rien faire. Le docteur a dit de ne pas manger. I advise you not to do anything. The doctor said not to eat. With the past infinitive, both parts of a negative may precede the helping verb (avoir or être) or the second part of the negative may be placed between the helping verb and the past participle. Il regrette de ne pas m avoir dit au revoir. Il regrette de ne m avoir pas dit au revoir. He regrets not saying good-bye to me. Note: Personne, nul, and aucun always follow the infinitive or the past participle. Elle est triste de ne rencontrer personne. Elle est triste de n avoir rencontré personne. She is sad not to meet anyone. She is sad not to have met anyone. French Tenses and Moods There are seven simple and seven corresponding compound tenses and moods in French. Tense refers to a time period present, past, or future whereas a mood shows how the subject views the action. The tenses in French are the present, the imperfect, the past definite, and the future. The moods in French are the indicative (states a fact), the conditional (states what would happen under certain circumstances), the subjunctive (expresses a subjective response or attitude), the infinitive (the to form of the verb), and the imperative (command). A simple tense or mood consists of one verb tense form to express an action whereas

14 18 / French Tenses and Moods a compound tense requires the use of the appropriate helping verb (avoir or être) followed by a past participle expressing the action. Table 9 compares seven simple and compound tenses and moods in French. Table 9 Simple Tenses and Corresponding Compound Tenses/Moods Simple Tense/Mood Present le présent do/does; am/are/is Je parle. I speak, I do speak, I am speaking. Imperfect l imparfait was; used to Tu parlais. You were speaking. You used to speak. Past Definite (Simple Past) le passé simple have, did Il parla. He spoke. Future le futur will Nous parlerons. We will speak. Conditional le conditionnel would Vous parleriez. You would speak. Present Subjunctive le présent du subjonctif do/does; am/are/is; will; may ils parlent they (do, are, will, may) speak(ing) Imperfect Subjunctive l imparfait du subjonctif have/did/might on parlât they (have, did, might) speak Note the following: Compound Tense/Mood Past Indefinite (Compound Past) le passé composé have, did + past participle J ai parlé. I spoke, I have spoken, I did speak. Pluperfect le plus-que-parfait had + past participle Tu avais parlé. You had spoken. Past Anterior le passé antérieur had + past participle Il eut parlé. He had spoken. Future Perfect (Future Anterior) le futur antérieur will have + past participle Nous aurons parlé. We will have spoken. Conditional Perfect le conditionnel passé would have + past participle Vous auriez parlé. You would have spoken. Past Subjunctive le passé du subjonctif have/did/may have + past participle ils aient parlé they (did speak), (will, may) have spoken Pluperfect Subjunctive le plus-que-parfait du subjonctif had/might have + past participle on eût parlé they (had spoken) might have spoken Each compound tense requires a form of the helping verb avoir or être (which is conjugated in the corresponding simple tense) and a past participle. See page 139 for the complete conjugation of avoir and page 54 for the complete conjugation of être. The imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive appear only in literary and historical works and should be learned only for the purpose of recognition in those works.

15 French Tenses and Moods / 19 THE PRESENT AND THE PASSÉ COMPOSÉ The present indicative is a simple tense that expresses what is happening now. Its corresponding compound is the passé composé, a tense expressing an action or state of being that occurred at a particular time in the past. Forming the Present Tense of Regular Verbs To form the present tense of a regular verb in either the er, ir, or re family, simply drop the infinitive ending and add the appropriate endings for each subject shown in Table 10. Table 10 The Present Tense of Regular Verbs parler (to speak) finir (to finish) vendre (to sell) je parle je finis je vends tu parles tu finis tu vends il/elle/on parle il/elle/on finit il/elle/on vend nous parlons nous finissons nous vendons vous parlez vous finissez vous vendez ils/elles parlent ils/elles finissent ils/elles vendent The verb rompre (to break) and other compound verbs that include rompre in their stems, such as corrompre (to corrupt) and interrompre (to interrupt), add t to the third person singular form: il rompt, il corrompt, il interrompt. J aime le français. Vous maigrissez. Il rompt toujours ses promesses. I like French. You are getting thin. He always breaks his promises. Forming the Present of oir and evoir Verbs To form the present tense of the seven regular verbs that end in oir and evoir, drop the oir or evoir infinitive ending and add the endings shown in Table 11. All other verbs ending in oir (avoir, voir, etc.) are irregular and require memorization. Verbs ending in cevoir change c to ç before o and u to preserve the soft s sound. Table 11 The Present of oir and evoir Verbs Infinitive Meaning Subject Ending Conjugated Verb apercevoir to notice je ois aperçois concevoir to conceive tu ois conçois décevoir to deceive il oit déçoit devoir to owe, have to elle oit doit percevoir to perceive on oit perçoit recevoir to receive nous evons recevons redevoir to still owe vous evez redevez recevoir to receive ils oivent reçoivent Tu dois étudier. Je reçois le journal chaque jour. You have to study. I receive the newspaper every day.

