Collins Easy Learning French Grammar (Gnv64)

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Collins French

Crammar

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Maree

Airlie

CONTRIBUTORS

WendyLee Cadlle Amiot-Cadey Di Larkin We would like to give special thanks to Di Larkin, Foreign Languages Consultant, and Irene Muir, Faculty Head, Belmont House School, for all their advice on

teaching practice in today's classroom.

Their contributions have been invaluable in the writing of this book.

CONTENTS Foreword for language teachers

V

Introduction for students Glossary of grammar terms

vi vill

Nouns

1

Using nouns Gender Forming plurals

1

2 9

Articles Different types of article The definite article: le, la, l' and les The indefinite article: un, une and des The partitive article: du, de la, de l'and des

Adjectives

't9 22 25

Using adjectives Making adiectives agree Word order with adjectives Comparatives and superlatives of adjectives Demonstrative adjectives: ce, cette, cet and ces Possessive adjectives Indefinite adjectives

Pronouns Personal pronouns: subject Personal pronouns: direct object Personal pronouns: indirect object

12 12 13

25

27 32 34 37 39

4'l

42 43 .

47 49

Emphatic pronouns

51

Possessive pronouns

54 56

en and y Using different types of pronoun together Indefinite pronouns Relative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns Verbs The three coniugations The present tense The present tense: regular -er (first conjugation) verbs The present tense: regular -ir (second conjugation) verbs The present tense: regular -re (third conjugation) verbs The present tense: spelling changes in -er verbs The present tense: irregular verbs The imperative Reflexive verbs

59 60 62 65

69 69 71

72 74 76 78

82 85

88

The imperfect tense The future tense The conditional The perfect tense The pluperfect tense The passive The present participle

92 98 105

lmpersonal verbs The subjunctive

127

Verbs followed by an infinitive

133

Other uses of the infinitive

"t37

111

1't9 122

12s 129

Negatives

138

Questions How to ask a question in French

142

Question words

Adverbs How adverbs are used How adverbs are formed Comparatives and superlatives of adverbs Some common adverbs Word order with adverbs Prepositions How prepositions are used i, de and en Some other common prepositions Prepositions consisting of more than one word Prepositions after verbs Prepositions after adjectives

Conjunctions

et mais, ou, parce que and si Some other common conjunctions The conjunction que

142 146 ',52

1s2

The fosy Leorning French Crommar is designed to be used with both young and adult learners, as a group reference book to complement your course book during classes, or as a recommended text for self-study and homework/coursework. The text specifically targets learners from ab initio to intermediate or CCSE level, and therefore its structural content and vocabulary have been matched to the relevant specifications up to and including Higher CCSE. The approach aims to develop knowledge and understanding of grammar and your learners' ability to apply it by:

r

155 157 160

defining parts of speech at the start of each major section with examples in English to clarify concepts

e minimizing the use of grammar terminology and providing clear explanations of terms both within the text and in the Glossary

'152

o illustrating all points with examples (and their translations) based on topics and contexts which are relevant to beginner and intermediate course content

162

The text helps you develop positive attitudes to grammar learning in your

162 163

classes by:

17'l

177

178 183 "184

184 186 187

Numbers

188

Time and date Some common difficulties The alphabet Main index

190 193

Verb tables Verb index

FOREWORD FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS

198

199 1-94 95-105

Note on trademarks Entered words which we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such. However, neither the presence nor the absence of such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark.

o giving clear, easy-to-follow explanations o prioritizing content according to relevant specifications for the . sequencing points to reflect course content, e.g. verb tenses o highlighting useful Tips to deal with common difficulties

.

levels

summarizing Key points at the end of sections to consolidate learning

In addition to fostering success and building a thorough foundation in French grammar, the optional Grammar Extra sections will encourage and challenge your learners to further their studies to higher and advanced levels.

INTRODUCTION FOR STUDENTS Whether you are starting to learn French for the very first time, brushing up on topics you have studied in class, or revising for your CCSE exams, the fosy Leorning French Grommor is here to help. This easy-to-use guide takes you through all the basics you will need to speak and understand modern, everyday French. Newcomers can sometimes struggle with the technical terms they come across when they start to explore the grammar of a new language. fhe Eosy Leorning French Crammor explains how to get to grips with all the parts of speech you will need to know, using simple language and cutting out jargon. The text is divided into sections, each dealing with a particular area of grammar. Each section can be studied individually, as numerous crossreferences in the text point you to relevant points in other sections of the book

for further information. Every major section begins with an explanation of the area of grammar covered on the following pages. For quick reference, these definitions are also collected together on pages viii-xii in a glossary of essential grammar terms.

What is a verb? A verb is a 'doing' word which describes what someone or something does, what someone or something is, or what happens to them, for

rtp lf you are in doubt as to which form of you use vous and you will not offend anybody.

to

use,

it

is safest

to

Key points sum up all the important facts about a particular area of grammar, to save you time when you are revising and help you focus on the main

grammatical points.

y'

y' y' y' (

Key points

Wittr masculine singular nouns Witn feminine singular nouns witn plural nouns r use des. un, une and des sentences.

*

+ use un. i use une.

change to de or

d'in

negative

tne indefinite article is not usually used when you say what jobs people do, or in exclamations with quel.

lf you think you would like to continue with your French studies to a higher level, check out the Grammar Extra sections. These are intended for advanced students who are interested in knowing a little more about the structures they will come across beyond CCSE.

exampfe, be, sing, live.

Orammar Extra! Each grammar point in the text is followed by simple examples of real French, complete with English translations, helping you understand the rules. Underlining has been used in examples throughout the text to highlight the grammatical point being explained.

l

lf you are talking about a part of your body, you usually use a word like my or his in English, but in French you usually use the definite article.

Tourne la tete i gauche. ll s'est cass6 le bras. J'ai mal d la gorge.

Turn your head to the left. He's broken his arm. l've got a sore throat.

ln French, as with any foreign language, there are certain pitfalls which have to be avoided. Tips and Information notes throughout the text are useful reminders of the things that often trip learners up.

lf you want to use an adjective after quelque chose, rien, quelqu'un and personne, you link the words with de. quelqu'un d'important someone important quelque chose gl'int6ressant something interesting rien d'amusant nothing funny

Finally, the supplement at the end of the book contains Verb Tables, where 93

important French verbs (both regular and irregular) are declined in full. Examples show you how to use these verbs in your own work. lf you are unsure of how a verb declines in French, you can look up the Verb Index on pages 95-1 05 to find either the conjugation of the verb itself, or a crossreference to a model verb, which will show you the patterns that verb follows. We hope that you will enjoy using the Eosy Learning French Grqmmor and fnd it useful in the course of your study.

GLOSSARY OF GRAMMAR TERMS ABSTRACT NOUN a word used to refer to a quality, idea, feeling or experience, rather than a physical object for example, size, reoson, hoppiness. Compare with concrete

example, wolk, have, be, go. Compare

with infinitive. CARDINAL NUMBER a number used in counting, for example, onet seven/ ninety. Compare with ordinal

noun.

number.

ADf ECTIVE a 'describing' word that

CLAUSE a group of words containing a verb.

tells you more about a person or thing, such as their appearance, colour, size or other qualities, for example, pretty, blue, big. ADVERB a word usually used with verbs, adjectives or other adverbs that gives more information about

when, where, how or in what circumstances something happens, for example, quickly, happily now. AGREE

(to) to change word endings

according to whether you are referring to masculine, feminine, singular or plural people or things. AGREEMENT changing word endings according to whether you are referring to masculine, feminine, singular or plural people or things. APOSTROPHE s an ending ('s) added to a noun to show who or what someone or something belongs to, for example, Danielle's dog, the doctor's wife, the book's cover. ART|CLE a word like the, o and an, which is used in front of a noun. See also definite article, indefinite

article and partitive article. AUXILIARY VERB a verb such as be, hove and do when it is used with a main verb to form tenses, negatives and questions. BASE FORM the form of the verb without any endings added to it, for

COMPARATIVE an adjective or adverb with -er on the end of it or more or /ess in front of it that is used to compare people, things or actions, for example, slower, less importont, more corefully.

COMPOUND NOUN a word for a living being, thing or idea, which is made up of two or more words, for example, tin-opener, roilway stotion. CONCRETE NOUN a word that refers to an object you can touch with your hand, rather than to a quality or idea, for example, ball, map, opples. Compare with abstract noun. CONDITIONAL a verb form used to talk about things that would happen or would be true under certain conditions, for example, I would help you if I could. lt is also used to say what you would like or need, for example, Could you give me the bill? CONIUGATE (to) to give a verb different endings according to whether you are referring to I, you, they and so on, and according to whether you are referring to past present or future, for example, I hove, she had, they will hove. CONfUGATION a group of verbs which have the same endings as each other or change according to the same pattern.

CON|UNCTION a word such as and, becouse or but that links two words or phrases of a similar type or two parts of a sentence, for example, Diqne and I hove been friends for yeors.; I left because I was bored.

CONSONANT a letter of the alphabet which is not a vowel, for example, b, f, m, s, y etc. Compare with vowel. CONSTRUCTION an arrangement of words together in a phrase or sentence. DEFINITE ARTICLE the word the.

Compare with indefinite article. DEMONSTRATIVE ADTECTIVE one of the words this, thot, these and those used with a noun to point out a particular person or thing, for example, this woman, thot dog. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN one of the words this, thqt, these and those used instead of a noun to point out people or things, for example, Ihot looks fun.

DIRECT OBTECT a noun referring to

the person or thing affected by the action described by a verb, for exampfe, She wrote her nome.; I shut the window. Compare with indirect

window?'

-'He did.' Also called

stressed pronoun. ENDING a form added to a verb, for example, go-> gogg and to adjectives and nouns depending on whether they refer to masculine, feminine, singular or plural things. EXCLAMATION a word, phrase or sentence that you use to show you are surprised, shocked, angry and so on, for exampfe/ Wow!; How dore you!; What o surprise! FEMININE a form of noun, pronoun or adjective that is used to refer to a living being, thing or idea that is not classed as masculine. FUTURE a verb tense used to talk

about something that will happen or

will be true. GENDER whether a noun, pronoun

or adjective is feminine or masculine. IMPEMTIVE the form of a verb used when giving orders and instructions, for example, Shut the door!; Sit down!; Dont go! IMPERFECT one of the verb tenses

used to talk about the pasf especially in descriptions, and to say what was happening or used to happen, for example, I used to walk to school; It was sunny at the weekend. Compare

object.

with perfect.

DIRECT OBTECT PRONOUN a word such as me, him, us and them which is used instead of a noun to stand in

not refer to a real person or thing

for the person or thing most directly affected by the action described by the verb. Compare with indirect

object pronoun. EMPHATIC PRONOUN a word used instead of a noun when you want to emphasize something, for example, ls this for me?; 'Who broke the

IMPERSONAL VERB one which does

and where the subject is represented by it, for example, lt's going to ioin;

It's 10 o'clock INDEFINITE ADIECTIVE one of a small group of adjectives used to talk about people or things in a general way, without saying who or what they are, for example, several, oll, every.

INDEFINITE ARTICLE the words o and an. Compare with definite article.

for example, Whsls hoppening?;

PART OF SPEECH a word class, for

Who's coming?

INDEFINITE PRONOUN a small

INVARIABLE used to describe a form which does not change.

exampfe, noun, verb, odjective, preposition, pronoun.

group of pronouns such

as

everything, nobody and something,

which are used to refer to people or things in a general way, without saying exactly who or what they are. INDIRECT OBf ECT a noun used with verbs that take two objects. For example, in I gove the carrot to the robbit, the rqbbitis the indirect object and carrot is the direct object. Compare with direct object. INDIRECT OBIECT PRONOUN when a verb has two objects (a direct one and an indirect one), the indirect object pronoun is used instead of a noun to show the person or the

IRREGULAR VERB a verb whose forms do not follow a general pattern or the normal rules. Compare with regular verb.

MASCULINE a form of noun, pronoun or adjective that is used to refer to a living being, thing or idea that is not classed as feminine. NEGATIVE a question or statement which contains a word such as not, never or nothing, and is used to say

that something is not happening, not true or is absenf for example,

is

I never eat meot; Don't you love me?

PARTITIVE ARTICLE the words sorne or eny, used to refer to part of a

thing but not all of it, for example,

PASSIVE a form of the verb that is

used when the subject of the verb is the person or thing that is affected

by the action, for example t we were told. PAST PARTICIPLE a verb form which is used to form perfect and pluperfect tenses and passives, for example, wotched, swum. Some past participles are also used as adjectives,

NOUN a'naming'word for a living being, thing or idea, for example,

for exampfe, a broken watch.

He gave me q book

womary desk, hoppiness, Andrew.

to talk about the past especially about actions that took place and

me a towel? Compare

with direct

object pronoun. INDIRECT QUESTION used to tell someone else about a question and introduced by a verb such as osk, tell or wonder, for example, He osked me whot the time wos; I wonder who he is. INFINITIVE the form of the verb with fo in front of it and without any endings added, for example, to wolk, to hove, to be, to go. Compare with base form. INTERROGATIVE ADIECTIVE a question word used with a noun to ask who?, whqfT or which? for example, Whqt instruments do you ploy?; Which shoes do you like? INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN one of the words who, whose, whom, what and which when they are used instead of a noun to ask questions,

NUMBER used to say how many things you are referring to or where something comes in a sequence. See also ordinal number and cardinal number. OBTECT a noun or pronoun which refers to a person or thing that is affected by the action described by the verb. Compare with direct obiect, indirect object and subject. OBIECT PRONOUN one of the set of pronouns including me, him and them, which are used instead of the noun as the object of a verb or preposition. Compare with subject

pronoun. ORDINAL NUMBER a number used to indicate where something comes in an order or sequence, for example, first, fifth, sixteenth. Compare with cardinal number.

,

Have you got Sny money?; l'm going to buy some breod.

thing the action is intended to benefit or harm, for example, me in and Cqn you get

person or thing. Compare with singular.

PERFECT one

of the verb tenses used

were completed in the past. Compare with imperfect. PERSON one of the three classes: the first person (1, we), the second person

(you singular and you plural), and the third person (he, she, it and they). PERSONAL PRONOUN one of the group of words including l, you and they which are used to refer to yourself, the people you are talking to, or the people or things you are talking about. PLUPERFECT

one of the verb tenses

used to describe something that had happened or had been true at a point in the past, for example, /'of forqotten to finish mv homework. PLURAL the form of a word which is used to refer to more than one

POSSESSIVE ADf ECTIVE one of the words m1q your, his, her, its, our or their, used with a noun to show that one person or thing belongs to

another. POSSESSIVE PRONOUN one of the words mine, yours, hers, his, ours or theirs, used instead of a noun to show that one person or thing

belongs to another. PREPOSITION is a word such as af, for; with, into or from, which is usually followed by a noun, pronoun or, in Engfish, a word ending in -ing. Prepositions show how people and things relate to the rest of the sentence, for example, She's of home; a tool fel cutting gross; lt's from Dovid. PRESENT a verb form used to talk about what is true at the moment what happens regularly, and what is happening now, for example, /'m o student; I trqvel to college by train; l'm

studvino lonauqses. PRESENT PARTICIPLE a verb form ending in -ing which is used in English to form verb tenses, and which may be used as an adjective or a noun, for example, What ore you

doing?; the setting sun; Swimming is easy!

PRONOUN a word which you use instead of a noun, when you do not need or want to name someone or something directly, for example, lf, you, none. PROPER NOUN the name of a person/ place, organization or thing. Proper nouns are always written with a capitaf letter, for example, Kevin, Glasgow, Europe, London Eye.

described by the verb, for example, My cqt doesn't drink milk. Compare

QUESTION WORD a word such as why, where, who, which or how which is used to ask a question.

with object.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUN a word

SUBTECT PRONOUN a

ending in -self or -selves, such

as

myself or themselves, which refers

back to the subject, for example, He hurt himself.; Toke care of ypunell. REFLEXIVE VERB a verb where the subject and object are the same, and where the action 'reflects back' on the subject. A reflexive verb is used with a reflexive pronoun such as myself, yourself, herself, for example,

word such as l, he, she and theywhich carries out

the action described by the verb. Pronouns stand in for nouns when it is clear who is being talked about, for example, My brother isn't here ot the moment. He'll be back in an hour. Compare with object pronoun. SUBTUNCTIVE a verb form used in certain circumstances to express

some sort of feeling, or to show

I wqshed myself.; He shaved himself.

doubt about whether something will

REGULAR VERB a verb whose forms

happen or whether something is true. lt is only used occasionally in modern English, for example, /f / were you, I wouldn't bother.; So be it.

follow a general pattern or the normal rules. Compare with irregular verb. RELATIVE PRONOUN a word such as thot, who or which, when it is used to link two parts of a sentence together. SENTENCE a group of words which usually has a verb and a subject. In writing, a sentence has a capital letter at the beginning and a full

stop, question mark or exclamation mark at the end. SINGULAR the form of a word which is used to refer to one person or

thing. Compare with plural. STEM the main part of a verb to which endings are added. STRESSED PRONOUN used instead

of a noun when you want to emphasize something, for example, ls this for me?; 'Who broke the window?'

-'Hs

did.' Also called

emphatic pronoun. SUBIECT the noun in a sentence or phrase that refers to the person or

thing that does the action described by the verb or is in the state

NOUNS

SUPERLATIVE an adlective or adverb with -esf on the end of it or mosf or /eosf in front of it that is used to

compare people, things or actions, for example, thinnesL most quickly,

What

is a noun? A noun is a 'naming'word for a living being, thing or idea, for example,

womont happiness, Andrew.

Using nouns D In French, all nouns

are either masculine or feminine. This is called their gender. Even words for things have a gender.

D Whenever you are using a noun, you need to know whether it is mascullne or feminine as this affects the form of other words used with it, such as:

o adiectives that describe it o articles (such as le or une) that go before it . pronouns (such as il or elle) that replace it t)

im-po-ssi-ble (4 syllobles).

dictionary. When you come across a new noun, always learn the word for the or o that goes with it to help you remember its gender.

o le or un before a noun tells you it is masculine o la or une before a noun tells you it is feminine D We refer to something

as singular when we are talking about just one of them, and as plural when we are talking about more than one. The singular is the form of the noun you will usually find when you look a noun up in the dictionary. As in English, nouns in French change their form in the plural.

TENSE the form of a verb which

shows whether you are referring to the past, present or future. VERB a

'doing'word which

describes what someone or something does, what someone or something is, or

pages 25, 12

D You can find information about gender by looking the word up in a

leqst interesting.

SYLIABLE consonant+vowel units that make up the sounds of a word, for example, co-the-dral (3 sylloble),

For more informotion on Adjectives, Articles or Pronouns, see

and 42.

)

Adjectives, articles and pronouns are also affected by whether a noun singular or plural.

what happens to them, for example, be, sing, Iive.

VOWEL one of the letters o, e, i, o or u. Compare with consonant.

Remember that you have to use the right word for the, o and so on according to the gender of the French noun.

is

2

Nourus

Nourus 3

Gender

',21 Nouns referring to animals

tr

>

l

Nouns referring to people Most nouns referring to men and boys are masculine.

un homme un roi

ln English we can choose between words like bull or cow, depending on the sex of the animal we are referring to. In French too there are sometimes separate words for male and female animals. un taureau a bull

a man a king

une vache

F

Most nouns referring to women and girls are feminine. a girl une fille une reine a queen

)

When the same word is used to refer to either men/boys or women/girls, its gender usually changes depending on the sex of the person it refers to. un camarade a (male) friend a (female) friend une camarade

Sometimes, the same word with different endings is used for male and female animals.

un chien une chienne

une Belge

Words for other animals do not change according to the sex of the animal. Just learn the French word with its gender, which is always the same.

Some words for people have only one possible gender, whether they refer to a male or a female. a (male or female) baby

une personne une vedette

a (male or female) person

a (male or female) guide

un

make a word masculine or feminine by changing the ending, for example, Englishngn and EnglishwpmsL or prince and princess. In French, very often the ending of a noun changes depending on whether it refers to a man or a woman.

un prince

a prince a princess

une princcssc un employ6 une employ6e

+

For further explanation of grammatical

tems, please see pages viii-xii.

a mouse

There are lots of rules to help you:

o

words ending in -e are generally feminine (une boulangerie a baker's; une banque a bank)

o

words ending in a consonant (any letter except e, e, i, o or u) are generally masculine (un a6ropo{ an airporf un film a film)

are some exceptions to these rules, so it is best to check in dictionary if you are unsure.

a (female) employee

snd feminine forms of words,

L

D There

a (male) employee

For more informotion on Masculine

a fish

French, however, things are either masculine or feminine. As things do not divide into sexes the way humans and animals do, there are no physical clues to help you with their gender in French. Try to learn the gender as you learn the word.

D In English, we can sometimes

an Englishman an Englishwoman

poisson

une souns

11] Nouns referring to thinqs ) ln English, we call all things - for example, toble, cor, book, apple - 'i( . ln

a (male or female) star

un Anglais une Anglaise

a (female) dog, a bitch

When you do not know or care what sex the animal is, you can usually use the masculine form as a general word.

Grammar Extn!

un b6b6 un guide

a (male) dog

rrp

a Belgian (man) a Belgian (woman)

un Belge

a cow

see

poge 7.

a

4 )

Nourus 5

Nourus

-on

These endings are often found on masculine nouns. Masculine ending

Examples

-age

un villaqe a village un voyagg a journey un 6tage a floor le fromage cheese BUT:

-olr

-sme

>

The following types of word are also masculine:

.

names of the days of the week, and the months and seasons of the year

le lundi septembre prochain le printemps

o

un mirqL a mirror un couloir a corridor le sqL the evening un mouchoir a handkerchief

Tu apprends le frangais

French

Portuguese

depuis

combien de temps? o most metric weights and measures un gramme

le racisme racism

un mdtre un kilomitre

o

la peau skin

D

How long have you been learning French?

a gramme a metre a kilometre

English nouns used in French

le football un tee-shirt un sandwich

BUT:

football a tee-shirt a sandwich

These endings are often found on feminine nouns.

-eu

un leu a oame

Feminine endinq

-ou

un cheu a cabbage le genou the knee

-anGe

-rel

le cahier the exercise book un quaillel an area un escalier a staircase

-anse -ence -ense

Examples la chance luck, chance une danse a dance la patience patience la d6fense defence

-ton

lc silence silence une r6gion a region

BUT:

une addition a bill une r6union a meeting la circulatlon traffic BUT:

BUT:

la fin the end une main a hand

Spring

the names of languages le frangais

le tourismc tourism

un magas!4 a shop un jardin a garden un dessin a drawing le vin the wine

Monday next September

le portugais

un cadeau a present un chapeau a hat un gdteeu a cake le rideau the curtain

-tn

un ballon a ball le citrgn the lemon BUN

un appartement a flat un b6timent a building le ciment cement un vGtement a garment

lleau water

un champignon a mushroom

une maison a house la saison the season

une image a picture une page a page la plage the beach

-ment

I

-t6 -ti6

un avion a plane une sp6cialit6 a speciality la moiti6 half BUT:

For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

un 6t6 a summer le p6t6 p6t6

6

Nourus 7

Nourus

4l

Grammar E>
Masculine

Meaning

Example

Feminine

Meaning

Example

un livre

a book

un livre de

une livre

a pound

poche

une livre sterling

a paperback

a pound

D In French there are sometimes

very different words for men and women, and for male and female animals, just as in English.

sterling

un mode

a method

le mode

la mode

fashion

d'emploi

d la mode in fashion

the directions

for un poste

a set

un poste de

(TV/rodio)'

professeur a teaching job

a post (job);

>

use

la poste

posr the post

mettre quelque

office

chose

a turn; a walk

la

tower

walk

un taureau une vache

a bull

un neveu une nidce

a nephew a niece

y' y' y' y'

a (female) friend

un employ6 une employ6e

a (male) employee a (female) employee

Eiffel the

un Frangais

Eiffel Tower

une Frangaisg

a Frenchman a Frenchwoman

la

tour

Key points Vtost nouns referring to men, boys and male animals are masculine: most nouns referrinq to women. oirls and female animals are feminine. The endiig of a French- noun often changes depending on whether it refers to a male or a female. Generally, words ending in -e are feminine and words ending in a are masculine, though there are many exceptions to

;;,:t""T:.", These endings are often found on masculine nouns:

-age, -ment, -oir, -sme, -eau, -eu, -ou, -ier, -in and -on. These endings are often found on feminine nouns: -ance, -anse, -ence, -ense, -ion, -t6, -ti6. Oays of the week, months and seasons of the year are masculine. So are languages, most metric weights and measures, and English nouns used in French.



a cow

Many masculine French nouns can be made feminine simply by changing the ending. This is usually done by adding an -e to the masculine noun to form the feminine.

> lf the masculine singular

y'

a woman

a (male) friend

something une toul

a man

une amie

to post faire un tour to go for a

un homme une femme

un aml

poste

an extension (phone)

un tour

i

Masculine and feminine forms of words

un 6live

form already ends in -e, no further e is added.

une 6live

a (male) pupil a (female) pupil

un camarade une camarade

a (male) friend a (female) friend

un colldgue une colldgue

a (male) colleague a (female) colleague

rtp lf a masculine noun ends in a vowel, its pronunciation does not change when an -e is added to form the feminine. For example, ami and amie (meaning friend) are both pronounced the same.

lf a masculine noun ends with a consonant that is not pronounced, for example, -d, -s, -r or -t, you DO pronounce that consonant when an -e is added in the feminine. For example, in 6tudiant (meaning student), you cannot hear the U in 6tudiante, you can hear the t.

8

Nouls

Noutrts

Forming plurals

Ttp Some masculine nouns, such as voisin (meaning neighbour), end in what is called a nasal vowel and an -n. \Mth these words, you pronounce the vowel 'through your nose' but DO NOT say the n. When an -e is added in the feminine - for example, voisine - the vowel becomes a normal one instead of a nasal vowel and you DO pronounce the n.

trl l

t

I

> In English

we usually make nouns plural by adding an -s to the end (gorden + gardens; house'+ houses), although we do have some nouns which are irregular and do not follow this pattern (mouse - mice; child * children).

Some other patterns

rtp

Some changes to endings from masculine to feminine are a little more complicated but still fall into a regular pattern. Masculine

Feminine

ending -f

endinq -ve

-x

-se

-eur

-euse

-teur

-teuse

-trice -an

-anne

-ten

-tenne

Example un veut/une veuve un 6poux/une 6pouse un dansegr/ une danseuse un chanteur/ une chanteuse un acteul/unc acldce un paysan/ une paysannc

a (male) dancer/ a (female) dancer

un jardin

a garden

a (male) farmerl a (female) farmer

des jardins

gardens

un Parisiea/ une Parisienne

a (male) Parisian/

une voiture des voitures

cars

a (female) Parisian

-onne

un lion/une lionne

a lion/a lioness a (male) foreigner/ a (female) foreigner

-et

-ette

un 6trange/ une 6trangire le cadet/la cadette

y' l/ y'

for more information on Adjectives, Articles ond Pronouns, see pages 25,12 and 42.

Most French nouns also form their plural by adding an -s to their singular form.

a (male) singer/ a (female) singer an actor/an actress

-ere

-elle

*

widow

a husband/a wife

-on -er

-el

Remember that you have to use les with plural nouns in Any adjective that goes with the noun has to agree with any pronoun that replaces it.

Meaning a widower/a

Plurals ending in -s

un professionnel/ une professionnelle

the youngest (male) child the youngest (female) child a (male) professional/

un h6tel des h6tels

>

a (female) professional

be made to refer to females

by adding an -e. lf the masculine singular form already ends in -e, no further e is added. tne pronunciation of feminine nouns is sometimes different from that of the corresponding masculine nouns. Other patterns include: -er * -Ere -f * -ve -teur * -teuse or -trice -et + -ette -x + -se -an, -en and -on > -anne -eur + -euse -enne and -onne -el - -elle



l4 )

a hotel hotels

lf the singular noun ends in -s/ -x or -2, no further -s is added in the plural.

Key points ly'rany masculine French nouns can

a car

un fils des fils

50n5

une vorx des voix

voices

un nez

a nose

des nez

noses

a son

a voice

Plurals ending in -x

The following nouns add an -x instead of an -s in the plural:

.

nouns ending in -eau

un chapeau des chapeaux

a hat hats

9

10 Nourus o most nouns ending in -eu un jeu a game games des jeux o a FEW nouns ending in -ou (MOST nouns ending in -ou add -s as usual) des bijoux

a jewel jewels

un caillou des cailloux

a pebble pebbles

un chou des choux

a cabbage cabbages

un genou des genoux

a knee

un hibou

an owl owls

un bijou

des hiboux

knees

un joujou des joujoux

a toy

un pou des poux

a louse

toys

lice

Adding an -s or -x to the end of a noun does not usually change the way the word is pronounced. For example, professeur and professeurs and chapeau and chapeaux sound just the same when you say them out loud. lf the singular noun ends in -al or -ail, the plural usually ends in -aux. un journal des journaux

a newspaper newspapers

un animal des animaux

an animal animals

un travail des travaux

jobs

a job


11

rtp The plural of un

3I

eil

(an eye) is des yeux (eyes).

Plural versus singular

D A few words relating to clothing are plural in English but NOT in un slip un short un pantalon

French.

pants shorts trousers

A few common words are plural in French but NOT in English.

les les

affaires cheveux

business

hair

desrenseignements information Grammar E>
'y'

rrp

l

Nourus

tutostFrench nouns form ,nt?rtoo,,lrjitl, adding an -s to their singular form. lf the singular noun ends in -s, -x or -2, no further -s is added in the plural. y' Most nouns ending in -eau or -eu add an -x in the plural. y' trrtost nouns ending in -ou take an -s in the plural, with a few exceptions. y' lI the singular noun ends in -al or -ail, the plural usually ends in -aux. y'- naaing an -s or -x to the end of a noun does not generally affect the way the word is pronounced. y' lfew common words are plural in English but not in French, and vice versa.

ARncus The definite article: le, la,

ARTICLES

t What is an article? ln English, an article is one of the words the, a, and on which is given in front of a noun.

>

Different types of article D There

o

are three types of article:

t

f

l'and les

The basic rules In English we only have one definite article: the. In French, there is more than one definite article to choosefrom. All French nouns are either masculine or feminine and, just as in English, they can be either singular or plural. The word you choose for the depends on whether the noun it is used with is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. This may sound complicated, but it is not too difficult. For more informotion

the definite article: fhe in English. This is used to identify a particular thing or person.

on Nouns,

see

page

1.

with masculine noun

with feminine noun

l'm going to the supermarket.

Singular

le (l')

la (l')

That's the woman I was talking to.

Plural

les

les

o the indefinite article: a or on in English, some or any (or no word at all) in the plural. This is used to refer to something unspecific, or that you do not really know about. ls

le and la change to l'when they are used in front of a word starting with a vowel and most words starting with h.

there a supermarket near here?

I need a day off.

.

the paltllyc article: some or any (or no word at all) in English. This used to talk about quantities or amounts.

is

> le is used in front of masculine singular nouns. le roi le chien

Can you lend me some sugar?

Did you buy any wine? Do you like chocolate?

le jardin

the king the dog the garden

> la is used in front of feminine la reine la souris la porte

singular nouns.

the queen the mouse the door

f is used in front of singular nouns that start with a vowel (a, e, i, a, or u), whether they are masculine or feminine. I'ami (masculine) the friend the water leau (feminine) f'6tage (mqsculine) the floor

[]

Note that l' is also used in front of most words starting with some others take le or la instead.

llh6pital le hamster la hi-fi For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

13

the hospital the hamster the stereo

h but

14 Anncus

Anrrcus When

rtp

i

is

15

followed by les, the two words become aux. to the houses to the students

maisons aux 6tudiants aux

It is a good idea to learn the article or the gender with the noun when you come across a word for the first time, so that you know whether it ls masculine or feminine. A good dictionary will also give you this information.

When ir is followed by la or l', the words do not change.

i

la

dr

l'h6tel

bibliothdque

to/at the library to/at the hotel

les is used in front of plural nouns. whether they are masculine or feminine and whatever letter they start with.

les les les les

the dogs the doors the friends the hotels

chiens

portes amis

h6tels

le and la change to l' when they are used in front of a word starting with a vowel and most words starting with h.

3

that you a Note in In

have to make the noun plural too, just as you would French, as in English, you usually add an -s.

English.

+

For more information on Forming

plurals,

see

poge 9.

rrp

When les is used in front of a word that starts with a consonant, you DO NOT say the s on the end of les: les chiens the dogs. When les is used in front of a word that starts with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y, you DO pronounce the s on the end of les. lt sounds like the z in the English word zip: f

E ) + )

es amis the friends,

Using

i

lefh6tels

with le.la.l'and

>

t

/

the hotels.

see

page t 63.

When i is followed by le, the two words become au. au cin6ma to/at the cinema aux professeurs to the teachers


The French word de is translated into English in several different ways, including of and from. There are special rules when you use it together with

t

)

For more information on the preposition de, see

poge 166.

>

When de is followed by le, the two words become du. du cin6ma from/of the cinema des professeurs from/of the teachers

>

When de is followed by les, the two words become des. des maisons from/of the houses des 6tudiants from/of the students

D When de

les

on the preposition d,

Using de with le, la, l' and les

le and les.

The French word ir is translated into English in several different ways, including ot or to. There are special rules when you use it together with le and les. For more informqtion

I

tems, please see pages viii-xii,

is followed by la or l', the words do not change. de la bibliothique from/of the library de I'h6tel from/of the hotel

T'P le and la change to l' when they are used in front of a word starting with a vowel and most words starting with h.

Amcles

16 Anncus

y' y' y'

lf you are talking about a part of your body, you usually use a word like my or hrs in English, but in French you usually use the definite article. Turn your head to the left. Tourne la t6te d gauche. ll s'est cass6 le bras. He's broken his arm. l've got a sore throat. J'ai mal d la gorge.

Key points

Wtfr masculine sinqular nouns , use le. Wittr feminine singular nouns , use la. Wi|h nouns starting with a vowel, most nouns beginning with h and the French word y , use l'. tntn plural nouns ' use les.

y' y' i+ le=au

> ln French you have to use the definite article in front of the names of countries, continents and regions.

i+les=aux de+le=du

la Bretagne l'Europe

de+les=des

Brittany

La France est

Europe France is very beautiful.

tris belle.

J'ai achet6 ce poster au Japon.

E

Je viens des

Using the definite article

L

The definite article in French (le, la, l' and les) is used in more or less the same way as we use fhe in English, but it is also used in French in a few places where you might not expect it.

}

The definite article is used with words like prices, flu and time that describe qualities, ideas or experiences (called abstract nounS) rather than something that you can touch with your hand. Usually, the is missed out in English

with this type of word. Les prix montent.

J'ai la

grippe.

Je n'ai pas le

@

}

temps.

Prices are rising.

[J

I

l've got flu.

)

Note that if the name of the country comes after the French word en, meaning to or in, you do not use the definite article. en is used with the names of countries, continents and regions that are feminine in French.

For more information on the preposition en, see

)

I don't have time.

Etats-Unis.

languages and sports. Tir aimes les maths?

J'apprends le frangais depuis

ans.

with pleasure

Mon sport pr6t6r6, c'est le wi thout d o u

bt)

[J

Je n'aime pas le caf6. I don't like coffee. Les ordinateurs co0tent trds cher. Computers are very expensive. Les professeurs ne gagnent pas Teachers don't earn very much. beaucoup.


trois

foot.

Do you like maths? l've been learning French for

three years. My favourite sport is football.

Note that the definite article is not used after en.

Gomment est-ce qu'on

You also use the definite article when you are talking about things like coffee or computers thatyou can touch with your hand (called concrete nouns) if you are talking generally about that thing. Usually, the is missed out in English with this type of word.

page 168.

You often use the definite article with the name of school subjects,

to be hungry (literally to have hunger) probably (lite ra lly.

I bought this poster in Japan. I come from the United States.

Je vais en Ecosse le mois prochain. l'm going to Scotland next month. ll travaille en Allemagne. He works in Cermany.

trtote that there are some set phrases using avoir, avec or sans followed by a noun, where the definite article is NOT used.

avoir faim avec plaisir sans doute

17

dit'fils'

How do you say 'fils' in English?

en anglais?

Sophie est nulle en chimie.

L

Sophie's no good at chemistry.

When you use the verb parler (meaning to speak) in front of the name of the language, you do not always need to use the definite article in French. Tu parles espagnol?

Do you speak Spanish?

ll parle bien I'anglais.

He speaks English well.

18 Anncus ) You use le with dates, and also with the names of the days of the week and the seasons when you are talking about something that you do regulady or

that

mai. She's leaving on the seventh of May. Je vais chez ma grand-mdre I go to my grandmother's on le dimanche. Sundays. Note that you do not use the definite article after en. En hiver nous faisons du

L

ski.

>

I

The basic rules

In English we have the indefinite article o, which changes to an in front of word that starts with a vowel. ln the plural we say either some, any or nothing at all.

D In French, you choose from un, une and des, depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine, and singular or plural.

In winter we go skiing.

with masculine noun

with feminine noun

You often find the definite article in phrases that tell you about prices and

Singular

un

une

rates.

Plural

des

des

6 euros le kilo 3 euros la pidce On roulait d 100 kilomitres d l'heure.

y'

6 euros a kilo 3 euros each We were doing 100 kilometres an hour.

Key points The definite article is used in French with: . abstract nouns . concrete nouns (when you are saying something that is true obout

>

un is used in front of masculine singular nouns. un rol a king un chien a dog un jardin a garden

>

une is used in front of feminine singular nouns. une reine a queen une souris a mouse une porte a door

.;:[fi^z':::l .

r

des is used in front of plural nouns, whether they are masculine or feminine, and whatever letter thev start with. (some/any) dogs des chiens (some/any) mice des souris (some/any) friends des amis

countries/ continents and regions school subjects, languages and sports

: ::;:t"t

the week and the seasons (when you are tolking obout something that you do regularly or thot is a habit)

. prices

and rates

[J +

Note that des is also a combination of de + les and has other meanings, such as saying who something belongs to or where something is from. For more information on des, see

poge 166.

T'P When des is used in front of a word that starts with a consonant (any letter except o, e, i, o or u), you DO NOT say the s on the end of des: des chiens (some/ony) dogs, When des is used in front of a word that starts with a vowel, and most words starting with h, you DO pronounce the s on the end. lt sounds like the z in the English word zip: des amis (some/any) friends, des h6tefs (some/ony) hotels. For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii,

19

The indefinite article: un, une and des t

is a habit.

Elle part le 7

@

Anncus

a

20 Amcus

A }

Anrrcus

lrr questions and negative sentences des means any, or is not translated at

The indefinite article in negative sentences

all.

n English we use words like not and neverto indicate that something is not happening or is not true. The sentences that these words are used in are f

frires? ll n'y a pas deufs.

Tu as des

called negative sentences.

I never do my homework on time. In French, you use word pairs like ne ... pas (meaning not) and ne ... jamais (meaning never) to say that something is not happening or not true. When un, une or des is used after this type of expression, it has to be changed to de. I don't have a bike. Je n'ai pas de v6lo. Nous n'avons pas de cousins. We don't have any cousins.

+

For more information on Negotives, see

page 138.

T'P As an English speaker, you will know what sounds right in your own language. The important thing to remember is that des can NEVER be missed out in French, even if there is no word in English.

4l >

r0p Je n'ai pas d'ordinateur. I don't have a computer. ll n'y a pas d'horloge dans la salle.There isn't a clock in the room.

,)

There are some very common adjectives, like beau, bon and petit, that can come BEFORE the noun instead of after it. When an adjective comes before a plural noun, des changes to de.

J'ai regu de beaux cadeaux. Gette r6gion a de trds jolis

+

For more information

I got some lovely presents. This area has some very pretty villages.

on Word order with odjectives, see page j2.

with the adjective quel (meaning what a), in sentences like O,uel dommage! What a shamel Ouelle surprise! What a surprise! Ouelle bonne id6e! What a good idea! For more information on quel, see

o Orammar Et
Using the indefinite article

The indefinite article is used in French in much the same way as we use some and ony in English, but there are two places where the indefinite article is NOT used:

o

de changes to d' in front of a word starting with a vowel and most words starting with h.

villages,

Have you got any brothers? There aren't any eggs. Do you have stamps?

Avez-vous des timbres?

I don't know him.

)

r

F

des can mean different things in English, depending on the sentence. Some is often the best word to use. l've got a dog, two cats and J'ai un chien, deux chats et some mice. des souris. Tu veux des chips? Would you like some crisps?

page 148.

when you say what jobs people do ll est professeur. Ma mdre est infirmidre.

He's a teacher.

My mother's a nurse.

T'P When you use c'est (to mean he/she is), you DO use un or une. When you use ce sont (to mean they are), you DO use des.

G'est un m6decin. Ge sont des acteurs.

Q r3

For more

He's/She's a doctor.

They're actors.

information on c'est ond ce sont,

see

poge 65.

The meaninq of des

For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii,

21

Key points

y' wtn masculine singular nouns + use un. y' Wttr feminine singular nouns ) use une. y' witfr plural nouns - use des.

y' un, une and des - change to de or d' in negative sentences. y' tne indefinite article is not usually used when you say what jobs people do, or in exclamations with quel.

4

22 Anncus

Anncus

The partitive article: du, de la, de l' and des

tr

D des

is used in front of plural nouns, whether they are masculine or feminine and whatever letter they start with.

The basic rules du, de la, de l' and des can all be

)

used to give information about the amount or quantity of a particular thing. They are often translated into English as some or any.

)

In French, you choose between du, de la, de l'and des, depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. with masculine noun

with feminine noun

Singular

du (de l'l

de la (de l')

Plural

des

des

des g6teaux des lettres des h6tels

@

@

+

is used in front of masculine sinoular nouns,

For more

te

The partitive article in negative sentences

)

information on des,

see

poge 166.

pairs like ne ... pas (meaning not) and ne ... jamais (meaning never) to say that something is not happening or not true. In this type of expression, du, de la, de l' and des all change to de. Nous n'avons pes de beurre. We don't have any butter. Je p mange iamais de viande. I never eat meat. ll n1y a pas de timbres. There aren't any stamps.

a

(some/any) butter

t)


on Negatives,

see

poge 138.

(some/any) orange juice

Note that du is also a combination of de + le and has other meanings, such as saying who something belongs to or where something is from. For more informotion on

from.

+

French word y.

du beurre du jus d'orange

is

D In French, you use word

de + le and de la change to de l'when they are used in front of word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the

du

(some/any) cakes (some/any) letters (some/any) hotels

Note that des is also a combination of de + les and has other meanings, such as saying who something belongs to or where something

rrp

)

23

du,

see

most nouns starting with h. ll n'a pas d'argent. He doesn't have any money. ll n'y a pas d'horloge dans la salle. There isn't a clock in the room.

page 166,

de la is used in front of feminine singular nouns. (some/any) meat de la viande de la margarine

(some/any) margarine

de l' is used in front of singular nouns that start with a vowel and nouns starting with h, whether they are masculine or feminine. de l'argent (masculine) (some/any) money de l'eau (feminine) (some/any) water de l'herbe (feminine) (some/any) grass

Grammar Ertra! There are some very common adjectives, like beau,

J'ai regu de beaux cadeaux.


I

got some lovely presents.

Cette r6gion a de trds jolis villages. This area has some very pretty villages. t


bon and petit, that can come

the noun instead of after it. When an adjective comes before a plural noun, des < hanges to de. BEFORE

:)

For more informotion

on Word order with odjectives,

see

poge 32.

24 Anncus

tr }

The meaning of du. de la. de

l'and des

ADJECTIVES

du, de la, de l' and des are often translated into English as some ?r onyt but there are times when no word is used in English to translate the French.

ll me doit de llargent'

What is an adjective? An adjective is a 'describing'word that tells you more about a person or thing, such as their appearance, colour, size or other qualities, for example, pretty, blue, big.

He owes me (some) money.

l'm going to buy (some) flour and Je vais acheter de la farine et du beurre pour faire un gdteau' butter to make a cake. Est-ce qu'il y a des lettres Pour Are there any letters for me? moi? She doesn't want any butter' Elle ne veut pas de beurre. I don't take milk. Je ne prends Pas de lait.

Using adjectives D Adjectives

are words like clever, expensive and sl//y that tell you more about a noun (a living being, thing or idea). They can also tell you more about a pronoun, such as he or they. Adjectives are sometimes called 'describing words'. They can be used right next to a noun they are describing, or can be separated from the noun by a verb like be, Iook, feel and so on.

rrp Remember that du, de 14 de l' and des can NEVER be missed out in French, even if there is no word in English.

a clever girl an expensive coat a silly idea He's just being silly.

Key points

y' wittr masculine singular nouns + use du' y' Wth feminine singular nouns + use de la. y' Wth singular nouns starting with a vowel and some nouns beginning with h * use de l'. y' Wtn plural nouns 'use des' y' du, de la, de l'and des ' change to de or d'in negative sentences.

t

)


on Nouns and Pronouns,

see

pqges 1 and 42.

> In English,

the only time an adjective changes its form is when you are making a comparison. She's cleverer than her brother. That's the silliest idea I ever heard!

D In French, however, most adjectives agree with what they are describing. This means that their endings change depending on whether the person or thing you are referring to is masculine or feminine, and singular or plural.

un mot frangais une chanson frangaise des traditions francaises

For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages

viii'xii'

a French word a French song French traditions

26 Ao.lecnvrs ) In English we put adjectives BEFORE the noun they describe, but in French you usually put them un chat noir

+

AFTER it.

a black cat

For further information, see Word

y' y'

order with adjectives on poge 32.

Ao.lecnves 27

Making adjectives agree

ll

The basic rules

D

In dictionaries, regular French adjectives are usually shown in the masculine singular form. You need to know how to change them to make them agree with the noun or pronoun that they are describing.

Key points

Most French adjectives .han# [r'"ir]orr, according to whether the person or thing they are describing is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. In French adjectives usually go after the noun they describe.

D To make an adjective agree with the noun or pronoun it describes, you simply add the following endings in most cases:

with masculine noun Singular Plural

-e

-s

un chat noir une chemise noire des chats noirs des chemises noires

A

with feminine noun -es

a black cat a black shirt black cats black shirts

Making adiectives feminine

> With most

adjectives you add an -e to the masculine singular form to make it feminine. un chat noir a black cat -+ une chemise noirc a black shirt un sac lourd a heavy bag --+ une valise lourde a heavy suitcase

>

lf the adjective already ends in an -e in the masculine, you do not add another -e. un sac jaune a yellow bag > u.. chemise jaune a yellow shirt un gargon sage a good boy + une fille sage a good girl

l


Some changes to endings are a little more complicated but still follow a regular pattern. Sometimes you have to double the consonant as well as adding an -e. On the next page there is a table showing these changes.

28

Aolecrves

Aolecnvps

Masculine ending Feminine ending -ve -f

Example

Meaning new hapPy

L

Some very common adjectives have irregular feminine forms. Masculine form

Feminine form

Meaning

-x

-se

neuf/neuve heureux/heureuse

blanc

blanche

white, blank

-el

-ere

cher/chire

dear, expensive

doux

douce

soft, swee! mild, gentle

-an -en

-anne -enne -onne

paysan/paysanne europ6en/euroP6ennt

farming, country

faux

fausse

untrue

bon/bonne cruel/cruelle pareil/pareille

good, right

favori

favorite

favourite

cruel

frais

fraiche

fresh, chilly, cool

similar

gentil

gentille

nice, kind

clear

grec

grecque

Greek

complete, full

gros

grosse

big, fat

long

longue

rong

nul

nulle

useless

roux

tousse

red, red-haired

-on

-elle -eille

-el

-eil

-ette

-et

-dte

net/nette complet/comPlite

European

un bon repas a good meal -) de bonne humeur in a good mood un homme cruel a cruel man -) une remarque cruelle a cruel remark

rw

seG

sdche

dry, dried

turc

turque

Turkish

lf a masculine adjective ends in a vowel (o, e, i, o or u), its pronunciation does not change when an -e is added to form the ieminine. For example, ioli and iolie are both pronounced the same' lf a masculine adiective ends with a consonant that is not pronounced, such as -d, -s or -t you DO pronounce that consonant when an -e is added in the feminine. For example, in chaud (meaning hot, worm), you cannot hear the d when it is said out loud; in the feminine form chaude, you can hear the d sound' This is also true when you have to double the consonant before the -e is added, for example, gros (meanin g big, fot), where you cannot hear the s, and the feminine form grosse, where you can hear the s sound. Some masculine adjectives, such as bon (meaning good) or italien . (meaning ltalion), end in what is called a nasal vowel and an -n' With ih"r" *Jtdt, you pronounce the vowel 'through your nose' Uy- d.o. not say the n. When the consonant is doubled and an -e is added in the feminine - bonne, italienne - the vowel becomes a normal one instead of a nasal vowel and you do pronounce the n'


viii-xii'

mon spoft favori my favourite sport -+ ma chanson favorite my favourite song un ami grec a Creek (male) friend + une amie grecque a Greek (female) friend A very small group of French adjectives have an extra masculine singular form that is used in front of words that begin with a vowel (a, e, i, o or u) and most words beginning with h. These adjectives also have an irregular feminine form. Masculine form in

front of a word beginning with a consonant

Masculine form in

Feminine

front of

form

word

Meaning

beginning with a vowel or most words beginning

with beau

a

h

bel

belle

lovely, beautiful,

good-looking, handsome

fou

fol

folle

nouveau

nouvel

nouvelle

new

vreux

vieil

vieille

old

un bel appartement a beautiful flat le Nouvel An New Year un vieil arbre an old tree

mad

29

30

tr

Ao;rcrvrs

Aorecnvrs

+

Making adiectives plural

> With most adjectives you add an -s to the masculine singular

or feminine

singular form to make it plural.

un chat noir a black cat + des chats noirs black cats une valise lourde a heavy suitcase - des valises lourdes heavy suitcases

>

Invariableadiectives

A small number of adjectives (mostly relating to colours) do not change in the feminine or plural. They are called invariable because their form NEVER changes, no matter what they are describing. These adjectives are often made up of more than one word - for example, bleu marine (meaning novy blue), or else come from the names of fruit or nuts - for example, orange (meaning orange), marron (meaning brown).

Ttp

des chaussures maron brown shoes une veste bleu marine a navy blue jacket

When an adjective describes a masculine and a feminine noun or pronoun, use the masculine plural form of the adjective. The house and garden are La maison et le iardin sont

beaux.

Sophie et son petit ami trds gentils.

sont

very nrce.

y'

lf the masculine singular form already ends in an -s or an -x, you do not add an -s. un fromage frangais a French cheese - des fromages frangais French

y'

cheeses

un homme dangereux a dangerous man -) des hommes dangereux dangerous men lf the masculine singular form ends in -eau or -al, the masculine plural usually -eaux or -aux.

is

le nouveau professeur the new teacher + les nouveaux professeurs the new teachers le r6le principal the main role * les r6les principaux the main roles

rrp Adding an -s or an -x does not change the pronunciation of a word. For example, noir and noirs sound just the same, as do nouveau and nouveaux. When the -s or -x ending comes before a word starting with a vowel or most words starting with h, you have to pronounce the s or x on the end of the adjective. lt sounds like the z in the English word zip. les anciens 6ldves the former pupils big hotels de grands h6tels


Key points agree with a feminine singular noun or pronoun, you usually add -e to the masculine singular. lf the adjective already ends in an -e, no further -e is added. Several adjectives ending in a consonant double their consonant as well as adding -e in the feminine. beau, fou, nouveau and vieux have an irregular feminine form and an extra masculine singular form that is used in front of words that begin with a vowel and most words beginning with h:

y'- fo make an adjective

beautiful. Sophie and her boyfriend are

31

y' y' y' y'

bel, fol, nouvel, vieil, To make an adjective agree with a masculine plural noun or pronoun, you usually add -s to the masculine singular. lf the adjective already ends in an -s or an -x, no further -s is added. t tne adjective ends in -eau or -al, the masculine plural is usually -eaux or -aux. To make an adjective agree with a feminine plural noun or pronoun, you usually add -es to the masculine singular. Some adjectives relating to colours never change their form.

32

Aouecnvrs 33

Aruecnvrs

Word order with adiectives

Ttp

tr

dernier (meaning /ost) and prochain (meaning nexf) go AFTER nouns relating to time, for example, semaine (meaning week) and mois (meaning month). Otherwise they go BEFORE the noun.

>>

The basic rules when adjectives are used right beside the noun they are describing, they go BEFORE it in English. French adiectives usually go AFTER the noun' the right time I'heure exacte the following page la page suivante

)> Adjectives describing colours, shapes or nationalities always go AFTER the noun. des cravates rouges red ties a round table une table ronde a French word frangais un mot

)

Some very common adiectives usually come BEFORE the noun' lovely, beautiful, good-looking, handsome beau

la semaine demiire la demidre fois que je t'ai la semaine

short

grand gros

joli

tall, big, long, great big, fat high youn9 pretty

]d

long

long

bad, poor better

D In French you

mauvais

mon petit ami my boyfriend peas les petits pois les grandes vacances the summer holidays une grande personne an adult, a grown-up

premier vieux

first

une belle journ6e

a lovely day Cood luck!

une icgnc femme blonde un nouveau film int6ressant

old

Bonne chance!

>

There is a small group of common adjectives whose meaning changes depending on whether they come before the noun or 9o after it' Meaning

ancten

Example before noun un ancien

colleague

cher

colldgue Chire Julie ma propre chambre

MV OWN

Adjective

a

former

Dear lulie

Using more than one adiective

can use more than one adjective at a time to describe someone or something. lf one of the adjectives usually comes BEFORE the noun and the other usually goes AFTER the noun, the word order follows the usual pattern.

new small, little

petit

Example after

noun un fauteuil ancien une robe chdre

Meaning an antique

chair

bedroom

un mouchoir propre

y' y'

an expensrve


viii-xii'

a clean

handkerchief

a young blonde woman an interesting new film

lf both adjectives usually come AFTER the noun, they are joined together with et (meaning ond). un homme mince et laid a thin, ugly man une personne intelligente et dr6le an intelligent, funny person

dre55

propre

next week the next time I go there

Grammar Extra!

good, right

nouveau

the last time I saw you

When certain adjectives are used with certain nouns, they take on a meaning you cannot always guess. You may need to check these in your dictionary and learn them. Here are a few:

court

meilleur

prochaine vais

la prochaine fois que j'y

bon

haut jeune

last week

vu

y'

Key points

Most French adjectives go after the noun they describe. Some very common adjectives usually come before the noun: bon,/mauvais, court/long, grand/petit, jeune/nouveau/vieux, gros, haut, beau, joli, premier, meilleur. The meaning of some adjectives such as ancien, cher and propre varies according to the position in the sentence.

34

Ao.lecrves 35

Ao.rpcnves a la plus with feminine singular adjectives

Gomparatives and superlatives of adiectives

tr

a les plus

Making comparisons using comparative adiectives

What is a comparative adjective? A comparative adjective in English is one with -er on the end of it or more or /ess in front of it, that is used to compare people or things, for example, slower,

}

Iess

important, more beautiful.

>

To say that something or someone is the leqst easy, the leost pretty, the leost

and so on, you use: le moins with masculine singular adjectives

expensive

o o la moins with feminine singular adjectives o les moins with plural adjectives (for both masculine and feminine).

and so on, you use

pfus (meaning more) before the adjective.

Cette question est plus facile. This question is easier. This iacket is more expensive. Cette veste est olus chdre.

le guide le moins utile Cette question est la moins

To say something is less expensive, less complicoted and so on, you use

facile.

moins (meaning /ess) before the adjective. Gette veste est moins chdre. This iacket is less expensive. un projet moins compliqu6 a less complicated plan

)

)

moi. facile

rtp

ll est aussi inquiet que moi. Cette ville n'est pas aussi grande que Bordeaux.

A

When the adjective comes AFTER the noun, you repeat definite article (le, la or les).

She's smaller than me. This question is easier than the

first one.

To say that something or someone is as use aussi ...que.

...

os

les mois les moins

something or someone else,

He's as worried as me.

les moins belles

Q

}

ln French, to say that something or someone is easiest, prettiest, most expensive and so on, you use:

o

le plus with masculine singular adjectives

For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii'xii'

/)

pleasant months

photos

the least attractive photos

for more information on Word order with adjectives,

see

poge 32.

D In phrases like the biggest hotel in London and the oldest person in the village, you use de to translate ln. le plus grand h6tel de Londres the biggest hotel in London la personne la plus Ag6e du village the oldest person in the village

What is a superlative adiective? A superlative adjective in English is one with -esf on the end of it or most ot leostin front of it, that is used to compare people or things, for example, thinnest, most beoutiful, least interesting.

agr6ables the least

the

When the adjective comes BEFORE the noun, you do not repeat the definite article.

This town isn't as big as Bordeaux.

Making comparisons using superlative adiectives

the least useful guidebook This question is the least easy (or the hardest). the least pleasant months

les mois les moins agr6ables les moins belles photos the least attractive photos

To introduce the person or thing you are making the comparison with, use que (meaning fhan).

Elle est plus petite que Cette question est plus que la premidre.

the most useful guidebook the easiest question the biggest hotels the smallest cars

expensive

ln French, to saythatsomething is easier, more

L

with plural adjectives (for both masculine and feminine)

le guide le plus utile la question la plus facile les plus grands h6tels les plus petites voitures

I

) s

>

For more information on de and du, see

l

poge 166.

Inegular comparative and superlative adiectives

- better French also has a

Just as English has some irregular comparative and superlative forms

instead of 'more good', and worst instead of 'most bod' few irregular forms.

-

36 Aorrcrves

Ao.lecnvEs 37

Adjective

Meaning

Comparative

bon

9ooo

meilleur

mauvats

bad

prre

smaller, lesser

Meaning

Superlative

Meaning

better

le meilleur

the best

worse

le pire le plus mauvais

the worst

le moindre le plus petit

the smallest the leas! the slightest

plus mauvais

petit

small

moindre plus petit

J'ai une meilleure id6e. ll ne fait pas le moindre effort.

l've got a better idea. He doesn't make the slightest effort.

Demonstrative adjectives ce, cette, cet and ces What is a demonstrative adjective? A demonstrative adjective is one of the words this, thot, these and those used with a noun in English to point out a particular thing or person, for example, this womon, thot dog. In French you use ce to point out a particular thing or person. Like all adjectives in French, ce changes its form depending on whether you are referring to a noun that is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

T'P

Singular

Choose the right form of the adjective to match the noun or pronoun, depending on whether it is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Don't forget to change le to la or les too in superlatives.

Plural

Masculine

Feminine

Meaning

ce (cet)

cette

this

that ces

ces

these

those

rtp cet is used in front of masculine singular nouns which begin with a vowel and most words beginning with h. this/that bird cet oiseau this/that hospital cet hOpital

Grammar Ertra! bien and its comparative and superlative forms mieux and le mieux can be both adjectives and adverbs.

lf est bien, ce restaulant. (=adjective) This restaurant is good. Elle va mieux aujourd'hui, (=odverb) She's better today.

Q

For more informotion on Adverbs, see

poge 152.

ce comes BEFORE the noun it refers to.

Combien co0te ce

y'_To compare people y' y' l/ y'

Key points

or things in French you use plus + adjective, moins + adjective or aussi ... que. than in comparatives corresponds to que. French superlatives are formed with lellalles plus + adjective and le/la/les moins + adjective. in after superlatives corresponds to de. bon, mauvais and petit have irregular comparatives and

superlatives: bon/meilleur/le meilleur, mauvais/pire/le pire, petit/moindre/le moindre.


manteau?

Comment s'appelle

cette

How much is this/that coat? What's this/that company called?

entreprise? int6ressants.

These/Those books are very interesting.

Ces couleurs sont jolies.

These/Those colours are pretty.

Ces livres sont trds

lf you want to emphasize the difference between something that is close to you and something that is further away, you can add:

o

-ci on the end of the noun for things that are closer Take this case. Prends cette valisqqi.

38 Aorecnves o -lir on the end of the noun for things that are further away Est-ce que tu reconnais cette Do you recognize that person? personnel!i?

y' y' y'

Key points Theadjective ce corresponds io thrs and thatin the singular, and these and thosein the plural. Theforms are ce and cette in the singular, and ces in the plural. cet is used with masculine singular nouns beginning with a vowel and most words beginning with h. You can add -ci on the end of the noun for things that are closer, or -li for things that are further away, to emphasize the difference between them.

Ao.recnves 39

Possessive adjectives What is a possessive adjective? frr tnglish a possessive adjective is one of the words mv yourl his, her, its, rur or their used with a noun to show that one person or thing belongs to ,rnother. Here are the French possessive adjectives. Like all French adjectives, these agree with the noun they refer to.

with masculine singular noun mon ton son

with feminine singular noun ma (mon)

with plural noun

Meaning

mes

ta (tonl

tes

my your

sa (sonl

ses

his

(masculine or feminine)

her its

one's

notre votte

notre votre

nos vos

our your

leur

leur

leurs

their

rrp You use mon, ton and son with feminine singular nouns in front of words that begin with a vowel and most words beginning with h. This makes them easier to say.

assiette histoire son erreur mon autre s@ur

D

mon

my plate

ton

your story his/her mistake my other sister

Possessive adjectives

come

BEFORE

the noun they describe.

Voild mon mari.

Mon frdre et ma s@ur

i

Glasgow. Est-ce que tes voisins leur maison? Rangez vos affaires.


There's my husband.

habitent My brother

and sister live in

Clasgow.

vendent

Are your neighbours selling their house? Put your things away.

40

Ao.lecrves

Aouecrves

Indefinite adjectives

rw

What is an indefinite adjective? Arr indefinite adjective is one of a small group of adjectives that are used to talk about people or things in a general way without saying exactly who or what they are, for example, severol, oll, every.

Possessive adjectives agree with what they describe, NOT with the person who owns that thing. For example, sa can mean his, her, its and one's, but can only ever be used with a feminine singular noun.

Paul cherche sa montre. Paul cherche ses lunettes.

Paul's looking for his watch. Paul's looking for his glasses.

Gatherine a appel6 son frdre. Catherine a appel6 sa s(Eur.

)

@

For more information on the difference between

tu ond vous,

see

page 43.

Note that possessive adjectives are not normally used with parts of the body. Use le, la, l' or les instead.

J'ai mal d la main. For more informotion

( { t/ 1/

see

Masculine

Feminine

singular

plural

plural

autre

autre

autres

autres

chaque

chaque

meme

meme

memes

memes

quelques

quelques

some, a few

tous

toutes

all, every

. mon/ton/son/notre/votre/leur

ll travaille tout le temps.

same

l've got other plans. I go every year.

I have the same coat. He has some friends in Paris, There are a few bottles left. He works all the time.

rrp You can also use

tout to talk about how often something happens.

tous les jours tous les deux jours

[) t

)

Note that these words can also be used as pronouns, standing in place of a noun instead of being used with one. chaque and quelques have a slightly different form when they are used in this way. For more information on Pronouns, see page 42.

l/ y' tems, please see pages viii-xii.

toute

other every, each

J'ai d'autres projets. J'y vais chaque ann6e. J'ai le m6me manteau. ll a quelques amis d Paris. ll reste quelques bouteilles.

Key points The French possessive adjectives are:

For further oxplanation of grammatical

Meaning

Feminine

singular

poge 12.

in the masculine singular o ma/ta/sa/notre/votre/leur in the feminine singular . mes/tes/ses/nos/vos/leurs in the plural Possessive adjectives come before the noun they refer to. They agree with what they describe, rather than with the person who owns that thing. You use mon, ton and son with feminine singular nouns when the following word begins with a vowel. You also use them with most words beginning with h. Possessive adjectives are not normally used with parts of the body. Use le, la, l' or les instead.

the noun it refers to. Here

Masculine

tout

My hand hurts.

on Articles,

BEFORE

are the most common French indefinite adiectives:

The equivalent ol your in French is ton/taltes for someone you call tu, or votre/vos for someone you call vous.

+

+

In French, this type of adjective comes

Catherine called her brother. Catherine called her sister.

Key points tne most common French indefinite adjectives are autre, chaque, m€me, quelques and tout. tney come before the noun when they are used in this way.

41

Pnoruourus 43

PRONOUNS What is a pronoun? A pronoun is a word you use instead of a noun, when you do not need or want to name someone or something directly, for example, it, you,

Personal pronouns: subiect What is a subject pronoun? A subject pronoun is a word such as l, he, she and they, which performs the action expressed by the verb. Pronouns stand in for nouns when it is clear who is being talked about for example, My brother isn't here qt the moment. He'll be bqck in qn hour.

none.

l

1"

There are several different types of pronoun:

o

o o o

Personal pronouns such as l, you, he, her and they, which are used to refer to yourself, the person you are talking to, or other people and

things. They can be either subject pronouns (1, you, he and so on) or obiect pronouns (him, her, them and so on). Possessive pronouns like mine and yours, which show who someone or something belongs to. lndefinite pronouns like someone or nothing, which refer to people or things in a general way without saying exactly who or what they are. Relative pronouns like who, which or fhot, which link two parts of a

sentence together.

.

D

I

Usinq subiect pronouns

Here are the French subject pronouns:

Singular je (i'l

Meaning

Plural nous

we

tu

you

you

il

he

vous ils elles

they (feminine)

+

elle on

one

(we/you/they)

Je pars en vacances demain. Nous habitons d Nice.

Reflexive pronouns, a type of object pronoun that forms part of French reflexive verbs like se laver (meaning to wosh) or s'appeler (meaning fo be colled).

o

The two French pronouns, en and y, which are used in certain constructions.

o

The pronouns qui? (meaning who?, whom), que? (meaning whot?), quoi? (meaning whot) and lequel? (meaning which one), which are used in asking questions.

finished my homework and gave it to my teacher. Do you remember Jack? | saw him at the weekend. I

Word order with personal pronouns is usually different in French and English.


l'm going on holiday tomorrow. We live in Nice.

rtp j' in front of words beginning with a vowel, most words beginning with h, and the French word y. l'm just coming! J'arrive! Bon, j'y vais. Righf l'm off,

je changes to

poge 88.

+ For more information on Questions, see poge 142. ) Pronouns often stand in for a noun to save repeating it. )

she

it

Demonstrative pronouns like thrs or those, which point things or people

For more information on Reflexive verbs, see

they (masculine)

it

out.

o

Meaning

2l tu or vous? > ln English

we have only one way of saying you. In French, there are two words: tu and vous. The word you use depends on: o whether you are talking to one person or more than one person

o

whether you are talking to a friend or family member, or someone else

> lf you are talking to one person you know well, such as a friend, person or a relative, use tu. Tu me pr6tes ce CD? Will you lend me this CD?

a young

44 Pnoruourus )

Pnoruourus 45

lf you are talking to one person you do not know so well, such as your teacher, your boss or a stranger, use vous. Vous pouvez entrer. You may come in.

il is also used to talk about the weather, the time and in certain other set phrases, often in the same way as some phrases with it in English.

ll pleut. ll est deux heures. ll faut partir.

lf you are in doubt as to which form of you to use, it is safest to use vous and you will not offend anybody.

D lf you are talking to more than

one person, you have to use vous, no matter how well you know them. Vous comprenez, les enfants? Do you understand, children? [J Note that the adjectives you use with tu and vous have to agree in the feminine and plural forms. Vous 6tes certain,

Monsieur

Vous 6tes certains, les enfants? Are you sure, children? (masculine plurol)

Grammar Ertra! Any past participles (the form of the verb ending in -6, -i or -u in French) used with €tre in tenses such as the perfect also have to agree in the feminine and plural forms. Vous 6tes oartie quand, Estelle? When did you leave, Estelle? (feminine singular)

Estelle et Sophie - vous 6tes parties quand? (feminine plurol)

+

tr }


ifs (meaning they) and elles (meaning they) are used in the plural to talk about things, as well as about people or animals. Use ils for masculine

nouns and elles for feminine nouns. lls vont appeler ce soir. 'Oi sont Anne et Rachel?' *

'Elles sont d la piscine.' 'Est-ce qu'il reste des billets?' -'Non, ils sont tous vendus.' 'Tu aimes ces chaussures?''Non, elles sont affreuses!'

Are you sure, Mr Leclerc?

Leclerc? (mo scu li n e si ng u I o r)

Estelle and Sophie leave?

on the Past participle,

see

-

illelle and ils/elles In English we generally refer to things (such as table, book, cor) only as it. In French, il (meaning he, it) and elle (meaning she, it)are used to talk about a thing, as well as about a person or an animal. You use il for masculine nouns and elle for feminine nouns.

ll est d6jd parti. Elle est actrice.

She's an actress.

ll mord, ton chien? Prends cette chaise. Elle est

Take this chair. lt's more

plus confortable.

comfortable.

He's already left. Does your dog bite?

For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viiS-xii.

They're going to call tonight. 'Where are Anne and Rachel?''They're at the swimming pool.' ?re there are any tickets left?' 'No, they're all sold.' 'Do you like those shoes?'- 'No, they're horrible!'

lf you are talking about a masculine and a feminine noun, use ils. Oue font ton pdre et ta mire What do your father and mother do quand ils partent en vacances? when they go on holiday? 'Oi sont le poivre et la 'Where are the pepper and the moutarde?'-'lls sont d6jdr sur mustard?' - 'They're already on the la table.' table.'

4l

on

D on

is

when did you

poge 111.

It's raining. It's two o'clock. We/You have to go.

frequently used in informal, everyday French to mean h/e. On va i la plage demain. We're going to the beach tomorrow. On y va? Shallwe go?

on can also have the sense of someone or they. On m'a vol6 mon polte-monnaie. Someone has stolen my purse. On vous demande au t6l6phone: There's a phone call for you.

rrp often used to avoid a passive construction in French. On m'a dit que tu 6tais malade. I was told you were ill.

on

is

*

For more informotion on the Possive, see

poge 122.

46 PRoruourus )

Pnoruourus 47

You can also use on as we use you in English when we mean people in general.

On peut visiter le ch6teau en

You can visit the castle in the

616.

5Ummer.

D'ici on peut voir les c6tes

From here you can see the French

What is a direct object pronoun? A direct object pronoun is a word such as me, him, us and them, which is used instead of the noun to stand in for the person or thing most directly

frangaises.

coast.

affected by the action expressed by the verb.

Ttp

,

The form of the verb you use with on is the same as the illelle

form.

4 y' y' y' y' y'

Personal pronouns: direct object


on Verbs,

see

French subject pronouni

Using direct obiect pronouns

D Direct object pronouns stand in for nouns when it is clear who or what is being talked aboug and save having to repeat the noun. l've lost my glasses. Have you seen them? 'Have you met Jo?'-'Yes, I really like her!'

poges 69-1 37.

Key points

tne

1l

D

ire: je (j'), tu, il, elle, on in the

singular, and nous, vous, ils, elles in the plural. to say you in French, use tu if you are talking to one person you know well or to a young person. Use vous if you are talking to one person you do not know so well or to more than one person. il/ils (masculine singular/plural) and elle/elles (feminine singular/plural) are used to refer to things, as well as to people or animals. il is also used in certain set phrases. lf there is a mixture of masculine and feminine nouns, use ils. on can mean we, someone, you, they, or people in general. It is often used instead of a passive construction.

Here are the French direct object pronouns:

Meaning

Singular me (m')

Meaning

Plural

me

nous

u5

te (t'l

you

vous

you

le (l')

him

les

it la (l')

them (mosculine ond feminine)

her

it lls vont nous aider. Je la vois. 'Tu aimes les carottes?''Non, je les d6teste!'

E

+

They're going to help us. I can see her/it. 'Do you like carrots?'- 'No, I hate

them!'

Note that you cannot use direct object pronouns after a preposition like i or de, or when you want to emphasize something. For more informotion on Emphotic pronouns, see

poge 51.

T'P me changes to m', te to t', and le/la to l' in front of words beginning with a vowel, most words beginning with h, and the French word y. Je t'aime. Tu m'entends?


Can you hear me?

48 D

Pnoruourus

PRoruourus 49

ln orrk'rs and instructions telling someone to do something, moi is used instr,,rrl of me, and toi is used instead of te. Aidez-mo_i!

Help me!

Assieds-toi.

Sit down.

le is rornetimes used to refer back to an idea or information that has already been given. The word lf is often missed out in English. 'Ta chemise est trds 'Je l9 sais.'

C.l L

sale.'-

'Your shirt's very

Personal pronouns: indirect object What is an indirect object pronoun? When a verb has two objects (a direct one and an indirect one), the indirect object pronoun is used instead of a noun to show the person or thing the action is intended to benefit or harm, for example, me in He gove me a book; Can you get m9. o towel?

dirty.'-

'l know.'

1l

Word order with direct obiect pronouns

> lt is important

to understand the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns in English, as they can have different forms in French:

The direct object pronoun usually comes BEFORE the verb. Je I love you.

t'aime.

@

Can you see them?

whaf?

Elle ne nous connait pas.

She doesn't know us.

He gave me a book. object pronoun)

Note that in orders and instructions telling someone to do something, the direct object pronoun comes AFTER the verb. Sit down.

ll voudrait la revoir. Puis-je vous aider?

Key points

y'

The French direct object pronouns are: me (m,),

y'

in the singular, and nous, vous, les in the plural. Except in orders and instructions telling someone to do something, the direct object pronoun comes before the verb.

He gave me a object)

D

me (=indirect

book. + What did

he give me?

+

a book (=jjyssl

towel? + Whot cqn you get me? + a towel (=direct

Here are the French indirect object pronouns:

Singular

Meaning

me (m')

me,

te (t')

Plural

Meaning

nous

us,

you, to you, for you

vouS

you, to you, for you

lui

him, to him, for him it, to it, for it

leur

them, to them, for them (mosculine ond feminine)

lui

her, to her, for her it, to it, for it

te (t,), lella (t,)


+

object and NOT the indirect oblect

Can you get me a object)

He'd like to see her again. Can I help you?

Who did he give the book to?

o if something answers the question what or who, then it is the direct

He saw me,

When a verb like vouloir (meaning to want) or pouvoir (meaning to be oble to, can) is followed by another verb in the infinitive (the 'fo'form of the verb), the direct object pronoun comes BEFORE the infinitive.

-

the question who to/for? or to/for

Can you get me a towel? '+ Who con you get o towel for? + me (=i ndi rect obj ect p ro no u n)

In tenses like the perfect that are formed with avoir or €tre and the past participle (the part of the verb that ends in -4 -i or -u in French), the direct object pronoun comes BEFORE the part of the verb that comes from avoir

or 6tre. ll m'a vu.

}

o an indirect object answers

Les voyez-vous?

Asseyez-vous.

D

Using indirect obiect pronouns

to me, for me

to us, for

us

ll nous 6crit tous les jours.

He writes

lls te cachent quelque chose.

They're hiding something from you.

to

us every day.

50

PRoruourus 51

PRotrtoutrts

rq

Emphatic pronouns

me changes to m' and te to t' in front of words beginning with vowel, most words beginning with h, and the French word y.

ll m'a donn6 un

livre.

Tu m'apportes une

serviette?

What is an emphatic pronoun? An emphatic pronoun is used instead of a noun when you want to emphasize something, for example ls this for me?

a

He gave me a book. Can you get me a towel?

The pronouns shown in the table are used instead of the preposition i with a noun. l'6cris i Suzanne. l'm writing to Suzanne. -+ fe lui 6cris. l'm writing to her. Donne du lait au chat. Give the cat some milk. -+ Donne-lui du lait. Give

1l )

In French, there is another set of pronouns which you use after prepositions, when you want to emphasize something and in certain other cases. These are called emphatic pronouns or stressed pronouns.

it some milk. Some French verbs like demander i (meaning to osk) and t6l6phoner i (meaning to phone) take an indirect object even though English uses a direct obiect. ll leur tril6phone tous les soirs. He phones them every evening.

)

Singular

Meaning

Plural

Meaning

mot

I

nouS

we

toi

you

vouS

you

lui

he

eux

they (mosculine) them

elles

they (feminine) them

me

elle sol

Je pense souvent a toi. C'est pour moi? Venez avec moi. ll a besoin de nous.

KeY Points

fhe French indirect object pionouns are: me (m'), te (t'), lui in

y'

the singular, and nous, vous, leur in the plural. Except in orders and instructions telling someone to do something, the direct object pronoun comes before the verb.


I often think about you. ls this for me? Come with me. He needs us.

soi (meaning oneself is used with the subiect pronoun on and with words tout fe monde (meaning everyone) or chacun (meaning each one).

like

Note that in orders and instructions telling someone to do something, the indirect obiect pronoun comes AFTER the verb. Give me that! Donne-moi ga!

y'

oneself

$ourself, ourselves

The indirect object pronoun usually comes BEFORE the verb'

@

she

her

Word order with indirect obiect pronouns Dominique vous 6crit une lettre. Dominique's writing you a letter' He doesn't speak to us. ll ne nous parle pas. ll ne veut pas me r6pondre. He won't answer me.

u5

him

On the other hand, some French verbs like attendre (meaning to wait for), chercher (meaning to look for) and regarder (meaning to /ook ot) take a direct object even though English uses an indirect obiect. Je les attends devant la gare. l'll wait for them outside the station.

E

Using emphatic pronouns

4

ll faut avoir confiance en

soi.

Tout le monde est rentr6 soi.

chez

You have to have confidence in yourself. Everyone went home.

When to use emphatic pronouns

> Emphatic pronouns are used in the following circumstances: o after a preposition C'est pour-mqi?

ls this for me?

52

Pnoruouus 53

PRoruourus

o

for emphasis, especially where a contrast is involved You look like your father, she doesn't.

ll m'6nerve, lui!

He's getting on my nerves!

o on their own without o

9

pdre,

mais elle non.

Toi, tu ressembles d ton

a verb

'Oui a cass6 la fen6tre?'-'Lul.' 'Who broke the window?' 'Je suis fatigu6e.'-'Moi aussi.' 'l'm tired.' - 'Me too'' after c'est and ce sont (meaning it ts) ls that you, Simon? C'est toi, Simon? It's them. Ge sont eux.

-

For more informotion on c'est and ce sont, see page 65.

o .

in comparisons Tu es plus jeune que moi. ll est moins grand que toi.

You're younger than me. He's smaller than you (are).

when the sublect of the sentence is made up of two pronouns, or of a pronoun and a noun My father and she don't get on. Mon pire et elle ne s'entendent pas.

Grammar Extra! You can add -m€me or -m6mes to the emphatic pronouns when you particularly want to emphasize something. These forms correspond to English myself, ourselves and so on

Form with -m6me

Meaning

mot-meme

myself

toi-m€me

yourself

lui-m€me

himself, itself

elle-m€me

herself, itself

soFmeme nous-memes

oneself $ourself, ou rselves) ourselves

vous-meme vous-memes

yourself yourselves

eux-meme5

themselves (m a scu I i n e)

elles-mGmes

themselves (feminine)

Je I'ai fait moi-m6me. Elle l'a choisi elle-m6me.

I

did it myself. it herself.

She chose


viii'xii.

54

PRoruourus 55

Pnoruourus

Possessive pronouns What is a possessive pronoun? A possessive pronoun is one of the words mine, yours, hers, his, ours or thelrs, which are used instead of a noun to show that one person or thing befongs to another, for example, Ask Carole if this pen is hers.

Grammar Ertra! Remember that ir with the definite article le becomes au, and \o: d + le mien + au mien

i

+ les miens

i with

les becomes aux,

+ aux miens + aux miennes

d + les miennes

)

Tu pr6fdres ce manteau au

Here are the French possessive pronouns: Meaning

Feminine

singular la mienne

les miens

les miennes

mrne

le tien

la tienne

les tiens

les tiennes

yours

le sien

la sienne

les siens

les siennes

his

J'ai oubli6 mes cl6s. J'ai

hers

des

Feminine

singular le mien

plural

le n6tre

la n6tre

les n6tres

les n6tres

ourS

le vdtre

la vdtre

les

vdtres

les vdtres

yours

le leur

la leur

les leurs

les leurs

theirs

Ces CD-ld, ce sont les miens.

Those CDs are mine.

Heureusement que tu as tes c163. J'ai oubli6 les miennes.

It's lucky you've got your keys. lforgot mine.

In French, possessive pronouns agree with what they describe, NOT with the person who owns that thing. For example, le sien can mean his or hers, but can only be used to replace a masculine singular noun.

'C'est le v6lo de Paul?''Oui, c'est le sien.' 'C'est le v6lo d'lsabelle?''Oui, c'est le sien.'

'ls that Paul's bike?' 'Yes, it's his,' 'ls that lsabelle's 'Yes, itt hers.'


-

bike?'-

to mine?

with les becomes

de + le mien + du mien de + les miens + des miens de + les miennes r des miennes

t

)

tiennes,


y' y'

rtp

Do you prefer this coat

Remember that de with the definite article le becomes du, and de des, so:

Masculine plural

Masculine

mien?

besoin

on Articles,

see

l've forgotten my keys. I need yours.

poge 12.

Key points The French possessive pronouns are le mien, le tien, le sien for singular subject pronouns, and le n6tre, le v6tre and le leur for plural subject pronouns. Their forms change in the feminine and the plural. In French, the pronoun you choose has to agree with the noun it replaces, and not with the person who owns that thing.

56

PRonourrrs 57

Pnoruourus

zlY

en and y

)

en and y do not usually refer to people. How we translate them into English depends on where en and y are found in French.

normally followed by i to avoid repeating the same word. 'Je pensais i l'examen.'-'Mais 'l was thinking about the exam.'arr6te d'y penser!' 'Well, stop thinking about it!' (y replaces d in penser d quelque chose) 'Je ne m'attendais pas i ga.'- 'l wasn't expecting that.'-'Well, I 'Moi, je m'y attendais.' was expecting it.' (y reploces d in s'qttendre d quelque chose)

>yis used with verbs and phrases :

tren is used with verbs and phrases normally followed by de to avoid repeating the same word. Si tu as un probldme, tu peux lf you've got a problem, you can talk to me about it. (en replaces de m'en parler. in parler de quelque chose) prGter Can you lend me that book? | need Est-ce que tu peux me it. (en reploces de in svoir besoin de ai besoin. ce livre? J'eo quelque chose) ll a un beau iardin et il en est He's got a beautiful garden and is very proud of it. (en reploces de in trds fier.

D en

y can afso mean there. lt can be used to replace phrases that would

use

prepositions such as dans (meaning tn) and sur (meaning on). She spends the whole summer Elle y passe tout l'6t6. there. Regarde dans le tiroir. Je pense Look in the drawer. I think the keys que les cl6s y sont. are in there.

Qtre fier de quelque chose)

)

.) l

en can also replace the partitive article (du, de la, de l', des). . Je n'ai pas d'argent.Tu en as? | haven't got any money. Have you got any? 'Tu peux me prGter des timbres?' 'Can you lend me some stamps?'-'Non, je dois en acheter.' 'No, I have to buy some.' For more information on the

en

)

see

I

Word order with en and y

en and y usually come BEFORE the verb.

J'gn

veux.

I

moi. content?

Elle en a parl6 avec En Gtes-vous

Comment fait-on pour y N'y pense plus.

poge 22.

aller?

want some.

She talked to me about it. {re you pleased with it/them?

How do you get there? Don't think about it any more.

In orders and instructions telling someone to do something, en or y come EB the verb and are attached to it with a hyphen O. Take some. Prenez-en. Stay there. Restez-y.

is also used:

o as a preposition o with the present

+

Portitive article,

t

A[f participle of verbs

For more information on Prepositions

and the Present participle,

see poges

1 62 qnd 1 25.

When en is used with avoir, with il y a or with numbers, it is often not translated in English but can NEVER be missed out in French.

'Est-ce que tu as un

'Have you got a dictionary?' -'Yes,

dictionnaire?'-'Oui, j'en ai un.' l've got one.' 'Gombien d'6ldves y a-t-il dans 'How many pupils are there in your ta classe?'-'ll y en a trente.' class?' - 'There are thirty.' J'en veux deux.

I

want two (of them).


viii'xii.

rrp The final -s of -er verbs is usually dropped in the tu form used for orders and instructions. When an -er verb in the tu form is used before en or y, however, the -s is not dropped, to make it easier to sav.

Donne des bonbons i ton Donnes-en i ton frire. Va dans ta chambre!

Vis;y| t ) For more information

frire.

Cive some sweets to your brother. Cive some to your brother. Go to your room! Co on!

on the Imperotive, see poge 85.

58 L

+

Pnoruourus 59

PRoruoulvs

en and y come AFTER other direct or indirect obiect pronouns. Cive them some. Donnez-leur-en. He spoke to me about it ll m'en a parl6. For more informqtion on Direct obiect pronouns qnd lndirect obiect pronouns, see poges 47 ond 49.

y' y' y' y'

Key points en is used with verbs and expiessions normally followed by de to avoid repeating the same word. en can also replace the partitive article. When en is used with avoir and il y a or with numbers, it is often not translated in English but can never be missed out in French. y is used with verbs and expressions normally followed by i to

Using different types of pronoun together D

Sometimes you find a direct object pronoun and an indirect object pronoun in the same sentence. He gave me (indirect obiect) them (direct obiect). He gave them (direct object) to me (indirect object).

)

When this happens in French, you have to put the indirect and direct obiect pronouns in a certain order.

;;

---

te

Direct ---}ei*E---*-----..te en lui :-

avoid repeating the same word.

y' y can also mean there and may replace expressions y' y'

that would be

used with dans and sur or some other preposition indicating a place.

en andy usually come before the verb, except in orders and instructions telling someone to do something, when en or y follows the verb and is attached to it with a hyphen. en and y come after other direct or indirect object pronouns.

Dominique vous l'envoie demain. ll te les a montr6s? Je les lui ai lus. Ne la leur donne pas. Elle ne m'en a pas parl6.

y' y'

For further explanation of grammatacal terms, please see pages viii-xii.

Dominique's sending it to you tomorrow. Has he shown them to you? I read them to him/her. Don't give it to them. She didn't speak to me about it. Key points

lf a direct and an indirect object pronoun are used in the same sentence, you usually put the indirect object pronoun before the direct object pronoun. With lui and leur, this order is reversed and you put the direct object pronoun before the indirect object pronoun.

60

PRoruourus 61

Pnoruourus

lndefinite pronouns What is an indefinite pronoun? An indefinite pronoun is one of a small group of pronouns such as everything, nobody and something which are used to refer to people or things in a general way without saying exactly who or what they are.

)

'What did you buy?'lf the sentence contains a verb you have to use ne with it. He's eaten nothing.

Here are the most common French indefinite pronouns:

o

.

+

chacun (masculine singular)lchacune (feminine singular) each, everyone We each gave ten euros. Nous avons chacun donn6 dix euros. Everyone does what they like. Chacun fait ce qu'il veut. Toutes les villas ont chacune Each villa has its own swimming pool. leur piscine. personne nobody/no one, anybodylanyone ll nly a personne d la maison. There's no one at home. Elle ne veut voir personne. She doesn't want to see anybody. For more informotion

on Negatives,

see

page 138.