16 20 / French Tenses and Moods Forming the Present of Verbs with Spelling Changes Regular verbs with spelling changes all belong to the er verb family. They are often called shoe verbs because their changes often occur in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, creating the effect of a shoe: je tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles There are five categories of verbs that require spelling changes: Verbs ending in cer: Change c to ç before a or o to maintain a soft sound. In the present, this occurs only in the nous form: prononcer (to prononce): je prononce, tu prononces, il prononce, nous prononçons, vous prononcez, ils prononcent Other cer verbs include annoncer, avancer, commencer, effacer (to erase), lancer (to throw), menacer, placer (to place), remplacer (to replace), and renoncer à (to give up). Nous commençons la leçon. Je renonce à fumer. We begin the lesson. I m giving up smoking. Verbs ending in ger: Insert a silent e between g and a and g and o to maintain a soft sound. In the present, this occurs only in the nous form: manger (to eat): je mange, tu manges, il mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils mangent Other ger verbs include arranger, changer, corriger (to correct), déménager (to move), déranger (to disturb), diriger (to direct), nager (to swim), obliger, partager (to divide), plonger (to dive), ranger (to tidy), songer à (to think about), and voyager. Manges-tu des legumes? Tu ne me dérange pas. Do you eat vegetables? You aren t bothering me. Verbs ending in yer: Change y to i before silent e in all shoe forms: employer (to use): j emploie, tu emploies, il emploie, nous employons, vous employez, ils emploient Other yer verbs include ennuyer (to bother), envoyer (to send), essuyer (to wipe), nettoyer (to clean), and renvoyer (to fire). Verbs that end in ayer may or may not change the y to i before a silent e. These verbs include essayer (to try) and payer. Je te paie demain. Nettoie ta chambre. I will pay you tomorrow. Clean your room. Verbs ending in e + consonant + er: Change the silent e before the infinitive ending to è for all forms within the shoe : acheter (to buy): je achète, tu achètes, il achète, nous achetons, vous achetez, ils achètent Other e + consonant + er verbs include achever (to finish), amener (to bring), élever (to bring up, to raise), emmener (to lead away), enlever (to remove), geler (to freeze), lever (to raise), peser (to weigh), and promener (to walk). Two common verbs, appeler (to call) and jeter (to throw), along with any related compound verb, such as rappeler (to recall), rejeter (to reject), projeter (to project), double the consonant before the infinitive ending in all forms within the shoe : appeler: j appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, nous appelons, vous appelez, ils appellent jeter: je jette, tu jettes, il jette, nous jetons, vous jetez, ils jettent