.

tout everything ll organise tout.

.

o

quelque chose something, anything

f'ai quelque chose pour

toi. i

Avez-vous quelque chose d6clarer?

+

l've got something for you. Do you have anything to declare?

o

quelqu'un somebody/someone, anybody/anyone There's someone at the door. ll y a quelqu'un i la porte. parapluie? Has anybody seen my umbrella? Ouelqu'un a vu mon

o

rien nothing, anything Elle n'a rien dit. Rien n'a chang6.

She didn't say anything.

Nothing's changed.

For more informotion on Negatives, see

page 138.


ls everything OK?

tous (mosculine pluraf)ltoutes (feminine plurat) all I know them all. Je les connais tous. Elles sont toutes arriv6es? Are they all here?

You can use quelque chose

de/rien de and quelqu'un de/personne de

with adjectives if you want to

say

nothing interesting, something new and

so on.

rien d'int6ressant

y' Oui sait la r6ponse? Personne. Who knows the answer? No one. lf the sentence contains a verb you have to use ne with it.

He's organizing everything.

Tout va bien?

y'

nothing interesting

Key points rlen and personne can be used on their own to answer questions, but need to be used with ne when there is a verb in

the sentence.

quelque chose/rien and quelqu'un/personne can be followed by de + adjective.

62

Pnoruourus 63

PRotrtoutrts

Relative pronouns: qui, que, lequel, auquel, duquel

>

What is a relative pronoun? ln English a relative pronoun is one of the words who, which and thot (and the more formal whom) which can be used to introduce information that makes it clear which person or thing is being talked about, for

qui is also used after a preposition such as i de or pour to talk about pcaplc. the person he is speaking to la personne d qui il parle pour j'ai qui les enfants achet6 the children I bought sweets for des bonbons

example, The mon who has just come in is Ann's boyfriend; The vase that you broke wos quite valuable. Relative pronouns can also introduce further information about someone or something, for example, Peter, who is q brilliant painter, wonts to study ort; lone's house, which was built in 1890, needs o lot of repoirs.

D In French, the

tr )

T(/p ln English we often miss out the object pronouns who, which and that. For example, we can say both the friends thot I see most, ol the friends I see most, and the house which we wqnt to buy, or the house we wont to buy. In French you can |{EVER miss out que or qui

relative pronouns are qui, que, lequel, auquef and duquel.

in this way.

qui and que

2l

qui and que can both refer to people or things.

Subject

Direct object

Relative pronoun

Meaning

qui

who which that

que

Mon frdre, qui a vingt ans, est l'universit6. Est-ce qu'il y a un bus qui va

i

au centre-ville? Les amis que je vois le plus

sont L6a et Mehdi. Voild la maison que nous voulons acheter.

>

lequel, laquelle. lesquels. lesquelles

fequel (meaning which)is used after a preposition such as i de or pourto talk about things. lt has to agree with the noun it replaces.

who, whom which that

Masculine

Feminine

Meaning

Singular

lequel

laquelle

which

Plural

lesquels

lesquelles

which

le livre pour lequel elle

My brother, who's twenty, is at

la table sur laquelle mon sac

university. ls there a bus that goes to the town centre?


the book she is famous for

mis

the table I put my bag on

j'ai

Remember that ir and de combine with the definite article le to become au and du, and with les to become aux and des. lequel/lesquels/lesquelles combine with ir and de as shown in the table. laquelle doesn't change.

The friends (that) | see most are L6a and Mehdi. That's the house (which) we want to buy.

que changes to qu' in front of a word beginning with a vowel and most words beginning with h.

est

GOnnue

t|

'

+ lequel

+ laquelle

+ lesquels

+ lesquelles

Meaning

a

auquel

i

laquelle

auxquels

auxquelles

to which

de

duquel

de laquelle

desquels

desquelles

of which


on d ond dq

see

poges 14 and 15.

64

Pnoruourus 65

Pnoruourus

Orammar Extra! dont means whose, of whom, of which, about which and so on. lt can refer to people or things, but its form NEVER changes. la femme dont la voiture est en panne les films dont tu parles

y' y'

the woman whose car has broken down the films you're talking about

Key points qui and que can both refer to people or things: qui is the subject of the part of the sentence it is found in; que is the object.

y'

n Engfish we often miss out the object pronouns who, which and thot, but in French you can never miss outque orqui. After a preposition you use qui if you are referring to people, and lequel if you are referring to things - lequel agrees with the noun

y'

a+ lequel 'auquel

f

Demonstrative pronouns: ce, cela/ga, ceci, celui What is a demonstrative pronoun? ln English a demonstrative pronoun is one of the words this, that, and fhose used instead of a noun to point people or things out, for

these,

exampfe, Thqt looks fun.

rl

ce

> ce is usually used with the verb

Gtre (meaning to be) in the expressions

c'est (meanin g it's, that's), c'6tait (meaning it wos, that wos), ce sont (meaning it's, that's) and so on.

C'est moi. C'6tait mon frdre. Ce sont eux.

it replaces.

It's me. That was my brother. It's them.

rrp

i+lesquels ,auxquels

i + lesquelles * auxquelles y' de+ lequel ' duquel

ce becomes c' when it is followed by a part of the verb that starts with e or 6. ce becomes E' when it is followed by a part of the verb that starts

de+lesquels'desquels de+ lesquelles' desquelles

with a.

Qa 6t6 difficile.

It was difficult.

Note that after c'est and ce sont and so on you have to use the emphatic form of the pronoun, for example, moi instead of je, eux instead of ils and so on.

C'est moi.

Q

For more informotion on Emphotic

It's me.

pronount

see

poge 51.

D ce is used:

o


with a noun or a question word to identify a person or thing Who is it?, Who's this/that? Oui est-ce? They're teachers. Ce sont des professeurs. que What's this/that? c'est? Ou'est-ce It's a tin-opener. C'est un ouvre'boite.

66

PRorrroulus 67

PRotuoutrts

o

with an adjective to refer to a statement, idea and so on that cannot be classed as either masculine or feminine

C'est trds int6ressant. C'est dangereux. Ce n'est pas grave.

o

That's/lt's very interesting. That's/lt's dangerous. It doesn't matter.

for emphasis G'est moi qui ai t6l6phon6. lt was me who phoned. Ce sont les enfants qui ont fait It was the children who made the le

g6teau.

cake.

E cela, ga and ceci l cefa and Ea mean it, this or that. Both refer to a statement,

rtp ga and cela are used in a more general way than il and elle, which are usually linked to a noun that has already been mentioned.

plait d'aller d l'6tranger? Do you like going abroad?

Elle te plait, ma

nouvelle

Do you like my new car?

voiture?

L

ceci means fhis and is not as common as cela and ga. lt is used to talk about something that has not yet been mentioned.

Lisez ceci.

)

Read this.

}

Meaning

Singular

celui

celle

the one

Plural

ceux

celles

the ones

celui and its other forms are used before:

o

qui, que or dont 'Ouelle robe pr6f6rez-vous?' 'Which dress do you like best?' -'Celle qui est en vitrine.' - 'The one in the window.' Prends ceux que tu pr6fires. Take the ones you like best. the one I told you about celui dont je t'ai parl6 like i, dans and so on. proche celui de la fontaine the one near the fountain

celui and its other forms can be used with de to show who something belongs to. In English, we would use 's. I haven't got a camera but I can Je n'ai pas d'appareil photo mais je peux emprunter celui borrow my sister!. de ma seur. Compare your answers with your Comparez vos r6ponses d neighbour's. celles de votre voisin. You can add the endings -ci and -lir to celui and its other forms to emphasize the difference between something that is close to you and something that is further away.

r use -ci for something that is closer to you o use -li for something that is further away Masculine

Feminine

Meaning

Singular

celui-ci celui-lir

celle-ci celle-lir

this, this one that that one

Plural

ceux-cl ceux-lir

celles-ci celles-lir

these, these ones those, those ones

ceci is also used to hand or show someone something.

Prends ceci.Tu en auras besoin. Take this. You'll need it.

tr

Feminine

o prepositions an idea or an

obfect. ga is used instead of cela in everyday, informal French. It doesn't matter. Qa ne fait rien. Ecoute-moi gal Listen to this! Cela d6pend. That/lt depends. Je n'aime pas cela. I don't like that. Donne-moi ga! Give me that!

Qa te

Masculine

celui, celle. ceux, celles celui and celle mean the one; ceux and celles mean the ones. The form you choose depends on whether the noun it is replacing is masculine or feminine, and singular or plural.



On prend quel fromage? Celui-ci ou celui-ld? Ces chemises ont deux poches mais celles-li n'en ont pas.

Which cheese shall we get? This one or that one? These shirts have two pockets but those have none.

68

PRor,roulvs

y'.

"

cei.soften found

," ,n"

",lo"rlrl,"",lr'".'"rt

."

VERBS sont and so on.

:il',:!iil"i0",,"" or thins ;J:,fi:"J;""#n:T:?"t;*:l:no'o

What is a verb? A verb is a 'doing' word which describes what someone or something does, what someone or something is, or what happens to them, for

on that cannot be crassed

example, be, sing, live.

it,

"y' :jffff|l'i"un cefui and celle mean

thisor thot;ceci means rhis, but is not as

fhe one; ceuxand celles mean the ones. They are often found with the endings -ci and -li and are used to distinguish between things which are close and things which are further away.

The three coniugations D

Verbs are usually used with a noun,

with a pronoun such

as I, you or she, or

with somebody's name. They can relate to the present the past and the future; this is called their tense. t

)

)


on Nouns and Pronouns,

see

pages 1 ond 42.

Verbs are either:

. regular; their forms follow the normal rules o irregular; their forms do not follow the normal rules D Regular English verbs have a base form (the form of the verb without any endings added to it for example, walk). The base form can have fo in front

it for example, to wolk. This is called the infinitive. You will find one of these forms when you look a verb up in your dictionary. of

D

French verbs also have an infinitive, which ends in -er, -ir or -re, for example, donner (meaning to give), finir (meaning to finish), attendre (meaning to woit). Regular French verbs belong to one of these three verb groups, which are called conjugations. We will look at each of these three conjugations in turn on the next few pages.

> English

verbs have other forms apart from the base form and infinitive: form ending in -s (wolks), a form ending in -ing (wolking), and a form ending in -ed (wolked).

D

a

French verbs have many more forms than this, which are made up of endings added to a stem. The stem of a verb can usually be worked out

from the infinitive.

D


French verb endings change, depending on who you are talking aboul je (l), tu (you), illelle/on (he/she/one) in the singular, or nous (we), vous (you) and ifs/elles (they) in the plural. French verbs also have different forms depending on whether you are referring to the present, future or past.

70 Venss ) Some verbs in French do not follow the normal rules, and are called irregular verbs. These include some very common and important verbs like avoir (meaning to hove), €tre (meaning to be), faire (meaning to do, to make) and aller (meaning to go). There is information on many of these irregular verbs in the following sections.

+

For Verh tables, see supplement.

Venss

71

The present tense What is the present tense? The present tense is used to talk about what is true at the momenf what happens regulady and what is happening now, for example, l'm a student, I travel to college by train, l'm studying languoges.

D You use a verb in the present tense to talk about:

y'

Key points French verbs have different forms depending on what noun or pronoun they are used with, and on their tense.

( tfey are made up of a stem and an ending. The stem is usually y'

y'

based on the infinitive.

o

things that are happening now

It! raining. The phoneS ringing.

.

Regular verbs fit into one of three patterns or conjugations: -er, -ir, or -re verbs. lrregular verbs do not follow the normal rules.

o

things that happen all the time or at certain intervals, or things that you do as a habit It always snows in January. I play football on Saturdays. things that are true at the present time: She's not very well. It's a beautiful house.

D There is more than one way to express the present tense in English. For exampfe, you can say either I give, I am giving, or occasionally I do give. ln French you use the same form (e donne) for all of these!

> ln English

you can also use the present tense to talk about something that going to happen in the near future. You can do the same in French. Je vais en France le mois prochain. Nous prenons le train de dix

l'm ooino to France next month. We_fegetling the ten o'clock train.

heures.

Ttp Although English sometimes uses parts of the verb to be to form present tense of other verbs (for example, I am listening, shel talking), French NEVER uses the verb 6tre in this way.


is

72

Vrnes

VeRes 73

The present tense: regular -er {first conjugationl verbs

)

lf an infinitive in French ends in -er, it means the verb belongs to the first coniugation, for example, donner, aimer, parler.

)

To know which form of the verb to use in French, you need to work out what the stem of the verb is and then add the correct ending. The stem of -er verbs in the present tense is formed by taking the infinitive and chopping off -er. Infinitive

Stem (without -er)

donner (to give) aimer (to like, to love) parfer (to speak, to tolk)

donnatm-

parl-

Now you know how to find the stem of a verb, you can add the correct ending. Which one you choose will depend on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vout ils or elles.

c

For more information on Pronouns, see poge 42.

Here are the present tense endings for -er verbs: Pronoun

Ending

ie (i')

-e

Add to stem, e.g. donnje donne

tu

-es

tu donnes

you grve you are giving

il

-e

il donne

he/she/itlone gives he/she/itlone is giving

Meanings I give I

elle on

elle donne on donne

am giving

.nou5

-ons

nous donnons

we grve we are giving

vous

-ez

vous donnez

you grve you are giving

ils elles

-ent

ils donnent elles donnent

they give they are giving

Marie regarde la t616. Le train arrive d deux heures.

Marie is watching W. The train arrives at 2 o'clock.


rtp je changes to j' in front of a word starting with a vowel (o, e, i, o or u), most words starting with h, and the French word y.

il

Note that there are a few regular -er verbs that are spelled slightly differently from the way you might expect.

Q

For more information on Spelling changes

in -er verbs,

see

y'

Verbs endins in -e,

/

present tense stem by losing the -er from the infinitive. for -er verbs are:

uuunfil i^"itln, conlugation

lj".:j:::::"T:::"T:::,T

page 78.

and form their

74

Venes 75

Venes

The present tense: regular -ir (second conjugation) verbs lf an infinitive ends in -ir, it means the verb belongs to the second conjugation, for example, finir, choisir, remplir.

)

The stem of -ir verbs in the present tense is formed by taking the infinitive,,

and chopping off -ir.

)

Infinitive

Stem (without -ir)

finir (to

fin-

finish)

choisir (to choose)

chois-

rempfir (to fill, to fill in)

rempl-

D

Now add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to

For more informotion on Pronouns, see page 42.

Here are the present tense endings for -ir verbs: Pronoun

Ending

Add to stem, e.g. fin-

Meanings

ie 0')

-ts

ie finis

I finish

tu

-t5

tu finis

I am finishing you finish you are finishing

il

-it

elle on

il finit

he/she/itlone

finit on finit

finishes

we finish we are finishing you finish you are finishing

elle

he/she/it/one finishing

nous

-tssons

nous finissons

vous

-tssez

vous finissez

ils

-issent

ils finissent elles finissent

elles

Le cours finit i onze heures. Je finis mes devoirs.

is

they finish they are finishing

The lesson finishes at eleven o'clock, l'm finishing my homework.


D The nous and vous forms of -ir verbs have an extra (two syllobles) tu filnis vous

tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles,

+

j' in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.

je changes to

l

filnilssez

syllable.

(three syllables)

Key points -i, u"toniiJ,i""'r"lona conjugation and form

y'

Verbs ending in

y'

their present tense stem by losing the -ir from the infinitive. The present tense endings for -ir verbs are:

y'

-ls, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. Remember the extra syllable in the nous and vous forms.

76

Venes 77

Vrnes

The present tense: regular -re (third coniugationl verbs

)

lf an infinitive ends in -re, it means the verb belongs to the third coniugation, for example, attendre, vendre, entendre.

)

The stem of -re verbs in the present tense is formed by taking the infinitive and chopping off -re. Infinitive

Stem (without -re)

attendre (to wait)

attend-

vendre (fo sel/)

vend-

entendre (to hear)

entend-

je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.

)

For more informqtion on Pronouns, see poge 42.

Here are the present tense endings for -re verbs: Pronoun

Ending

Add to stem,

Meanings

e.g. attend-

je 0')

-s

i'attends

lwait

tu

-s

tu attend!

I am waiting you wait you are waiting

il elle on

il attend elle attend

nous

-on5

on attend nous attendons

vouS

-ez

vous attendez

ils elles

-ent

ils attendent elles attendent

j' in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y. Key points

y' Yerbsending in -re belonfil,Ii"'l-rtita y'

L Now add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to +

Ttp je changes to

he/she/itlone waits he/she/itlone is waiting we wait we are waiting you wait you are waiting they wait they are waiting

J'attends ma s(Eur. Chaque matin nous attendons

l'm waiting for my sister. Every morning we wait for the train

le train ensemble.

together.


conjugation and form

their present tense stem by losing the -re from the infinitive.

tne present tense endings for -re verbs are: -s, -5, -, -ons, -gz, -ent.

78

Venes 79

Venas

The present tense: spelling changes in -er verbs

}

Learning the patterns shown on pages 72-73 means you can now work out the forms of most -er verbs. A few verbs, though, involve a small spelling change. This is usually to do with how a word is pronounced. In the tables below the form(s) with the irregular spelling is/are underlined.

tr >

3I

Pronoun

verbs such as appeler (meaning to col[), which end in -eler, the I doubles before -e, -es and -ent. The double consonant (ll) affects the pronunciation of the word. In appeler, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teacher, but in appelle the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet.

as

le

lance

tu

lances

il elle on

lance

nouS

langons

vous

lancez

ils

lancent

to eot), which end in -ger, g

becomes ge before an a or an o. This is so the letter g is still pronounced fike the s in the English word leisure. Pronoun

Example verb: appeler

I

aopelle

tu

appelles

il

appelle

nous

appelons

vous

appelez

ils elles

apoellent

The exceptions to this rule are geler (meaning to freeze) and peler (meaning to peel), which change in the same way as lever (see page 81). Verbs like this are sometimes called '1 , 2, 3, 5 verbs' because they change

in the first person singular (je), second person singular (tu), and third person singular and plural (illelle/on and ils/elles).

Verbs ending in -ger

> With verbs such as manger (meaning

Pronoun

elle on

Example verb: lancer

elles

l2l

> With

Verbs ending in -cer

With verbs such as lancer (meaning to throw), which end in -cer, c becomes E before an a or an o. This is so the letter c is still pronounced in the English word ice.

Verbs ending in -eler

Example verb; manger

je

man9e

tu

manges

il elle on

mange

nous

manqeons

vous

man9ez

ils elles

mangent

4

Verbs ending in -eter

verbs such as jeter (meaning to throw),which end in -eter, the t doubles before -e, -es and -ent. The double consonant (tt) affects the pronunciation of the word. In jeter, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teacher, but in iette the first e sounds like

> With

the one in the English word pef. Pronoun

Example verb: jeter

le

iette

tu

iettes

il elle on

iette

nous

ietons ietez

vouS

ils elles For {urther explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii,

ictten!

80 Venss L The exceptions

Vengs

to this rule include acheter (meaning to buy), which changes in the same way as lever (see page 81).

D

Verbs like this are sometimes called'1,

tr >

}

2.3. 6 verbs'.

Verbs ending in -yer With verbs such as nettoyer (meaning to cleon), which end in -yer, the y changes to i before -e, -es and -ent. Pronoun

Example verb: nettoyer

le tu

nettoie nettoies

il elle on

nettoie

nous

nettoyons

vous

nettoyez

ils elles

nettoient

Verbs ending in -ayer, such as payer (meaning to poy) and essayer

(meaning to try), can be spelled with either a y or an i. So je paie and

je paye, for example, are both correct.

}

Verbs like this are sometimes called

tr

"1

, 2, 3, 6 verbs'

Ghanges involving accents

> With verbs such as lever

(meaning to roise), peser (meaning to weigh) and acheter (meaning to buy), e changes to 6 before the consonant + -e, -es and -ent. The accent changes the pronunciation too. In lever the first e sounds ike the vowel sound at the end of the English word teocher, but in fdve and so on the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet. f

Pronoun

Example verb: lever

je

live

tu

lives

il

live

elle on nous

levons

vous ils

levez

livent

elles For further explanation of grammatical


With verbs such as esp6rer (meaning to hope), r6gler (meaning to adjust) and pr6f6rer (meaning to prefer),6 changes to E before the consonant + -e, -es and -ent. Pronoun

Example verb: esp6rer

I' tu

esDere

il elle on

eSDere

esDeres

nous

esperons

vous

esperez

ils elles

espirent

D Verbs fike this are sometimes called '1, 2. 3, 6 verbs'. Key points

Ir*::T'i'J:,"il: "/l'-''Tiffi

xi-unr..

itr?.'il-:,'ffi1;":::,andvousrorms

/ l:H:'iti,t llffX, una vous rorms (optionar in -ayer verbs). I

81

82

Venes 83

Venss

The present tense: irregular verbs

)

3

Some verbs in French do not follow the normal rules. These verbs include some very common and important verbs like avoir (meaning to hove), 6tre (meaning to be), faire (meaning to do, to moke) and aller (meanin g to go). The present tense of these four verbs is given in full below.

O

For Verb tables, see supplement.

tr

The present tense of avoir Pronoun

avoll

I

al

I have

a5

you have he/she/itlone has

tu il

Meaning: to have

a

elle on nous

avonS

vous

avez

we have you have

ils elles

ont

they have

J'4j deux s(Durs.

I have two sisters.

ll a les yeux bleus.

He has blue eyes. She's three. What's the matter?

Elle a trois ans. O,u'est-ce qu'il y a?

e

The present tense of faire Pronoun je

faire

tu

fais

il elle on nous

fait

vous

faites

ils elles

font

Meaning: to do, to make ldo/make

fais

I am doinq/makinq you do/make you are doing/making he/she/it/one does/makes he/she/itlone is doing/making

we do/make we are doinq/makinq you do/make vou are doinq/makinq they do/make they are doing/making

faisons

l'm making a cake. What are you doing? It's hot. It doesn't matter.

Je fais un gdteau. Ou'est-ce que tu fais? ll fait chaud. Qa ne fait rien.

l+'l

The present tense of 6tre Pronoun

6tre

ie

suls

Meaning: fo be tam

tu il

es

you are

est

he/she/itlone

elle on nous

50mmes

vouS

6tes

ils elles

sont

we are you are they are

is

l'm happy.

Je suis heureux. Mon pdre est instituteur.

My father's a primary school

ll est deux heures.

teacher. It's two o'clock.


I

The present tense of aller Meaning: fo go

Pronoun

aller

,e

vats

tu

vas

you 90 you are qoinq

il

va

elle on nous

he/she/itlone goes he/she/it/one is going

allons

vous

allez

we go we are qoinq you go vou are qoinq

ils elles

vont

l90 I am going

Je vais

i

they go they are going

l'm going to London.

Londres.

'Comment allez-vous?'

-'Je

'How are you?' -'l'm fine.'

vais bieni

'Comment ga va?'-'Qa va bien.' 'How are you?'

-'l'm

fine.'

84

tr

Venes 85

Venes

The imperative

lrregular -ir verbs

D Many irregular

verbs that end in -ir, such as partir (meaning to go) and

What is the imperative? An imperative is a form of the verb used when giving orders and rrrstructions, for example, Shut the door!; Sit down!; Don't go!

tenir (meaning to hold), have a common pattern in the singular. The je and tu forms often end in -s, and the illelle/on form often ends in -t. Pronoun

partir

tenir

,e

parS

tien5

tu

par!

tien5

illelle/on

pa(t

tient

Je pars demain. Elle tient le b6b6.

+

l'm leaving tomorrow. She is holding the baby.

t

> r

I

In French, there are two forms of the imperative that are used to give instructions or orders to someone. These correspond to tu and vous.

i,

>


Using the imperative

For more information on the difference between tu

{

D

see

poge 43.

There is also a form of the imperative that corresponds to nous. This means the same as /ef3 in English. lt is not used as often as the tu and vous forms.

2l

t'

ond vous,

Forming the present tense imperative

For regular verbs, the imperative is the same as the tu, nous and vous forms of the present tense, except that you do not say the pronouns tu, nous and vous. Also, in the tu form of -er verbs like donner, the final -s is dropped.

Meaning -ir verbs:

Pronoun

-er verbs:

tu

give

finis

nouS

donner donne donnons

Iet's qive

finissons

vous

donnez

grve

finissez

finir

Meaning -re verbs: attendre finish attends lett finish attendons attendez finish

Donne-moi ga! Finissez vos devoirs et allez

Give me that!

vous Goucher,

bed.

Attendons le bus.

Let's wait for the bus.

Meaning wait let's wait

wait

Finish your homework and go to

rtp When a tu imperative comes before en or y, the final -s is kept to make the words easier to pronounce. The s is pronounced like the z in the English word zipi Co on! Vaglg! Give some to your brother. Donnes:gn d ton frdre.


86

VeRes 87

Venes

Lg"l Where to put the obiect pronoun

}

4

An object pronoun is a word like la (meaning her/it), me/moi (meaning me) or leur (meaning to them) that is used instead of a noun as the object of a sentence. In orders and instructions, the position of these object pronouns in the sentence changes depending on whether you are telling someone TO DO something or NOT TO DO something.

+

For more informotion on Object

)

pronouns,

see

page 47.

lf you are telling someone NOT TO DO something, you put the oblect pronouns BEFORE the verb.

Ne me d6range pas. Ne leur parlons pas. Ne le regardez pas.

L lf you are telling someone TO DO something, you put the object pronouns the verb and join the two words with a hyphen. The word order the same as in English. Excusez:nng!.

Excuse me.

Aide-nous.

Help us. Let's wait for her/it.

Attendonsi!a.

Orders and instructions telling someone to do something may contain direct obiect and indirect obiect pronouns. When this happens, the pronouns go in this order: DIRECT

INDIRECT

le

moi

la

toi

BEFORE

lui nous

les

vous

leur Pr6te-les

moi!

Donnez-la-nous!

E)

Lend them to me! or Lend me them! Give it to us! or Cive us it!

For imperatives using Reflexive verbs, see


terml

poge 90.

please see pages viii-xii.

and vouloir (meaning to wont) have irregular imperative forms. Pronoun

avotl

6tre

savolr

vouloir

tu

ate

sorS

sache

nouS

ayons

soyons

sachons

veuille veuillons

vouS

ayez

soyez

sachez

veuillez

Sois sage. Veuillez fermer la porte.

Don't disturb me. Let's not speak to them. Don't look at him/it.

AFTER

lmperative forms of inegular verbs avoir (meanin g to have),6tre (meanin g to be), savoir (meaning to know)

is

Be

good.

Please shut

the door.

88

Venes 89

Vrnes

What's happening? O,u'est-ce qui se passe? Le soleil se ldve d cinq heures. The sun rises at five o'clock. Sit down! Assevez-vous!

Reflexive verbs What is a reflexive verb? A reflexive verb is one where the sublect and oblect are the same, and where the action 'reflects back' on the subject. lt is used with a reflexive pronoun such as myself, yourself and herself in English, for example, / washed myself; He shoved himself.

tr l

D

Using reflexive verbs

English. Some French verbs can be used with a reflexive pronoun or without a reflexive pronoun, for example, the verbs appeler and s'appeler, and arr€ter and s'arr6ter. Sometimes, however, their meaning may change.

Appelle le chien. Je m'appelle Jacques. ll an6te le moteur. Elle s'an6te devant une

Reflexive verbs are often used to describe things you do (to yourself) every day or that involve a change of some sort (going to bed, sitting down, getting angry, going to sleep). Some of the most common French reflexive

verbs are listed here:

s'amuser s'appeler s'arr6ter s'asseoir se baigner

to play, to enjoy oneself to be called to to to to

stop sit down go swimming go to bed to hurry to get dressed

se coucher se d6p6cher

s'habiller s'int6resser

vitrine.

Call the dog. l'm called facques. He switches off the engine. She stops in front of a shop window.

2l Forming the present tense of reflexive verbs

se changes to s'in front of a word starting with'a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.

For

Note that se and s' are very rarely translated as himself and so on in

In French, reflexive verbs are much more common than in English, and many are used in everyday French. They are shown in dictionaries as se the infinitive (se means himself, herself, itself, themselves or oneself). seis called a reflexive pronoun.

rw )

fl

i

quelque chose

to be interested in somethinq

se laver se lever se passer se promener se rappeler se r6veiller

to wake up

se trouver

to be (situated)

to wash, to have a wash to get up, to rise, to stand up to take place, to happen, to go to go for a walk

to remember

lurther explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii,

D To use a reflexive verb in French, you need to decide which reflexive pronoun to use. The forms shown in brackets in the table are used before a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, or the French word y. Subject pronoun le

Reflexive Dronoun me (m')

tu

te (t')

il elle on

se (s')

Meaning myself yourself himself herself itself oneself

nous

nouS

ourselves

vouS

vous

ils elles

se (s')

yourself (singulor) vourselves (p/urol) themselves

Je me ldve t6t. Elle s'habille. lls s'int6ressent beaucoup aux animaux.

I get up early. She's getting dressed. They're very interested in animals.

90 Venes ) The present tense forms of a reflexive verb work in just the same way as an

Vrnes

Ttp

ordinary verb, except that the reflexive pronoun is used as well. Reflexive forms ie me lave

Meaning lwash (myself)

tu te laves

you wash (yourself)

il se lave

he washes (himself)

elle se lave

she washes (herself)

on se lave nous nous lavons vous vous lavez ils se lavent elles se lavent

}

tr

BEFORE

I go to bed early. What's your name?

When telling someone NOT TO DO something, you put the reflexive pronoun BEFORE the verb as usual. Ne te ldve pas. Ne vous habillez pas.

l

a]

Don't get up. Don't get dressed.

When telling someone TO DO something, you put the reflexive pronoun AFTER the verb and join the two words with a hyphen.

Live-toi! D6p6chez-vous! Habillons-nous.

For more informotion on the Imperative, see

t'

is

poge 85.

Each otherand one another

D We use each other in English when we are talking about two people, and one anotherwhen we are talking about three or more people. The French reflexive pronouns nout vous and se can all mean two or more people.

les

We speak to each other every day.

jours.

In the present tense, the reflexive pronoun almost always comes the verb.

Je me couche t6t. Comment t'appelles-tu?

)

Nous nous parlons tous

Where to put the reflexive pronoun

)

t

Some reflexive verbs, such as s'asseoir (meaning to sit down), are irregular. Some of these irregular verbs are shown in the Verb tables. For Verb tables, see supplement.

t'

When you-are telling someone NOT TO DO something, te or used, not toi. Don't get uP. Ne te live pas.

it washes (itself)

+

)

When you are telling someone TO DO something, te or changes to toi. Sit down. Assieds-toi.

one washes (oneself) we wash (ourselves) you wash (yourself) (singular) you wash (yourselves) (p/urol) they wash (themselves)

91

Get up! Hurry up! Let's get dressed.

For further oxplanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

Shall we see each other tomorrow? On se voit demain? pays The three countries are really like se ressemblent Les trois one another. beaucoup.

92

VeRes 93

Venss

2l

The imperfect tense What is the imperfect tense? The imperfect tense is one of the verb tenses used to talk about the past, especially in descriptions, and to say what used to happen, for example, I used to wolk to school; lt was sunny at the weekend.

)

Forming the imperfect tense of -er verbs

To form the imperfect tense of -er verbs, you use the same stem of the verb as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.

Pronoun

Ending

Add to stem,

Meanings

e.g. donn-

tr )

je (j')

Using the imperfect tense

-ars

je donnais

I gave

was giving I used to give I

The imperfect tense is used:

.

to describe what things were like and how people felt in the past when she left. It was oourino with rain.

tu

-at5

tu donnais

you gave you were giving you used to give

il

-ait

he/she/it/one gave he/she/it/one was giving he/she/it/one used to give

I was very sad

o

to

say

what used to happen or what you used to do regularly in the past

We used to get up very early in those days. I never used to like milk.

o

nous

-rons

il donnait elle donnait on donnait nous donnions

vous

-rc2

vous donniez

you gave you were giving you used to give

ils elles

-aient

ils donnaient elles donnaient

they gave

elle on

to indicate things that were happening or something that was true when something else took place I was watchino TV when the phone rano. As we were looking out of the window, we saw someone walk across

the lawn.

@

Note that if you want to talk about an event or action that took place and was completed in the past, you use the perfeet tensc.

* L

ll portait toujours un grand for more informotion on the Perfect tense,

see

poge 111.

You can often recognize an imperfect tense in English because it uses form like were looking or wos roining. The words used to also show an

imperfect tense.

rtp Remember that you NEVER use the verb €tre to translate was ol were in forms like was roining or were looking and so on. You change

the French verb ending instead.


a

'

we gave we were giving we used to give

they were giving they used to give

He always wore a big black hat.

chapeau noir. We were living in Paris at that time. Nous habitions d Paris d cette 6poque. Pour gagner un peu d'argent, ie To earn a little money I used to donnais des cours de frangais. give French lessons.

rrp

je changes to j' in front of a word starting with words starting with h, and the French word y.

a vowel, most

94

tr )

Venes 95

Vrnes Forming the imperfect tense of -ir verbs

To form the imper-fect tense of -irverbs, you use the same stem of the verb

for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to jq tq i[ ellg on, nous, voug ils or eller as

Pronoun

Ending

Add to stem, e.g.

ie 0')

't55at5

ie finissais

fin

Meanings finishing

I used to finish -t5sars

il elle on

-issait

nous

-rssrons

vous

-rssrez

-issaient

ils elles

tu finissais

you finished you were finishing you used to finish

il finissait elle finissait on finissait

he/she/itlone finished he/she/itlone was finishing he/she/itlone used to finish

nous finissions

we finished we were finishing we used to finish

vous finissiez

ils finissaient elles finissaient

ils

choisissaient une bague

de

)

Meanings

i'c')

-als

i'attendais

I

tu

-at5

il elle on

-ait

nouS

-lons

on attendait nous attendions

vous

-rc2

vous attendiez

ils elles

-aient

ils attendaient elles attendaient

waited waiting I used to wait I was

tu attendais

That afternoon they were choosing an engagement ring.

Forming the imperfect tense of -re verbs

il attendait elle attendait

you waited you were waiting you used to wait he/she/it/one waited he/she/it/one was waiting he/she/itlone used to wail we waited we were waiting

we used to wait you waited you were waiting you used to wait they waited they were waiting they used to wait

Christine m'attendait tous les Christine used to wait for me every evening at the exit. soirs a la sortie. I was living alone after my divorce. Je vivais seule aprds mon

they finished they were finishing they used to finish

fiangailles.

tr

Add to stem, e,g, attend-

you finished you were finishing you used to finish

ll finissait souvent ses devoirs He often finished his homework before dinner. avant le diner. Get apris-midi-ld

Ending

I finished I was

tu

Pronoun

divorce.

il >

Spelling changes in -er verbs

As with the present tense, a few -erverbs change their spellings slightly when they are used in the imperfect tense. The forms with spelling changes have been underlined in the tables.

verbs such as lancer(meaning to throw), which end in -ce4 c becomes g before an a or an o. This is so that the letter c is still pronounced

> With

as in the English word lce.

To form the imperfect tense of -re verbs, you use the same stem of the verb

Pronoun

Example verb: lancer

for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to ig tu, il elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles. These endings are the same as for -erverbs.

le

lanfais

tu il

lanEais

as

lanEait

elle on


nous

lancions

vouS

lanciez

ils elles

lanEaient

96 Venes > With verbs such as manger becomes

ge before

an

a or

VeRes 97

rwr

(meaning to eot), which end in -ger, g an o. This is so the letter g is still pronounced

me changes to m', te to t' and se to s' before a vowel, most words starting with h and the French word y.

like the s in the English word leisure. Pronoun

Example verb: manger

je tu il

manoeats manoeats

/

mangeait

>

elle on nous

mangrons

vouS

mangiez mangeaient

ils elles

These verbs follow the 1.2,3,6 pattern. That is, they change in the

firs!

second and third person singular, and in the third person plural.

tr )

Reftexive verbs in the imperfect tense

I

lrregular verbs in the imperfect tense

The only verb that is irregular in the imperfect tense is €tre. 6tre 6tais

I was

6tais

you were

il elle on

6tait

he/she/itlone was

nouS

6tions

we were

vouS

6tiez

you were

ils elles

6taient

they were

The imperfect tense of reflexive verbs is formed just as for ordinary verbs, except that you add the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se). Subject pronoun

Reflexive

pronoun

Example with laver

,e

me (m')

lavais

J'6kis heureux. Mon pdre 6tait instituteur.

Meaning

te (t')

lavais

I washed

il elle on

se (s')

lavait

nous

nous

lavions

vouS

vous

laviez

ils elles

se (s')

lavaient

I used to wash you washed you were washing you used to wash he/she/itlone washed he/she/it/one was washing he/she/itlone used to wash we washed we were washing we used to wash you washed you were washing

you used to wash they washed they were washing they used to wash


I was happy.

My father was a primary school teacher.

I was washing

tu

Meaning

Pronoun

t' tu

/

r'

98

Vsnes

Venes

The future tense

m

What is the future tense? The future tense is a verb tense used to talk about something that will happen or will be true.

tr }

Pronoun

Just as in English, you can use the present tense in French

ie 0')

to refer to

something that is going to happen in the future. fe pfends le train de dix heures. l'm taking the ten o'clock train. Nous allons i Paris la semaine We're going to paris next week. prochaine.

}

In English we often use going to followed by an infinitive to talk about something that will happen in the immediate future. You can use the French verb aller (meaning to go) followed by an infinitive in the same way. Tu vas tomber si tu continues. You're going to fall if you carry on. ll va manquer le train. He's going to miss the train.

)

see

page 82.

Add to stem, e.g.

Meanings

-45

il elle on

-a

nouS

-ons

vous

-ez

ils elles

-ont

je donner4i

I

will give

je finiraj

I

will finish

j'attendraj tu donneras tu finiras tu attendras illelle/on donnera illelle/on finira illelle/on attendra nous donnerqE

lwill wait

nous finirqns nous attendrqn! vous donnercz vous finirez vous attendrez ils/elles donnerQnt ils/elles finiren! ils/elles attendrsnt

Elle te donnera mon adresse. Le cours finira ir onze heures. Nous t'attendrons devant le cin6ma.

you will give you will finish

you will wait he/she/itlone will give he/she/it/one will finish he/she/it/one will wait we will give we will finish we will wait you will give you will finish you will wait they will give

they will finish they will wait

She'll give you my address. The lesson will finish at eleven o'clock. We'll wait for you in front of the cinema.

Forming the future tense vowel, ie changes to j' in front of a word starting with a y. word French the starting with h, and

To form the future tense in French, you use:

o the infinitive of -er and -ir verbs, for example, donner, finir o the infinitive without the final e of -re verbs: for example, attendr-

)

-al

tu

Remember that French has no direct equivalent of the word will in verb forms like will rain or will look and so on. You change the French verb ending instead to form the future tense.

A

Ending

ovoir,

donner-, f inir-, aftendr-

fn English the future tense is often shown by will or its shortened form ,/l What will you do? The weather will be warm and dry tomorrow. He'll be here soon. l'll give you a call.

L

Note that apart from the nous and vous forms, the endings are the same as the Present tense of avoir. For the present tense of

Using the future tense

99

Then add the correct ending to the stem, depending on whether you are talking about je, tq if elle, ory nous, vous, ils or elles. The endings are the same for -er, -ir and -re verbs.


Spelling changes in'er verbs

tr >'

with the present and imperfect tenses, a few -er verbs change their spellings slightly in the future tense. The forms with spelling changes have been underlined in the tables.

As

100

Venes

Venes

> With verbs such as appeler (meaning to cal[), which

With verbs such as nettoyer (meaning to clean), that end in -yer, the y t hanges to i throughout the future tense.

end in -eler, the

I doubles throughout the future tense. The double consonant (ll) affects the pronunciation of the word. ln appeler, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teacher, but in appellerai the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet. Pronoun


t' tu

appellerai appelleras

il elle on

appellera

nous

appellerons

vouS

appellerez

ils elles

appelleront

The exceptions to this rule are geler (meaning to freeze) and peler (meaning to peel), which change in the same way as lever (see poge 101).

With verbs such as jeter (meaning to throw), that end in -eter, the t doubles throughout the future tense. The double consonant (tt) affects the pronunciation of the word. In jeter, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teocher, but in jetterai the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet. Pronoun

Example verb: jeter

le tu

tstlcralt

ielterc!

il elle on

jctteIa

nous

ietterons ietterez

vouS

ils elles

101

ietteront

The exceptions to this rule include acheter (meaning to buy), which changes in the same way as lever (see page 101).

For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages vlii-xii.

>

Verbs ending in -ayer, such as payer (meaning to pay) and essayer (meaning to try), can be spelled with either a y or an i. So ie paierai and

ie payerai, for example, are both correct.

>

With verbs such as lever (meaning to raise), peser (meaning to weigh) and acheter (meaning to buy), e changes to E throughout the future tense. In lever the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English wotd teocher, but in lEverai and so on the first e sounds like the one in the English word pef. Pronoun

Example verb: lever

le

lEverai

tu

lEveras

it

lEvera

elle on nouS

liverons

vous

lEverez

ils elles

lEveront

Venes

102

Venss

tr

Reflexive verbs in the future tense

)

il faut becomes il faudra (meaning it will be necessary to)' il pleut becomes il pleuvra (meaning it will rain).

The future tense of reflexive verbs is formed in just the same way as for ordinary verbs, except that you have to remember to give the reflexive pronoun (me, se, nous, vous, se). Subject pronoun

Example with laver

Reflexive

plonoun

fhis

is

the future tense of avoir:

I

aural

tu

auras

il

aura

Meaning: to have I will have you will have he/she/it/one will have

nouS

aurons

we will have

vouS

aurez

you will have

ils elles

auront

they will have

Pronoun

Meaning

je

me (m')

laverai

I

tu

te (t')

laveras

you will wash

il elle on

se (s')

lavera

he/she/it/one will wash

nous

nous

laverons

we will wash

vous

vous

laverez

you will wash

ils elles

se (s')

laveront

they will wash

will wash

avolr

elle on

>

This is the future tense of €tre: Meaning: to be

rq

Pronoun

6tre

ie

seral

lwill

me changes to m', te to t'and se to s' before a vowel, most words starting with h and the French word y.

tu

seras

you will be

il

sera

he/she/itlone will be

be

elle on

tr )

There are some verbs that do not use their infinitives as the stem for the future tense, including avoi4 6tre, faire and aller, which are shown in full on pages 103-104.

)

Other irregular verbs include: Verb

devoir

Meaning le to have devrai

)

tu

illelle/on nous

vous

devras

devra

devrez

devrons

ils/elles devront

to, must

pouvoir to be oble pourral

pourras

POUrra

pourrons

sauras

Saura

Saurons saurez sauront tiendrons tiendrez tiendront viendrons viendrez viendront verrons verrez verront voudrons voudrez voudront

pourrez

pourront

to, con Savotr

to know

saural

tenir

to hold

tiendrai tiendras tiendra viendrai viendras viendra verral verras verra voudiai voudras voudra

venrr to come votr to see vouloir to wont

For further oxplanation of grammatical

seron5

we will be

vous

Serez

you will be

ils elles

seront

they will be

nous

lregular verbs in the future tense

tems, please see pages viii-xii,

This is the future tense of faire:

tu

feras

il elle on

fera

Meaning: to do, to make I will do/make you will do/make he/she/it/one will do/make

Pronoun

faire

le

ferai

nous

ferons

we will do/make

vous

ferez

vou will do/make

ils elles

feront

they will do/make

103

104

)

Venes 105

Venes

The conditional

This is the future tense of aller: Pronoun

aller

Meaning: fo go

I

Iral

lwill go

tu il

tras

you will go

tra

he/she/it/one will 9o

elle on

+

nous

rrons

we will go

vouS

tfez

you will go

ils elles

iront

they will go


What is the conditional? The conditional is a verb form used to talk about things that would happen or that would be true under certain conditions, for example,

1]

Using the conditional

D You can often recognize a conditional in English by the word would or its shortened form 'd. I would be sad if you left. lf you asked him, he'd helP You.

L You use the conditional

1/ y' ( 1/

y' y' y'

I

wpuk! help you if I could. lt is also used to say what you would like or need, for example, Could you

youcan use a present,""l""l"oflt"?ti ro tatk about something that will happen or be true in the future, just as in English. You can use aHer with an infinitive to refer to things that will happen in the immediate future. the stem is the same as the infinitive for -er, -ir and -re verbs, except that the final -e of -re verbs is lost. fhe future tense endings are the same for -er, -ir and -re verbs: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. In verbs ending in -eler and -eter: | - ll and t * tt throughout the future tense. In verbs ending in -yer: y , i throughJut the future tense (optional in -ayer verbs). S.omeverb.s are irregular in the future tense. lt is worth learning these in full.

for:

o

asking for something formally and politely, especially in shops l'd like a kilo of pears, please.

.

saying what you would like l'd like to go to the United States.

o o

making a suggestion I could come and pick You uP. giving advice You should say you're sorry.

rrp There is no direct French translation of would in verb forms like would be, would like, would help and so on. You change the French verb ending instead.

l4 L

Forming the conditional

To form the conditional in French, you have

to

use:

o the infinitive of -er and -ir verbs, for example, donner-, finiro the infinitive without the final e of -re verbs, for example, attendr-

>

r) For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

Then add the correct ending to the stem, depending on whether you are talking about je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles' The endings are the same for all verbs. In fact, they are the same as the -er and -re endings for the IMPERFECT TENSE, but the stem is the same as the FUTURE TENSE. For more informotion on the Imperfect tense

92 qnd 98.

ond the Future tense,

see pqges

106

VrRes

Venss

Pronoun

Ending

Add to stem, e,g,

3

Meanings

donner-, f inir-, attendr-

ie (')

I

i'attendrais

tu

-at5

il elle on

-ait

nous

-tons

vous

ils elles

-lez

-aient

> would give I would finish I would wait

ie donner4iE ie finirai5

-ats

tu donnerai! tu finiraiE tu attendrai! illelle/on donnerai! illelle/on finiraft illelle/on attendrai!

you would give you would finish you would wait

nous donnerions nous finirlo45 nous attendrienl

we would give we would finish we would wait

vous donnerlcz vous finirlg; vous attendrlcz

you would give you would finish you would wait

ils/elles donneraienI ils/elles finiraient ils/elles attendraient

they would give they would finish

J'atmcrals aller aux Etats

he/she/it/one would give he/she/itlone would finish heishe/it/one would wait

they would wait

Unis. l'd like to go to the

United States.

T'P je changes to j' in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.

a

Note that you have to be careful not to mix up the future tense and the conditional. They look very similar. FUTURE

CONDITIONAL

je donnerai je finirai

je donnerais

j'attendrai j'aimerai je voudrai je viendrai je serai

je finirais j'attendrais j'aimerais je voudrais je viendrais

je serais


107

Spelling changes in -er verbs

]

with the future tense, a few -er verbs change their spellings slightly in the conditional. The forms with spelling changes have been underlined in the tables below.

As

> With

verbs such as appeler (meaning to cal[), which end in -eler, the I doubles throughout the conditional. The double consonant (ll) affects the pronunciation of the word. ln appeler, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teocher, but in appellerais the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet. Pronoun


I'

appellerais

tu

aooellerais

il

aopellerait

elle on nouS vouS ils

appellerions appelleriez aooelleraient

elles

The exceptions to this rule are geler (meaning to freeze) and peler (meaning to peef), which change in the same way as lever (see page 1 08).

\Mth verbs such as jeter (meaning to throw), which end in -eter, the t doubles throughout the conditional. The double consonant (tt) affects the pronunciation of the word. In jeter, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teocher, but in ietterais the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet. Pronoun je

tu

Example verb: jeter

ietterais ietterais

il elle on

ietterait

nous

icttedsns

vous ils elles

ietteriez

je$sdcn!

The exceptions to this rule include acheter (meaning to buy), which changes in the same way as lever (see poge 108).

Venes

108 Vrnes (meaning to cleon), that end in -yer, the y changes to i throughout the conditional.

> With verbs such as nettoyer Pronoun

Example verb: nettoyer

le

tu

nettoierais nettoierais

iI

nettoierait

elle on nous vous ils elles

ll_J Reflexive verbs in the conditional >

The conditional of reflexive verbs is formed in lust the same way as for ordinary verbs, except that you have to remember to give the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se).

nettoierions nettoieriez nettoieraient

Reflexive

Example

pronoun

with laver

ie

me (m') te (t')

laverais

lwould wash

laverais

you would wash

se (s')

laverait

he/she/it would wash

nous

nouS

laverions

we would wash

vous

vous se (s')

laveriez

you would wash

laveraient

they would wash

il elle on

Verbs ending in -ayer, such as payer (meaning to poy) and essayer (meaning to try), can be spelled with either a y or an i. So ie paierais and

ils elles

je payerais, for example, are both correct. With verbs such as lever (meanin g to roise), peser (meaning to weigh) and acheter (meaning to buy), e changes to E throughout the conditional' In lever the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teocher, but in liverais and so on the first e sounds like the one in the English word pef. Example verb: lever

le

liverais

tu

lEverais

il

lEverait

liverions

vous

lEveriez

ils

lEveraient

me changes to m', te to t' and se to s' before a vowel, most words starting with h and the French word y.

lil

lrregular verbs in the conditional

The same verbs that are irregular in the future tense are irregular in the conditional, including: avoir, etre, faire, aller, devoir, pouvoir, savoir,

tenir, venir, voir, vouloir. t

)

For more information on

lrregulor verbs in the future tense,

see

D To form the conditional of an irregular verb, use the same stem future tense, for example:

elles


Ttp

L

elle on nous

Meaning

Subject pronoun

tu

Pronoun

109

avoir - aur€tre + ser-

viii-xii'

poge 102. as

for the

VrRes 111

110 Vrnss

)

The perfect tense

Then add the usual endings for the conditional. lnfinitive

Future stem

Gonditional endings

avorr

aur-

-ais, -ais,

€tre

ser-

-ait

faire

fer-

nous aurisns, vous aurlez ils/elles auraicnl

-ais, -ais, -ait,

ie seraig tu seralg illelle/on serail nous serions, vous serigz, ils/elles seralco! je fergig tu ferais illelle/on ferai! nous ferions. vous ferlgz, ils/elles feretcot

-ais, -ais, -ait,

-ions, -iez, -aient aller

tr-

-ais, -ais, -ait,

-ions, -iez, -aient

J'llais si j'avais le temps. Je voudrais un kilo de poires, s'il vous plait. Tu devrais t'excuser.

y' ( y' y' y'

j'auralg tu aurait illelle/on aurait.

-ions, -iez, -aient

-ions, -iez, -alent

What is the perfect tense? The perfect is one of the verb tenses used to talk about the past, especially about actions that took place and were completed in the past.

Conditional form

!

Using the perfect tense

D You can often recognize a perfect tense in English by a form like

I gove,

I hove finished. I gave her my phone number. I have finished my soup.

i'iraig tu ira!5, illelle/on irail nous irisn!, vous irlcz, ils/elles iiaient

Ttp

lwould go if I had time. l'd like a kilo of pears, please.

The perfect tense is the tense you will need most to talk about that have happened or were true in the past. lt is used to talk about actions that took place and WERE COMPLETED in the past. Use the imperfect tense for regular events and in most descriptions.

You should say you're sorry.

*

Key points

Theconditional endings ur" ift" same for -er, -ir and -re verbs: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -alent. Theconditional endings are the same as the endings for the imperfect tense of -er and -re verbs, but the stem is the same as the stem of the future tense. In verbs ending in -eter,and. -eter: | ' ll and t + tt throughout the conditional. In verbs ending in -yer: y - i throughout the conditional (optional in -ayer verbs)' tne same verbs that are irregular in the future are irregular in the conditional. lt is worth learning these in full.

2) >

for more information on the lmpertect tense,

see

page 92.

Forming the perfect tense

The imperfect, future and conditional tenses in French are made up of just one word, for example, je donne, tu finissais or il attendra. The perfect tense has TWO parts to it: . the ge$n! tense of the verb avoir (meaning to have) or €tre (meaning to be) . a part of the main verb called the past participle, like given, finished and done in English

D ln other words, the perfect tense in French

is like the form I hove donein

English. r

)

For more informotion on forming the present tense of

ovoir ond etre,

see

page 82.

3

>

|

Forming the past participle

To

form the past participle of regular verbs, you

verb: For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages

viii'xii.

use

the infinitive of the

112

.

Venes 113

Venes For -er verbs, you replace the -er at the end of the infinitive with 6.

Infinitive donner (to give) tomber (fo foll)

o

donntomb-

donn6

Take

partir (fo leove, to go)

tomb6

off -ir

with -i.

fini

finpart-

descendre (to go down, to come down, to get off

tr

> The perfect tense of -re verbs like attendre is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j'ai attendu, tu as attendu and so on.

parti

off -re attend-

Add -u attendu

descend-

descendu

'T,;{h

> The perfect tense of -ir verbs like finir is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j'ai fini, tu as fini and so on.

Add -i

Take

attendre (to wait)

Ttp je changes to j' in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.

For -re verbs, you replace the -re at the end of the infinitive

lnfinitive

D

Add -6

For -ir verbs, you replace the -ir at the end of the infinitive

lnfinitive finir (to finish)

.

Take off -er

with

-u.

6l avoir or 6tre? >

MOST verbs form their perfect tense with avoir; these include donner shown on page112.

as

> There

are two main groups of verbs which form their perfect tense with €tre instead of avoir:

Verbs that form their perfect tense

o

with avoir

Most verbs form their perfect tense with avoir, for example donner:

t

Pronoun

avotr

Past participle

Meaning

I

al

donn6

I gave

tu

a5

donn6

you you have given

il elle on

a

donn6

he/she/it/one gave he/she/it/one has given

nous

avons

donn6

we gave we have given

For more informqtion on Reflexive verbs, see

.

I have given

gave

)

I

all reflexive verbs

a group of verbs that are mainly used to talk about movement or a change of some kind, including these ones:

aller venir arriver

partir descendre

vouS

avez

donn6

you gave you have given

ils elles

ont

donn6

they gave they have given

Elle a donn6 son num6ro de t6l6phone i Glaude. ll a achet6 un ord:nateur. Je n'ai pas regard6 la t6l6 hier.

She gave Claude her phone number. He's bought a computer. I didn't watch

W yesterday.

monter

entrer sortir mourir naitre

devenir rester tomber

to go to come to arrive, to happen to leave, to go to go down, to come down, to get off to go up, to come up to go in, to come in to go out, to come out to die to be born

to become to stay to fall

went to the football match

Je suis all6 au match de

I

football hier. ll est sorti acheter un journal.

yesterday.

Vous 6tes descendu d quelle For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii.xii.

page 88.

station?

He's gone out to buy a newspaper. Which station did you get off at?

114

Venes

Venes

D Here are the perfect tense forms of tomber in full:

Gnmmar Extra! Some of the verbs on the previous page take avoir when they are used with a direct object for example:

descendre quelque chose

Est-ce que bagages?

tu as descendu les

Elle a mont6 les escaliers, Elle a sorti son pofte-monnaie de son sac.

*

tr F


avotl

je

suts

es

tU

down to go up something, to come up something to take something out

sortir quelque chose

Pronoun

Did you bring the bags down?

Plural

-5

Direct objects, see page 47.

Feminine endings

Examples

tomb6 parti

-e

tomb6e partie

est

tomb6

he/it fell,

elle

est

tomb6e

she/it fell, she/it has fallen

on

est

tomb6 (singulo) tomb6s (mosculine plurol) tomb6es (feminine plurol)

one fell/one has fallen, we fell/we have fallen

nous

sommes

tomb6s (mosculine) tomb6es (feminine)

we fell/we have fallen

vous

€tes

tomb6 (mosculine singular) tomb6e (feminine singulor)

you fell/you have fallen

sont

tomb6s

they fell/they have fallen

elles

sont

tomb€es

they fell/they have fallen

On est arriv6s en retard. On est rentr6es toutes les d la m6me heure.

tomb6cs

partis

parties

descendu!i! Did your brother go abroad? She came with us.

They left at six o'clock. My cousins arrived yesterday. (The cousins are female.)


ils

Grammar Extra!

descenduj

frire est all6 ir l'6tranger? Elle est venue avec nous. lls sont partis ir six heures. Mes cousines sont aniv6es hier. Est-ce ton

you fell/you have fallen

tomb,6 (mosculine)

When on means we, the past participle can agree with the subiect of the sentence, but it is optional.

descendue -es

fell/l have fallen

tombr6s (masculine plurol) tomb6es (feminine plurol)

Examples

tomb6g

I

il

5he went up the stairs. She took her purse out of her handbag:

descendu

tomb6. (mosculine)

he/it has fallen

When a verb takes €tre, the past participle ALWAYS agrees with the subject of the verb; that is, the endings change in the ferninine and plural forms.

Singular

Meaning

tomb6e (feminine)

Verbs that form their perfect tense with 6tre

Masculine endings

Past participle

tomb6e (feminine)

to get something down, to bring something down, to take something

monter quelque chose

115

deux

We arrived late. (masculine) We both came in at the same time (feminine)

)

The perfect tense of -ir verbs like partir is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: ie suis parti(e), tu es parti(e) and so on.

)

The perfect tense of -re verbs like descendre is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: ie suis descendu(e), tu es descendu(e) and so on.

116

Venes

Venes

ll

117

The perfect tense of reflexive verbs

D Here is the perfect tense of the reflexive verb se laver (meaning to wash

Grammar Ertra! When a verb takes avoir, the past participle usually stays in the masculine singular form, as shown in the table for donner, and does not change for the feminine or plural forms.

(oneself), to have a wosh, to get washed) in full. Remember that all reflexive verbs take €tre, and so the past participle of reflexive verbs usually agrees with the sublect of the sentence.

Subject plonoun

Reflexive

Present tense Past participle

plonoun

of 6tre

In one particular case, however, the past participle of verbs with avoir does change in the feminine and plural forms. ln the sentences above, dissertation is the direct object of the verb finir. When the direct obiect comes AFTER the verb, as it does in the examples above, then the past participle doesn't change. lf the direct object comes BEFORE the verb, however, the past participle has to change to agree with that direct object.

ie

me

suls

tu

t

es

il

s'

hier the essay that he finished yesterday qu'slles dissertation ont finie hier the essay that they finished yesterday le Since object pronouns usually come BEFORE the verb, the past participle changes to agree with the pronoun.

elle

s

on

s'

ll a fini sa dissertation. Elles ont fini leur dissertation.

He's finished his essay.

They've finished their essay.

la dissertation qu'il a finig

ll a bu son th6? - Oui, il Ia bU. Did he drink his tea? - Yes, he's drunk it. ll a bu sa limonade? - Oui, il Ia bue. Did he drink his lemonade? - Yes, he's drunk it.

rtp

Meaning

1av6 (masculine)

I washed myself

you washed yourself

est

lav6e (feminine) lav6 (masculine) lav6e (feminine) lav6

est est

lav6e lav6 (singulor) lav6s

he washed himself one washed oneself she washed herself

one washed oneself we washed

(masculine plural) lav6es (feminine plurol)

ourselves

nous

nous

sommes

lav6s (masculine) lav6es (feminine)

we washed

vous

vous

Gtes

lav6 (masculine singula)

you washed

lav6e

Remember that with verbs taking €tre, it is the sggls subiect of v! the verb that tells you what ending to add to the past participle. Compare this with the rule for verbs taking avoir that have a direct objec! in their case, it is the direct obiect coming before the verb that tells you what ending to add to the past participle.

(feminine singulo) Iav6s (mosculine plural) lav6es (feminine plural)

ourselves

yourself (singular) you washed yourselves (p/urot)

ils

5e

sont

lav6s

they washed themselves

elles

se

sont

lav6es

they washed themselves

rrp When on means we, the past participle can agree with the subject of the sentence, but it is optional. We washed ourselves one after On s'est lav6es l'une the other. (feminine) f'autre.

aprls


118

Venes 119

Venes

Grammar Extra!

Orammar Extra! The past participle of reflexive verbs DOES NOT change if the direct object (la jambe in the example below) FOLLOWS the verb. Elle s'cs!_siassr6 la jambe.

tr )

What is the pluperfect tense? The pluperfect is a verb tense which describes something that had happened or had been true at a point in the past, for example, I U1lgptten to finish my homework.

She's broken her leg.

lrregular verbs in the perfect tense Some past participles are irregular. There aren't too many, so try to learn

them.

avoir (meaning to have) devoir (meaning to hove to, must) dire (meaning to soy, to tell) €tre (meaning to be) faire (meaning to do, to moke) mettre (meaning to put) pouvoir (meaning to be qble to, con) prendre (meaning to take) ravoir (meaning to know)

tenir (meaning to hold) venir (meaning to come) voir (meaning to see) vouloir (meaning to want)

) )

The pluperfect tense

\a

fallu (it

y' y' y /

>

Using the pluoerfect tense

You can often recognize a pluperfect tense in English by a form like I hod arrived, vou'd fallen.

Elle avait essav6 des douzaines de pulls. Nous avions d6ii commenc6 i manger quand il est aniv6, J'ctals-arivcc la premiire. Mes parents s'6taient couch6s t6t.

-+ d0 +

r

dit 6t6

+ fait + mis -PU -+ pris

+su + tenu

+vu -+

he arrived. I had arrived first. My parents had gone

to bed early.

>

the pluperfect tense in French has two parts to it: the imperfect tense of the verb avoir (meaning to have) or €tre (meaning to be)

Like the perfect tense,

. . D

the past participle lf a verb takes avoir in the perfect tense, then it will take avoir in the pluperfect too. lf a verb takes Gtre in the perfect then it will take 6tre in the pluperfect too.

r)

For more informotion on the Impertect tense

ond the Pertect tense, see pages 92 and

111.

was necessary).


We'd already started eating when

Forming the pluperfect tense

voulu

o"r.r,ol".l,l!tLtiat happened and were completed in the past. lt is not used for things that happened regularly or in descriptions. The per:fect tense is formed with the present tense of avoir or €tre and a past participle. Most verbs take avoir in the perfect tense. All reflexive verbs and a small group of verbs referring to movement or change take €tre. ii" prut participle ends in -6 for -er verbs, in -l for -ir verbs, and in -u for -re verbs. VrfrtiuurU, tfrut iuLe avoir, the past participle does not usually change. With verbs that take €tre, including reflexive verbs, the past participle changes in the feminine and plural.

She had tried on dozens of iumpers.

l4

) venu

y' rheperrect \e .

tl

+eu

if pleut becomes il a plq (it roined). il faut becomes

1

lq D

Verbs taking avoir

Here are the pluperfect tense forms of

donner (meaning to give) in full.

Pronoun

avotr

Past participle

Meaning

I

avais

tu

avats

il

avait

donn6 donn6 donn€

vou had qiven he/she/itlone had given

I had oiven

elle on nouS

avtonS

vouS

avtez

ils

avaient

donn6 donn€ donn6

we had given you had given they had given

elles

The pluperfect tense of -ir verbs like finir (meaning to finish) is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j'avais fini, tu avais fini and so on. The pluperfect tense of -re verbs like attendre (meaning to woit) is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: i'avais attendu, tu avais attendu and so on.

120 l4

)

I

VeRes 121

Venes

ld

Verbs takinq 6tre

Here are the pluperfect tense forms of tomber (meaning to fall) in full. When a verb €tre in the pluperfect tense, the past participle alWays agrees with the sublect of the verb; that is, the endings change in the feminine and plural forms.

D

lrregular verbs in the pluperfect tense lrregularpastparticiplesarethesameasfortheperfecttense(seepogellS).

takes

Ptonoun

6tre

Past participle

Meaning

I

6tais

I had fallen

tu

6tais

il

6tait

tomb6 (mosculine) tomb6e (feminine) tomb6 (mosculine) tomb6e (feminine) tomb6

elle

on

6tait 6tait

tomb6e tomb,6 (singulor) tomb6s (m ascu li n e pl u ro [) tomb6es (feminine pluroD

she/it had fallen one had fallen we had fallen

nouS

6tions

tomb6s (mosculine) tomb6es (feminine)

we had fallen

vous

,6tiez

tomb6 (mo scu I i n e si n g u I o r) tomb6e (f e m i n i n e si ng u I a r)

you had fallen

I ils

i

/

ell6s

tombds (masculine plurol) tomb6es (feminine plurol) tomb6s

6taient 6taient

tomb6es

you had fallen he/it had fallen

thev had fallen they had fallen

The pluperfect tense of -ir verbs like partir (meaning to leove, fo go) is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j'6tais parti(e), tu 6tais parti(e) and so on. The pluperfect tense of -re verbs like descendre (meaning to come down, to go down, to get offl is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j'6tais descendu(e), tu descendu(e) and so on. '6tais

rq When on means we, the past participle can agree with the subject of the sentence, but it is optional. On 6tait

E D

+

tomb6es.

We had fallen. (feminine)

Reflexive verbs in the pluperfect tense Reflexive verbs in the pluperfect tense are formed in the same way as in the perfect tense, but with the imperfect tense of the verb 6tre (see poge 97). For more informotion

on the Pertect tense of reflexive verbs,

see


page 117.

ut1

122 Vrnes

.r

The passive

>

What is the passive? The passive is a form of the verb that is used when the subject of the verb is the person or thing that is affected by the action, for example, / wos given, we were told, it had been mqde.

tr }ln

l

ln English we use the verb fo bewith the past participle (wos hit, was given) to form the passive. In French the passive is formed in exactly the same way, using Ctre and the past participle. The past participle agrees with the subject of the passive verb; that is, the endings change in the feminine and olural forms.

Using the passive

Elle est encourag6e par ses parents. Vous 6tes tous bien pay6s.

a normal, or octive sentence, the'subject'of the verb is the person or

Les portes ont 6t6

thing that carries out the action described by the verb. The'object'of the verb is the person or thing that the verb'happens'to. Ryan (subject) hit (active verb) me (object).

l

Venes 123

Forming the Passive

In English, as in French, you can turn an active sentence round passive sentence. | (subject) was hit (possive verb) by Ryan (ogent).

to make

a

t

l,

For more information on the Past

participle,

see

poge 111.

D Here is the present tense of the -er verb aimer (meaning to like, to love) Pronoun

in

Present tense

Past participle

Meaning

of 6tre le

suis

aim6 (mosculine) aim6e (feminine)

lam

tu

e5

aim6 (mosculine) aim6e (feminine)

fou are loved

il

est

afme

he/it is

elle

est

armee

on

est

aim6 (singulor) aim6s (m o s c u I i n e p I u ra l) aim6es (femin in e plu ra[)

nous

sommeS

aim6s (mosculine) aim6es (feminine)

we are loved

vouS

Ctes

aim6 (m o scu I i n e si n g u I a r) aim6e (f e m ln i n e si n g u I a r) aim6s (m o scu I i n e p I u ro l) aim6es (feminine plural)

yoiu are loved

ils

sont sont

aim6s

they are loved

aim6es

they are loved

;a

loved

fved

Tt/p There is a very important difference between French and English in sentences containing an indirect object. In English we can quite easily turn a normal (active) sentence with an indirect object into a passive sentence.

Active Someone (subject) gave (active verb) me (indirect object) a book (direct object). Passive | (subiect) was given (possive verb) a book (direct object).

In French, an indirect object can NEVER become the subject of

a

passive verb.

for more informotion on Direct and lndirect objects, 47 ond 49.

You are all well paid. ('you' refers to more than one Person here) The doors have been closed.

its passive form.

Very often, however, you cannot identify who is carrying out the action indicated by the verb. I was hit in the face. The trees will be chopped down. l've been chosen to represent the school.

Q

ferm6es.

She is encouraged by her parents.

see poges

elles

she/it is'fovedt one is l9v$d we are loved

i

I

The passive of -ir verbs is formed in the same way, except that the past participle is different. For example, elle est remplie (meaning it is fulD. The passive of -re verbs is formed in the same way, except that the past

participfe is different. For example, il est d6fendu (meaning it is forbidden). For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii,

Venas 125

124 Vrnes Grammar Extra!

Grammar Extra! When on means u/e, the past participle can agree with the subject of the sentence, but it is optional.

monde.

On est aim6s de tout le

)

We're loved by everyone. (mosculine)

The present participle

You can form other tenses of the passive by changing the tense of the verb

What is a present participle? The present participle is a verb form ending in -ing which is used in English to form verb tenses, and which may be used as an adiective and a noun, for example,

€tre.

Whot are you doing?; the setting sun; Swimming is eosy!

lmperfect: j'6tais aim6(e) | was loved Future: tu seras aim6(e) you will be loved Perfect: il a 6t6 aim6 he has been loved

+

For more information on the lmpertect,

i1] Using the present pafticiple > Present participles are not as common

future and pertect tenses,

in French as in English, because they are not used to form tenses. The main uses of the present participle in French are:

see pages

o

92,98and111.

}

lrregular past participles are the same as for the perfect tense (see page

ll

E_l Avoiding the passive D

Passives are not as common in French as in English. There are two main ways that French speakers express the same idea.

o by using the pronoun

On m'a dit que tu ne

pas. +

name.

o

on (meaning someone or they) with a normal,

active verb On leur a envoy6 une

lettre. venais

En attendant sa s(Eur, Richard s'est endormi, Appelle-nous en arivant chez toi. En aoouvant sur ce bouton, on peut imprimer ses documents. ll s'est bless6 en essavant de

by using a reflexive verb Les melons se vendent 2 la pidce.

r0

euros

+ Key

; i*:::**:k*:*: :x;'"::",': reflexive verb or the pronoun on.


For more

o

y' tnepresent tense of ,r'" prrliJJit'iirr.a by using the present

"'"

While waiting for hls sister, Richard fell asleep.

Call us when you get home. By pressing this button, you can print your documents. He hurt himself trying to rescue a cat.

sauver un chat.

Melons are sold for 2 euros each.

For more informotion on Reflexive verbs, see page 88.

as a verb, after the preposition en. The present participle DOES NOT agree with the subiect of the verb when it is used in this way. The subject of the two parts of the sentence is always the same. en can be translated in a number of different

ways.

They were sent a letter. (literally: Someone sent them a letter.) I was told that you weren't coming. (literally They told me you weren't coming.)

For more information on Pronouns, see poge 42.

o

as a verb, on its own, corresponding to the English -ingform. lt DOES NOT agree wlth the sublect of the verb when it is used in this way. Living close to Paris, I go into town Habitant prds de Paris, ie vais quite often. assez souvent en ville, lls m'ont suivi, criant mon nom. They followed me, shouting my

informotion on the preposition en, see poge 158.

as an adjective, like in English. As with all adjectives in French, the ending DOES change in the feminine and plural forms.

Ces enfrants sont 6nervants.

the setting sun the following year Those children are annoying.

des chaises plia$cs

folding chairs

le soleil couchant l'ann6e suivante

126

VeRes 127

Venes

lmpersonal verbs

Ttp The French present participle is NEVER used to translate English verb forms fike / wos walking, we are leaving.

Q

For more information on the lmpertect tense ond the Present tense, see pages 92 and 1 1 1.

English verbs describing movement that are followed by an adverb such as out or down, or a preposition such as dcross or up are often translated by a verb + en +

present participle.

ll est sorti en courant. J'ai_lraVerSe la rue en

e )

What is an impersonal verb? An impersonal verb is one that does not refer to a real person or thing ,rnd where the subject is represented by it, tor example, lt's going tp rain; It's ten o'clock,

D lmpersonal verbs are only

il (meaning if) and in the infinitive.

He ran out. (literolly: He came out running.)

boitant.

I limped across the street. (literally: I crossed the street limping.)

Forming the present participle -ir and -re verbs, you use the nous form of the present tense and replace the -ons ending with -ant.

To form the present participle of regular -er,

addition to their normal meanings, for example, ifvok,

nous form of present tense

Take off -ons

Add -ant

lnfinitive

donnons

donn-

donnant

avoir + noun

langons

lang-

langant

mangeons

mange-

mangeant

Ctre + time

finissons

finiss-

finissant partant

faire + noun

partons

Part-

attendons

attend-

attendant

descendons

descend-

descendant

falloir + noun

LqJ lrregular verbs Three verbs have an irregular present participle:

avoir (meaning to hove) + ayant + 6tant 6tre (meaning to be) savoir (meaning to know)

y'

+

ffl f;:R

tenses in French, but they can

" iil:lii{il:;,ff:::J:ilTi"T1T fiI| j["[:;'"T?i,.n'"n "

a

il est il fait jour il fait nuit il faut

r.,l

and

Meaning there isJslngulor) tn"nu

it

|

u(":
I

isi

,it's daylight

'it's

dark "

\,

we/you etc. need

it

takes

\

we/you efc. have to

manquer

paraitre

il parait que

it appears that

rester + noun

il reste

there is ... lelt(singular) there are ...lett @lurol)

sembler

il semble que

it appears that

valoir mieux + infinitive

il vaut mieux

there is ... missing (singular) there are ... missing (p/urol)

it seems that

sachant

present participtes are never

Expression il v

€trf

il faut il manque

falloir + infinitive

)

used with

They are called impersonal verbs because il does not really refer to { real person, animal or thing, just like itand there iryEnglish in the examples

ll*

,n"y asree w,h ,he

the nous rorm or the present tense and the -ons ending with -ant. The exceptions are avoiri €tre and

::15,..,."t


it seems that

ll y a quelqu'un a la porte. ll est deux heures. ll faut partir. ll manoue cent euros. ll reste du pain. ll vaut mieux ne rien dire.

it would be better to

There's somebody at the door. It's hrrlo o'clock. l'vs/\Vs'vs efc. got to go.

100 euros are missing. There's some bread left. It would be better to say nothing.

128

l

Venes

VeRss 129

Several impersonal verbs relate to the weather.

lnfinitive faire + adjective faire + noun geler nerger

pleuvoir

Grammar Extra!

Expression

Meaning

il fait beau il fait mauvais il fait du vent il fait du soleil il gEle il neige il pleut

the weathert lovely the weather's bad

The subjunctive What is the subjunctive?

it's windy it's sunny

The subiunctive is a verb form that is used in certain circumstances to express some sort of feeling, or to show there is doubt about whether something will happen or whether something is true. lt is only used occasionally in modern English, for example, lf I were you, I wouldn't bother.; So be it.

it's freezing it's snowing

it's rainino

l! Grammar E>
L

There is another group of useful expressions that start with an impersonal il. These are followed by a form of the verb called the subiunctive.

il faut que ll faut que je oarte. il est n6cessaire que ll est n6cessaire qu'on le

O


he won't come back. (The subject of the first part of the sentence sentence is'he'.)

D

fasse,

on the Subjunctive,

We have to do it He might come.

page | 29.

is'l';

the subject of the second port of the

Sometimes, in a sentence like We want her to be happy, you use the infinitive of the verb in English (fo be). This is NOT possible in French when there is a different subject in the tvvo parts of the sentence (we and her).You have to use a subiunctive for the second verb. Nous voulons Ctre heureux. We want to be happy. (No change of subject, so you con just use an infinitive

It's a shame you didn't see him.

see

In French the subjunctive is used after certain verbs and coniunctions when two parts of a sentence have different subjects.

l'm afraid

l've got to go.

il est possible que ll est possible qu'il vienne. il est dommage que ll est dommage que tu ne I'gPs pas vu,

Using the subiunctive

- dtre - in French.)

Nous voulons qu'elle soit heureuse. We want her to be happy. (Subject chonges from nous to ellg so you hove to use a subjunctive

)

soif

-

in French')

You can only use the infinitive instead of the subiunctive in French with impersonal verbs.

ll faut que tu viennes ir l'heure. (using subjunctive)

(

-

ll faut venir ir l'heure. (using infinitive)

You have to come on time.

ll vaut mieux que tu restes chez toi.

n

(using subjunctive)

ll vaut mieux rester chez toi. (using infinitive)

It's better that you stay at home.

l4 )

The subjunctive has several tenses but you are only likely to come across the present subjunctive occasionally in your reading.

D

You may see a subjunctive after certain verbs that you use when you are:

o


Coming across the subiunctive

o o

wishing something: vouloir que and d6sirer que (meaning to wish thot, to wont), aimer que (meaning to like thot), aimer mieux que and pr6f6rer que (meaning to prefer thot) fearing something: avoir peur que (meaning to be ofroid thot) giving your opinion: croire que (meaning to think that)

130 Vrnss o saying howyou feel: regretter

Venes

que (meaning to be sorry fhof), €tre content que (meaning to be pleased thot), €tre surpris que (meaning to be surprised that) and

so on

Je suis content que vous les aimiez. J'ai peur qu'il ne revienne pas.

L

l'm

4I D

For

tr

a

pleased you like them.

l'm afraid he won't come back.

I need to speak to you.

list of some expressions requiring the subjunctive, see page

I 28.

Forminq the present subiunctive of -er verbs

L

To form the stem of

D

For -er verbs the endings are the same as for the ordinary present tense, apart from the nous and vous forms, which have an extra i, as in the imperfect tense.

the present subjunctive you take the infinitive and chop off -er, just as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to ie, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.

Pronoun

Ending

Add to stem,

Meanings

e.g. donn-

je 0')

-e

le donne

I give

tu

-e5

tu donnc!

you grve

il

-e

il donng

he/she/itlone gives

elle

elle donne

on

on donng

nou5

-tons

vous

lez

ils elles

-ent

Pronoun

Ending -tsse

Add to stem, e.g. finje finisse

Meanings

ie (') tu

-isses

tu finisses

you finish

il elle on nous

-tsse

he/she/it/one finishes

-tsstonS

il finisse elle finisse on finillc nous finissions

we finish

vous

-issiez

vous finlEligz

vou finish

ils elles

Jrsent

ils finissent elles finissent

they finish

ie changes to i' in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.

Forming the present subiunctive of -re verbs

lsl D

To form the stem of the present subiunctive you take the infinitive and chop off -re, just as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles. Pronoun

Ending

we qve you gve

Add to stem,

Meanings

ils donnent elles donnea!

they give

ie (i')

-e

i'attends

lwait

tu

-es

tu attendes

you wait

il

-e

il attende elle attende on attendc

he/she/it/one waits

-tons -iez

nous attendions vous attendlg!

we wait

-ent

ils attendent elles aftendcqt

elle

on nous vous

j'

in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.

ie changes to

I finish

e.g. aftend-

nous donn!g!s vous donnlgz

ils elles

vou wait they wait

f i/p je changes to j' in front of a word starting with starting with h, and the French word y.

For further explanation of grammatical termg please see pages viii-xii.

-ir,

just as for the present tense. Then you add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring to to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.

You may see a subjunctive after certain verbal expressions starting with il, such as il is necessary thot) and il vaut mieux que (meaningj it is better that).

.)

Forming the present subiunctive of -ir verbs

To form the stem of the present subiunctive you take the infinitive and chop off

faut que (meaning it

ll faut que je vous oarle.

131

a

vowel, most words

132 Vrnes

E )

VeRss 133

lrregular verbs in the subjunctive Some important verbs have irregular subiunctive forms. Verb

Meaning

ie (i'l

ttl

illelle/on

aller avoir

to oo

allle

ailles

aille

to hove

ate

aies

ait

devoir

to hove to, must

doive

doives

dire

to soyl to tell

dise

€tre faire

to be

pouvoir

nous allions

vous

ils/elles

alliez

aillent

ayons devions

ayez deviez

aient

doive

dises

dise

dlsions

disiez

disent

50r5

sots

soit

soyons

soyez

to do, to moke

fasse

fasses

fasse

fassions

fassiez

soient fassent

to be oble to, con

pur5se

puisses

purs5e

puissions

puissiez

puissent

toke

y'

r'

infinitive. The infinitive is the form of the verb that is found in the dictionary, such as donner (meaning to give), finir (meanin g to finish) and attendre (meaning

doivent

to preniez I prennent I prenne I prennes I prenne prenions (apprend re and comprendre also behave like this - j'ag rprenne, tu rpPrennes and so on savotr to know sache saches sache sachions sachiez sa
prendre

Verbs followed by an infinitive 1l Linking two verbs together > Many verbs in French can be followed by another verb in the to wqit).

>

There are three main ways that verbs can be linked together:

. . .

I

Attercertain verbs you have ,5""tJ:'ltj""ctive in French when there is a different subject in the two clauses. These verbs mostly relate to wishing, fearing, and saying what you think, what you feel and that you are ,.n.:qi:..1 subjunctive ii also found aftei certain verbal expressions that start with ll.

t

)

For more information on Prepositions

ofter verbs,

2)

fhe present tense subjunctive endings for -ir verbs

are:

-isse, -isses, -lsse, -issions, -issiez and -issent.

see

Would you like to wait?

l'm learning to swim. Try to come.

ofter odjectives, and on Prepositions

pages 1 83 qnd 1 78.

Verbs followed by an infinitive

with no preposition

D A number of verbs and groups of verbs can be followed by an infinitive with no preposition. The following important group of verbs are all very irregular, but they crop up so frequently that they are worth learning in full:

o devoir (to have to, must, to be due to)

y'- tne y'

Vous voulez aftendre? with the preposition i J'apprends d nager. with the preposition de Essayez de venir.

stem of the present tense subiunctive is the same as the stem used for 1ne the ordinary present tense. present tense subiunctive endings for -er and -re verbs are: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez and -ent.

with no linking word

o

Tu dois 6tre fatigu6e.

You must be tired.

Elle doit oartir. Le nouveau centre commercial doit ouvrir en mai.

The new shopping centre is due to open in May.

pouvoir (can, moy) Je pcux t'aideI, si tu veux. Puls-ie venir vous voir samedi?

She has to leave.

I can help you, if you like.

May I come and see you on Saturday?

savoir (fo know how to, con) Tu sais conduire? Je sais faire les omelettes.

vouloir (to wont) Elise veut rester un iour de plus. Ma voiture ne veut pas

Can you drive? I know how to make omelettes. Elise wants

to stay one more

day.

My car won't start.

d6marer. For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii,

Voulez-vous boire quelque chose? Would you like something to drink? l'd like to buy a computer. Je voudrais acheter un ordinateur.

134

}

Vrnss

Venes

faffoir (meaning to be

necessary) and

valoir mieux (meaning to be

better)

>

are only used in the infinitive and with il.

ll faut orendre une d6cision. We/you efc. have to make a dec ll vaut mieux t6l6ohoner avant. lt's better to ring first.

D For more information on lmpersonal verbs, see page 127. l The following common verbs can also be followed by an infinitive without preposition:

adorer to love aimer to like, to love aimer mieux to prefer d6sirer to want d6tester to hate envoyer to send esp6rer to hope faire to make, to have something done (fhat quelque chose)

laisser pr6f6rer sembler

to movement of some kind and do not have a direct (meanin g to go) and venir (meaning to come), can be aller as such obiect, followed by an infinitive l'm going to see Nicolas tonight. Je vais voir Nicolas ce soir. Verbs that relate

3]

s'amuser ir faire quelque

J'apprends i skier. ll a commenc6 d pleuvoir. is,

faire faire

Some of these verbs combine with infinitives to make set phrases with a special meaning. aller chercher quelque chose to go and get something laisser tomber quelque chose to drop something vouloir dire quelque chose to mean something

}

Go and get your dad! Paul dropped the vase. What does that mean?

Verbs that relate to seeing or hearing, such asvoir (meaning to see), regarder (meaning to watch, to look at),6couter (meaning to listen fo) and entendre (meaning to heor) can be followed by an infinitive.

ll nous a vus arriver. On entend chanter les

oiseaux.

He saw us arrive. You can hear the birds singing.

For further explanation of grammatical tems, please see pages viii-xii.

to go on doing something to get used to doing something

l'm learning to ski. It began to rain.

verbs can be followed by a person's name or by a noun relating to a person, and then by ir and an infinitive. Sometimes you need to put i in front of the person too. to help someone do something aider quelqu'un i faire quelque chose to teach someone to do apprendre i quelqu'un ir faire something quelque chose inviter quelqu'un ir faire quelque to invite someone to do

I hope to see you next week.

rire! Don't make me laugh! J'ai_faltfCparer mes chaussures. l've had my shoes mended. Je pr6fdre manger d la cantine. I prefer to eat in the canteen.

to have fun doing something to learn to do something to begin to do something

>> Some

to seem

Va chercher ton papa! Paul a laiss6 tomber le vase. Ou'est-ce que ga veut dire?

chose

apprendre ir faire quelque chose €ommencer ir faire quelque chose continuer i faire quelque chose s'habituer i faire quelque chose

prochaine. Ne me fuis pas

)

Verbs followed bv d + infinitive

There are some common verbs that can be followed by ir and an infinitive.

to let to prefer

J'espite te voir la semaine

Come and see!

Viens voir!

L

135

chose

tr L

something

Verbs followed by de + infinitive There are some common verbs that can be followed by de and an infinitive' arreter de faire quelque chose, to stop doing something s'arr€ter de faire quelque chose commencer de faire quelque chose to start doing something to go on doing something continuer de faire quelque chose to decide to do something d6cider de faire quelque chose to hurry to do something quelque chose faire de se d6p6cher to try to do something quelque chose essayer de faire to apologize for doing something quelque chose s'excuser dlavoir fait

finir de faire quelque chose oublier de faire quelque chose proposer de faire quelque chose refuser de faire quelque chose sugg6rer de faire quelque chose

to finish doing something to forget to do something to suggest doing something to refuse to do something to suggest doing something

136

Venes

Venes

J'ai-d€erd6_dc lui 6crire. Je leur ai sugg6r6 de partir

I decided to write

de

to

her.

I suggested that they set off early.

bonne heure,

L

The following verbs meaning asking or telling are also followed by de and an infinitive. Sometimes you need to put ir in front of the person you are asking or telling.

i quelqu'un de faire quelque chose demander i quelqu'un de faire commander

quelque chose dire ir quelqu'un de faire

quelque

to ask someone to do something

to prevent someone from doing

quelque chose

something

remercier quelqu'un de faire

to thank someone for doing

quelque chose

something

Grammar Extra! lf it is important to emphasize that something is going on at a particular time, you can use the phrase €tre en train de faire quelque chose.

ll est en train de travailler. Est-ce que

vous

>

The infinitive can be used in many other ways:

.

after certain adjectives

content de happy to pr€t i ready to ll est touiours

Elisabeth vient de partir. Aisabeth has just left.

( {

rf

o

J'ai besoin de changer de l'argent. I need to change some money.

o

in instructions that are aimed at the general public

-

for example, on

signs or in cookery books

Aiouter le sel et le poivre, bien m6langer. Conserver au frais.

et

Add the salt and pepper, and mix well. Keep refrigerated.

the subject or object of a sentence, when the infinitive corresponds to the -ing form in English used as a noun Smoking isn't good for your health. Fumer n'est pas bon pour la sant6. I love reading. J'adore lire.

as

Ttp You can use the verb faire with an infinitive to refer to something you are having done by someone else. I have to get my car Je dois faire r6oarer ma

voiture.

f ( For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

to help.