17 French Tenses and Moods / 21 J achète un cadeau à mon amie. Luc promène son chien dans le parc. I m buying a gift for my friend. Luke is walking his dog in the park. Verbs ending in é + consonant + er: Change é to è within the shoe : célébrer (to celebrate): je célèbre, tu célèbres, il célèbre, nous célébrons, vous célébrez, ils célèbrent Other é + consonant + er verbs include célébrer, espérer (to hope), posséder (to possess), préférer, protéger (to protect), and répéter (to repeat). Je célèbre mon anniversaire en mai. I celebrate my birthday in May. Nous préférons aller au cinema. We prefer going to the movies. The Present of Irregular Verbs Irregular verbs do not adhere to any set pattern of rules and, therefore, must be memorized. The most common present tense irregular verbs, which can be found in the charts that follow, are aller (to go) asseoir (to seat) avoir (to have) battre (to beat) boire (to drink) conduire (to drive) Verbs like conduire include construire (to construct), inscrire (to register), produire (to produce), and traduire (to translate). connaître (to know, to be acquainted with) Verbs like connaître include paraître (to appear), disparaître (to disappear), and reconnaître (to recognize). courir (to run) craindre (to fear) Verbs like craindre include atteindre (to reach), éteindre (to extinguish), joindre (to join), peindre (to paint), and plaindre (to pity). croire (to believe) cueillir (to pick) devoir (to have to, to owe) dire (to say, to tell) distraire (to distract) dormir (to sleep) Verbs like dormir keep the consonant before the ir ending in all plural forms: endormir (to put to sleep), mentir (to lie), partir (to go away), sentir (to feel, to smell), servir (to serve), sortir (to go out). écrire (to write) être (to be) faire (to make, to do) falloir (to be necessary) fuir (to flee) lire (to read) mettre (to put [on]) Verbs like mettre include commettre (to commit), permettre (to permit), promettre (to promise), and remettre (to put back). offrir (to offer) ouvrir (to open) paraître (to seem) A verb like paraître is apparaître (to appear). plaire (to please) pleuvoir (to rain)

18 22 / French Tenses and Moods pouvoir (to be able to) prendre (to take) Verbs like prendre include apprendre (to learn), comprendre (to understand), reprendre (to take back), and surprendre (to surprise). recevoir (to receive) Verbs like recevoir include apercevoir (to notice) and concevoir (to conceive). rire (to laugh) A verb like rire is sourire (to smile). savoir (to know [a fact]) suivre (to follow): A verb like suivre is poursuivre (to pursue). tenir (to hold) Verbs like tenir include appartenir à (to belong to), obtenir (to obtain), and retenir (to retain) vaincre (to defeat) A verb like vaincre is convaincre (to convince). valoir (to be worth) venir (to come) Verbs like venir include devenir (to become) and revenir (to come back). vivre (to live) A verb like vivre is survivre (to survive). voir (to see) vouloir (to wish, to want) Nous avons une grande maison. Je suis américaine. Il fait chaud aujourd hui. We have a big house. I am American. It s hot today. The Present of Impersonal Verbs Some verbs are only conjugated in the third person singular in all tenses where il means it. Consult the charts that follow to find these verbs in other tenses. advenir il advient it happens bruiner il bruine it s drizzling convenir il convient it s suitable dégeler il dégèle it s thawing falloir il faut it s necessary geler il gèle it s freezing grêler il grêle it s hailing importer il importe it s important neiger il neige it s snowing pleuvoir il pleut it s raining regeler il regèle it s freezing again tonner il tonne it s thundering Il faut étudier pour réussir. Il pleut à verse. It is necessary to study to succeed. It s raining cats and dogs.

19 The Present of Reflexive Verbs French Tenses and Moods / 23 A reflexive verb, one that shows that the subject is acting upon itself, can be identified by the reflexive pronoun se that precedes the infinitive. In the reflexive construction the subject and the reflexive pronoun refer to the same person. The reflexive pronoun may act either as a direct or an indirect object. Reflexive verbs, like all other verbs, are conjugated in the various tenses according to their infinitive ending and to any spelling changes or irregularities. Reflexive verbs, unlike other verbs however, must be preceded by their appropriate reflexive pronoun: Je me lave. Tu te rases. Il ne se lève pas. Elle ne se maquille pas. Nous préparons-nous bien? Vous brossez-vous les cheveux? Ne s amusent-ils pas? Ne se reposent-elles pas? Many verbs can be non-reflexive or reflexive depending upon whether the subject is acting upon itself or upon someone or something else. Elle lave le chien. Elle se lave. She is washing the dog. She is washing herself. When there is one subject that is followed by a conjugated verb and an infinitive, the reflexive pronoun is placed before the infinitive: Je vais me réveiller tôt. Il ne doit pas se peigner. I m going to wake up early. He doesn t have to comb his hair. A list of common reflexive verbs appears in Appendix D. Uses of the Present Tense The present tense is used to: Express what the subject does or is doing at the current time: Jean regarde la télévision. John watches television. John is watching television. John does watch television. Express an action that will take place in the near future: Je te téléphone ce soir. I ll call you tonight. Ask for instructions: Je viens à midi? Shall I come at noon? Express an action or event that began in the past and is continuing in the present: Depuis quand (combien de temps) habites-tu à Paris? J habite à Paris depuis un an. How long have you been living in Paris? I ve been living in Paris for a year. Other ways to express the same question and answer are Combien de temps y a-t-il que tu habites à Paris? Il y a un an que j habite à Paris. Ça fait combien de temps que tu habites à Paris? Ça fait un an que j habite à Paris. Voilà un an que j habite à Paris.