How do you get to the station? Pour aller d la gare? ll est parti sans dire au revoir. He left without saying goodbye. after certain set phrases involving a verb plus a noun avoir envie de faire quelque chose to feel like doing something avoir besoin de faire quelque chose to need to do something avoir peur de faire quelque chose to be frightened of doing something

He's working. Can you call back later?

lf you want to say you have just done something, you can use the phrase venir de faire PAST tense, but in French you use the pRESENT tense.

He's always ready

service.

pouvez rappeler plus tard?

quelque chose. In English you use the

pttOti-re[drc

o after certain prepositions

to tell someone to do something

chose

emp€cher quelqu'un de faire

Other uses of the infinitive

to order someone to do something

137

repaired.

Nrcnrves >

A negative question or statement is one which contains a word such as not, never or nothing and is used to say that something is not happening, is not true or is absent.

139

In English, drd is often used to make a statement negative. I went to his party. * | didn't go to his party. We saw David at the weekend. + We didn't see David at the weekend. Note that the French verb faire is NEVER used in this way.

fl

> non

plus is the equivalent of English neither in phrases like me neither,

neither do / and so on.

'l don't like hamburgers.'- 'Me hamburgers.'-'Moi non plus.' neither.' ll n'y va pas et moi non plus. He isn't going and neither am l.

'Je n'aime pas les

tr F

Using negatives ln Engfish we

use

words like not, no, nothing and neverto show a negative.

l'm not very pleased. Dan never ranq me. Nothing ever happens here! There's no milk left.

)

Nof is often combined with certain English verbs won't, didn't, hasn't. He isn't iokino.

- for example, can!

)

The French word ne is missed out when negatives are used without a verb

to answer a question. 'Oui a t6l6phon67'- 'Personne.' 'Who rang?'-'Nobody.' 'Qu'est-ce que tu fais cet 'What are you doing this afternoon?' - 'Nothing.' aprds-midi?' - 'Bign.'

Ttp

She didn't sav.

In everyday conversation French native speakers often miss out the word ne. Be careful about doing this yourself in formal situations.

L In French, if you want to make something negative, you generally use a pair of words, for example, ne ... pas (meaning not). The verb goes in the middle. ne ... pas not ne ... rien nothing, not ... anything ne ... personne nobody, no one, not... anybody, not ... anyone ne ... jamais never, not .., ever ne ... plus no longer, no more, not... any longer, not... any more

Je ng fume oas. Ne changez rien. Je ne vois personne. Elle nlanive iamais d I'heure. ll ng travaille plus ici.

Je peux pas venir ce ll me l'a pas dit.

I can't see anybody.

He didn't tell me.

Sometimes you will find two of these negative expressions combined.

lls ne font jamais rien d'int6ressant. They never do anything interesting. I don't know anyone in Nice any Je ne connais plus personne more. i Nice.

El

Word order with negatives

D Negative expressions in French 'sandwich' the verb in the present tense and in other tenses that consist of lust one word. ne goes before the verb and the other half of the exoression comes after the verb.

ll ne boit iamais d'alcool. ll ne pleuvait pas.

For further explanation of grammatical tenns, please see pages viii-xii.

I can't come tonight.

Grammar Extra!

I don't smoke. Don't change anything. She never arrives on time. He's no longer working here.

soir.

He never drinks alcohol.

It wasn't raining.

140 Necnrvrs

)

Necnrves

In the perfect tense and other tenses that consist of two or more words such as the pluperfect there are two possibilities:

.

ne ... pas, ne ... rien, ne ... plus and ne ... jamais follow the pattern: ne (n') + avoir or €tre + pas + past participle Elle n'a pAS fait ses devoirs. She hasn't done her homework. I didn't say anything. Je n'ai rien dit. Piene nlest pas encore aniv6. Pierre isn't here yet.

o ne ... personne

follows the pattern: ne (n') + avoir or €tre + past participle + personne

Je n'ai vu personne.

I didn't see anybody.

+ For more informqtion on the Perfect tense, see poge 111. ) A negative sentence may also contain a pronoun such as te, le, lui and so on that is the direct or indirect oblect of the verb, or a reflexive pronoun. lf so, ne comes before the pronoun.

Je ne t'entends pas. Ne lui parle pas! Tu ng te rappelles pas de lui? ll ne se ldve iamais avant midi.

+ )

I can't hear you.

Don't speak to him/her! Don't you remember him? He never gets up before midday.

For more informotion on Direct ond Indirect object pronouns and on Reflexive pronount see pqges 47, 49 snd 89.

When a verb is in the infinitive, ne ... pas, ne ... rien, ne ... plus and ne ... jamais come together before the infinitive.

ll essayait de ne oas rire. J'ai peur de ne pas r6ussir.

He was trying not to laugh. l'm afraid of not succeeding.

After these negative expressions, un, une and des (the indefinite / arttgl$ and du, de la, de l' and des (the partlttye_arttelO change to de.

4

for more informotion on the tndefinite article and the Portitive orticle, see pages 1 9 and 22.


3

I

141

non and pas

> non (meaning

no) is the usual negative answer to a question. lt can also correspond to nof in English. 'Tu veux nous accompagner?'- 'Do you want to come with us?''Non, merci.' 'No thanks.' Tir viens ou non? Are you coming or not?

J'espdre que !!g_lt.

I hope not.

pas is generally used when a distinction is being made, or for emphasis. It, too, often corresponds to not in English.

'Oui veut m'aider?'-'Pas

moi!'

'Who wants to help me?' - 'Not me!' 'Est-il de retour?' -'Pas encore.' 'ls he back?' - 'Not yet.' 'Tu as froid?'-'Pas du tout.' 'Are you cold?' - 'Not at all.' Pas question! No way!

Oursnorus

OUESTIONS

E-j )

What is a question? A question is a sentence which is used to ask someone about something and which normally has the verb in front of the subject. A question word such as why, where, who, which or how is used to ask a question.

)

The basic rules

There are four ways of asking questions in French:

o by making your voice go up at the end of the sentence o by using the phrase est-ce que o by changing round the order of words in a sentence o by using a question word

tr }

question, the verb is put BEFORE the subject. This change to normal word order is called inversion. You can do this when the subject is a pronoun such as vous or il. When you change the word order (or invc$ in this way, you add a hyphen (-) between the verb and the pronoun.

Vous (subiect) aimez (verb)

lf you are expecting the answer yes or no, there is a very straightforward way of asking a question. You can keep word order just as it would be in a normal sentence (subject then verb), but turn it into a question by making your voice go up at the end of the sentence. 5o to turn the sentence Vous aimez la France (meaning You like France) into a question, all you need to do is to add a question mark and make your voice go up at the end. Vous (sublect) aimez (verb) la Do you like France? France?

We're leaving right away.

C'est vrai. C'est vrai? Tes parents sont en vacances. Tes parents sont en vacances?

That's that true. ls that true?

Are we leaving right away?

The phrase est-ce que is used to ask a question. Word order stays just the same as it would in an ordinary sentence. Est-ce que comes before the subject and the verb comes after the subject. So to turn the sentence Tu connais Marie (meaning You know Morie) into a question, all you need to do is to add est-ce que.

tr Asking a question bv changing word order ) In ordinary sentences, the verb comes AFTER its subject. In this type of

Asking a question by making llour voice go up

On part tout de suite. On part tout de suite?

Asking a question by using est-ce que

Est-ce oue tu (subject) connais Do you know Marie? (verb)MarieT Est-ce que vous allez en ville? Are you going into town? Est'ce que ta s@ur est vraiment ls your sister really happy? heureuse?

How to ask a question in French

tl-l

18

You like France.

la France.

Aimez (verblvous (subject)

Do you like France?

la France?

ll6crit bien.

+

Ecrit-ilbien?

He writes well. Does he write well?

On part tout de suite. Part-on tout de suite?

We're leaving right away. Are we leaving right away?

For more

informotion on Pronouns,

see

poge 42.

Ttp

Your parents on holiday. Are your parents on holiday?

This is quite a formal way of asking a question. In the perfect tense and other tenses that consist of two or more words such as the pluperfect the part of the verb that comes from avoir or Gtre the one that goes before the pronoun.

Ag-tu vu mon sac? Est-elle rest6e longtemps?

+ For furthel explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

Have you seen my bag?

Did she stay long?

For more information on the Perfect tense, see

page 111.

is

144

l

Oussrolrts 145

0uesroru$

you can use est-ce que. lf you do this, the question word goes at the START of the sentence. you can change word order so that the verb comes before the subject. lf you do this, the question word goes at the START of the sentence. Vous arrivez quand? Ouand est-ce que vous arrivez? When do you arrive? Ouand anivez-vous?

When the verb ends in a vowel in the illglle form, -t- is inserted before the pronoun to make the words easier to say. Aime-t-il les chiens? Does he like dogs? Atelle assez d'argent? Does she have enough money?

Ttp Unlike English there are two ways in French of answering yes to a question or statement. oui is the word you use to reply to an ordinary question. 'Tu l'as

fait?'-'Oui.'

'Elle est belle, n'est-ce

'Oui.'

, pas?'-

Ouel train est-ce que tu Ouel train prends-tu?

'Have you done it?' - 'yes., 'She's beautiful, isn't she?'

Grammar Extra! You can also form a question in this way with a noun or a person's name. lf you do this, the noun or name comes firsf then you add an extra pronoun after the verb and link them with a hyphen. Jean-Piene (subject) ls Jean-Pierre there? (pronoun) li?

est(verb)-il

La piCce dure-t-elle longtempsT Does the play last long? In less formal French, the pronoun may come before the verb, and the noun or name may come at the end of the sentence. ll est li, Jean-Piere? ls Jean-Pierre there? Elle dure longtemps, la pilce? Does the play last long?

Asking a question by using a question word

}

A question word is a word like when or how that is used to ask for information. The most common French question words are listed on pages 146-150.

l

You can use a question word with one of the methods described above: . you can make your voice go up at the end of the sentence. lf you do this, the question word goes at the END of the sentence.


prends?

lls vont ou? Oi est-ce qu'ils vont?

-'Yes.'

si is the word you use to reply to a question or statement that contains a negative expression like ne ... pas. 'Tu ne l'as pas fait?'-'Si.' 'Haven't you done it?' - 'Yes (l have).' 'Elle n'est pas tris belle.''She isn't very beautiful.' 'Mais si!' 'Yes, she is!'

tr

Tu prends quel train?

What train are you getting?

Where are they going?

Oi vont-ils?

+

For more information on Negatives, see

poge | 38.

146 Oueslorus

Oursnorus 147

O,uestion words

tr )

2I

Common question words

>

Listed below are some very common question words. que, quel, qui, quol and lequel, are explained on pages 147-150.

o

o

vas-tu How many people are you going to

inviter? comment? Gomment va-t-elle? Comment tu t'appelles?

invite? how?

How is she? What's your name?

In questions, qui, que and quoi are all pronouns. Which of them you choose depends on: o whether you are referring to people or to things

o

combien + verb? how much?, how many? combien de + noun? how much?, how many? Combien co0te cet ordinateur? How much does this computer C'est combien, ce pantalon? How much are these trousers? Tu en veux combien? Deux? How many do you want? Two? Combien de personnes

qui?. que? and quoi?

o t

)

whether you are referring to the subject or object of the verb (the subject is the person or thing that is carrying out the action described by the verb; the object is the person or thing that'receives'the action) whether the word you use will come after a preposition such as i, de or en For more informqtion on Pronouns ond Prepositions, see poges

42 and 62'

> qui? and que? have longer forms, as shown in the table below. There

is a

difference in word order between the longer and shorter forms' is used for talking about people, and means who? or whom? in English. You can use whom? in formal English to refer to the object of verb, though

> qui?

most people use who). qui? gan be used after a preposition.

pardon

is also used to ask someone to repeat something, and is thd". same as Pardon? in English. comment and quoi can mean the same thing, but are informal, and are the same as Whot? in English.

oi? Ori allez-vous? D'or) viens-tu?

Who? Whom?

Referring to

Subiect

qui?

Meaning

Examples

Meaning

who?

Qui vient?

Who's coming?

people qui est-ce

where? Where are you going?

Qui est-ce qui vient?

qui?

Object

Where are you from?

qui?

who?

Qui vois-tu?

qui est-ce

whom?

Qui est-ce que tu vois? De qui est-ce

que?

rtp

qui? After prepositions qui est-ce

Be careful not to mix up oir, which means where, and ou (without an accent), which means or.

pourquoi?

why?

Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne vient pas avec nous? quand? Quand est-ce gue tu pars en

Why isn't he coming with us?

que?

when?

qu'il parle? Pour qui est ce livre? A qui avez-vous 6crit?

Who's he talking about? Who's this book for?

Who did you write to?, To whom did you write?

When are you going on holiday?

rw

How long have you known him?

que changes to qu' before a vowel, most words beginning with h, and the French word y.

vacances?

Depuis quand est-ce que vous le connaissez?

who? whom?

Who/Whom can you see?

t) For further explanation of grammatical torms, please see pages viii-xii.

For more informqtion on que ond

qui,

see

page 62.

ih',

148

} i

Ouesrolvs

Ouesrnrus

qui

is

+

quel, quelle, quels and quelles are all forms of the same word. The form that you choose depends on whether you are referring to something that is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

the usual way of saying whose in questions.

A qui est ce sac?

Whose is this bag?

For more information on using

d to show possession,

see

English. que? cannot be used after a preposition; you have to use quoi? instead. Referring to

Masculine

Feminine

Meaning

Singular

quel?

quelle?

who? what? which?

Plural

quels?

quelles?

who? what? which?

page 165.

L que? and quoi? are used for talking about things, and mean what? in What?

Meaning

Examples

Meaning

what?

Qu'est-ce qui se

What's happening?

things Subject

qu'est-ce qui?

passe?

Qu'est-ce qui

t'inquiEte? Object

qu'est-ce que? what?

quoi? After prepositions

what?

Whatt worrying you?

Qu'est-ce que vous faites? Que faites-vous?

What are you doing?

A quoi pensestu? De quoi parlezvous?

What are you

thinking about?

grammar, Who did you write to? Whqt ore you talking about? It is NEVER possible to end a French sentence with a preposition.

quel?, quelle?. quels? and quelles?

For more information on Adjectives

and Pronouns,

Ouelle est ta couleur pr6f6r6e? Ouelle heure est-il?

What's your favourite colour?

Ouels sont tes chanteurs pr6f6r6s? Vous jouez de quels

Who are your favourite singers?

What time is it?

What instruments do you play?

t

)

{{

For more information on how quel

What are your favourite colours? Which shoes do you like best?

in used in exclomotions,

see

page 21

.

lequel?. laquelle?. lesquels? and lesquelles?

D In questions lequel, laquelle, lesquels and lesquelles (meaning which one/ones?) are all forms of the same pronoun, and are used to replace nouns. The form that you choose depends on whether you are referring to something that is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

quel? (meaning who?, which? or what) can be used with a noun (as an adiective) or can replace a noun (as a pronoun). Compare this with que? (and its longer forms) and quoi?, which also mean whot?, but are NEVER used with nouns.

+

Who's your favourite singer? Which wine do you recommend?

Ouelles sont tes couleurs pr6f6r6es? Ouelles chaussures te plaisent le plus?

Ttp as about or of, even though some people think this is not good

Ouel est ton chanteur pt6t6r6? Ouel vin recommandez-vous?

instruments?

What are you talking about?

It is possible to finish an English sentence with a preposition such

tr

149

see poges


25 ond 42.

Masculine

Feminine

Meaning

Singular

lequel?

laquelle?

which? which one?

Plural

lesquels?

lesquelles?

which? which ones?

'J'ai choisi un livre.'-'Lequel?'

'l've chosen a book.'-'Which one?'

Laouelle de ces valises est d Bruno?

Which of these cases is Bruno's?

150

Oursrorus

Ouesnorus 151

'Tu te souviens de mes

-'Lcs_Sce!S?'

amis?'

Lesouelles de vos seurs mari6es?

sont

'Do you remember my friends?'-

tWhich ones?' Which of your sisters are married?

+

For more informotion on lequel, see poge 63.

tr

n'est-ce pas? and non?

}

English-speakers often use an expression like isn't it?, don't they?, weren't we? or will you? tagged on to the end of a sentence to turn it into a

question. French uses n'est-ce pas? instead. This useful little phrase never changes, so is very easy to use. You use it in questions when you expect person you are talking to to agree with you.

ll fait chaud, n'est-ce

pas?

Tu parles frangais, n'est-ce

Vous n'oublierez pas,

pas?

n'est-ce

lt's warm, isn't it? You speak French, don'tyou? You won't forget, will you?

pas?

)

lt

common to use non (meaning no) in the same way in spoken French. hein? means the same as eh? in English, and is only used in very informal conversations. is very

ll fait chaud, non? ll fait chaud, hein?

It's warm, isn't it? It's warm, eh?

Grammar Extra! All the questions in the previous section are the actual words that someone uses when they are asking a question, and so they all end with a question mark. These are called diree! questions. When you are telling someone else about a question that is being

lrked, you use an indirect question. Indirect questions never end with a question mark, rrrd they are always introduced by a verb such as to ask, to tell, to wonder, to know and ro on. He asked me what the time was. (His actual question was What is the timeT) Tell me which way to go. frour actual question was Which way do I go)

Word order in indirect questions is generally the same as in English: question word + subject verb.

Dites-moi quel (question word) autobus (subject)va (verb) ila gafe.

ll m'a demand6 combien d'argent j'avais. Je me demande s'il viendra ou pas.

He asked me how much money I had. I

wonder if he'll come or not.

When the subiect of the question is a noun and NOT a pronoun like ie or il, the sublect ,rnd verb that come after the question word are often swapped round.

oi (question word) sont (verb) mes cl6s (subject).

Je me demande

Demande-lui qui est


Tell me which bus goes to the station.

venu.

I

wonder where my keys are.

Ask him who came.

Aovenes 153

ADVERBS What is an adverb? An adverb is a word usually used with verbs, adjectives or other adverbs that gives more information about when, how, where, or in what circumstances something happens, for example, quickly, hoppily, now.

Masculine adjective

Feminine adjective

Adverb

Meaning

heureux

heureuse

heureusement

fortunately

doux

douce

doucement

gently, slowly

seul

seule

seulement

only

The adverb ending -ment is added to the masculine not the feminine form of the adjective if the masculine ends in -6, -i or -u. Masculine adjective

Feminine adjective

Adverb

Meaning

How adverbs are used

d6sesp6r€

d6sesp6r6e

d6sesp6r6ment

desperately

)

vral

vrate

vraiment

truly

absolu

absolue

absolument

absolutely

ln general, adverbs are used together with:

o

verbs (act quickly. speak strongely. smile cheerfully) adjectives (rc!fu ill, q lot better, deeply sorry)

o . other adverbs (resWfart, bo quickly, ysrywell) l

)

lf the adjective ends in -ant, the adverb ends in -amment. lf the adjective ends in -ent, the adverb ends in -emment. The first vowel in the -emment and -amment endings is pronounced in the same way in both - like the o

in the English word caf. courant + couramment (fluently)

Adverbs can also relate to the whole sentence; they often tell you what the speaker is thinking or feeling.

r6cent

Fortunately, Jan had already left. Actually, I don't think l'll come.

@

)

The basic rules

tris

Elles sont

beau. tris belles.

J'y vais souvent. Nous y allons souvent.

@

)

He's very handsome. They're very beautiful.

I often go there. We often go there.

t,tote that there is one exception to this rule. The word tout changes in certain phrases, for example, tout seul (meaning oll alone).

seul, Elle est souvent toute seule.

ll est aniv6 tout

)

A

Adverbs in French NEVER change their form, no matter what they refer to.

ll est

r6cemment (recently)

Note that an exception to this rule is the adverb lentement (meaning slowly), which comes from the adjective lent (meaning slow).

How adverbs are formed

tr

*

He arrived on his own.

lrregular adverbs

There are a number of common irregular adverbs. Adjective

Meaning

Adverb

Meaning

bon

good

bien

well

gentil

nice, kind

gentiment

nicely, kindly

mauvars

bad

mal

badly

meilleur

better, best small

mieux peu

better

petit pire

worse

Pis

worse

Elle travaille bien.

She's often on her own.

Many English adverbs end in Jy, which is added to the end of the adiectivc (quick - quickly, sad - sodlt/;, frequent - frequentQ. In French, many adverbs end in -ment. This is usually added to the end of the feminine singular form of the adjective.

G'est un emploi trds mal pay6.

l{ >

She works well. It's a very badly paid job.

Adjectives used as adverbs Certain adlectives are used as adverbs, mostly in set phrases:

o For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

little

bon good sentir bon to smell nice

154

AoveRes 155

Aovenes cher expensive

Comparatives and superlatives of adverbs

co0ter cher to be expensive payer cher to pay a lot

.t I Comparative adverbs

droit straight aller tout droit to go straight on dur hard travailler dur to work hard

, What is a comparative adverb? r A comparative adverb is one which, in English, has -er on the end of it or i more or /ess in front of it for example, eorlier, loter, soonert moreless i frequently

>

fort loud parler plus fort to speak up

Adverbs can be used to make comparisons in French, just as they can in English. The comparative (more often, faster) of adverbs is formed using the same phrases as for adjectives.

o

mauvais bad

sentir mauvais to smell

tr )

o

Adverbs can be made up of several words instead of iust one. Here are 50me common ones:

bien

sOr

de temps en temps en g6n6ral en retard tout de suite

more ... (than)

first

o

usually

from time to time

less ... (than)

Don't speak so fast! (literally

Speak

fast!) We see each other less often than before.

Nous nous voyons moins souvent qu'avant. as... as aussi ... que Je parle frangais aussi bien

oue

I can speak French as well as you!

toi!

usually

straight away

(que)

You walk faster than me. She's singing louder than the others.

less

is

late

moins ...

moi. les

Parle moins vite!

of course

that

(que)

Elle chante plus fort gue autres.

Adverbs made up of more than one word

c'est-ir-dire d'abord d'habitude

plus ...

Tu marches pluS vite que

Viens aussi vite que

possible.

Come as quickly as possible.

t)

For more information on Comparative odjectives, see poge 34.

ld

Superlative adverbs

What is a superlative adverb? A superlative adverb is one which, in English, has -esf on the end of it or most or leostin front of it, for example, soonest, fostest, mostlleast frequently.

L

The superlative of adverbs (the most, the fastest) is formed using the same phrases as for adjectives, except that le NEVER changes to la or les in the feminine and plural with adverbs as it does with adjectives.

o o For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

t)

le plus ... (que) the most ... (that) Marianne parle le plus vite.

Marianne speaks fastest.

le moins ... (que) the least... (tha$ G'est Gordon qui a mang6 le moins. Cordon ate the least.

For more information on Superlotive odjectives, see page 34.

156

Aovenes 157

Aovenes

tr

Adverbs with iregular comparatives and superlatives

)

Some of the most common adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms. Adverb beaucoup

Meaning a lot

Comparative plus

bien

well

mieux

better

le mieux

mal

badly

pis

worse less

little

moins

C'est lui qui danse le mieux.

D Here are some common adverbs that do not end in -ment:

alors apris

then, so, at that time

Meaning

Superlative

Meaning

more

le plus

(the) most (the) best

aprEs-demain the day after tomorrow

le pis le plus mal

(the) worst

assez aussi

le moins

(the) least

avant-hier the day before yesterday beaucoup a lot, much bientOt soon cependant however

plus mal Peu

Some common adverbs

He dances best.

afterwards

aujourd'hui todaY

dedans dehors d6ia demain depuis derriEre

devant encore

enfin

ensemble ensuite environ hier ici jamais

enough, quite also, too, as

inside outside already, before

tomorrow since

behind in front still, even, again

at last together then about yesterday here never, ever

rw jamais can sometimes be used without ne to mean never or ever. 'Est-ce que tu vas souvent au 'Do you 9o to the cinema a lot?' - 'No, never.' cinema?'-'Non, ian0atg.' pdre? Did you ever see your father As-tu iemels revu ton again?

Q

for more information on Negatives,

ta For further explanation of grammatical


li-bas loin

see

poge 1j8.

there, here over there far, far off, a long time ago

158

AoveRss

AoveRes 159

longtemps a long time maintenant now, nowadays m€me moins oir parfois

D

people:

even

.

less

where

partout

sometimes everywhere

peu

not much, not very

o

not to confuse peu, which means not much or not very,

o

He doesn't travel much.

troP de too much, too many

J'ai mang6 trop de fromage. l've eaten too much

She's a bit shy.

cheese.

Several of the adverbs listed on pages "157 and 158 can also be used as

prepositions: apr6s, avant, devant derriEre and depuis.

)

The question words combien (meaning how much, how mony), comment (meaning how), pourquoi (meaning why) and quand (meaning when) are described on page 146.

)

pas, plus and jamais are used in negative word pairs.

50

soudain souvent

suddenly

surtout tard

tris

especially, above all late early always, still all, very very

trop

too much, too

vite

quick, fast soon

For more informotion on Prepositions, see

page 162.

often

+

T{,p vite and rapide can both mean fost or quick. Remember, though, that vite is an adverb and rapide is an adiective. une voiture ll roule trop

She makes a lot of mistakes.

then

si

tout

fautes.

+

sometimes

toujours

beaucoup de a lot of Elle fait beaucoup de

perhaps more nearly

plus presque puis quelquefois

t6t

We don't have enough time.

invit6es?

D peut-€tre

de

o combien de how much, how many Gombien de personnes as-tu How many people have you invited?

with un peu, which means o little or q bit. ll voyage peu. Elle est un peu timide.

assez de enough

Nous n'avons pas assez temps.

Ttp Be careful

Some of the adverbs listed on pages 157 and 158 can be followed by de and used in front of a noun to talk about quantities or numbers of things or

rapide vite.

a fast car He drives too fast.


For more informqtion on Negotives, see

poge 138.

160 Aovrnas

Aovenes

Word order with adverbs

tr )

>

Adverbs with verbs

Some adverbs FOLLOW the past participle of verbs that consist of more than one word. This rule covers most adverbs that tell you how or where something is done, and a few adverbs that tell you about time.

aujourd'hui today

In English, adverbs can come in different places in a sentence.

demain hier loin

l'm never coming back.

D In French, the

rules are more fixed. When an adverb goes with a verb that consists of just one word, such as a verb in the present tense or the imperfect tense, it generally goes AFTER that verb.

janvier. Je pensais souvent d toi. )

tard vite

lt always snows in January. I often used to think about you.

When an adverb goes with a verb that consists of more than one word, such as a verb in the pcrfeeftense, it generally comes BETWEEN the part of the verb that comes from avoir or €tre and the past participle. ll a trop mang6. He's eaten too much. lls sont d6idr patis. They've already gone.

tomorrow

yesterday far, far off, a long time ago longtemps a long time partout everywhere quelquefois sometimes earlv t6t

See you soon! Suddenlv the phone rano. l'd reallv like to come.

ll neige touiours en

161

late

quick, fast soon

On les a vus partout. Elle est revenue hier.

,4 l

We saw them everywhere. She came back yesterday.

Adverbs with adiectives and other adverbs

When an adverb goes with an adjective, it generally comes iust

BEFORE

that

adjective.

+ l

For more information on the Pertect tense, see

poge 'l 11.

The rule above covers most adverbs that tell you about quantity or time (apart from a few listed later), and some very common ones telling you how something is done.

beaucoup

bien bientdt d6ie encore enfin mal mieux

a lot, much

well soon already, before still, even, again

at last badly

better not much, not very

peu rarement rarely souvent often toujours always, still trop too much, too vraiment really


lls ont une tris belle maison. They have a very nice house. a well-dressed woman une femme bien habill6e

)

When an adverb goes with another adverb, it generally comes just

that adverb. C'est troo tard. Fatima travaille beaucoup pluS vite.

It's too late. Fatima works much faster.

BEFORE

PReposmorus 163

PREPOSITIONS

i,

de and en

Eit What is a preposition? A preposition is a word such as at, for, with, into or from, which is usually followed by a noun, pronoun or, in English, a word ending in -ing. Prepositions show how people and things relate to the rest of the

D

Be careful not to confuse the preposition ir with the verb avoir: il a (meaning he hos) and so on.

rw

sentence, for example, She's at home.; a tool for cutting grass; it's from

When ir is followed by le, the two words become au. Similarly, when i is followed by les, the two words become aux.

David.

il

Using prepositions

}

Prepositions are used in front of nouns and pronouns (such as me, him, the mqn and so on), and show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and the rest of the sentence. Some prepositions can be used before verb forms ending in -ing in English. I showed my ticket to the inspector.

! i

to the rest of the sentence. Je suis trds contente de te voir. l'm very happy to see you. Tu aimes jouer au tennis? Do you like playing tennis?

)

@

see

page

can mean ot. Les melons se vendent

i

2

Melons are selling at 2 euros each. We were driving at 100 km an hour I threw a stone at Chantal.

l'm at home.

Note that ir la maison can also mean to the house.

l'm going back to the house or

Je rentre d la maison.

back home.

Li

can mean rn.

Nous habitons d la campagne. Mon pdre est d Londres.

In English it is possible to finish a sentence with a preposition such as for, obout or on, even though some people think this is not good grammar. You can NEVER end a French sentence with a preposition.

Restez au lit. Jean est entr6, un livre main.

Le caf6 au laiL c'est pour qui? Who's the white coffee for? What are you talking about? Qe quoi parlez-vous?

i

la

We live in the country. My father is in London. Stay in bed. Jean came in with a book in his hand.

Ttp

rtp

ir is used to mean in with the names of towns and cities, and au (singulor) or aux (plurot) with the names of countries that are masculine in French. I live in Mexico. J'habite au Mexique. Elle est aux Etats-Unis. She's in the States.

The French preposition is not always the direct equivalent of the preposition that is used in English. lt is often difficult to give just one English equivalent for French prepositions, as the way they are used varies so much between the two languages.

i For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

for more informotion on Articles,

euros pidce. Nous roulions i 100 km i l'heure. J'ai lanc6 une pierre d Chantal. Je suis d la maison.

Come with me. This brush is really good for cleaning shoes.

+ For more informotion on Nouns ond Pronouns, see pqges 1 and 42. ) Prepositions are also used after certain adjectives and verbs and link them

illelle/on form of the

can mean to. Je vais au cin6ma ce soir. Donne le ballon d ton frdre.

l'm going to the cinema tonight. Give the ball to your brother.

164

Pneposmorus 165

Pneposmorus

.

T'P

Onyvaipied?

is used to mean to with the names of towns and cities, and au (singulor) or aux (plurol) with the names of countries that are masculine in French.

le trajet de Londres d Pads La banque est ouverte de 9

heures i midi. Je suis en vacances du 21

auSjuillet. Li

juin

mur.

Le bureau se trouve au

au

premier

6tage. Ou'est-ce qu'il y a ir la t6l6 soir?

ce

[J

There are two beautiful paintings on the wall. The office is on the first floor.

>

What's on W tonight?

Note that ir and sur can both mean on in English. sur usually means on the top of something. sur la t6l€ means on top of the W set, buL i fa t6f6 means broadcqst on TV. Both can be translated as on the TV in English. sur le mur means on top of the wall, but au mur means

la femme au chapeau vert un gargon aux yeux bleus

the woman with the green hat a boy with blue eyes

fait

i

la main laver d la machine

hand-made to machine-wash

what a type of food is made of une tarte aux poires un sandwich au jambon

a pear tart a ham sandwich


i

ir is used with times, centuries and the names of festivals.

at in at at

trois heures au vingtiime siBcle No6l d Piques

d

i

three o'clock the twentieth century Christmas Easter

ir is used to talk about distances and rates. La maison est d 6 kilomdtres The house is 6 kilometres from here. d'ici. G'est dr deux minutes de chez lt's two minutes from my place. !

i

l'heure.

\ ows who owns sornq:th\r Ce cahier est i Pau[

J

C'est d toi?

C'est d qui de

how something is done

a coffee cup

i

Je suis pay6

what someone looks like or is wearing

a letter box a washing machine

ruote that une tasse caf6 means a coffee cup, but une tasse de cafd means o cup of coffee. In the same way, un verre vin means o vvine g/oss but un verre de vin means o gloss of wine.

moi.

ir is often used to describe:

o

ir can also show what something is used for.

une boite aux lettres une machine d laver une tasse d caf6

5July.

hanging on the woll.

)

D

can mean on.

ll y a deux beaux tableaux

@

Apart from i v6fo and i cheval (meaning on horseback), the prepositions en and par are used with most other means of transport.

the journey from London to Paris The bank is open from 9 to 12.

l'm on holiday from 21 June !o

He came on his bike.

Ttp

Je vais assez souvent d Paris. I go to Paris quite often. ll va aux Etats-Unis la semaine He's going to the States prochaine. next week. ir is also used with de to mean from ... to ...

Shall we walk?

ll est venu i v6lo.

i

}

how you travel

de

bains?

l'rh,Raid by the hour.

s.

ours?

nettoy\la salle

Vflhose.turh'is it to clean the

bathroom?

lf you want to say where something hurts, you use

J'ai mal d la t6te. J'ai mal aux jambes. J'ai mal i la gorge.

i.

l've got a headache.

My legs ache. l've got a sore throat.

166

)

PRrposmorus 167

Pneposrrorus

ir is used with certain adjectives. Son 6criture est difficile dr lire. His/Her writing is difficult to read. l'm ready for anything. Je suis pr6t dr tout.

+ ) i

For more information about Prepositions

is used with certain verbs.

D

For more information obout Prepositions

lTt +

see

Finally, some common ways of saying goodbye contain

auSjuillet.

)

See See

you Saturday! you later!

un amide la famille les fen6tres de la maison la voiture de Marie-Piene

is used as part of the partitive article, whibh is usually the equivalent of some or ony in English. For more information on the

Psrtitive orticle,

see page

@

)

22.

de can mean from. Je viens d'Edimbourg. une lettre de Rachid Je la vois de temps en temps.

the windows of the house Marie-Pierre's car

une boite g[allumeftes deux bouteilles de vin

two bottles of wine

une tasse de caf6

a cup of coffee

a box of matches

Note that une tasse de caf6 means a cup of coffee butune tasse ir caf6 means a coffee cup. ln the same way, un verre i vin means o wine glass but un verre de vin means o gloss of wine.

de can describe what material something is made of. a cotton dress une robe de coton a wooden door une porte de bois

rw en can also be used to say what something is made of, and used when it is important to stress the material. a gold bracelet un bracelet en or

When de is followed by le, the two words become du. Similarly, when de is followed by les, the two words become des.

for more information on Articles,

a friend of the family

of in English.

Ttp 4

l'm on holiday from 21 lune to SJuly.

D de can indicate what something contains, when it usually corresponds to

de

de

juin

the journey from London to Paris The bank is open from 9 to I 2.

de often shows who or what something belongs to.

page 178.

i.

with ir to mean from ... to ...

heures i midi. Je suis en vacances du 21

See you soon! See you tomorrow!

A bient6t! A demain! A samedi! A tout i l'heure!

l

after verbs,

is also used

le trajet de Londres d Pads La banque est ouverte de 9

sfter adiectives, see page 183.

s'int6resser i quelque chose to be interested in something penser d quelque chose to think about something

+

D de

see

poge 12.

is 41.,

You can use de to say what something is used for.

un sac de couchage un terrain de foot un an6t de bus

l'm from Edinburgh. a letter from Rachid I see her from time to time. de

t) For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

a sleeping bag a football pitch a bus stop

found after superlatives (the most..., the biggest, the least... and so on). la plus belle ville du monde the most beautiful city in the world le film le moins int6ressant the least interesting film in the festival du festival

is

For more informotion on Superlotive odjectives, see page 34.

168

Pneposmorus 169

Pnrposrlorus

years and months, and to say how long something will take, when it is the equivalentof in/within: in 1923 en 1923 in lanuary en janvier l'll do it in three days. Je le ferai en trois iours.

D en is used to talk about

L de is used in phrases to talk about quantities. Elle fait beaucoup de fautes. She makes a lot of mistakes. Combien de personnes as'tu How many people have you invi invit6es?

)

de is used with certain adlectives. Je suis trds surpris de te ll est triste de partir.

t)

voir.

For more informqtion on Prepositions

l'm very surprised to see you. He's sad to be leaving. ofter adjectives,

see

Gmmmar Extra! en and dans can both be used in French to talk about a length of time, but the meaning is very different.

page 183.

Grammar hctra! lf you want to use an adiective after quelque chose, rien, quelqu'un and personne, you link the words with de. someone important quelqu'un g['important something interesting quelque chose d'int6ressant

rien d'amusant

)

+

de is found after certain verbs. d6pendre de quelque chose parler de quelque chose For more informqtion on Prepositions

l'll do it in three days. Je le ferai dans trois jours. l'll do it in three days. Je le ferai en trois iours. Though both can be translated in the same way, the first sentence means that you'll do it in three days, time; the second means that it will take three days for you to do it.

)

nothing funny

to depend on something to talk about something ofter verbs,

see

en is used with the names of the seasons, except for spring' in summer en 6t6 in autumn en automne in winter en hiver in sPring BUT: au printemPs

D en is used for most means of transport. Je suis venu en voiture' G'est plus rapide en train' ll est all6 en ltalie en avion.

page 178.

tren

I came by car.

lt's quicker by train. He flew to ltaly.

Ttp

@ Note that en is never followed by an article such as le, du or des. ) en is used to talk about a place. lt can be the equivalent of the English to

The prepositions

i

and par are also used with means of transport.

or in. Je vais en ville. ll a un appartement en ville, Nous allons en France cet 6t6. Nous habitons en France.

Use en to say what language something is in.

l'm going to town. He has a flat in town. We're going to France this summer. We live in France.

rrp en is used with the names of countries that are feminine in French. Use ir with the names of towns and cities, and au or aux with

>

en can be used to say what something is made of when you particularly want to stress the material. a bracelet made of gold, a gold un bracelet en or

'

un manteau en cuir

bracelet a coat made of leather, a leather

coat

masculine countries. For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages

'

une lettre 6crite en'espagnol a letter written in Spanish Say it in English. Dis-le en anglais.

viii-xii'

170

Pneposmorus 171

Pneposmorus

Eome other common Prepositions t tote that some of these words are also adverbs, for example, avant, depuis.

{f )

r

en often describes the situation or state that something or someone is in.

l'm on holiday.

Je suis en vacances. La voiture est en panne. Tu es toujours en retard!

)

>

For more information on the Adverbs, see

o lpp|5 after aprds le d6ieuner aprds son d6part

is found before present participles. the form of the verb that ends in -ing in English and -ant in French.

porte.

la troisiBme maison

I do my homework while watching

For more informotion on the Present

He saw me as he came past the door.

participle,

see

apris la

after lunch after he had left the third house after the town hall

mairie After you!

Aprds vous!

TV.

la

poge 152.

The following prepositions are also frequently used in French:

en

Je fais mes devoirs en regardant la t616. ll m'a vu en passant devant

r)

The car's broken down. You're always late!

I

Note that where English uses a verb in the perfect tense following ofter, French uses the infinitive avoir or 6tre and a past participle'

[J

Nous viendrons aprds avoir la vaisselle.

poge 125,

o

@

fait

We,|l come after we,ve done the dishes.

3y6n1 before

ll est arriv6 avant toi.

He arrived before you.

Toumez d gauche avant la poste.

Turn left before the Post office.

Note that where English uses a verb ending in -ing alter before, French uses de followed by the infinitive.

Jepr6firefinirmesdevoirsIprefertofinishmyhomework before eating.

avant de manger.

o

avec with

with my father unechambreavecsa||edebainaroomwithitsownbathroom

avec mon pdre

Ouvre-la avec un

.

For further explanataon of grammatical terms, please see pages viii-xii.

couteau'

chez Elle est chez Pierre. Elle va chez Pierre. Je reste chez moi ce weekend' Je vais rentrer chez moi. lls habitent pris de chez moi.

Open it with a knife' She's at Pierre's house. Shet going to Pierre's house,

l'm staying at home this wecletttl l'm going home. They live near my house.

172 l

Pneposmorus 173

Pneposmorus

T'P chez is also used with the name of jobs or professions to indicate a shop or place of business.

I

Je vais chez le m6decin.

l

contre against Ne mets pas ton v6lo contre le mur.

l'm going to the doctor's.

behind the door

devant in front of ll est assis devant moi.

He's sitting in front of me.

entre ... et between ... and ll est assis entre son pire et son oncle. Le bureau est ferm6 entre 13

Don't put your bike against the wall

i

dans in, into

He's sitting between his father and his uncle. The office is closed between 1 and 2 p.m.

et 14 heures.

ll est dans sa chambre.

He's in his bedroom.

Nous passons une semaine dans les Alpes. dans deux mois ll est entr6 dans mon bureau.

We're spending a week in the Alps.

jusque as far as, until

l'll go with you

Je te raccompagne iusque

in two months'time He came into my office.

Jusqu'ot vas-tu? Jusqu'ici nous n'avons pas eu

meaning is very different.

Je le ferai dans trois iours. l'll do it in three days. Je le ferai en trois jours. l'll do it in three davs. Though both can be translated in the same way, the first sentence means that you'll do it in three days' time; the second means that it will take three days for you to do it.

depuis since, for Elle habite Paris depuis Elle habite Paris depuis

ans. @

1998. cinq

de septembre.

'1

998

She's been living in Paris for five years.

He's been in France since September. (ond he is still there)

lf you are saying how long something has NOT happened for, you use the perfect tense with depuis. Nous ne I'avqng pas vu deouis We haven't seen him for un mois. a month.

Q

For more informotion on the Present tense

How far are you going? Up to now we've had no problems.

qnd the Pertect tense,

pogesTl and111. For further explanation of grammatical te]ms, please see pages viii-xii.

see

l'm staying until the end of the month.

jusque changes to jusqu' before a word beginning with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.

. She's been living in Paris since

Note that French uses the present tense with depuis to talk about actions that started in the past and are still going on.

ll est en France depuis le mois

far as your house.

de probldmes.

Je reste iusqu'i la fin du mois.

dans and en can both be used in French to talk about a length of time, but the

o

as

chez toi.

Grammar Extra! l

derriEre behind derridre la porte

par by, with, per

deux par deux

two by two

Par le train

by train by post by email His name begins with H. Take three tablets per day.

par la poste par email Son nom commence oar un

H.

Prenez trois cachets oar iour. Le voyage co0te quatre cents euros Dar personne.

The trip costs four hundred euros per person. Nous nous voyons une fois oar We see each other once a month.

mois.

ll est tomb6 par terre. ll y a beaucoup de touristes

There are a lot of tourists around

He fell down.

par ici.

here.

174

sans without

rtp The prepositions

o

Pneposmorus 175

PReposmorus

i

Elle est venue sans son frdre' un caf6 sans sucre un pull sans manches

and en are also used with means of transport.

pendant during, for Qa s'est pass6 pendant l'616. ll n'a pas pu travailler pendant plusieurs mois.

() -

It happened during the summer. He couldn't work for several

.

Ecosse.

en

i

NewYork

pendant

Q

under the table underground

Pose-le sur le bureau. Ton sac est sur la table.

years.

Vous verrez l,hapitat sur gauche. un livre sur la politique

l'll be in New York for a month.

for more information on the Pertect tense,

see

Everyone's coming except him'

SUr On

We lived in Scotland for ten

votre

Put it down on the desk. Your bag is on the table. You'll see the hospital on your left. a book on politics

Note that i and sur can both mean on in English. sur usually means on the top of something. sur la t6l6 means on top of the TV set, bul i fa t6l6 means broadcost on TV. Both can be translated as on the TV in English. sur le mur means on top of the wall, but au mur means

m

un mois.

a sleeveless sweater

sous under

o

pendant is also used to talk about something that will happen in the future. Je serai

lui.

sous la table sous terre

You can also miss out pendant.