20 24 / French Tenses and Moods Forming the Passé Composé The passé composé (the compound past), also referred to as the past indefinite, is comprised of two parts: a helping verb conjugated in the present tense (avoir: j ai, tu as, il a, elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont, elles ont OR être: je suis, tu es, il est, elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont, elles sont) and a past participle (refer to Tables 3 and 4): Henri a mangé. Elles sont allées au cinéma. Nous nous sommes réveillés tôt. Henry ate. They went to the movies. We woke up early. The passé composé is negated by placing ne and the other negative word around pronouns that precede it and the conjugated helping verb: Henri n a rien mangé. Elles ne sont jamais allées au cinéma. Nous ne nous sommes pas réveillés tôt. Henry didn t eat anything. They never went to the movies. We didn t wake up early. Inversion may be used to form a question in the passé composé by reversing the order of the subject pronoun and the conjugated helping verb: Henri (n ) a-t-il (rien) mangé? Did(n t) Henry eat (anything)? (Ne) sont-elles (jamais) allées au cinéma? Did(n t) they (ever) go to the movies? (Ne) nous sommes-nous (pas) réveillés tôt? Did(n t) we wake up early? Uses of the Passé Composé The passé composé is used to express: A specific action or event that was started and completed at a definite time in the past (even if the time isn t mentioned): Nous avons joué au football. La petite fille est tombée. Ils se sont dépêchés. We played soccer. The little girl fell. They hurried. A specific action or event that occurred at a specific point in past time: M avez-vous téléphoné hier? Il est arrivé à deux heures. Ne t es-tu pas couché avant minuit? Did you call me yesterday? He arrived at two o clock. Did you go to bed before midnight? A specific action or event that was repeated for a stated number of times: J ai lu ce roman trois fois. Ils sont allés en Europe deux fois. Il s est rasé une seule fois hier. I read that book three times. They went to Europe twice. He shaved only once yesterday. The following words and expressions often require the use of the passé composé because they specify a definite past time: l année passée (last year) avant-hier (the day before yesterday) d abord (at first) enfin (finally) ensuite (then, next) l été passé/l hiver passé (last summer/last winter) finalement (finally) une fois (one time)

21 French Tenses and Moods / 25 hier (yesterday) hier soir (last night) l autre jour (the other day) ce jour-là (that day) un jour (one day) le mois passé (dernier) (last month) la semaine passée (dernière) (last week) soudain (suddenly) tout d un (à) coup (suddenly) Je suis allé au match de football hier. Tout d un coup elle a éternué. Je me suis couché tôt hier soir. I went to the soccer match yesterday. All of a sudden she sneezed. I went to bed early last night. For reflexive verbs in the passé composé and in all compound tenses, the reflexive pronoun is placed before the conjugated helping verb (être). The past participle agrees in number and gender with the preceding reflexive pronoun only when that pronoun serves as a direct object. When the reflexive pronoun serves as an indirect object, there is no agreement of the past participle. Elle s est lavée. Elle s est lavé la figure. She washed herself. She washed her face. THE IMPERFECT AND THE PLUPERFECT The imperfect is a simple tense that expresses or describes continuous, repeated, habitual, or incomplete actions, situations, or events in the past. The imperfect describes what was going on at an unspecific time in the past or what used to happen. Its corresponding compound is the pluperfect, a tense expressing an action or state of being that had taken place and that had been completed in the past before another action took place. Forming the Imperfect of Regular Verbs To form the imperfect tense of a regular verb in either the er, ir, or re family, simply drop the ons ending from the nous form of the present tense and add the appropriate endings for each subject shown in Table 12. Table 12 The Imperfect of Regular Verbs parler (to speak) finir (to finish) perdre (to lose) nous parlons nous finissons nous perdons je parlais je finissais je perdais tu parlais tu finissais tu perdais il/elle/on parlait il/elle/on finissait il/elle/on perdait nous parlions nous finissions nous perdions vous parliez vous finissiez vous perdiez ils/elles parlaient ils/elles finissaient ils/elles perdaient Je regardais les enfants jouer. Il choisissait toujours la glace comme dessert. Ce marchand vendait les vêtements de sport. I was watching the children play. He would always choose ice cream as dessert. This merchant used to sell sports clothes.

22 26 / French Tenses and Moods Note: Verbs such as étudier (to study), rire (to laugh), sourire (to smile), and vérifier (to check) end in ions in the present. When ons is dropped to form the imperfect, two i s are present in the nous and vous forms: Nous étudiions. Riiez-vous? We were studying. Were you laughing? Forming the Present Imperfect of Verbs with Spelling Changes Verbs ending in cer change c to ç before a to maintain the soft c sound in the je, tu, il (elle), and ils (elles) forms: Je lançais la balle. Effaçais-tu les fautes? Le spectacle commençait. Les voitures avançaient rapidement. I was throwing the ball. Were you erasing the mistakes? The show was beginning. The cars were advancing quickly. Verbs ending in ger change g to ge before a to maintain the soft g sound in the je, tu, il (elle), and ils (elles) forms: Quand j étais jeune, je mangeais peu. Voyageais-tu beaucoup? Ma soeur me dérangeait toujours. Dirigeaient-ils une grande enterprise? When I was young, I would eat little. Did you used to travel a lot? My sister would always bother me. Did they manage a big company? The Imperfect of Irregular Verbs All remaining verbs, including reflexive verbs, follow the same rules for the formation of the imperfect as do regular verbs, except for the verb être. A list of the nous form of the most common irregular verbs follows. Simply drop the ons ending and add the imperfect endings shown above: aller (to go): nous allons avoir (to have): nous avons boire (to drink): nous buvons conduire (to drive): nous conduisons connaître (to know): nous connaissons courir (to run): nous courons craindre (to fear): nous craignons croire (to believe): nous croyons devoir (to have to): nous devons dire (to say, to tell): nous disons dormir (to sleep): nous dormons écrire (to write): nous écrivons faire (to make, to do): nous faisons lire (to read): nous lisons mettre (to put): nous mettons offrir (to offer): nous offrons ouvrir (to open): nous ouvrons plaire (to please): nous plaisons pouvoir (to be able to): nous pouvons prendre (to take): nous prenons recevoir (to receive): nous recevons

23 French Tenses and Moods / 27 savoir (to know): nous savons suivre (to follow): nous suivons tenir (to hold): nous tenons valoir (to be worth): nous valons venir (to come): nous venons vivre (to live): nous vivons voir (to see): nous voyons vouloir (to wish, to want): nous voulons Ils venaient toujours à l heure. Savais-tu les règles? They always came on time. Did you know the rules? Notes: For être, use the imperfect endings with the stem: ét : j étais, tu étais, il (elle) était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils (elles) étaient. Nous étions heureux. We were happy. For reflexive verbs, simply place the reflexive pronoun before the verb. Ils se dépêchaient. They were hurrying. The Imperfect of Impersonal Verbs For verbs conjugated in the third person singular where il means it, consult the chart that follows to find these verbs in the imperfect. advenir il advenait it was happening bruiner il bruinait it was drizzling convenir il convenait it was suitable dégeler il dégelait it was thawing falloir il fallait it was necessary geler il gelait it was freezing grêler il grêlait it was hailing importer il importait it was important neiger il neigeait it was snowing pleuvoir il pleuvait it was raining regeler il regelait it was freezing again tonner il tonnait it was thundering Il importait faire le ménage. Il neigeait. It was important to do the housework. It was snowing. Uses of the Imperfect The imperfect is used to: Describe ongoing, continuous, habitual, or repeated actions or events in the past (which may or may not have been completed): Je travaillais tous les jours. I worked (used to work, would work) every day.