Nous avons habit6 dix ans

sauf except Tout le monde vient sauf

.

French uses the perfect tense with pendant to talk about actions in the past that are completed. Nous avons habit6 pendant dix We lived in Scotland for ten years. (but don't any more) ans en Ecosse.

a coffee without sugar

Note that sans can also be used before infinitives in French. In English a verb form ending in -ing is used after without. Elle est partie sans dire au revoir. She left without saying goodbye.

months.

Ttp

She came without her brother.

page 111

hanging on the wall.

pour for (who or what something is for, and where something or someone

is

going)

Ttp

lt's a present for you. C'est un cadeau pour toi. Nous voudrions une chambre We'd like a room for two nights. oour deux nuits. the train for Bordeaux le train pour Bordeaux

E

Note that pour can also be used with infinitives, when meaning of in order to.

it

and by.

one person in ten une personne sur six I got 14 out of 20 in maths' quatorze en vingt sur J'ai eu maths. La pidce fait quatre mitres sur The room measures four metres bY two' deux.

has the

She's ringing to find out what time Elle tt6l6phone pour savoir i we'll get there. quelle heure on arrivera. Pour aller dr Nice, s'il vous plait? Which way is it to Nice, please?


With numbers and measurements sur can also mean in, out of

.

vers towards (a place), at about ll allait vers la gare. Je rentre chez moi vers cinq heures.

He was going towards the station. I go home at about 5 o'clock.

176

}

PReposmoNs 177

Pnepognorus

voici (meaning this is, here rs) and voilir (meaning there is, that rs) are two very useful prepositions that French speakers often use to point things out. This is my brother and that's my Voici mon frire et voild

ma

consisting of more than one word one. Prepositions can also be made up of several words instead of iust

de de i cause de

at the edge of, at the side of after

s(Eur.

sister.

Voici ton sac.

Here's your bag.

au bord au bout

Le voici!

Here he/it is! Look! There's Paul. Have you lost your pen? Here's another one. There they are!

au-dessous de below au-dessus de above au fond de at the bottom of, at the end of au milieu de in the middle of

Tiens!Voild Paul. Tu as perdu ton stylo? En un autre. Les voildr!

voilir

i

because of

Au bout d'un moment, il s'est endormi. Nous ne pouvons Pas sortir i-eeuse-dg mauvais temps. J'ai gar6 la voiture au bord de la route. Mon porte-monnaie est au fond dg mon sac. Place le vase au milieu de la table.


toms, please sce pages vlii-xli.

After a while, he fell asleep' We can't go out because of the bad weather. I parked the car bY the side of the road. My purse is at the bottom of mY bag. Put the vase in the middle of the

table.

178

Pneposnprus 179

Pneposlrrols

Prepositions after verbs

)

|> Here are some verbs taking

some French verbs can be followed by an infinitive (the fo form of the verb) and linked to it by either de or i, or no preposition at all. This is also true ol verbs and their obiects: the person or thing that the verb ,happens,to.

S


on Verbs followed by an infinitive,

see

page

croire i quelque chose r'lnt6resser ir quelqu'un/quelque

to believe in something to be interested in someone/

chose

something to play something (sports, gomes)

ob6ir

rhe lists in this section concentrate on those French verbs that involve

Verbs that are followed by

i

a

jouer au tennis jouer aux 6checs

is often the equivalent of the English word to when it is used with an indirect object after verbs like send, give and soy.

to say something to someone to give something to someone to write something to someone to send something to someone to show something to someone

lndirect objects,

see

obey someone

think about someone/something answer someone phone someone

rtp

+ obiect

dire quelque chose ir quelqu'un donner quelque chose ir quelqu'un 6crire quelque chose i quelqu'un envoyer quelque chose ir quelqu'un montrer quelque chose i quelqu'un

to to to to

When you are using jouer to talk about sports and games, you use i. When you are using jouer to talk about musical instruments, you use de.

l i

For more informotion on

quelqu'un

r6pondre ir quelqu'un t6l6phoner i quelqu'un

different construction from the one that is used in English.

+

i

penser ir quelqu'un/quelque chose

The preposition that is used in French is not always the same as the one that is used in English. Whenever you learn a new verb, try to learn which preposition can be used after it too.

tr

in French that have a different construction in

fouer ir quelque chose

l j3.

Ttp

l

i

[nglish.

to play tennis to play chess

jouer de la guitare to play the guitar jouer du piano to play the piano

D plaire followed by i plaire

i

is a

common way of saying you like something.

to

quelqu'un

Ton cadeau me plait beaucoup' I like your present a lot. This film is very popular with young Ce film plait beaucoup aux people. jeunes.

page 49.

Grammar with this type of verb. In English, you can say either to give something to someone or to give someone something; lo show something to someone or to show someone somethinq. You can NEVER miss out i in French in the way that you can sometimes miss out fo in English.

please someone (literollY)

E>
manquer ir works quite differently frorn its English equivalent, to miss. The English obiect lr the French subjec! and the English subiect is the French oblect. to be missed by someone (literolly) manquer i quelqu'un Tu (subject) me (object) manques. | (subject) miss you (obiect). | (subject) miss my country @biect) very Mon pays (subject) me (obiect) much. manque beaucoup.

D There are also some verbs where you can put a direct obiect before ir. The verb demander is the most common. demander quelque chose ir quelqu'un to ask someone something, to ask someone for something For further explanation of grammatical terms, please see pages

viii-xii

t

)

For more informotion on Direct obiects, see page 47.

180 @

Pneposmorus 181

PReposmorus

ruote that demander in French does NOT mean fo demond.lt means to osk something or to ask for something. lf you want to say demand in French, use exiger.

Nous avons demand6 notre chemin d un chauffeur de taxi. J'exige des excuses!

A )

We asked a taxi driver the wav. | demand an apology!

Verbs that are followed by de + object Here are some verbs taking de in French that have a different construction in English.

changer de quelque chose to change something (one's shoes and so on) to depend on someone/something d6pendre de quelqu'un /

quelque chose s'excuser de quelque chose jouer de quelque chose parler de quelque chose se servir de quelque chose se souvenir de

to apologize for something

to play something to talk about something

to

quelqu'un/ to

use something

remember someone/something

quelque chose

I

Verbs taking a direct obiect in French but not in English

are a few verbs that are followed by for, on, in, to or ot which, in French, are not followed by a preposition such as a or de. Here are the most common: attendre quelqu'un/quelque chose to wait for sb/sth

D In English there

chercher quelqu'un/quelque

quelque chose. Je t'attends devant la

you use de. jouer au tennis jouer aux 6checs

Vous altez assister au

gare.

chess

phrases using avoir also contain de.

avoir besoin de quelque chose to need something avoir envie de quelque chose to want something avoir peur de quelque chose to be afraid of something There are also some verbs where you can put a direct object before de. remercier is the most common.

remercier quelqu'un de quelque chose to thank someone for something For more informotion on Direct objects, see poge 47.

For further explanation of grammatical terms. please see pages viii-xii.

l'll wait for you in front of the station.

concert?

Are you going to attend the

concert?

to play tennis

to play

to ask for sb/sth to listen to sb/sth to hope for sth to PaY for sth to look at sb/sth

ruote that attendre does NOT mean to ottend in English. lt means to wqit for. lf you want to say that you attend something, use assister

When you are using jouer to talk about sports and games, you use i. When you are using jouer to talk about musical instruments,

L Some common

chose to look for sb/sth

demander quelqu'un/quelque chose 6couter quelqu'un/quelque chose esp6rer quelque chose payer quelque chose regarder quelqu'un/quelque chose

i

jouer de la guitare to play the guitar jouer du piano to play the piano

+

ll

@

rw

)

Grammar Ertra! lhe verb se tromper de quelque chose is often the equivalent of to get the wrong ... I got the wrong number. Je me suis tromp6 de num6ro. I got the wrong house. Je me suis tromp6 de maison.

D habiter can be used with or without a preposition:

o habiter

is mostly used without a preposition when you are talking about living in a house, a flat and so on We live in a small flat in town' Nous habitons un petit appartement en ville.

use habiter with ir when you are talking about a town or city, and au (singutor) or aux (plurot) with the names of countries that are masculine

in French Nous habitons i Liverpool. We live in Liverpool. Nous habitons aux Etats-Unis. We live in the United use habiter

with en when you

Nous habitons en

States.

are talking about feminine countries

Espagne.

We live in Spain'

182

PRepostlotrls 183

Pneposmorus

y' y'

Key points French prepositions after verbs are often not the ones that are used in English. French verbs often have a different construction

from English verbs.

> lust like verbs, either

You can never miss out i in French in the way that you can miss out to in English constructions like to give someone something.

i

some French adiectives can be linked to what follows by

or de.

D An adlective followed by de or ir can

French verbs are usually linked to their obfects by de, ir or

nothing at all.

U/

Prepositions after adiectives be followed by a noun, a pronoun or

an infinitive.

D

you feel, Some adjectives that can be followed by de are used to say how that you are certain about something, or that it is necessary or important to do something. These are the most common:

certain

content d6sol6

certain happy sorry

enchant6 delighted

heureux

haPPY

important

imPortant

malheureux

unhaPPY

n6cessaire

sfir triste

necessary sure sad

Tu es sOr de pouvoir venir? Enchant6 de faire votre

Are you sure You can come? Delighted to meet You.

connaissance. ll est n6cessaire de

You have to book'

r6server.

Grammar Etctra!

)

(meaning interesting) or Some adjectives, such asfacile (meaning eosy), int6ressanl orde. de tends to be eitherir by followed be can Irnporriut" (meaning impossible), when u"iJ *r,"" you are saying something that is generally true. tends to be used particular' in or something someone about you are saying something

i

ll est difficile de Prendre une d6cision. ll est difficile d connaitre. Son accent est difficile d comprendre.


It's difficult

to make

He's difficult

a decision.

to get to know. to understand.

His accent is difficult

Coru.lurucnorus 185

CONJUNCTIONS What is a conjunction? A conjunction is a word such as and, but, or, so, if and becouse, that links two words or phrases of a similar type, or two parts of a sentence, for exampfe, Diane and I have been friends for years; I Ieft becouse ! wos bored.

et

mais, ou, parce que and si D et mais, ott parce que and si are the most common need to know in French.

o o

@

conjunctions that you

you and me It's raining and it's very cold.

mais but

C'est cher mais de trds bonne qualit6.

ouor Tu pr6fdres le vert ou le

bleu?

Donne-moi ga sU ie me

f6che!

Do you like the green one or the blue one? Cive me that or l,ll get crossl

T'P Be

careful not to confuse ou (meaning or) with

of

(meaning

where).

.

Si i'6tais d ta Place, ie ne

l'inviterais

parce que because Je ne peux pas sortir parce que I can't go out because l've still got j'ai encore du travail dr faire. work to do.

For further explanation of grammatical torms, please see pages viii-xii.

I

wonder if she's lYing.

lf I were you, I wouldn't invite him'

Pas.

rw to s'before il or ils. Sil ne pleut pas, on mangera lf it doesn't rain' we'll

si changes

dehors.

It's expensive, but very good quality.

Note that mais is also commonly found in front of oui and si. 'Tu viens ce soir?'-'Mais oui!' 'Are you coming tonight?, 'Definitely!' 'll n'a pas encore fini?''Hasn't he finished yet?'-'He 'Mais si!' certainly has!'

a

siif Je me demande si elle ment'

et and

toi et moi ll pleut et il fait tris froid.

o

outside'

'fifr, eat

L

ili

186 Gol.lurucnolrs

Gorrr.lurucnorus 187

Some other common conjunctions

)

The conjunction que

Here are some other common French coniunctions:

o

car because ll faut prendre un bus pour y You need to take a bus to get there acc6der car il est interdit d y because cars are prohibited. monter en voiture. Note that car is used in formal language or in writing. The normal

@

D When que is used to join two parts of a sentence, it means fhof. He says that he loves me. ll dit qlLil m'aime. She knows that you're here. Elle sait que vous 6tes lit.

soys he loves me and He says that he loves me, or She knows you're here and She knows thot you're here. You can NEVER leave out que in French in the same way.

ln English you could say both He

way of saying becouse is parce que.

o

Comme

aS

Gomme il pleut, je prends la As it's raining, l'm taking the car. voiture. donc so J'ai rat6 le train, donc je serai I missed the train, so l'll be late.

'

is also used when you are comparing two things or two people. In this case, it means os or thon. lls n'y vont pas aussi souvent They don't go as often as us'

D que

o

en retard. lql5qus when

que nous. Les melons sont plus chers que Melons are more expensive than les

o

J'allais composer ton num6ro I was about to dial your number lorsque tu as appel6. when you called. quand when Je ne sors pas quand il pleut. I don't go out when it rains.

@

t

)

D

t,tote that when quand and lorsque are used to talk about something that will happen in the future, the French verb has to be in the future tense even though English uses a verb in the present tense.

Ouand je serai riche, j'achdterai When l'm rich, l'll buy a nice house. une belle maison.

+

For more informotion on the Present tense and the Future tense, see poges

I like neither lentils nor spinach.

les 6pinards.

@ Note that the ne part of this expression goes just before o ou ... ou, ou bien ... ou bien either ... or Ou il est malade ou il ment. Ou bien il m'6vite ou bien il ne me reconnait pas,

bain.

in the bath'

Note that when pendant que (meaning whi!e), quand (meaning wfien) and forsque (meaning when) are used to talk about something that will happ-en in the future, the French verb has to be in the future tense even though English uses a verb in the present tense. Pendant que ie serai en France, l'll go and visit them while l'm in

t

)

France.

For more information on the Present tense and the Future tense, see poges

71 and 98.

Grammar Extra!

the verb.

Either he's sick or he's lying. Either het avoiding me or else he doesn't recognize me.


Some words which give you information about when something happens, can also be conjunctions if you put que after them. pendant que (meaning while) is the most common of these. christian a t6l6phon6 pendant Christian phoned while chantal was

j'irai les voir.

ne ... ni ... ni neither ... nor Je n'1aime ni les lentilles ni

For more informotion on Comparative odjectives, see page 34.

[J -

French, like English, also has conjunctions which have more than one part. Here are the most common:

o

bananas.

que Ghantal prenait son

71 and 98.

L

bananes.

tluc can replace another coniunction to avoid having to repeat it. When you're older and You have Ouand tu seras plus grand et a house of your own, que tu auras une maison As it's raining and I don't have an Comme il pleut et que ie n'ai

i toi,...

pas de parapluie, ...

"'

umbrella, ...

NuMeens 189

NUMBERS

1st

2nd 3rd

1

un (une)

2

deux

3

trois quatre

4 5 6 7

8 9

l0 11

't2

cinq six sept

huit neuf dix onze douze

4th 5th 6th

7th 8th 9th 1 oth 1th

1

'lzth 3th

1

14th 15th 6rh

1

14

treize quatorze

15

quinze

16 17 18 19

seize

20 21

vingt vingt et un (une)

22

vingt-deux

30

trente

40 50

quarante

112

cinquante

113

soixante soixante-dix soixante et onze soixante-douze

213

13

60 70 71

72 80 81

90 9',l

100 101

300 301 1 000 2000 1,000,000

dix-sept dix-huit dix-neuf

quatre-vingts quatre-vingt-un (-une) quatre-vingt-dix quatre-vingt-onze cent cent un (une) trois cents trois cent un (une) mille deux mille un mlllion

17th 8th 9th 2oth 21st 22nd 3oth 't 00th 1 1

101st 1

000th

114

1ls 0.5 3.4 10o/o

100o/o

premier (1er), premiire

(1re)

-r,^\ deuxiEme (2e or 2Gme; or second(e) (2no(e)1 troisiEme (3e or 3eme; quatriime

1+e or

4fme)

cinquidme 15e or 5eme)

sixidme 16e or 6efe) septiEme 1Ze or 7!me) huitiEme (8e or 8eme1 neuviEme (9e or 9e.me) dixiEme (10e or 101t") onziEme (11e or 11"T") douzidme (12e or 12.et") treiziEme (13e or tt"t:) quatorziEme (14e or l4eme) quinziEme (15e or l5eme) seiziime (16e or l6eme) dix-septiEme (17e or 17:me) dix-huitiime (l8e or l8ele) dix-neuviEme (19e or'l9eme)

vingtiime (2Oe or 20em1 . vingt et unidme (21e or 2l:me) vinit-deuxidme (22e or 22eme) treitiEme (3oe or 3oeT") centiime (100e or 100eme) cent uniime (l0le or 101eme) milliime (l0O0e or l000eme) un demi un tiers deux tiers un quart un cinquiEme z6ro virgule cinq (0,5) trois virgule quatre (3,4)

dix pour cent cent pour cent

EXEMPLES

EXAMPLES

ll habite au dix.

He lives at number ten. on page nineteen in chapter seven He lives on the fifth floor. He came in third.

d la page dix-neuf au chapitre sePt ll habite au cinQuidme (6tage).

ll est aniv5 troisiime' 6chelle au vingt'cinq millidme

scale one to twentY-five thousand

190

Tunenruo

Trtae aruo Dere

THEURE

THE TIME

Ouelle heure est-il?

What time is it?

ll est...

It's...

une heure une heure dix une heure et quart une heure et demie deux heures moins vingt deux heures moins le quart

avril mai

A quelle heure?

At what time? ir minuit at midnight i midi at midday, at noon ir une heure (de l'aprEs-midi) at one o'clock (in the afternoon) i huit heures (du soir) at eight o'clock (in the evening) i llhl5 or at 1 1.15 or eleven fifteen onze heures quinze it 2Oh45 or at 20.45 or twenty forty-five vingt heures quarante-cinq THE DATE DAYS OF THE WEEK

lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi samedi

dimanche Ouand?

lundi le lundi tous les lundis mardi dernier vendredi prochain samedi en huit samedi en quinze

French.

February March April May

juin juillet

lune

ao0t

August

septembre

September

octobre

October November

novembre d6cembre Ouand? en f6vrier le 'ler d€cembre le premier d6cembre

en 1998 en mille neuf cent quatre-

July

December

When?

in February on December 1st on December first in 1998 in nineteen ninety-eight

vingt-dix-huit Ouel jour sommes-nous? Nous sommes |e...

Monday Tuesday

lundi 26 f6vrier or lundi vingt-six f6vrier

Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

What day is it? It's...

Monday 26 February or Monday twenty-sixth of February

dimanche ler octobre or dimanche premier octobre

When?

Sunday 1st October or Sunday the first of October

Note that months of the year are NOT written with a capital letter in

on Monday

French.

on Mondays every Monday last Tuesday

next Friday a week on Saturday two week on Saturday

a Note that days of the week are NOT written with a capital letter

.

mars

twenty to two quarter to two

LA DATE

January

ianvier

one o'clock ten past one quarter past one half past one

LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINE

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

LES MOIS

f6vrier

Dere

in

191

192 Trurnruo

Dnre

VOCABULAIRE

Quand?

aujourd'hui ce matin cet aprEs-midi ce soir Souvent?

USEFUL VOCABUTARY

When? today this morning this afternoon this evening How often?

tous les jours tous les deux jours une fois par semaine deux fois par semaine une fois par mois $a s'est pass6 quand? le matin le soir hier hier soir avant-hier

every day every other day once a week twice a week once a month

demain demain matin aprEs-demain dans deux jours dans une semaine dans quinze jours le mois prochain

l'an prochain or l'ann6e prochaine

ii-*ta.

lmmPle:

,

o English phrasalverbs (verbs followed

to fall down to give back

rendre more information on Verbs,

For

yesterday yesterday evening the day before yesterday a week ago two weeks ago last year

bf

1%"1-"t"'"tl::,:t^:t-"tb)' often translated by for exampfe, to run awoy, to fall down, are ONE word in French. to go on continuer

tomber

in the evening

l'an dernier or l'ann6e derniEre

E"gi:l

aT, can't always translate French into..Enslish, nol For it is :::"::,*tto often 1:T While occasionally it is possible to do this'

When did it happen? in the morning

il y a une semaine il y a quinze jours

$a va se passer quand?

)ral problems

see

pages 69-1 37'

preposition in English, might sentences which contain a verb and French' NOT contain a preposition in to pay for something payer quelque chose to look at somebodY/something quelqu'un/quelque

r

regarder chose

6couter quelqu'un/quelque

When is it going to happen? tomorrow tomorrow morning the day after tomorrow in two days

to listen to somebodY/something

chose a verb and preposition in o - Similarly, sentences which contain

ii"nift, tight NOT contain a preposition in English' somebody/something ob6ir dr quelqu'un/quelque to obey

in a week in two weeks next month

chose changer de quelque chose ."nqu", de quelque chose

next year

o

into English in The same French preposition may be translated

different waYs. parler gle quelque chose s0r ele quelque chose voler quelque chose d quelqu'un croire i quelque chose

O

For

to change something to lack something

more informotion on Prepositions'

to talk about something sure of something to steal something from someone to believe in something see

poge 162'

194

Trps

Tlps

. a present

word which is singular in English may not be in French. les bagages luggage ses cheveux his/her hair

oA

o Similarly, a word which is singular in French may not be in English.

un short

+


For

.

shorts my trousers

mon pantalon on Nouns,

see

page

+

de,

see

page 166.

French:

o to be ...-ing is translated by a verb consisting of one word.

@

He's leavlng tomorrow.

Je lisais un roman.

lwas reading a book.

on Verbs, see poges 69-1 37.

trtote that when you are talking about somebody's or something,s physical position, you use a past participle.

Elle est assise li-bas ll 6tait couch6 par tere.

+ D

For more informqtion on

the

She's sitting over there. He was lving on the ground. Past

participle,

see

page 111.

-ing can also be translated by:

r an infinitive J'aime aller au cin6ma

I like going to the cinema. Stop arouinq! Before leavino...

Arr6tez de vous disouter! Avant de oartir...

+


lnfinitives,


see

page 133.

tems, please

see pages viii-xii.

see

Skiing keeps me fit.

page

1.

when you are talking about the physical position of something, se trouver

The -ing ending in English is translated in a number of different ways in


on Nottns,

may be used, Oir se trouve la gare?

ll part demain.

forme.

The verb to beis generally translated by €tre. It's late. ll est tard. It's not possible! possible! pas Ge n'est

tr =ins

+

a nOUn

to be

Specific problems

L

Being shyer'than me, she...

more informstion on the Present participle, see page 125.


1.

my brother! car the childrenl bedroom

For more information on the preposition

moi,

Le ski me maintient en

o In English, you can use 3 to show who or what something belongs to; in French, you have to use de.

la voiture de mon frdre la chambre des enfants

ParticiPle

Etant plus timide que elle...

195

I

Where3 the station?

certain set phrases which describe how you are feeling or a state you are In, the verb avoir is used. to be warm avoir chaud to be cold avoir froid to be hungry avoir faim to be thirsty avoir soif to be afraid avoir Peur

avoir tort avoir raison

to

be wrong

to be right

when you are describing what the weather is like, use the verb faire. What's the weather like? Ouel temps fait-il? It! lovely. ll faat beau. It's miserable. ll fait mauvais. It! windy. ll fait du vent. When you are talking about someone's age, use the verb avoir' How old are you? Ouel 6ge as-tu?

J'ai quinze ans.

l'm fifteen.

When talking about your health, use the verb aller. How are you? Comment allez-vous?

Je vais trds bien.

ljm-very well.

Trps

196

Trps

E

it is. it's

)

if

is

and if3 are usually translated by il est or elle est when referring to

a

noun.

'Oi

est mon

parapluie?'-

'll€S! la, dans le coin.'

Descends la valise si elle pas trop lourde.

)

n'CEt

What time

!5j? - lt's half past

seven.

When you are describing what the weather is like, use the verb faire.

beau. mauvais. ll fait du vent.

tt5 lovely. lt's miserable. ltt windy.

lf you want to say, for example, it is difficult to do something or it is easy to do something, use il est.

ll est difficile de r6pondre

dr

It

is

difficult to answer this question,

cette question,

l

In ALL other phrases and constructions, use c'est. C'est moi qui ne I'aime pas. It's me who doesn't like him. C'est Charles qui l'a dit. It's Charles who said so. C'est ici que je les ai achet6s. It's here that I bought them. C'est parce que la poste est It's because the post office is closed

ferm6e que...

El )

)

that...

there is, there are

Both there is and there are are translated by il y a. ll y a quelqu'un i la porte. There is someone at the door. ll y a cinq livres sur la table. There are five books on the table.

trt

can.

to be able

lf you want to talk about someone's physical ability to do something, use

pouvoir. Pouvez-vous faire dix kilomitres d pied? For further explanation of grammatical

When con is used with verbs to do with what you can see or hear, you do use pouvoir in French. I can't see anything.

Je ne vois rien. ll les entendait.

He could hear them.

ta

When you are talking about the time, use il est.

ll fait ll fait

}

ff you want to say that you know how to do something, use savoir. She can't swim. Elle ne sait pas nager.

heavy.

'Ouelle heure est-il?'-'ll est sept heures et demie.'

)

Where's my umbrella? lt's there, in the corner. Bring the case down if it isn't too

Can you walk ten kilometres?

te]mt

please see pages vili-xii.

197

The preposition to is generally translated by it. Cive the book to Patrick. Donne le livre d Patrick. For

more information on the preposition d, see page 16j.

When you are talking about the time, use moins. five to ten dix heures moins cinq at a quarter to seven dr sept heures moins le

quart

ff you want to say (in order) to, use pour.

Je I'ai fait pour vous aider' ll va en ville pour acheter un

I did it

cadeau.

present.

ls

help you.

He's going into town to buy a

THE ALPHABET

)

The French alphabet is pronounced differently from the way it is pronounced in English. Use the list below to help you sound out the letters.

Ava

Brb

(ah)

lql lbel lsel

Drd

ldel lel

(uh)

lefl

(efO

Er€

F,t G,g H,h

l,i t,i

K,k

Ll M,r N,h

0av)

taJl

(ash)

lil lsil

(ee)

lkal

(ka)

lell leml lenl

(ell)

Prp

R,r 5,s

lpel lkyl lerl

(air)

lesl

(ess)

(tay)

U,U

ltel tyl

qq It

Vv wrw X,X

Y,y Z,Z

lvel [dubleve] tiksl Iigrek] [zed]

14, sO, 57, 1 33, 1 35, 163, 167, 't7s, 178, 183 164 .,. fe, fa, f' and les 14, 55,

nouns ru verbs

(u)

16

80. 101,108

'122

20,23,25

27, 29, 34, 35 followed byir/de 183

infinitive plural 30, 35

137 by farticiples used as125

23,2s,32,16'l

"126. 152

r

160 105

word order

25,27,39,

44,-'125

of articles 13,19 : of past

(pay)

(ku)

63,163

t 25,27,39,44,125 27 endings

like'e' in 'le'

(emm) (enn) (oh)

lol

82,'163

12,'t9

0ee)

o,o

79,80,96

gt

Gay) (day)

kel

!, 6 verbs

|

like'a' in 'la'

(bay)

C,C

MAIN INDEX

44,114,116,117

like'u' in 'une'

participle

like'u' in 'une'

(vay) (doobla-vay) (eex) (ee-grek) (zed)

wrbs

't25

adjectives

39

pronouns

54

72, 74, 76, 93, 98, 1o5

123,134 41, 61

70, 82, 98, 104, 1'10, 'l'13, 132,'135 22

12,19 32

12, 19, 21, 22, 24 60, I 38 60, 1 38 50, 1 38

79,100,107 159,171 113 12 187 34 105 159

os I for something de 163 hdre 76,a5,95,99,106, 112, 113, 119, 126, 131, 18'l 14, 55, 63,163,164

63



34,'t55 41

14, 55, 63,163,164 aux 63 auxquelles 63 auxquels 159 avant 16,'171 avec avoir 16, 48, 56, 70, 87 ' 1'11 , 113,137,160,163, I 71, 180 110 avoir: conditional 103 avoir: future tense 87 avoir: imperative avoir: impersonal verbs 127 8 avoir: past participle 82 avoir: ptesent tense avoir: pluperfect tense 1'19 1 1

avoir:

perfecttense

111, 113, 118

avoir: present Participle '126 132 avoir: subjunctive

123 be 20,23,29,32 beau 156,159 beaucoup (de) 29 bel 29 belle 36,153,156 bien "17,40,165 body: parts of 20,23,32,153 bon see ce c' see ce c' 66 i" 186 iar 37,65 ce 66 ceci 66 cela 66 celle 67 celle-ci 67 celleli 66 celles 67 celles-ci 67 celleslir 66 celui 67 celui-ci 67 celui-Ih 37 ces 2'1,52,65 c€ sont 21,52,65 c'est 37 Get 65 c'€tait 37 cette 66 ceux 67 ceux-ci 67 ceux-lir 51,60 chacun 4'l chaque 32,153 chei 171 chez 37,67 -ci 11, 164 clothinq cofoursi adiectives 31, 32 146,159 combien (de) 186 comme 146 comment comparative adiectives 34 comparative adverbs 155 34,52 comparisons comparisons: pronouns used in 52

nouns nouns conditional compound concrete

11,33

verbs

conditional: irregular conditional: reflexive

verbs

16 105 109 I 09 69 72 74 76

coniuqations coniuiations: first coniulations: second coniugations: third confunctions '129,1U 172 contre countries

17,163,164,169 32 105

court

.,d dans dates days of the

de

57,169,172

't8,'tg'l

week

5, 1 8, 190

15, 20, 35, 56,133,'135'

140, 159, 164, 166, 171, 'r80. 183

de: with fe, fa,

I' andles 15,22, 55, 56,63

definitearticfe 12,13,16,35

demander

179

demonstrativeadiectives 37 demonstrativepronouns 65

159,172 depuis 33 deinier "159,173 derriire 15,19,20,22,56,'166 des descendre 1"13,114,'l'15, 120,126

describing

words

see adiectives

63 desquelles 63 desquels 159,173 devant devenir -102,118,132,1333 devoir 118,132 dire 11

directobiect

114,116,118,

135,181 direct obiect pronouns 4Z 58. 59 151 direct see verbs doino dommage: 128 il est dommage que 186 donc '106, 72, 85, 93,99, donner 112, 119, 126, '130

questions words

dont droit du duquel

dur

eoa each other

6couter either ... or

elle

64,67 153

15,22,56,'166 63

154 41, 60 91

135 186 43, 44, 51, 66, 69 52

elfe-mGme 43,45,51,69 effes 52 ef es-m€mes 52,66 emphasis 51 em'phatic pronouns en 17,18, 56, 59,85,'125' f

126,"168,172

200

Mnru lruoex 2O1

Mnrru lruoex

en train de endings:

endings:

136 27

adiectives nouns 2, 3, 7, 8,9

endings:verbs 69,72,74,76,

himself his

52

39,54 146

how

'146

how much/many

43,5'l

93, 94, 98, 1 05, I I 4

entendre entre entrer -er

1

35

173 11

3

34,155

-erverbs 72, 85, 93, 105, 112, 119,123,126,130 -erverbs: spelling changes 78, 79, 80, 81, 95, 99, 't07

81.'134 esp6rer 80, I01,108 essayer -est 34,155 143,'144 est-ce que '184 33, et €tre 48, 65, 70, 7'l , 87, 92, 1't1, 160,'t7'l 110 atre conditional I 03 etre future tense 97 Ctre imoerfect tense Ctre imoersonal verbs 127 passive 123 atre 8 Ctre past participle 82 Ctre Dresent tense 1'19 etrq pluperfect tense 1 1

etre perfecttense

'I1Z,

etre

present

1

11, 113,

ll8, I19

participle

Ctre subjunctive eux

126 132 51

52

eux-mOmes

41 every 60,127 everyone 61 everything faire 70,82,103,110, 118, 27, 2A, 32, 34, 37, 38 103,127,134 falloir 1

1

1

1

1

1

43, 44, 66, 69,127 55,^128

il il est il fait il faut (que)

femininenouns'1,'13,17,19, few: a

finir fol

22,44,45

few

41

74, 85,94,99,106, 113,

119,126,131 29 29

folle

fort

't54

fou

29

from from ... to

166

1 64, 167 71, 94, '174,'186 future tense: irregular verbs I 02 future tense: reflexive verbs 1 02

future

tense

geler genoer

gentil gentiment grand gros

habiter haut he

hein ner ners

herself him

102,118,'t28, 129,130

manque gue il pleut

'128 '128

if if parait

45, 103, 118 't28 il reste 128 il semble que 129 il vaut mieux (que)

ilya

56,128 43,45, 69 48.85

lls

lmperative imperative: irregular imperative: word

verbs

87 86

order

imperfecttense 92, "119,'l60 imperfect tense: irregular imperfect tense:

97 verbs 96 reflexive verbs impersonal verbs 127 in 35,163,168,169 -ing 125, '137, '162, '171,'175 indefinite adiectives 41 indefinitearticles 12,19 indefinite article: in negative sentences 20 2'l indefinite article: use of 60 indeflnite pronounr "122,178 indirect object indirect object pronouns 58, 59 51 indirect questions 1

infinitives

48,65,72,74,76, 88,105, r11,129,130, 13't,137,140

feminine adiectives 27, 29, 34, 35

128

infinitives: after infinitives:

adjectives

137

verb

98, 1 33 after another infinitives: '171, prepositions 174, 175 after 175 in order to 137

instructions invariable adjectlves inversion invert -irverbs 2,

31

143 143

74,84,85,94,'105,

5, 1 1 9, 1 20, 23,'1 26 irregular comparative and 1

"t

11

"1

79,100,107,128

adjectives 35 irregular comparative and '156 superlative adverbs

'153

inegular feminine ad,ectives 29

153

irregular irregular irregular irregular

1,2,3

5Z 5Z

182 5Z

43, 51, 69 150

39,47,5'l 54 52

47, 5'l

superlative

verbs: conditional 1 09 verbs: future tense 102 verbs: imperative 87 verbs: 97 imperfect tense 124 irregular verbs: irregular verbs: perfect tense 1 I 8 irreoular verbs: pliperfect 121 irreoular verbs: prEsent 126

passive

tense participles

irregular verbs: 82,84 present irregular verbs: subiunctive 1 43, 44, 47, 66, 1 ) | t9

tense

it its itself i' iamais je ieter jeune fobs joli jouer fusque l' la -la la leur la mienne la moins la n6tre fa plus la sienne la tienne la v6tre lancer languages faqueffe le fe leur le meilleur le mien fe mieux le moindre le moins le n6tre le pire le pis fe pfus le plus mal fe sien le tien fe v6tre leost lent lentement lequef fes fes leurs fes miennes les miens les moins fes n6tres fes plus fes siennes les siens fes tiennes fes tiens fes votres fesquelles fesquefs /ess letb feur feurs lever -11 long lorsque

l,

49,5'l

nouns:

52

nouns:

see me 39 184

nouns;

153,156

5t

78,96,126,'t27

lr I 5/

see

128,179 25,27,28, adiectives ' 29,30

43,61,

79,100,101

and feminine forms

3il

2l

t 1,',13, 19, 22,

179,180

32,153,154

l)

44,45

17 |

see lq h "13,47

47, 49,89 47,51

38,67

32,36,'153

't7

5l

5

41, 52 39 118

54 35

51

36,153

34

54

54 54 54

48,5'l 52 36 34. 1 55 39

78,95,126 5, 17, 169 63, 149

'13,47,46

113,'114

54 36 54

34

5,169 34,153 113 39

36,156

.52

36

35, 156

see ne 113

54 36

156

139

iamais 20,23,138 186 ni 20,23,138,144 ... pas 138 60, ...'personne 38 ... blus 61, 38 --- iien ,,. ... iri ...

35,155 153 153

1

1

63,'149 '13,47

il est r

54 54 54

39,49 39

80, 101,108 98 32

'186

128

que

21,23,138 20

de after

word order

35

63,"149 34 85

adiectives

:

156 54 54 54

63,149

8 32

vowels

34,156

54 34 54 54 54 54 54

see nouns

words

a'!rt-ce pas Itlttoyer

llrer D0

longer

Nmore ''DOne ,t&odY ||On

non plus

nol flot Qothlng

notre muns nouns: abstract

139 128 186 150

80,101,108 138 138 138 60, 1 38 60, I 38

140,150 139 39 138 50, 1 38 39 1, 13

't6

coJnpounds 1 l,

petlt 20, 23, 32, 'l53 153, 156, 158 beu 36,153 bire 153 brs 179 bfaire 103,'128 bfeuvoir 119,139 ifuperfecttense pluperfect tense: ' irr'eoular verbs 12O Dluperfect tense: 'l2o ' reilexive verbs 9,11 olural 'plus 34, 155 67,167 iossession bossessive adiectlveJ 39 54 bossessive Pronouns possible: il est Possible que 28 /+ | Pour 146 bourquoi bouv,iir +8, 1o2, 118,'132, 133 81 134 br6f6rer ' 32 bremier 118,132 brendre

33

16 conirete endinqs 2, 3, 7, 8, 9

nouns: Enqlis6, used in French 5 nouns: feminine 1,2, 3, 5, 13'

17,19,22,44,45

nouns: masculine 1,2,3, 5,13,

19,22,44,45

plural ''t,9, 14, 19, 23 nouns: iinqular nous 42, ql, qg, 5'1,69,85, 89' 9'l 52 nous-m€mes 29,32 nouveau 29 nouvel 29 nouveffe 75,190 numbers 122,147 obiect obiect pronouns 47,58, 59 86 order word obiect bronouns: 11 eit 167,'175 of 43,45,51,69,124 on 164 on 43,69 one 91 one onother 39 one's 51,52 oneself

nouns:

1

1

irepositions 47, 51, 67,126, 147.162

verbs infinitive

orders and instructions 48, 50, 85 orders and instructions: 87 irregular orders and instructions:

verbs order 50,57,A6'90 41 othet 184 ou '146'184 oir 186 ou... ou 186 ou bien... ou bien 144,184 oui 39 out 54 ours 5'1,52 ourselves 173 par 127 baraftre 194 que iarce 17 barlerpast 44, 48, 111 ' iarticipfes: ' word

1"14.119,120,123,171

participles: Present 55, 125,170 'Dartir 84, 113,115, 120' 126

article 12,22, 56 body 17, 40,165 l4l Das 45,122 iassive 124 bassive: irreqular verbs

iartitive

barts of the

bastpa*ici-pl"s

44,48,1'11'

114, 119, 120, 123, 171

past ParticiPles: '

8 irreiular verbs 80,101, 108 oav6. 79,100,107 beiet '174,187 bendant (que) 111,139,143' ierfecttenie ' "160"i.74 Derfect tense: irreqular verbs berfect tense: reflixive verbs

11

1 1

8

11

7

42 pronouns 60,168 bersonnd 6'l bersonne de 80,101 ierer

bersonal

prepositions: after adiectives 1 83 'i,78 prepositions: after preposruons: ' 137 foilowed bv present particiPles 55, 125,'17 O present participles:

' irreoulir

verbs

126

pres6nttense 71,72,74,76, '

98.160. 186 present tense: inegulai verbs 82 bresent tense: reflexive tense: oresent ' soellinq orices aid

verbs

E9

78 chanqes rate-s I 8, 65 33 prochain 21 172 irofessions ' 42,140 i:ronouns pronouns: ' reffexive 89,96,'102,1O9 Dronouns: word order 50,86 7, 10, 14, 19, 28' 'bronunciation 30, 39, 57,78,79,80,85, 1

100, 107, 144

32 propre see que qu' 146,186 duand quantities 22,168 34,62,67,147,187 riue 21,'148'"149 riuef '148, 149 duefle 148,149 duelfes 60, 68 tiuelque chose 61 de dueldue chose 60,168 dueldu'un 61 dueldu'un de 148,149 duefs que i48 ou'est-ce 148 riu'est-ce dui ouestionw6rds 65,'144'"146 21,142 questions 151 duestions: indirect qui 62,67,147 148 dui est-ce que/qui 146' 147 duoi 159 ripide 1

202

Mnrru lruoex

re

verbs 76, 85, 105, 112, 115, 11 9,'t 20, 1 23,'t 26, 1 31 reffexive pronouns a9, 96, 102, 109 reflexive pronouns: word order 90

reflexive

verbs

84,124

verbs: present tense 89 verbs: conditional 1 09 verbs: future tense 1 02 verbs: 96 imperfect tense reflexive verbs: orders and instructions 90 reflexive verbs: perfect tense 1 1 7 reflexive verbs: 12Q pluperfect t€nse ie-q:i iit ;l 135 69 regurar verps reflexive reflexive reflexive reflexive

8i

r6.1rlerr

relative pronouns

62 't13, 128

!tiI 1e I 'ici1 i:!e -3

!:!'i5

60,168

47,49,89 44,102,118

i;E:

i6,il il

tense tenses: future tenses: imperfect

tenses:perfect tenses: pluperfect

there these they this

\e

39

TO:

sdme

41

ro!'rrit

16,175

i0ri!hei

r'a:t,loir

90

175

1i:Ui

87,102,118,126,'t32, .t00 17 school subjects 88, 89, 91 lri seasons 5,18,169 r,ri;rer 90,102,109,117

jsi i!iit!':rL . ir,.i" ,. :E'

128 ,.,

181 39

43, 51, 69

she

144,184

rit

singular adjectives 25, 27, 30 ,l singular nouns :tQi

5.1

52 ir4ir+ some 12, 19, 20, 22, 24, 41 60 somebody 45,60 someone

ioi

60 39

something .!r'iri

113,114

:oIirL

.oili

175

spelling changes in -,:r verbs 78, 79, 80, 81, 95, 99, 107 17 sports

stems 69,72,74,76,93,94,

98, ',l 05

stressed pronouns see emphatic pronouns

subiect

122,147

subiect pronouns

subiunctive subiunctive: irregular

suggestions

superfativeadjectives superlative

43 129 32 i 05 34, 167 155 s7, 175

verbs

adverbs

1

l'

see i:e

':t

39

57,127 37, 67 43,45, 51, 69

this one/these

67

:t;ii i:,

fi1

119 tenses: present 71, 72, 74, 76, 98 I;1:, 39 34,187 than 37, 62, 66, 67 that 67 thot one/those ones 't2 the 66 one the 39 tnetr 54 theirs 47, 51 them 52 themselves

those time to

61

69 71, 98 92

ones

67

37,67 45,169,172

'163, 168 51

52

le

1't3, 1't5, 120

:{.ii

39

61,152

r'OXr5

41,61,'t52

Itlt:

152

ll0il;,-rl

,i

37,66,67

61,'t52

!1rrr::::,

5'l i:tul: il r 'ntr,.ir: towns and cities 163,164,169

transport

165,169

i:ioi f,tll i

'159

tu Lin ;i

40,43, 69,85 19

't9

mf

U[-t us

.t58

li]!.r

'/4[i]if tri{ill

ye:nir. 102, rcnr i-!

47, 5'l 128,134

1'13, 118, 132, '135

verbs

'136

69

verbs: 1, 2, 3, 6 type 79, 80, 96 122 verbs: active '105 verbs: conditional

verbs:endings 69,72,74,76,

93, 94, 98, 105, .l'114

35 verbs: followed by i verbs; followed by an infinitive 133 1 35 verbs: followed by rne verbs: infinitives 48, 65, 72, 74, '129, 130, 76, 88, 10s, 111,

't31,137,140

verbs: verbs: verbs: verbs: verbs:

plural

69 prepositions after 135,137 69 regular 69 singular

stems 69, 72,74,76,93,

94,98,105 tigif

29

vie ll l;

,o

iteLit, .ri tf;

29,32

voice: in questions

i59 142,144

,r*iri voij: vc'ir

1

102, '118,

,,

1,,

|

VERBTABLES

;

/0ti iJif,i:r:.

venlrjr

48,87, 102,118, 1 i.'

rrtu,: 40,

lr 43, 47, 49, 51 , 69, 8" 89, ') I

ilCiJt- | i.' '!l'l trt l Is-irri:tl r::

1.'

43, 45, 51, 6

WC

weatner weights and measures

what

what (o)

...!

when where which which one(s) who whom whose why with within will

lntroduction '

.1"

146,14t"

)

14r

14t 62, 63, 14') 14')

62,11, 62,'14,

64,14t' 14t' 17 'l {,'t

9fi

word order: with adverbs 16(l word order: 1 5 in indirect questions word order: in negatives I 3(l woro oroer: in orders and instructions 8(' woro oroer: 143,141 in questions word order: with adjectives 3) word order: with,.:t and,r 5Z 5(r word order: with object pronouns 48,50, 511 woro oroer: I

with reflexive pronouns 9t) 10lJ would 57, 59, 85 r years 169 yes 144 .tt:)).: 1I you 43, 46, 47, 51, 69 39 your yours 54 yourself 51, 52 yourselves 52

llre Verb Tables in the following section contain 93 tables of French verbs

(rOme regular and some irregular) in alphabetical order. Each table shows you

ttrc follo-wing forms: Present, Perfect, Future, subiunctive, lmperfect, conditional, lmperative and the Present and Past Participles. For more

and so Ilf ormation on these tenses, how they are formed, when they are used

{)lr,

you shoufd look at the section on verbs in the main text on pages 69-137.

there are also lrr order to help you use the verbs shown in Verb Tables correctly, the verb as show page to of each bottom the at phrases eximple of ,r number rt is used in context.

rules) and lrr French there are both regular verbs (their forms follow the normal

lrregular verbs (their formi do not follow the normal rules). The regular verbs

[r

these tables are:

,rf verb, Verb Table 29) 'loriri,irl (regular trnrr (regular il verb, Verb Table 39)

,rll I

,ij,,ril.;.

(regular','i verb, Verb Table 8)

he irregular verbs are shown in full.

each of

he Verb Index at the end of this section contains over 2000 verbs, which is cross-referred to one of the verbs given in the Verb Tables. The table rhows the patterns that the verb listed in the index follows' I

VrRg Taelrs

Vrne Taeles

F aehster (to buy) p$?H$ffintIT

r

tu illelle/on nouS

vou5

ils/elles

flF{fr s Hx\t"T' $ Li ff

achbtes

achdte achetons achetez achEtent

PHRFHCT

I

tu il/elle/on

nous vous ils/elles

I

nous vous ils/elles

ff

r{*"fi vffi

achdtes il/elle/on achEte

nous achetions vous achetiez

j' tu

ai achet6 a achet6 avons achet6 avez achet6 ont achet6

achetais achetais

illelle/on achetait nous achetions vous achetiez ils/elles achetaient Sf}lUffilTfSFiiAt"

achdterai achbteras achbtera achEterons achdterez achEteront

IMPERATIVE

achite / achetons / achetez

,' tu

j' tu

achet6

tlvttlHRr'HCl'

PERFHfr'T

, tu

ar acqurs as acquis illelle/on a acquis nous avons acquis vous avez acquts ils/elles ont acquis

j' tu

acquerras

ils/elles acquerront

/

acqu6rons

I acquf.rez

achetant

acquerant

EXANIPLE FfftrASES

EXA Jtf ,s*i,s' pFf ffA i;F

gdteaux d lo pdtisserie. I bought some cakes at the cake shop. Qu est-ce que tu lui as ochetd pour son anniversaire? What did you buy him for his

EIle

ils/elles acqu6raient

acquerrais acquerrals

illelle/on acquerrait nous acquerrions vous acquerriez ils/elles acquerraient 'r;$c J brJ{r.lTl.t.,1F3 .(:l

IMPEffiAFI\1L

PRESFISI PAffiTifiBPLtr

des

acqu6rais acqu6rais

ilielle/on acqu6rait nous acquenons vous acqu6riez

I tu

acquerrai

illelle/on acquerra nous acquerrons vous acquerrez

acquiers

l' tu

{j[][tDtTtofltAt

FUTTJftF

PRFSEI\IT PARTISIPTE

I'ai ochet|

acquiEres

ils/elles acquidrent

achEterais

p$,$?TE,fri$*l1t-ta

acquibre

ils/elles acquidrent

ils/elles achdteraient PAST

i' tu

acquiers acquiers

illelle/on acquiEre nous acqu6rions vous acquenez

achdterais

illelle/on achdterait nous achdterions vous achEteriez

g&tT $ ti HJs".!ilucrfi wE

illelle/on acquiert nous acquerons vous acqu6rez

ils/elles achEtent

as achet6

pffi E$

PRE$EIST

achbte

IMPERFiiCT

FUTUNE tu il/elle/on

i' tu

achdte

,"r

acquis

s

a acquis Ia nqtionqlitd frangaise en 2003.She acquired French nationality in 2003.

birthdav? Je

n'achdte jamois de chips. I never buy crisps.

ielj'=11u=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we yeus=you ils/elles=they

le/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

VrRe TnsLes

Vene Tneles

[r.

ilidii$$.ri

(to go) $!tti:$[i\rT

l

l;'i;Li;i:)i;E'l

je tu

I tu

vais vas va

{"1

ffi "jF.f

vous allez

illelle/on aille nous allions vous alliez

ils/elles vont

ils/elles aillent

suis all6(e) es all6(e)

illelle/on est all6(e) nous sommes all6(e)s vous 6tes all6(e)(s) ils/elles sont all6(e)s lf;

r,i

l il'!,

C' i],1,r

f

ii,r

:ii"

i

[.

"a

irais irais

ill

all6

;1;,;;

nous vous ils/elles

vor.rs appeliez

ils/elles appellent

ai aPPel6 as appel6 a appel6 avons appel6 avez appel6 ont appel6

i' tu

appelais appelais

illelle/on appelait nous appelions vous appeliez ils/elles appelaient c{.}&*m5T$ffi[\td\i..

FUTt![1ffi;

i' tu

i' tu

aPPellerai appelleras

illelle/on appellera nous appellerons vous appellerez ils/elles appelleront

/

appelles

illelle/on nous vous ils/elles FIA,S']fi

0\1rf,:

appelons

/

appellerais appellerais appellerait appellerions appelleriez appelleraient

p-,e$4,

aPPelez

? { e ! p [. [r

appel6

PRFSHtr,fi'fi FiA$l1'iil(l$F-t.E

;,r;-lt;

appelant

allant

'r,,".

illelle/on

appelle

apPelle

!hIiCFfifiqF'H{:T

i' tu

IMPHF{&fl

$q,!ffi.j[.rr,,ieT'ivff

illelle/on appelle nous appelions

ils/elles appellent

ils/elles allaient

*o*"n ***u'.rr,u,'o*

:

j' tu

aPPelle

appelles il/elle/on appelle nous appelons vous appelez

ils/elles iraient

valallonslallez !:'$:;!i.$

allais

illelle/on irait nous irions vous iriez

ils/elles iront

i' tu

allars

illelle/on allait nous allions vous alliez

j' tu

irai iras ira

illelle/on nous irons vous irez

i],r

I tu

phEH$ffi [\['tr

I'NE5HftJT

PERr'f r:1:

fr$[\igStTfifsr'JAi-

j, tu

iiij

['\rf

ifr4FFFlFEfi?

lr

je tu

i;t ! i:tjtt

i\lc

atile ailles

illelle/on nous allons

ir!tktii:ti;.i,;

i

:q

:

j ;.

I ,:'

Vous ollez qu cindmci? Are you going to the cinema? le suis o116 a Londres. I went to London. Est-ce que tu es ddjd attd en Attemagne? Haveyou ever been

EXA

{Vl pt b.

p*rytrdi$jl

:i

s oppel| Ie mddecin. She called the doctor. t'oi apyitd Richard d Londres. I called Richard in London. 'Comment Elle

to Germany?

tu t'oppelles? What's your name?

fi

ie/l'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous-we vous=you ils/elles=they

See poges

88-91 for information on howtoform the reflexiveverb s'appeler'

le/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vou$=you ile/elles=thev

ti

.1r

irri'i

i,

i' tu

-

. ;:.;r.,t ii. ti:.r,;r :,

I

arrive arrives

tU

illelle/on arrive nous arrivons vous arrivez

illelle/on

ils/elles arrivent

ils/elles

r 'i.:: ,li il

I

.

i

je tu

suis arriv6(e) es arriv6(e)

ils/elles sontarriv6(e)s r

il

arriverai arriveras

illelle/on arrivera nous arriverons vous arriverez ils/elles arriveront

ti

I

j 'h

r:r

li

li

arrive

rr..i

vous

i

irr,l

nouS VOU5

ils/elles

,

t , ,, , ; tit

i

ir .;it

r:ll i

je tu

arrives

m'assieds/m'assois t'assieds/t'assois

illelle/on s'assied/s'assoit

arrive arrivions arriviez

nous nous asseyons/nous assoyons vous vous asseyez/vous assoyez r, .. I

irt:rri

i

|

tu

::

!i;, ll'ilij

assis(e)

nous nous sommes assis(es) vous vous €tes assis(e(s))

arrivions arriviez arrivaient

s'asseyent

.'ii

il:i

je tu

t'es assis(e)

illelle/on s'est

arrivait

nous asseyions vous asseyiez

vou5 ils/elles

ye me suis assis(e)

arrivais arrivais

s'asseye

nous

ils/elles s'asseyent/s'assoient

arrivent

m'asseye t'asseyes

Je

tu illelle/on

illelle/on nous nous asseyions vous vous asseyiez ils/elles s'asseyaient

ils/elles se sont assis(es)

....,i

m'asseyais t'asseyais s'asseyait

,

,:i

i

i

,

..r'i

ir: : ii:i

,!t,

i-

i

j' tu

je tu

arriverais arriverais

illelle/on nous vous vous

illelle/on arriverait nous arriverions vous arriveriez

je tu

m'assi6rai t'assieras s'assi6ra nous assi6rons

illelle/on nous vous vous

assi6rez

assi6riez

ils/elles s'assi6raient

ils/elles s'assi6ront

ils/elles arriveraient

m'assi6rais t'assi6rais s'assi6rait nous assi6rions

Inirr '

arrivons

l.,a:trii

'.,:

arnve

i'.rtr il,.;r:'

/

l'll

I

tu illelle/on

..

ir r'i::

tt,

I

',

i.,;:r:1,,.

j' tu

nouS

,il

illelle/on estarriv6(e) nous sommes arriv6(e)s vous 6tes arriv6(e)(s) rr

(to sit down)

(to arrive)

i l ;l.:i::i:ri ,l

ll

v5nerlgyg

Vene Tneles

I

arrivez

arnve

li,

arrivant

assieds-toi

Qu'est-ce qui est orriv6 d Aurdliel What happened to Aur6lie?

jelj'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles-thev

asseyons-nous

/

asseyez-vous

a5sr5

llh{ i.'ij,:,. ' I

s'asseyant

I

l'srrive d I'6cole d huit heures. I arrive at school at 8 o'clock. Le prof n'est pqs encore arriv6.fhe teacher hasn't arrived yet.

/

"ri.r::ri:.1

',

:

r:i :'r .rr

.irl r.i,r :

Assieds-toi, Nicole. Sit down Nicole. Asseyez-vous, Ies enfants.Sit down children. le peux m'sssoir? May I sit down? Je'me suis qssise sur un chewing-gum! l've sat on some chewing gum!

jeli,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

VrneTAsLEs VeRe TneLes

M m&*mrxdre tto wait) FF{F.$E$$"r', $

PHtrSH!,{T

i' tu

i' tu

attends attends

nous attendons vous attendez

ffi

attende attendes

rMsPHffit-f;s-r

FHFIFHfiT

.i' tu

ai attendu as

attendu

illelle/on a attendu nous avons attendu vous avez attendu ils/elles ont attendu

attendais attendais

illelle/on attendait nous attendions vous attendiez

i' tu

attendrai attendras

illelle/on attendra nous attendrons vous attendrez ils/elles attendront

attendez

$

Attend s- moi! W ait f or me! Tu ottends depuis longtempsT Have you been waiting long? le l'ai sttendu d lo poste. I waited for him at the post office. 'le m'aftends d ce rju'it soit en retord. I expect he'll be late.

$

see

i.;

iilr:'

f i]'Jh':

aie aies

avez

nous vous

ayons ayez

ils/elles aient

ont

i ;uq ir' 1,,.;L1::t:{,1 {"

I

l' tu

ai eu

tu illelle/on

a5 eu

illelle/on avait nous avions vous aviez

aeu avons eu

nous vous

avez eu ont eu

ils/elles

ils/elles avaient (;tl,.l llr,

Ft_j'! i.iF,,i,,

I illelle/on

nous aurions vous auriez ils/elles auraient

auront

ii::

;i i l;r',r:r

i,r:r!: ':

i l; . lir'it !:

eu

aielayons/ayez PRfil'li:i:r,l'ri

aurais aurais

iUelle/on aurait

aurons aurez

nous vous ils/elles

[jii"i;]il.L'lilr i.

i' tu

aurai auras aura

tU

avais avais

):'r

ayant

attendant

Jtrgpc"f Ff{0#-{$fi

avonS

vouS

r-,1,

i:iLi f:,i.i

il/elle/on ait

nous

[ai,!1f!

l,i

i' tu

as a

pi:[,tiiil,r;.1"

lffi

ii.:,i.i ii:ii

ai

ils/elles

ils/elles attendraient

Pffig$Ei\dT pd\HfieiP[-ffi

#x4

I

illelle/on attendrait nous attendrions vous attendriez

attendu

lir'I

ii'

tu illelle/on

attendrais attendrais

ps.$T trld\{q{un[PLE

In4FHi\Ar['qdffi

/ attendons /

Pltiirilr':ri'iit

ils/elles attendaient &#rup5T[ffi[\lA[-

I-UTL!NH

attends

rl\f

ils/elles attendent

ils/elles attendent

i' tu

ri-}t-r ffi fr

illelle/on attende nous attendions vous attendiez

il/elle/on attend

j' tu

L$

F,Y.qt ll,lll"

ll

a

les

f .

i:' ir'fil,,r

.,'li

lrr

.: :,rl

got blue eyes. os-tul How old are You?

yeux bleus. He's

Quel dge

ll s eu un accident. He's had an accident' l'avois foim. I was hungry. ll y o beaucoup de monde. There are lots of people'

poges 88-91 for informotion on how to form the reflexive verb s'ottendre.

jeli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous:we v6u5=lou ils/elles=they

le/i'=ltu-you il=he/it etle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vrne TneLes

Vsne TheLes

ts battre

(to beat) PRESENT SUBJUI\ICTIVE

PRESENT

je tu

bats

bats illelle/on bat

nous battons vous battez ils/elles battent

illelle/on nous vous ils/elles

ai battu as battu a battu avons battu avez battu ont battu

battes

illelle/on batte nous battions vous battiez ils/elles battent

je tu

battrai battras

illelle/on battait nous battions vous battiez ils/elles battaient

illelle/on battra nous battrons vous battrez ils/elles battront IMPERATIVE

bats/battons/battez

je tu

le tu

battrais battrais

illelle/on battrait nous battrions vous battriez ils/elles battraient PAST PARTIEIPLF

battu

bois bois

il/elle/on boit

nous buvons vous buvez ils/elles boivent

i' tu

boive boives il/elle/on boive nous buvions vous buviez

ils/elles boivent

ai bu as bu

illelleion a bu nous avons bu vous avez bu ils/elles ont bu

ie tu

buvais buvais

il/elle/on buvait

nous buvions vous buviez ils/elles buvaient

coNDIT!01\Al-

FUTT.'[48

je tu

boirai boiras il/elle/on boira nous boirons vous boirez

ils/elles boiront IMPEffiA !VH

bois/buvons lbuvez

ie tu

boirais boirais

illelle/on boirait nous boirions vous boiriez ils/elles boiraient FIAST PARTICIPI.E

bu

fld..+?'r lo jd'ii"Fi

PRESEhi'l

battant

buvant

EXAMPLE PHRA.9FS

EXA4i{qLE pf-fffills&,$

On les a bottus deux d un. We beat them 2-1 . l'oi le ceur qul bafl My-heart's beating (fast)l ArrQtez de vous bottre! Stop fighting!

tu veux boire? Whatwould you.like to drink? ne boit Ii iamqis d'alcoal. He never drinks alcohol' l'ai bu ui litre d'eau. I drank a litre of water.

See

STIVF

je tu

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

fi

[lfi

i[vlPHFtFF]CT

PERFEfr'$'

battais battais

CONDITIONAL

FUTURE

je tu

batte

IMPERFECT

PFRFECT

j' tu

je tu

PRE$EI\I"T' SU BJU

PRESET{T

Qu'est-ce que

poges 88-91 for informotion on how to form the reflexive verb se bqttre.

ieli'=ltu=you il-he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

ielj,=|tu=youi|=he/ite||e=she/iton=We/onenou$=Wevous=youi|s/e||es=they

Vens Tneles

Vrne TneLes

&'

hmsxfrfiH$"r

(to noit) i3li{Fj$,iEtl,l?' c:.{i *l,.rl["]

r":tf ,$EhiT

ie tu

je tu

bous bous

t3 r*r

"i-

i

.!

fli

!n$$]KffiFlHcll"

ai bouilli as bouilli a bouilli avons bouilli avez bouilli ont bouilli

f

je tu

bouilliras

bouillais bouillais

illelle/on bouillait nous bouillions vous bouilliez ils/elles bouillaient lH

$,!

"ii ilr {3 [\1r\ !'"

je tu

bouillirai

ils/elles bouilliront

bouillirais bouillirais

il/elle/on bouillirait

nous bouillirions vous bouilliriez ils/elles bouilliraient prfl|lr;'r: PF, i:i

FMIP$l$TAT,V;

Pffi

je tu

# ft

il/elle/on bouillira nous bouillirons vous bouillirez

bous

bouilles

ils/elles bouillent

$ERf fiL;{

ils/elles

bouille

nous bouillions vous bouilliez

ils/elles bouillent

illelle/on nous vous

r

il/elle/on bouille

illelle/on bout nous bouillons vous bouillez

i' tu

F\rj,i..:-i'ir,r

/ bouillons /

bouillez

[ifid [iL,H

bouilli

H$*ir\|T; i14'1iI{T'l&iIPf..ffi

rf,.lf-#pi{"f;

+rltil r l;,:

L'eau bout.The Tu

commence commences ,l/elle/on commence

nous commencions vous commenciez ils/elles commencent

ils/elles commencent

iitr: l)iili'rr;f

PFRt fld"{

nous vous ils/elles

ai commenc6 as commenc6 a commenc6 avons commenc6 avez commenc6 ont commenc6

commencerai commenceras il/elle/on commencera nous commenceronS vous commencerez

/

ils/elles commenEaient

PRE$|.;','t

:)i")t,rr !.:'"i'r'r.l-

"r'

commencerais commencerals

nous commencerions vous commenceriez ils/elles commenceraient : /\i

commengons

commenEais commenqais

il/elle/on commencerait

ils/elles commenceront

commence

ll'

illelle/on commengait nous commencions vous commenclez

ie tu

je tu

'

Ii:'li

je tu

.

FUTt!${FJ

lMPFFir:t'r

ji"d,i{"tr IULiT'gVffi

il/elle/on commence

nous commentons vous commencez

illelle/on

$t

ie commence tu commences

je tu

i' tu

i"i[.]"{:iH[,,,T

/ commencez

"

?:r'ti-t | -:[t{ €

commence

'

commenqant

bouillant

A-i

f

Put tlHi[\]T

-q;

watert boiling.

peux mettre de I'eau d bouillirT Can you boil some water?

Exdfl,f.pii-t:

it #i{, i:"i-':,l;

ll a commenc| a pleuvoir.lt started to rain' io.^rhcent d neuf heures' Lessons start at 9 o'clock' trt exqmens? Have you started revising for the de 7i

tiiiuit it iiii i"iienc1

*itri pii,

e*ams?

ie/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle-she/it on=we/one nous:we vous=you ils/elles=they

vous=you ils/elles=they ie/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we

VeRB Tnsles

Vens Tneles

(to know)

(to conclude) ;. f

je tu

ri;j:iijii,il 1' ri I il.t:,.li,iii;ili

je tu

illelle/on conclut nous concluons vous concluez

conclue conclues illelle/on conclue nous concluions vous concluiez

ils/elles concluent

ils/elles concluent

conclus conclus

l'

ft

[


ai conclu as conclu a conclu avons conclu avez conclu ont conclu

.:l'l

je tu

je tu

je tu

conclurai concluras il/elle/on conclura nous conclurons vous conclurez

r:i(-.: , . ,i.trli',r

t"'

/

concluons

/

concluez

rilt;;!,

,'

conclu

concluant

ont conclu un mqrch6. They concluded a deal. J'en oi conclu qu'il 6tait porti. I concluded that he had gone. le conclurai par ces mots...lwill conclude with these words...

r.li.i

j'

]

connais

/

P['{fiir.]

',1

i

I

rt

l:

f".i:

i,l,i r :

connaitrais connaitrais

illelle/on connaitrait nous connaitrions vous connaitriez ils/elles connaitraient il':r;,

I ir l

connaissons

rrrll'1.r,

je tu

ils/elles connaitront r:',

connaissais connaissais

ils/elles connaissaient

connaitrai connaitras il/elle/on connaitra nous connaitrons vous connaitrez

lN'lF[ri:;

i,'[.

illelle/on connaissait nous connaissions vous connaissiez

je tu

/

l','.:' t::rli

i:r f

:r-

li.)r,

'r i

connaissez

li

connaissant

:: r.i,,,.i r, ,.

:,

tout cette rdgion. I don't know.the area at all' connaisiez M Amiot? Do you know Mr Amiot? ll n'a pas connu son grond-pirb' He never.knew his granddad' tls se iont connus d Rouen. They first met in Rouen'

le ne connais pqs du Vous

t

iery=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

connu

iiirrli;:

f.A','i.!1i1.1,,,r1,

lls

as

ils/elles ont connu

ils/elles concluraient

tt I

connaisse connaisses connaisse

je tu

ai connu

nous avons connu vous avez connu

conclurais conclurais

i,!i:

il rrr,:.i-:.i I ti

il/elle/on a connu

FtII

ii

ilr,

r'

i' tu

illelle/on conclurait nous conclurion5 vous concluriez

ils/elles concluront

conclus

lrij',iif,ir'jill

:.il;1"

ils/elles connaissent

ils/elles connaissent

ils/elles concluaient

:.i r

illelle/on nous connaissions vous connaissiez

nous connaissons vous connaissez

illelle/on concluait nous concluions vous concluiez r:..i I irrr

je tu

connais connais

illelle/on connait

concluais concluais

ll

:]

je tu

Pfrtiiirirl.'

i' tu

,: i.li:.:r.,,1::r:ti

;;r,l;:!'ti

)

see

pages 88-91 far information on how to form the reflexive verb se connaitre'

|e4,=|tu=youi|=he/ite||e=she/iton=we/onenous=Wevous=youi|$/e||es=they

VrRa Theles

Vene TneLes

p' cOflrdre

(to sew) PRFS gtUT

PFIf;SENT

ie tu

couds couds illelle/on coud nous cousons

vous

cousez

ils/elles cousent PERFEGT

i' tu

je tu

{ruS"ir"'f{cfl vE

couse couses couse

illelle/on nous cousions vous cousiez ils/elles cousent I[UPE$TFfrfiT

ai cousu as cousu

illelle/on a cousu nous avons cousu vous avez cousu ils/elles ont cousu FT.'TUHH

ie tu

coudrai coudras illelle/on coudra nous coudrons vous coudrez

ils/elles coudront IIMPERATIVE

je tu

cousais cousais

illelle/on cousait nous cousions vous coustez ils/elles cousaient c0ru$tT'!CIru,AL

je tu

coudrais coudrais

illelle/on coudrait nous coudrions vor.rs coudriez

ils/elles coudraient PAST PAffi"{"H*IPLM

PlqHrinnv"t" $if;"iF-iJ{.!hn6 i"[\t+i

PRESHTU"T

ie

courS

tu illelle/on

courS

je ru

coure coures illelle/on coure nous courions vous couriez

court

vous

courons courez

ils/elles

courent

nouS

ils/elles courent lilfllrtir Iri!;!] f. I

PERFF*"d"

I

je tu

ai couru

tu illelle/on

as

couru

a couru avons couru avez couru ont couru

nous vou5 ils/elles

le

courrai

tu illelle/on

courraS

vouS ils/elles

;*/.\ii;ll

cours/couronslcourez

PRHSENT PARTIEIPLH

PR E$ H fd'fi

cousant

courant

EXAfrIIPLE Pf{RA$gS

EXA tl/fp{

Tu sais Elle

o

cousu ette-mAme son costume. She

made her costume herself.

jelj'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

'hi]

i14,{

fl

."

courrais courrais

ils/elles courraient

IMPEFtATiVF,

-[,il{ !.1 i'lt"li1 i:t

[:lE'fl

nous courrions vous courriez

courront

'

0\8

illelle/on courrait

couds/cousons/cousez

coudrel Can you sew?

ils/elles couraient

je tu

courra courrons courrez

nouS

courais courais

illelle/on courait nous courions vous couriez C{,}

FUTI.'Hfi

f

Fift tir,iTfl 'd.]!|rr! .i::

[.ii"

$.i,t}FLFri.{1"$i.r.itj

le ne cours pas tris vite. I can't run very fast. f.lle est sortie en couront. She ran out. Ne courez pas dons le couloir. Don't run in the corridor. l'oi couru jusqu'd l'6cole, I ran all the way to school'

leii,-ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on-we/one nou$=we y6u5=lou ils/ell63=they

,.,i.;,

V5ne

Tlalrs

:,.r

.,'

I

: .,, (tO

Vene TleLrs

riii (to create)

fgaf) t'til:ii

r

je tu

,e tu

crains crains

il/elle/on craint

nous craignons vous craignez

cratgne craignes illelle/on craigne nous craignions vous craigniez

ils/elles craignent

ils/elles craignent l.

rir 1r:

: r:: :' r'

j' tu il/elle/on

nous vous ils/elles

'r t'1,'

ai craint as craint a craint avons craint avez craint ont craint

je tu

craindrai craindras iUelle/on craindra nous craindrons vous craindrez

ils/elles craindront

ir 'lll

'

r,.1

I i; ;,

je tu

-:'rr

vous

j' tu

illelle/on craindrait nous craindrions vous craindriez

, ..i:'l ,l

il/elle/on

c16era

ils/elles craindraient !'

craint

cr,-aeras

cr6aient i.

tl

' ;'l- ',.;t

je

c16erais

tu illelle/on

cr6erais c16erait

nous vous

cr6eronS cr6erez

ils/elles

ils/elles cr6eront

cr6erions cr6eriez cr6eraient

ilr:'i.i'

IMPpN:t rr: itli:fl

cr66

cr6e/cr6ons I cr6ez Pftfil:ii:i;r''i

c16iez

vou5 ils/elles

ils/elles ont cr66

cr6erai

cr6ais c16ait c16ions

nous

nous avons cr66 vous avez cr6.6

je tu

c16ais

tu illelle/on

as cr66

nous vous

.

je

ai cr66

rl/elle/on a cr66

craindrais craindrais

cr€ent

ils/elles

l':'

i.;i'

cr6es cr6e c16ions crEiez

nouS

ilfIt.!lii:i;il

r:

,'il

ai]rir,l:,

I,

rrI

.'u1"1

craignant

IX4,{li'ri1r.'1' Tu n'os rien d crsindre. You've got le crains le pire. I fear the worst'

tu il/elle/on

,,,.

craignais craignais

il,i

'r.lr 'lr'

]li

I

c16e

le

cr6e cr6es

,1,'r'lle/on cf6e notrs cr6ons vous creez ils/elles cr6ent

I'l

l

ils/elles craignaient

/ craignons I craignez

,' a,::.,1'

:'

illelle/on craignait nous craignions vous craigniez

._,,,.1i.tr,,

crains

i:,

je tu

,t

l:

''t- i.r I

je tu

i:it

l::i

!qil

nothing to fear.

ieli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one noua=we vou$=you ils/elles=they

t]

:'i'

r'i"

:'. i')t.: \'

a tt o cr66 une nouvelle invention. He's created

't;;;;;,ra iit Jinitrtta'iiit

tt ,onde

new invention'

entier. This virus is creating difficulties all

over the world. Leoouvernementcrfueradeuxmilleemploissuppllmentaires'Thegovernmentwill cieate an extra 2000 lobs.

vous=you ils/elles=they iefi'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one n6g5=w€

VeRs Tneles

Vene Tnsles

nr- .'" I ,",r I (to shout) ''.;:-.'il

!rilii[:rit:fi41:'

je tu

vous criez

illelle/on crie nous cntons vous cntez

ils/elles crient

ils/elles crient

iUelle/on crie

nous crions

i

,e crle tu cries

crie cries

lr]ii.I itl.l: iirrNstii:'li

lgt4pt'dit[:'iefi''s

I' tu illelle/on nous vous ils/elles

al crle as cri6 a cri6 avons cri6 avez cri6 ont cri6

je tu

fe

vous criiez ils/elles criaient

tu

je tu

crieras

illelle/on criera nous crierons vous crierez j.,.i'

.i

nous crierions vous cnenez ils/elles crieraient

lt{lii'li

crie/crions/criez i3i:it:illPr[ii't

crlerals crierais

il/elle/on crierait

ils/elles crieront ,lj.

Ji'll iJ L i i,: /[,.1.+,irir,

crierai

|,lj!.l,'i l tr'.:liPfl-ifr

cne

il,..:ri1il'l{;,}fl Pf" Fl

fltl

1;[::liU'd'

je tu

(to believe) t'i,1i :it;iiirt',f"i

crois crois

tl/elle/on croit

nous croyons vous qoyez ils/elles croient PI Rt .,..

-

i' tu il/elle/on

nous vous ils/elles

le tu

je tu

croirai croiras il/elle/on croira nous croirons vous croirez

ils/elles croiront IMPF:l!'li!'i-lii

ir:

croies

ils/elles croient ;li:ri.

le tu

:

'l

croyars

croyais

illelle/on croyait

nous croyions vous croyiez ils/elles croyaient ii .::,.'lr

FUT[,i14t::

crote

illelle/on croie nous croyions vous croyiez r,ir i' ' i:l

ai cru as cru a cru avons cru avez cru ont cru

t illl:i'r

l\ l I

Iir

'1r 'ii

je tu

ir-ll i\ij. 'l'l!

i

croirais croirais

il/elle/on croirait

nous croirions vous croiriez ils/elles croiraient i,lrti

ljar

f::'ii,

i;r

i

l

i

l

rl

i:i;l

.

i!

crois/croyonslcloyez PREI',

"

j

croyant

criant

l::r)iii:i,il;ii,ir'',{,,L:'

C$.4,.?i:lail

criais criais

illelle/on criait nous criions

r.ii

,.r1:il::i:

>

li f ir',i1iil.!jj'x!iii

Ne crie pas comme Eol Don't shoutl Elle q cri6 au secours. She cried for help. " Attention! ", cri a-t- il.'Watch out! " he shouted.

je/j'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we v6g5=lou ilslelle$=they

6Xl,'::; le ne te crois pas. I don't believe you. 'l'oi cru que tu n'ollqis pqs venir. I thought you weren't going to come' 'Elle croyoit encore ou pi:re Nod/. She still believed in Santa'

il3/elles=they le/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you

VeneTeeLEs

VrRs Tnelrs

(to grow)

je tu

je tu

crois crois

iUelle/on croit

nous vous

croissons croissez

ils/elles croissent ;

I 1

, l,,ir .l;ii'

i',,

ill,i

t,


ils/elles croissent

je tu

ai crO as crO

ils/elles ont crO

croitrai croitras

il/elle/on croitra

nous croitrons vous croitrez ils/elles croitront

croissais croissais

illelle/on croissait nous croissions vous croissiez ils/elles croissaient :.')

,ll'

je tu

,,

f":J'-il

[,:.ll',i

je tu

croissons

/

croissez

croitrais croitrais

illelle/on croitrait nous croitrions vous croitriez ils/elles croitraient

crO

r

je

je tu

cueille

tu il/elle/on

cueilles

nous vou5 ils/elles

,.r '' rr

I

je tu

ai cueilli as cueilli a cueilli avons cueilli avez cueilli ont cueilli

tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles

il/elle/on cueillait

nous cueillions vous cueilliez ils/elles cueillaient

ii,:'i.:j.,i

nouS vouS ils/elles

croissant

PRffii'-.r :if

ventes croissent de 60/0 par an. Sales are growing by 60/o per year. C'est une plonte qui croit dans les pays chouds. This plant grows in hot countries.

ie/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vou$=you ils/elles=they

il/elle/on

nous vous ils/elles

cueilleront

cueillerais cueillerais cueillerait cueillerions cueilleriez cueilleraient

i!:i,

cueillons

Itr

;,'lii,,l

r

/ cueillez

',,,,ti

, L

cueilli

,

cueillant

EX,A.ii#'r Les

je tu

cueillerai cueilleras cueillera cueillerons cueillerez

ie

/

cueillais cueillais

i .' :iril-,r: :l t;i..iill':i.:-

tu illelle/on

cueille

cueilles

ils/elles cueillent

cueillent

IMFH'rriIt,i

(N8: crue, crus, crues)

cueille

illelle/on cueille nous cueillions vous cueilliez

cueille cueillons cueillez

FU"n't f flii'l

:,t

ir'il

:.

/

I'll

PEiiFii;t.

illelle/on a crO nous avons crO vous avez crO

crois

croisse croisses croisse croissions croissiez

r:

j' tu

t

i

i;

,'!i,.,r l-:i,.:,lri

i

garden. cueilli quelques fraises dons Ie iardin.l've. picked a few strawberries in the pick to forbidden lt's montogne' ta ditns iauvages fleurs est interdit di cueitlh des wild flowers in the mountains.

l,oi 'tl

ils/elles=they io/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you

Vene

Tnelrs

Vene TnBLrs

(to cook) r' ;.',,;:r.

je tu

ils/elles cuisent

ils/elles cuisent i ,i I. r':

r;'

ils/elles ont cuit 'r

;,.

I

je tu

cuirai cuiras

;r'

cuirais cuirais

illelle/on cuirait nous cuirions vous cuiriez

illelle/on cuira nous cuirons vous cuirez

ils/elles cuiraient

ils/elles cuiront rirr,,lr.

cuisais cuisais

illelle/on cuisait nous cuisions vous cuisiez ,

je

descends descends

tu il/elle/on

descend descendons descendez descendent

nou5 vouS ils/elles

.l :, ri, l',llr

je

suis descendu(e) es descendu(e) est descendu(e)

tu iilelle/on

sommes descendu(e)s 6tes descendu(e)(s) sont descendu(e)s

nous vouS ils/elles

descendrai

Je

tu illelle/on

descendras

descendra descendrons descendrez descendront

nou5 vouS ils/elles

descendes

nous descendions vous descendiez ils/elles descendent :

I

je tu

descendais descendais

illelle/on descendait nous descendions vous descendiez ils/elles descendaient .',1:, i1.,,

i:

ie tu

:,

.

:

, ,'

descendrais descendrais

il/elle/on descendrait

nous descendrions vous descendriez ils/elles descendraient

IMFF;t"-ii., i"1,,:r

cuis/cuisons/cuisez

cuit

descends

/ descendons / descendez

ir : ri. : ir,il ,: I i.:,.,. I : i,: I,:,

PRff*:ii:if!l

i

cuisant

descendant

i.;t..rli'.,; t, ,' .. .'! ''

descende

il/elle/on descende

i i,

Pg-f"{.lii'irl

:i.

le tu

i,;',

t'Elt$:[:i,'i

ils/elles cuisaient

1

je tu

l'

je tu

as

nous avons cuit vous avez cuit

',..1

i':'

ai cuit

cuit illelle/on a cuit

i

cuise cuises cuise

illelle/on nous cuisions vous cuisiez

illelle/on cuit nous cuisons vous cuisez

j' tu

r:

I'II[:;;ii',.1':1'

i

|e cuis tu cuis

'r'li'

(to go down)

'i

le les oi cuits au beurre. I cooked them in butter. En g4n6ra[ je cuis les l4gumes d lo vopeur. I usually steam vegetables. Ce gdteau prend environ une heure d cuire. This cake takes about an hour to bake.

i

EXy'nfi.'r'rli'i-u:''1r':

i:'r'l

r':r"{1

Descendez Io rue jusqu'ou rond-point. Co down the street to the roundabout. * l'm coming down! Reste en bos: je descendsl Stay downstairs Nous sommes descendus d lci stotion Trocoddro. We got off at the Trocad6ro station' Vous pouvez descendre mo valise, s'i! vous plcitT Can you get my suitcase down, please?

[J jeli'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

descendu

Note that descendre takes avoir in the perfect tense when it is used with a direct obiec! see page 1 14.

lelj'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous-we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vrns TaeLes

Vrne TnsLes

(to become)

(to have to; to owe) pJ11,il,i:1, ri

je tu

je tu

devienne deviennes illelle/on devienne nous devenions vous deveniez

deviens deviens

illelle/on devient nous devenons vous devenez

ils/elles deviennent

ils/elles deviennent

]', je tu

suis devenu(e) es devenu(e)

illelle/on est devenu(e) nous sommes devenu(e)s vous 6tes devenu(e)(s)


devenais devenais devenait devenions deveniez devenaient

.i

i

je tu

deviendrai deviendras illelle/on deviendra nous deviendrons vous deviendrez

ils/elles deviendront i

/

nouS vouS ils/elles

I

tu illelle/on nouS

vous ils/elles Fll!'lr'i.Ii

je tu

deviendrais deviendrais

illelle/on deviendrait nous deviendrions vor.rs deviendriez

ils/elles deviendraient

.

devenons

/

devenez

devenu

.

devenant

doit devons devez

doivent

devenu mddecin. He became a doctor. devient de plus en plus difficile. lt's becoming more and more difficult' Qu'est-ce qu'elle est devenueT What has become of her? est

Q.o

jelj'=ltu=you it=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we v6us=lou ils/elles=thev

ai d0 as d0

ad0 avons d0 avez d0 ont d0

je tu

doive doives

il/elle/on doive

nous devions vous deviez ils/elles doivent

je

devrai devras

nouS vou5 ils/elles

je tu

devra devrons devrez

devront

ils/elles devaient ,'

je tu

l

devrais devrais

illelle/on devrait nous devrions vous devriez ils/elles devraient

r''

dois/devonsldevez PI"lfirLr

devais devais

illelle/on devait nous devions vous deviez ,l ,l ;

tu illelle/on

d0 (NB: due, dus, dues)

I

devant

[-Xliiir,ri'.r

ll

dois dois

:

lMPiiri'r,. ,

.,

deviens

Je

tu illelle/on

[)[]:l:ihilt.i, .

je tu

ils/elles sont devenu(e)s

i

".

i ,.]':'

Je dois aller fqire les courses ce mqtin. I have to do the A quetle heure est-ce que tu dois paftir? What time do

shopping this morning.

you have to.leave? ll ;t d0 faire ses devoirs hier soir. He had to do his homework last night' ll devoit prendre le troin pour aller trovoiller He had to go to work by train.

le/i,=ltu=you it=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you

ilsr/elles=they

Vrne Tnslrs

VrRe TneLts

':

lil:r.'::t,

je tu

i,.,1..,,,

je tu

dis dis

illelle/on dit nous disons vous dites ils/elles disent

i' tu

l i.t:l

dirai diras illelle/on dira nous dirons vous direz

ils/elles diront

ils/elles donnent

disais disais

illelle/on disait nous disions vous disiez

i' tu

t

..

.r-..

dirais dirais

illelle/on dirait nous dirions vous diriez ils/elles diraient

as

vous avez donn6 ils/elles ont donn6 t11

dit

,rr'

.i

'rl1:

le tu

donnerais donnerais

illelle/on donnerait nous donnerions vous donneriez

illelle/on donnera

nous donnerons vous donnerez

ils/elles donneraient

ils/elles donneront

i::r. , :

donne/donnons/donnez r1;'r ri ' rii' PRFir'ii:i:i r

donnais donnais

ils/elles donnaient

donnerai donneras

l

ilielle/on donnait nous donnions vous donniez i,

1-1',i!1rl::

ie tu

je tu

ai donn6

donn6 illelle/on a donn6 nous avons donn6

ils/elles disaient

I

ri

:r

I

donn6

.i

donnant

disant

:

'..

.

dit?What is she saying? "Bonjour!", q-t-il dit. "Hello!" he said. tls m"ont dit que te film 6tqit nuL They told me that the film was rubbish. Comment ga se dit en anglois? How do you say that in English?

Qu'est-ce qu'elle

See

ils/elles donnent

l

,.,r.t;,,.,i

fi

donnes

,1r, I

I

je tu

donne

illelle/on donne nous donnions vous donniez

lMPflilli.'' r, ' ,/

dis/disons/dites

:\'j

donnes

ils/elles disent

je tu

je tu

donne

il/elle/on donne

.,,,,i.i

,

le tu

nous donnons vous donnez

i!lr:i:

je tu

1,... l

nous disions vous disiez

ai dit

as dit illelle/on a dit nous avons dit vous avez dit ils/elles ont dit

l)llFr{:i:S'li:i

dise dises

illelle/on dise

i,r'.t]I

l'

(to give)

t,

(to say)

I:.\l{fiirr:,,

1

1"',

:) :

'

Donne-moi la main. Give me your hand' tst-ie aue ie t'ai donn| mon adresse? Did I give you my address? t'apportement donne sur Ia ploce.The flat overlook the square'

poges 88-91 for information on how to form the reflexive verb se dire'

ielj,=11.,=you il-he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

ils/elles=they le/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nou$=we vous=you

I

I I

t-

vene

i

Trers

Vene

:,:,., (to sleep)

L

I I

I

]

] I

i,

;,ni'i:,,ri:l\,j? ie dors i" ;;;; itl"tt"/on ;il nous Jortont vous Jorrnur ils/elles Jor1n"nt dormi dormi illelle/on ' "-Oriri nous uuont Jotai vous avez dormi ils/elles ont dormi ai

as

I

je dormirai tu dormiras illelle/on dormira nous dormirons vous dormirez ""' "'l:::. ils/elles dormiront 'llu

le dormais tu dormais il/eile/on dormait nous dormions vous dormiez ils/elles dormaient (1.;i! llll I i,i,li

ii;i",r11"$"i'|ti::

i

le dorme i, dormes illelle/on dorme nous dormions vous dormiez ils/elles dorment liiildl'a:iFllfili:l;'i

ii.rl:lil,iiir!!ll:1'l'

i, tu

i:!ir!i:i:rir:ii:i:ii1f'j'

il,:'.I..

ie dormirais tu dormirais illelle/on dormirait nous dormirions vous dormiriez ils/elles ;;;;;';:^' ".,.u.. dormiraient

i' 6cris tu 6cris illelle/on 6crit nous 6crivons vous 6crivez ils/elles 6crivent 6crit 6crit il/elle/on a 6crit nous avons 6crit vous avez 6crit ils/elles ont 6crit Fl-,i'l-D-;,

.."

ai

as

.

ils/elles 6criront

6crives

nous 6crivions vous 6criviez ils/elles Ecrivent .:, ''r

j' tu

i

6crivais 6crivais

illelle/on 6crivait nous 6crivions vous 6criviez ils/elles 6crivaient rf

i' 6crirai tu 6criras illelle/on 6crira nous 6crirons vous 6crirez

6crive

il/elle/on 6crive

r'ii .r'li: .:

PF['iFlri]i:l'il'

i' tu

i' tu

ii'"ili

ri"

";"irrrii'rrLr

j' tu

6crirais 6crirais

illdle/on 6crirait nous 6cririons vous 6cririez ils/elles 6criraient

I i r'ir''i.i rifts-

dors

/ dormons /

dormez

lliLi,o::rti,ill.ilr"'j tl:ir,iil'i'!1'[]:ilt'ril

dormi

[!