24 28 / French Tenses and Moods Describe what was going on when something else happened: Je travaillais quand il m a téléphoné. I was working when he called. Describe a person, place, thing, or state of mind: Les oiseaux chantaient. The birds were singing. Express the day, month, or time of day: C était samedi. It was Saturday. Express an action or event that began in the past and continued for some time in the past: Depuis quand (combien de temps) habitais-tu à Paris? J habitais à Paris depuis un an. How long had you been living in Paris? I had been living in Paris for a year. Other ways to express the same question and answer are Combien de temps y avait-t-il que tu habitais à Paris? Il y avait un an que j habitais à Paris. Ça faisait combien de temps que tu habitais à Paris? Ça faisait un an que j habitais à Paris. Voilà un an que j habitais à Paris. Express two actions occurring simultaneously: Elle riait pendant que je pleurais. She was laughing while I was crying. The following words and expressions often require the use of the imperfect because they usually imply repetitious or habitual past actions: autrefois (formerly) chaque jour (semaine, mois, année) (each [every] day [week, month, year]) de temps à autre (from time to time) de temps en temps (from time to time) d habitude (usually) d ordinaire (usually, generally) en ce temps-là (at that time) en général (generally) fréquemment (frequently) généralement (generally) habituellement (habitually) parfois (sometimes) quelquefois (sometimes) souvent (often) toujours (always) tous les jours (mois) (every day [month]) tout le temps (all the time) Mon mari jouait au golf tout le temps. Nous allions souvent en France. My husband used to play golf all the time. We often went to France. Verbs that indicate a state of mind in the past are generally used in the imperfect. When the state of mind occurred at a specific time in the past, however, the passé composé is used: aimer (to like, to love) croire (to believe) désirer (to desire) espérer (to hope) être (to be)

25 French Tenses and Moods / 29 penser (to think) pouvoir (to be able to) préférer (to prefer) regretter (to regret, to be sorry) savoir (to know [how]) vouloir (to want) Je ne pouvais pas continuer à travailler. Soudain, je n ai pas pu continuer à travailler. I wasn t able to continue working. Suddenly I wasn t able to continue working. Forming the Pluperfect The pluperfect is comprised of two parts: a helping verb conjugated in the present tense (avoir: j avais, tu avais, il avait, elle avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils avaient, elles avaient OR être: j étais, tu étais, il était, elle était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient, elles étaient) and a past participle (refer to Tables 3 and 4): Ils avaient parlé. Elle est arrivée tôt. Tu t étais préparé avec soin. They had spoken. She had arrived early. You had prepared yourself carefully. The pluperfect is negated by placing ne and the other negative word around pronouns that precede it and the conjugated helping verb: Ils n avaient pas parlé. Elle n était jamais arrivée tôt. Tu ne t étais pas préparé avec soin. They hadn t spoken. She had never arrived early. You hadn t prepared yourself carefully. Inversion may be used to form a question in the pluperfect by reversing the order of the subject pronoun and the conjugated helping verb: (N ) Avaient-ils (pas) parlé? (N ) Était-elle (jamais) arrivée tôt? (Ne) T es-tu (pas) préparé avec soin. Had(n t) they spoken? Had(n t) she (ever) arrived early? Had(n t) you prepared yourself carefully? Use of the Pluperfect The pluperfect is used to express a specific action or event that had taken place and had been completed before another action (not necessarily mentioned, but if so, generally in the passé composé or the imperfect) took place. Y aviez-vous réfléchi avant d agir? Il était resté à la maison. Quand je me suis habillé, je m étais déjà lavé. Quand j allais à l école, mes parents étaient déjà partis au bureau. Had you thought about it before acting? He had stayed home. When I got dressed, I had already washed myself. When I would go to school, my parents had already left for the office. THE PAST DEFINITE AND THE PAST ANTERIOR The past definite (passé simple) is a simple tense that is used primarily in formal, literary, and historical writings to express completed actions, situations, or events in the past. The passé composé is used in conversation and informal writing. The corresponding compound