6cris

/

6crivons

/

6crivez

l

i'

l"rrir'rl.

PRFr,i:i;r'ir;,,rr'

dormant

6crivant

i:,,i,riltli +.i: r.t',i'lllir,hiii$

E,Yl,:,

dormi? Did you sleep well? Nous dormons dans la m€me chombre. We sleep in the same bedroom. A heures, it dormait d1id. He was already asleep by nine.

Elte

Tu os bien

t

Tu

jelj'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we voua:you ils/elles=thev

i'

as 6crit d to correspondonte rdcemment? Have you written to your penfriend lately? icrit des romans. She writes novels.

Ciriirt fi

,r]r,' ,

qa

s'6crit, "brouillard"? How do you spell "brouillard"?

see pages

88-91

for informqtion on

how to form the reflexive verb s'Ecrire.

le/i,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vene TneLrs

Vene TnsLrs

(to move) l,:'

:

rl[t::,rir:il,]

ii"

j' tu

11'

r:i 11fl, i:i

i'!i-il

i,l

iL-r

l,;, i

i

l

11{

illelle/on 6meut nous 6mouvons vous 6mouvez

6meuve 6meuves illelle/on 6meuve nous 6mouvions vous 6mouviez

ils/elles 6meuvent

ils/elles 6meuvent il,,lli:i:' 1,:

ai 6mu as 6mu a 6mu avons 6mu avez 6mu ont 6mu

illelle/on nous vous ils/elles ir;ir,ii'lr iilt/,::

6mouvrai 6mouvras illelle/on 6mouvra nous 6mouvrons vous 6mouvrez

ils/elles 6mouvront lilrlritii

/ 6mouvons /

!',jrLl.::i;,1.,i'rii

i

j' tu

6mouvez

nous sommes entr6(e)s vous 6tes entr6(e)(s) ils/elles sontentr6(e)s

entrerai entreras ll/elle/on entrera nous entrerons vous entrerez

illelle/on 6mouvrait nous 6mouvrions vous 6mouvriez

PRESEruT

: l.rl,iii'i rt t:itj,'lr i:

;rX

4

;i

il

\l

[.:

i';:.ri'

entrais entrais

ils/elles entraient il,li i"l1[:rlrii;lrir

entrerais entrerais

it-

!.:llioilt'j'[l;lir

i].,

.

entr6

i?'A.hi. ir it;iqlii-L'j

cntrant

6mouvant

t XAM| t

o 6mu.This film moved us. Cette histoire m'6meut touiours beaucoup. This story always moves me to tears. Ce film nous

ie/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you

q"tr

nous entrions vous entriez

l,i{',lti

cntre/entrons/entrez

6mu

p

ils/elles entreraient

rMPER,B',f,$\dil;

l:.

11.

illelle/on entrerait nous entrerions vous entreriez

ils/elles entreront

ils/elles 6mouvraient

;

il/elle/on entrait

j' tu

i' tu

€mouvrais 6mouvrais

:i

i' tu

riilfrl

I U TURf:

ii_

lt;)],.;rr.l I l,r:t:illll_

suis entr6(e) es entr6(e)

rl/elle/on estentr6(e)

ils/elles 6mouvaient i .ri' :t iri.;,liitil

itiiirlit:;ll:11;'l it

T

je tu

6mouvais 6mouvais

i' t,

ils/elles entrent

ils/elles entrent PERFEC

i\\l

entre entres illelle/on entre nous entrions votrs entriez

nous entronS vous enlrez

l"ii

Fr

j' tu

entre entres rl/elle/on entre

tu

ilielle/on 6mouvait nous 6mouvions vous 6mouviez

tlril:t',,t

ii:i:.rii ii':l'llii;:

6meus

i' tu

i,.i.rrrrr,,l

i' tu

"i:-l:.'t

frill:.r'li

f,8[sH|\dT

i'

i' tu

6meus 6meus

j' tu

r.; r'i \i'rit

ile/elles=thev

*

s

*: r,.J',,r

di;

:

:

Can I come in? I ssuie-toi les pieds en entrqnt. \Mpe your feet as you come in. lls sont tous'entAs dans Ia moison. They all went into the house'

le peux entrer?

lr{,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nqus=w€ vous=you ils/elles=they

Vrne Tneles

VEneTAeLrs iu,n {::}iiilUI'.j,ili\,llri:iii' (tO Send } rrr1.1t'r,f

i:rlltxriii:iiii$'i'

j' tu

ii: iri.

I'

::irI lll:1.'rir.;

ii:i i-r:

i' tu

envoie envoies illelle/on envoie nous envoyons vous envoyez

envoie envoies illelle/on envoie nous envoyions vous envoyiez

ils/elles envoient

ils/elles envoient

i)fiiiiifiil.j:ijT

li:r,lill

i' tu

ai envoyd as envoy6 a envoy6 avons envoy6 avez envoy6 ont envoy6


i' tu

r

ils/elles envoyaient lr-l[ | i, -.i',L,li li

i' tu

enverrai enverras

nous enverrons vous enverrez


ils/elles enverront

ils/elles

il/elle/on enverra

li\lt1'lilir,irr,i

envoie

/

;rr$i tiri.il []1,'.i

ii

'!rr,'l.r

:/, r::

envoyons jt'

tr:41

I envoyez

envoyais envoyais

enverrais enverrait enverrions enverriez enverraient

:: ii:lt ir i,i:;ii.ll..i il,

:r

envoy€

lj:i

ils/elles esp6reront

I

i

I

i'!llf

lr

it''i,' I l

esp6rez

.

esp6rais esp6rais

nous esp6rions vous esp6riez ils/elles esp6raient .iir

iiili1..1['i]

ii-ll

i' tu

iir.,lrli,

ir ,

esp6rerais esp6rerais

illelle/on esp6rerait nous esp6rerions vous esp6reriez ils/elles esp6reraient iiriir'r;'r;

IMPF${,q:["Etrlir

i,,,u,lhi1,j,

ii tr l,':.

il/elle/on esp6rait

t

esp6rerai esp6reras illelle/on esp6rera nous esp6rerons vous esp6rerez

i;,l !,

l' tu

ai esp6r6

i' tu

PRE$Hi$"1,

envoyant

ii."ii:i.ii'i4iii!j-'l

irii,iiir;ilrl':l

/ esp6rons /

:ii;

ils/elles espdrent

as esp6r6 illelle/on a esp6r6 nous avons esp6r6 vous avez esp6r6 ils/elles ont esp6r6

espEre

i

nous esp6rions vous esp6riez

FUTU$qH

enverrais

it l

espdre espdres illelle/on espbre

espdre esperes il/elle/on espEre nous esp6rons vous esp6rez

j' tu

tir

j' tu

i' tu

PEHFg(;i'

illelle/on envoyait nous envoyions vous envoyiez rriir,i

i'i :lilili

PRE$fifl\f1'

ils/elles espdrent

::r!;rt:rr'1'' I

i' tu

il. i.

ii.;qi1-il1-fi:iiir

i'l:r,:i

l

il'1lr'

.l

r;'ir"ili;r; ;;

esp616

l{:! i;,t.,t,

esp6rant

it ijri

l i.

l,rl

jr:,,,r,

l'ai envoy| une corte postole d ma fonte. I sent my aunt a postcard.

Envoie-moi un e-moil. Send me an email. le t'enverrai ton cadeau par la poste. l'll send you your present by post.

ie/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vou$=you lls/elles=thev

EXAMFT;'{.;ri' l'espire que tu vqs bien. I hope you're well. tl esp4roit pouvoir venir. He was hoping he'd be able to come. tu penses nlussir tes exomens? - J'espdre bien! Do you think you'll pass your exams? - | hope so!

lr4'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vsss=fou ils/elles=they

VeRe TaeLEs

Vrne Tnelrs

(to do; to make)

(to be) It{;rl i:

le tu illelle/on nous vor:s

Suls es

est Sommes €tes

ils/elles sont

le tu

sots sois

illellelon soit nous soyon5 vous soyez

ie

tu il/elle/on

iUelle/on

nous vous ils/elles

ai 6t6 as 6t6 a 6t6 avons 6t6 avez 6t6 ont 6t6

i' tu

r:ii:

I


serai seras sera

serons serez

ils/elles seront j

l

sois/soyons

I soyez

6t6

nous ferions vous feriez ils/elles feraient

fait

r,r

i

faisant

t,,'..'

)

Qu'est-ce que tu faisT What are you doin-g? . What Qu'est-ce Qu'it a foit? What has he done? or

did he do?

a cake' Jiai fait un gdteau. l've made a cake or I made tl s'est fsit iouper les cheveux' He's had his hair cut' r

ielj,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on-we/one nous=we y6us=you ils/elles=they

ferais

',. ,:

f_:ff,li,iii, .,' Mon pire est professeur. My father's a teacher. Quelie heure est-il7 - tl est dix heures. \Nhat time is it? - lt's 1 0 o'clock lls ne sont pos encore qniv6s. They haven't arrived yet.

ferais

il/elle/on ferait

fais/faisons/faites PPfil,,:,

6tant

le tu

feras

ils/elles feront l|Vliti:r:r

faisions faisiez

ils/elles faisaient

ferai

nous ferons vous ferez

ils/elles seraient

nous vous lr't

illelle/on fera

illelle/on serait nous serions vous seriez

faisais faisais

illelle/on faisait

'

je tu

serais serais

i

as

ils/elles ont fait

ils/elles 6taient

je tu

je tu

ai fait

nous avons fait vous avez fait Ft1,l:l"'

je tu

fassions fassiez ils/elles fassent

fait illelle/on a fait

illelle/on 6tait nous 6tions vous 6tiez

fasse fasses fasse

nous vous

faites

i' tu

6tais 6tais

il/elle/on

faisons

font

ils/elles

ils/elles soient

je tu

fais fais

fait

nous vous

llr.

j' tu

1:1,

i) See poges 88-91 for informotion

on how to form the reflexive verb se faire.

le/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vsse=you ils/elles=they

VERS

Vrne TleLrs

Tasles

> fnn'l:rii (to finish)

Ei. *lr:li{imli' (to be necessary} It) t:i i:r {:i

ii:,ili'!'

il

iti iir' Nril; Ll

l'

$rt

it

faut

t. I hrl,

.:,.:;

i

L[ lti] {.;:rJ \i{ fl

l:

pRH$fii,,,1r..x"

le tu

faille

ilrtiJ l:.,]j;

il

l: l?

i;,i

l!{":'

it

a fallu

f

'

nous finissions vous finissiez ils/elles finissent

,*pg:Sr:)"{.

i' tu

fallait

,i i

as

il

i'j i:lr!

-r,,

il

faudra

ii

!,} {dpti I -

(::r!iirili!f,]rl

ie tu

finiras

nous finirions vous finiriez ils/elles finiraient

ils/elles finiront irr;i\r'.;

t.tij;!iil".{:

fallu

not used ,'r'lii,hrj,[::Li'!

i l,t,rri.l

i'

i1-1!]i!:;

ii;ri:lijii i,,li;

Mrli;1

n:i,{.";['ii 1/

.:Rri;]i'

li

finis / finissons / finissez PR}ili ?1[\.T l ]'+l"r'lr'ir': :'l"ll.

[jli1

]i

i'ili-;li

i!.,

a'r

fini

u:,r

finissant

not used

',lri!/l,,ii'i,ii't

I

.

illelle/on finirait

nous finirons vous finirez P.n*;1L'|'i xlEii

Tit ) liii'*,i

le ltnrralS tu finirais

finirai

il/elle/on finira

1i1166r

finissais finissais

ils/elles finissaient

FLrTt"jfi[i

faudrait

FrjIi l;:r"'.' ;

nous finissions vous finissiez

ils/elles ont fini j1

ri') li.i

illelle/on finissait

nous avons fini vous avez fini

'a,l'r

lil

je tu

ai fini

fini illelle/on a fini

ir:tl liii,li:iial

ir';l ri:i [:

finisse finisses il/elle/on finisse

ils/elles finissent !,i

liri"

tu

finis

nous finissons vous finissez

I [i,rd

1j i.lj N:l i i.i

|e

finis

illelle/on finit

l-";,ilii'[,'.i

:, 1 i

li:

ldl #rri,{ ai

tllr

.;,i

ll fsut se d€pdcher!We have to hurry up! ll me falloit de l'argent. I needed money. ll faudrs que tu sois ld d 8 heures. You'll have to be there at 8.

je/j'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous*you il$/ellos=they

ExAlirliatrti,: f?fi[,,llrr

l:;]ii',:,:

Finis to soupel Finish Your souP!

fini! l've finished! l'ai '!e

finirai

mes devoirs

demain.l'll finish my homework tomorrow'


Tnslrs

Vene

p

'i

fanEr (to ftee)

pffiF$E$\tT je

tu il/elle/on

PRESEIV"$' SU

fuis fuis

je tu

fuit

illelle/on fuie

vouS ils/elles

J

t' $\ICTIVE

fuies

ils/elles fuient

fuient

PHMFfrC'

IMPERF:ECT'

I

je tu

ai fui

tu illelle/on

as

fui

illelle/on fuyait

a fui

nou5

avons fui

vous

avez fui

nous fuyions vous fuyiez ils/elles fuyaient

ont fui

ils/elles

fuyais fuyais

CffiniiDlTl0lUAt

FT,!TUffiN

je tu

je fuirais tu fuirais

fuirai fuiras

il/elle/on fuira

iUelle/on fuirait nous fuirions vous fuiriez ils/elles fuiraient

nous fuirons vous fuirez ils/elles fuiront

PA$IT PAIBTfldiJIPLE

ii\npffimAx-tvE

fuis/fuyons lfuyez

fui

xliF,'iffi

PRESH['dT

ie tu

fuie

nous fuyions vous fuyiez

fuyons fuyez

nouS

ffi

le tu

hais hais

ils/elles

,\L{\r .i-

vous

hairas

nous hairions vous hairiez ils/elles haiiaient

ils/elles hairont

F*q$f tr/&lq]

IMPHffiATIVH

/

haissez

fuyant

haissant

lls ont fui leur pays. They Le robinet fuit.The tap is

fled their country, dripping.

PFr,ry,41'$iii

fi{l$Pt"hi

hai

$

te hoisll hate you! le 'Etle hdissait tout'le monde, She hated everyone. lls se hdissent. They hate each other.

Q

je{'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

hairais hairais

il/elle/on hairait

vous hdirez

ExAdbf P'd.tr

haissiez

flS$\t,r{fi-

le tu

hairai

PRE$H!\t"I' pd\FtrTiiCl!f'[.tri]

g pfd,ffil{s&q

haissais haissais

ils/elles haissaient

URHSEt\[T pAmT"lfl | pt-E

tr x:Afyi,F*

l. l. /:':,

*$ft!flit"'f

haissons

harssiez

noLrs haissions

illelle/on haira nous hairons

/

hatsstons

il/elle/on haissait

FUTTJFl$:

hais

i

je tu

ai hai as hai a hai avons hai avez hai ont hai

ie tu

ftlil"T'['dffi

ils/elles harssent

PERFECT

illelleion nous vous

m,{q",

haisse haisses

nous vous

haissez

ils/elles haissent

j' tu

$R-J

il/elle/on l'ru.':t:

illelle/on hait nous harisons

vous

$jundT

See

poges 88-91 for informotion on how to form the reflexive verb se hqir.

ls/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nou$=we vous=you ils/olles=they

VgRe Tneles

VrRe TneLes

(to join)

(to throw) lrlif r. ltrr,

je tu

iette

jettes

illelle/on jette

nous jetons vous jetez ils/elles jettent

je tu

tu illelle/on

jettes

illelle/on jette

Irl

l

j' tu

ai jet6 as jete

illelle/on a jet6 nous avons jet6 vous avez jet6 ilVelles ont jet6

le tu

i ,r,

tu illelle/on

illelle/on jetait

nous vous

nous jetions vous jetiez

ils/elles

ils/elles jetaient

jetterai jetteras

illelle/on jettera

nous jetterons vous jetterez ils/elles jetteront

je tu

:r';

as joint a joint avons joint avez joint ont ioint

joindrai joindras

nous joindrons vous joindrez

nous jetterions vous jetteriez

ils/elles joindront

ils/elles jetteraient

ils/elles joignent

je tu

joignais joignais

illelle/on joignait

nous joignions vous loigniez

ils/elles joignaient rr

,,,i

illelle/on joindra

illelle/on jetterait

nous joignions vous joigniez

ai ioint

,r :

je tu

jetterais jetterais

joignes

' i'

i'

jetais jetais

l:l .' ,i i

je tu

joignons joignez joignent

ils/elles

ils/elles lettent

joigne

illelle/on joigne

joint

nous vous

nous jetions vous jetiez

je tu

joins joins

je

jette

je tu

l

joindrais joindrais

il/elle/on joindrait

nous ioindrions vous joindriez ils/elles loindraient

lM{Fi::irl 'ir r'r

jette/jetons/jetez

joins

jet6

/ joignons / joignez

Pltii-r::

. '

joignant

jetant

[X;:illr"';'. , Ne jette pas tes vQtements par terre. Don't throw your clothes on the floor. Elle o jett son chewing-gum par lo fen1tre. She threw her chewing gum out

Oi of the

est-ce

'

qu'on peut te ioindre ce week-end? Where can we contact you this weekend? les deux tqbles. We put the two tables together'

On a joini

window lls

ne jettent jamqis rien. They never throw anything away.


|e/j,=|tu=youi|=he/ite||e=she/iton=we/onenous=wevous=youi|s/e|les=they

Vena TneLps

Vene TneLEs

i,i.' [+;rtt*rr (to lift) !rii

$.tr}iIli]i^t\.i'r'

je

tu illelle/on nouS

vous ils/elles

1e

ie tu

ri; i.l:i:,i1,ltIl

je tu illelle/on nous vous

ie tu

ldverai ldveras l6vera lEverons ldverez

ui

ift H F:ir{i_"tj

fii,i:.ll ti

fdve/levons llevez ij)f1

I-jSi"iti'i

rrj:rtrli,;

tl

See

ffi BX"n-

Ex,itr illf p*4"

.

Li4le b ftte. Lift your head up. Levez Iq main! Put your hand up! le me live tous les jours d sept heures. I get up at 7 every day.

S

liras lira

it'd\ffi

lirais lirais

illelle/on lirait nous lirions vous liriez ils/elles liraient iit!,&liT l'#.: !:ll"lil;l !' t' i :

lu

lis/lisons/lisez PRE$

lisions lisiez

{'l{il

!i' [,

[r

lisant

i,.;...'"jt.!f . t.. : :.: i,. ...

i

je tu

lirai

IMPEffiATIVK.

Fr

lisais lisais

ils/elles lisaient

ils/elles liront

levant

i

nous vous

illelle/on nous lirons vous lirez

!i:;;Ii]I.L:

r

{jtil}l'ri Dl1-!iI{,rr*AL

ie tu

ldverais

lisions lisiez

il/elle/on lisait

FUTLIA{F

lev6

i|i.: Il:i l

as lu a lu

ils/elles ont lu

liverais

ir;rirlilii ;

le tu

ai lu

illelle/on nous avons lu vous avez lu

1.

lise lises lise

!lv-tFPiiFir'irl:t]

i' tu

levais levais

ir:

ils/elles lisent

PERFH{;T

ils/elles ldveraient

i',i F


lisons lisez

ils/elles lisent

illelle/on ldverait nous ldverions vous ldveriez

ils/elles lEveront li f

nous vous

i: il

ili.'il\if:i

je tu

lis lis

iUelle/on lit

ils/elles levaient

ont lev6

ili:i!:ri'iitril.lT [5] l[','jili!!lri;'rj'i!i

PRESHf;ST

le tu

illelle/on levait nous levions vous leviez

ii:ilLi ;,'iiJi;Xi.. l

[; l::i4i.

{l:l'llJii;

ldve ldves

ils/elles lbvent

avons lev6 avez lev6

iiilr

. t i..L ir!,l

ldvent

ai lev6 as lev6 a lev6

nous vous ils/elles

t i; iii

ilielle/on lEve nous levions vous leviez

tu

1igiif:irl+;

I

it )

ldve ldves l6ve levons levez

Ftr!'1t$;f:r(:lli

tu illelle/on

[: fir]

ii:,i:i,

g

pr-dsi,A $id,r;

Vous ovez lu "Mqdame Bovary"? Have you read le Ie liroi dans I'avion. l'll read it on the plane. Elle

"Madame Bovary"?

lui lisoit une histoire. She was reading him a story.

pages 88-91 for informqtion on how to form the reflexive verb se lever.

jelj'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you

als/elles=they

le/j,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one noua=we voua=you ils/elles=they

Vene TneLes

VeRe Tneles

I

{to eat)

lt

mange manges illelle/on mange nous mangions vous mangiez

mange manges iUelle/on mange nous mangeons vous mangez

ils/elles mangent

ils/elles mangent

,

t" tu

le tu

as mang6

illelle/on a mang6 nous avons mange vous avez mange

tl

ils/elles ont mang6

nous maudissions vous maudissiez

maudissons maudissez

ils/elles maudissent

ils/elles maudissent

ffvlpHH$-HsT

mangeais mangeais

i' tu

illelle/on mangeait nous mangions vous mangiez

il/elle/on

ai mang6

ils/elles mangeaient

IVfi T'&Vffi

maudisse maudisses il/elle/on maudisse

il/elle/on maudit

nous vous

ffi .} L.'

je tu

maudis maudis

PERFECT

l

l

je tu

,e tu

le tu

i

PRHSE[\I'T' $U

PRESENT

l.

nous vous ils/elles

ai maudit as maudit a maudit avons maudit avez maudit ont maudit

je tu

maudissais maudissais

illelle/on maudissait nous maudissions vous maudissiez ils/elles maudissaient

l

le tu

mangerai mangeras iUelle/on mangera nous man9eronS vous mangerez

li

i

ils/elles mangeront

l

je tu

s{}[\xmn'rlst\cA!-

FUTURE

.

mangerais mangerais

il/elle/on mangerait nous mangerions vous mangeriez

je tu

1e maudirai

tu

maudiras illelle/on maudira nous maudirons vous maudirez

ils/elles mangeraient

iUelle/on maudirait

nous maudirions vous maudiriez ils/elles maudiraient

ils/elles maudiront

r*A$T

IMPERATIVE

]i

mange

/

mangeons

/

mangez

mange

maudls

/

maudissons

maudirais maudirais

/

maudissez

FlAffi"flB{T[$][-ffi

maudit

PRESET{T PARTIEIPTE

maudissant

mangeant

EXATfiPLE P'L'ffiASES

ll

Nous ne mqngeons pos souvent ensemble' We don't Tu ss assez iang6? Haveyou had enough to eat? Je

often eat together'

lls moudissent leurs ennemis. They curse their enemies' mqudit stvlo ne marche pqs/ fhis blasted pen doesn't work!

Ce

mangerai plus tard. l'll eat later on'

i

ie/i,=|tu=youi|=he/itel|e=she/iton_we/onenous=wevous=youi|s/6||es=they

ils/olles=they ieli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle-she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you

Vens TnnLEs

Vene TneLes

s"

fr?'.jff$'f,ttg'#$

(to put) ,,i,liriirrjtl-l

FiljqHSHrl\{T ${"lH.i[-tillff

IitrLi$i&i$',:1T'

ie tu

mets mets

illelle/on met nous mettons vous mettez ils/elles mettent

ai mis as mis

illelle/on a mis nous avons mis vous avez mis ils/elles ont mis

je tu

mettrai mettras

ilielle/on mettra nous mettrons vous mettrez ils/elles mettront ['i i iT-iil/

f:

monte

mettes

montes

tr]!,{\Fi

illelle/on mettait nous mettions vous mettiez

je tu

mettrais mettrais

illelle/on mettrait nous mettrions vous mettriez

See

ils/elles

le

tu illelle/on nous vous ils/elles

je

tu illelle/on

ij]

fr

*fi !Ft'E

mis

I.dCiF[.t:

montent

it:'i1

suis mont6(e) es mont6(e)

est mont6(e) sommes mont6(e)s €tes mont6(e)(s) sont mont6(e)s

ils/elles

monteront

monte/montons/montez [r

montais montais

il/elle/on montait

nous montions vous montiez ils/elles montaient ii

\4

f,i' I :f

i# tu{it\t

je tu

monterais monterais

illelle/on monterait nous monterions vous monteriez ils/elles monteraient ;tAi\I.j

lMptr$tA\TI\f!:

.lii

montes

ie tu

monterai

IU"i' F/n rtrilif

monte

it:'l:i t ii;trt:',.,' !

Itr,.]

nous vous

ffi

lillbJffi

vous montiez ils/elles montent

monrez

monteras montera monterons monterez

PRA$

"-',Lt"j.".!.q_lr$j{:i

illelle/on monte nous montions

monte montons

FUTLIi[.?E

ils/elles mettraient

:' i'jn\r;':,i li,i]i;li i.lrl

mont6

I r:

montant

F! l,t?.4$s:?1:

Mets ton manteau! Put your coat on! Oi est-ce que tu os mis les cl6s? tffhere have you put the keys? l'ai mis Ie livre sur la tqble. I put the book on the table. Elle s'est mise d pleurer. She started crying.

r)

nous vous

ils/elles mettaient

mettant

fi'-{,r4fhf.'f+d",,f

illelle/on

[::,td'f

je tu

PERd-H#T"

mettais mettais

tr,*,&$T fll.,f;{

mets/mettons/mettez F[:tfi l.]lf.rB\["f

je IU

iUelle/on mette nous mettions vous mettiez ils/elles mettent

je tu

PRE$HT"iT'

mette

$mi'ti{3[TXSF\jl\*-

ir,I l"li't..l]*:iii

i l-htl fri hl

$1"V8

!fTSPffimFfl:CT

ii't:rFi[:F;fl.'f

i' tu

je tu

fi

pages 88-91 for informqtion on how to form the reflexive verb se mettre.

je/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one noua-we vous=you ils/elles=they

EXd{

f

l4trl #t"ff t?li.':tl] i:il

de Io tour. I went all the way up the tov'rer' la voiture, ie t'emmdne. Cet into the car, l'll take.you tl't"t"' . going up ll s,est tordu lo cheville en montqnt d une 6chelle. He twisted his ankle

suis mont1e taut en hsut le 'Monte

dans

a ladder.

[7]

-

Note that monter takes avoir in the perfect tense when it is used with a direct objecq see Page 114.

ie/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vene TneLrs Vene TaeLes

i,iririi'ri,ji;'lr (tO ,

l:.r : :.r l:

,,t

ii:i :,::i i,,,

i

je

mords mords

tu illelle/on

mord mordons

nouS

mordez

vous

mordent

ils/elles !:'',ilit

ii

r:a:-i-

'

ai mordu as mordu a mordu

tu illelle/on

ont mordu

ils/elles Jli; ii l ;lirI

mordrai

tu il/elle/on

mordras

mordra

nouS vou5

mordrons mordrez

ils/el les

mordront

:liir.lil il:ri,

li!,'

il.

!'

mords/mordons lmordez ,t

i

:-

r:r1.

. t\.i

il

i;al.

mordes

-i je

tu illelle/on nous VOUS

ils/elles

mordais mordais

mordait mordions mordiez mordaient

rl,t ir t., ;'it,,i,.ri

je tu

. ::\ | :

t:i

t :' .l:

Le chien

r''1,::ii", i;: rit i ri,,,;i:r",1ir.i,1lt

[: i-; F.:ft!'f

t

je

tu il/elle/on

nous vous ils/elles

moulent

tu illelle/on

moud

vous

moulons moulez

ils/elles

moulent

nouS

moule moules moule moulions mouliez

ie

mouds mouds

|,l

I'ER$-iiHET

'

il

I

tu illelle/on nous vouS ils/elles

ai moulu as moulu

a moulu avons moulu avez moulu ont moulu

mordrais mordrais

illelle/on mordrait nous mordrions vous mordriez

le

tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles

ils/elles mordraient 1,,.,r:

mordu

I rl lr',1:i.;lli

je

tu illelle/on nouS

vous ils/elles ii

FUTUfllLri

moudrai moudras moudra moudronS moudrez

moudront

moulais moulais

moulait moulions mouliez

moulaient

;i"iij\lt []ili:i ii',..1il{lll ,,i.

ie tu

moudrais moudrais

il/elle/on moudrait nous moudrions vous moudriez ils/elles moudraient ,

lMl$38ffiP;fl'ri'F:

mouds/moulons/moulez

l'rll,riil''

-1

moulu

PFtESi::Id'i i';li;i l'ii ii Fi ii:

moulant

mordant

.- : i

l'l

morde

,ii

r'i-llir:

ltt',:.,r,li

ils/elles mordent

.-,1

je

tlltrr;. iil irt,:il

illelle/on morde nous mordions vous mordiez

avons mordu avez mordu

nous vous

I

je tu

l,riti.'r':

'

I

:il

bite)

il:,il.rri:|

:i :,'i:'1,;

m'q mordue. The dog bit me.

[:

xA ft4fry_,L

jair,]ij.il4

J'ai moulu du

caf,6

iili: !r

tomorrow pour demain motin' l've ground some coffee for

ll ne va pos te mordrel He won't bite!

morning.

je/i'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we v6u5=lou ils/elles=they

nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they ie/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one

Vens Tnelrs

Vene Tneles

&"

$sBqle$ffi8$"

(to die) FF?[:$fiS]T ${"i ffi,i ["i fdCTf

FXifi$!::ttlT

Je

je tu

illelle/on meurt nous mouronS vous mourez

meure meures illelle/on meure nous mourions vous mouriez

ils/elles meurent

ils/elles meurent

tu

meurs meurs

F!fill#SdjT

je tu

je tu

suis mort(e) es mort(e)

nous sommes mort(e)s vous €tes mort(e)(s)

ils/elles mouraient fi

XfrL!TqJffiE

mourais mourais

illelle/on mourait nous mourions vous mouriez

ils/elles sontmort(e)s

{-l}

ii|

h..}

H

Til C} FilA

le tu

mourrai mourras

l-

mourrals mourrais

illelle/on mourrait nous mourrions vous mourriez

illelle/on mourra nous mourrons vous mourrez

ils/elles mourraient

ils/elles mourront

F,j{$.;,

trfl,riF3ffi$-id"\'[i\rFi

F;;{

Ftr

I"$iilfi I] U_H

meurs/mourons lmourez 13 ii".jl

Fi$ fi

nlT FA iil-fl"$d":t

P{.

f,

,{'/{

r1,{$A

je tu

je tu

nais

nais

il/elle/on nait nous naissons

vous

naissez

ils/elles naissent

je tu

suis n6(e) es n6(e) est n6(e)

ils/elles sont n6(e)s

naitras

ils/elles naitront

naissons H

naissais naissais


naissait naissions naissiez ils/elles naissaient

je tu

naitrais naitrais

illelle/on naitrait nous naitrions vous naitriez ils/elles naitraient PA$T PA${T'ICIPE"Sl

IMPERATIVE

PRE$

je tu

naitrai

il/elle/on naitra nous naitrons vous naitrez

/

naissions naissiez ils/elles naissent

vous

COI\IDIT!MNAL

FUTURE

nais

naisse naisses naisse

[&fipgttFHcT

illelle/on nous sommes n6(e)s vous €tes n6(e)(s)

je tu

illelle/on nous

$tiffiJuNeflvn

/

ne

naissez

[\lT pAffi-{"fi*0pLH

naissant

mourant

fr

pRF$F[\lT

PRESEFJT

PERFECT

!IVNPilffiFffCT

il/elle/on est mort(e)

je tu

'{i K

,* Fd.{q,4,{i*r5

morte en 1998.She died in 1998. lls sont morts. They're dead. On meurt de froid icy' We're freezino to death in here!

EIle est

je/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous-we vous=you ils/€lles=they

EX+\MP|-E P,t-ffiA$b") I was born on 12 February' 1 ,- . e.- rMarch' in i^Delphine naitra en mors' Delphine is going to have a baby Quand est-ce que tu es n6?When were you born/

suis n6e Ie 2 fdvrier' le '[r-AiAi

i,

.

vous=you ils/elles=they ie/i'=ltu=you il=he/it ells=she/it on=we/one nous=we

Vene TneLes

Vene TaeLes

i,iu l''itil)'ffili]l? {,!iii (to clean) iir|i i::llili:lrrr-[

je tu

F'tCff

6tri\{T

je tu

nettoie nettoies

}; Ll

ffii"l

LtmS"$ {'idfr

nettoies

illelle/on nettoie nous nettoyions vous nettoyiez

ils/elles nettoient

ils/elles nettoient

liiHiiit:Hfl"i

IfMFi:,mF$t#]"

j' tu

je tu

ai nettoy6 as nettoy6

illelle/on a nettoy6 nous avons nettoy6 vous avez nettoy6 ils/elles ont nettoy6 !,r(

irt.!ii!r:

il/elle/on nettoyait

nous nettoyions vous nettoyiez

je tu

vous nettoiefez ils/elles nettoieront ifrilltieliAiii'iil: nettoie

/

f,ftF,..;::i,,i

; t1 i 1?

/

1,,:ii:!

nettoyez

nettoierais nettoierais

nous nettoierions vous nettoieriez '

p,s, $q"r ii -{:

I F} f-"

n

nettoy6

.it:-1

nettoyant

r'f

,{rii ilrlif

)'i,


ai offert

offert a offert avons offert avez offert ont offert as

offrais offrais

illelle/on offrait nous off rions vous offriez ils/elles offraient

i' tu

offrirai offriras il/elle/on offrira nous offrirons

ils/elles offriraient rj+\li.!- l,,in1ii !(:ri 'i

tMpHFilt!l\l'f:l

offre/offrons loffrez il Pi'r\ltl

offrirais offrirais

illelle/on offrirait nous offririons vous offririez

vous offtirez ils/elles offriront

f$"

j' tu

fi*niF:]tTfi(.?htAt-

j' tu

PHfi $fl

llf [:

lr.

offert

lriif[']'Lr fr

offrant

L- .FT'fj?r:ri.i'irt,l-i

Richard o nettoy0 tout I'opportemenf. Richard has cleaned the whole flat. EIle nettoyait le sol en 1coutant lq rqdio. She was cleaning the floor while listening

to the radio. le ne nettoie

j' tu

ils/elles nettoieraient

i\iii.:'i

il$.-thjH*81[lfi"tr

FUTtIF{ffi

il/elle/on nettoierait

F-1,1,$"fr

nettoyons

i'

je tu

!

ils/elles offrent

ils/elles offrent

ils/elles nettoyaient

ll,}.i [

offre offres illelle/on offre nous offrions vous offriez

offres

illelle/on offre nous offrons vous offrez

nettoyais nettoyais

ff

j' tu

offre

PE$TFH{:T'

c#nqff$TN{JF,pdil"

nettoierai nettoieras illelle/on nettoiera nous nettoieronS

i' tu

nettoie

illelle/on nettoie nous nettoyons vous nettoyez

Piri t:jl.1i:lri,l"I i;

PRH$FNi"$'

pqs

souvent mes lunettes. I don't clean my glasses very often.

Exd&fp,t F

_,$,j:r

s;

poste de secr^taire. They offered her a secreterial post. Offre-tui des fleurs. Cive her some flowers. Viens, je t'offre d bolre. Come on, l'll buy you a drink' pen' le me suk offert un nouveou stylo. I treated myself to a new

on lui s offert un

* jelj'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we yqus=loU ils/elles=they

Fi?lt.,rri

see poges 88-91 for infarmotion on how to form the reflexive verb s'offrir'

je/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/ellos=they

.,:1"

Vrne TleLrs

PRESENT

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

i' tu

ouvre ouvres illelle/on ouvre nous ouvrons vous ouvrez

ils/elles ouvrent

-

PERFECT --

j' tu

Vens

i' tu

as ouvert

iUelle/on a ouvert

nous avons ouvert vous avez ouvert

ils/elles ont ouvert FUTURE

i' tu

ouvrirai ouvriras illelle/on ouvrira nous ouvrirons vous ouvrirez

ils/elles ouvriront IMPERATIVE

ouvre/ouvrons louvrez

je tu

parais parais

illelle/on ouvre nous ouvrions vous ouvriez

illelle/on parait nous paraissons

ils/elles ouvrent

ils/elles paraissent

IMPERFECT ai ouvert

le tu

ouvres

i' tu

ils/elles ouvraient CONDITIONAL OUVrrrars

ouvrirais

illelle/on ouvrirait nous ouvririons vous ouvririez ils/elles ouvriraient PAST PAHTICIPLE

ouvert

paraissez

i' tu

as paru

nous avons paru vous avez paru ils/elles ont paru

je tu

paraitrai paraitras illelle/on paraitra nous paraitrons vous paraitrez

ils/elles paraitront

paraissons

/

paraissez

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

ouvrant

paraissant

EXAMPLE PHRASES

EXAMPLE PHBASES

a ouvert Iq porfe. She opened the door. Est-ce que tu pourrois ouvrir la fen1tre? Could you open the window? le me suis coupd en ouvront une boite de consbrve. I cut myself openinq a tin. Lo porte s'est ouverte. The door opened.

fi

See

paraissais paraissais


paraissait paraissions paraissiez ils/elles paraissaient

je tu

paraitrais paraitrais

illelle/on paraitrait nous paraitrions

vous paraitriez ils/elles paraitraient PAST PARTICIPLE

IMPERATIVE

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

Elle

paraisse paraissions paraissiez ils/elles paraissent

CONDITIONAL

FUTURE

/


je tu

ai paru

il/elle/on a paru

parais

paraisse paraisses

IMPERFECT

PERFECT

ouvrais ouvrais

illelle/on ouvrait nous ouvnons vous ouvriez

I tu

vous

;;{it:.

:,;*;-,1

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

PRESENT

ouvre

Tneles

paru

paraissoit fatiguie. She seemed tired. porait plus jeune que son rige. Cisdle doesn't look her age... tt pordit qu'il"foit chaud toute I'anni6e /d-bos. Apparently it's hot all year round over EIle

Cisdle

there.

poges 88-91 for informqtion on how to form the reflexive verb s,ouvrin

jeli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on*we/one nous=we vous=you ils/olles=they

ielj'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vqu5=lou il$/elles=they

VrnsTeeLrs

Vene Tnnles

p- $.Sffiff'efrfi' (to go; to leave) pffi n:s

[!f:iF'$f;'tufT"

je tu

ffi

nd'T $

ie tu

pars pars

r*"t

c.j

u fiufrT'tvE

illelle/on part nous partons vous partez

illelle/on parte nous partions vous partiez

ils/elles partent

ils/elles partent

rru$tF$q:T

ie tu

je tu

illelle/on estparti(e) nous sommes parti(e)s vous €tes parti(e)(s) ils/elles sontparti(e)s rjLi "it.rmE:

illelle/on partait nous partions vous partiez ils/elles partaient

je tu

partirai partiras il/elle/on partira nous partirons vous partirez

partirais partirais

illelle/on partirait nous partirions vous partiriez

ils/elles partiront

pilgi t"

$.'1.{

pars/partonslpartez

ffiifi ff

I

$3Lffi

Parti


l' tu

ai

ie tu

Pass6

as pass6

ils/elles ont pass6

nous vous


tr',J ! !

f*(

;'Y

I

v {r

passe passes passe

passion5 passiez

fr

lL.

passerais passerais

passerait passerions passeriez ils/elles passeraient

passerez

i'+5:ifl

lMFtr[tAffli;rF

ilrr,ti:l i"di.lrti'!. [']

pass6

passe/passons/Passez r:l

passiez

il/elle/on nous vous

ils/elles passeront

Iplii ii.i'l' i;i

passait passions

il l.{', [\,l,A

le tu

passerai passeras passera passeronS

passais passais

ils/elles passaient {t;ri-} fr'* [J

FUTUffiE

il/elle/on

i

llViP'F-rhlF{:C:i

illelle/on a pass6 nous avons pa55e vous avez pass6

ie tu

g;q

ils/elles passent

ils/elles passent

PRH$m8\Jii

n[\q".d- r]Arq-x{.1:E$-}ff "F:

ir']i i.

passant

partant

:: ",:lfifir{ !. I+! :i

vous

ils/elles partiraient

Iii,{PFrRlriTl'11ii.

Brg+H

partais partais

c-$t\t&?[r[0rudit

je tu

illelle/on nous

le tu

passe passes passe passon5 passez

PERFE#'il"

ItsrtPFffiFffiCT

suis parti(e) es parti(e)

ie tu

parte partes

litfilalsfii\i"il-

PRESfrPdT

h.t::

[

rx,A

{',

On port en vacances le 1 5 aoAL We're going on holiday Ne partez pos sans moi! Don't leave without me! Elle est partie t6t ce matin.She left early this morning.

on 1 5 August.

nfdFd"a:,F#{lc/4.5 ii:

;i

Les mois ont possA. Months passed. . . ll a ooss€ soi exqmen en iuin. He took his exam In June'

'1r",5;";;;;;;i;;;;;;,;A;A;; ' at mv orandparents' house'

tii

es(

mii siiaiSs'parents"t'm eoins to spend the holidavs

p'iiiiei'me dire boniour. She came by to say hello' ti posse au MexiQue' The story takes plate in Mexico'

t:ii{{u[e

[t Q ieli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

trtote that passer can also take €tre in the perfect tense; see page

1 1

4'

pages 88-91 for information on how to form the reflexive verb se pqsser. je/j'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they See

Vrne TaeLEs

Vens TneLes

t,.

:

i'r

F pmfratc$n'm (to paint) ir!itliiirl-'ti,i'

i)i;

je ru

l:],

i

iI

Ii

je tu

paye payes

;:;

!.,1

i::;. i

I ij ii.ii tj-Il i.iF

ils/elles payent

',

iliii.:iili-,: rl;:iij i:

ils/elles ont pay6 i'l.jliji'lf:

ils/elles payaient

payera payerons payerez

ils/elles

payeront

[1[=l f '\: [':"i:4'

iii

l"4i

[i

f

rl'r,ir*r.:t

payerais payerais

illelle/on payerait nous payerions vous payeriez ils/elles payeraient .t..,f

PaYe/payonslpayez ii

je tu

payeras

nous vous

!lfii:i;[-rl!i!

illelle/on payait nous payions vous payiez

payerai

Je

i

., i

:,,

' i. : i i,i' tii:,r[ [::

pay6

iir ;;;.:1r,11:

payanr

,rKll,iiliiri. 5

F:

$"{l"

{

i$ [-f ii?"] iri

ff

ils/elles peignent

ils/elles peignent

petns peins

IrvnPF.FtF']rHS]l'

PEMFHOT

i' tu

je tu

ai peint as peint

illelle/on a peint nous avons peint vous avez peint ils/elles ont peint

je tu

peindrai peindras illelle/on peindra nous peindrons vous peindrez

ils/elles peindront IMFH["rJs,

/

PRHSffi

ils/elles peignaient

peignons

f'{}

/

peignez

[i14\i:rrll'ti':li

hq n} B"1"!t?

je tu

[\Jltl-

peindrais peindrais

illelle/on peindrait nous peindrions vous peindriez ils/elles peindraient li+i

;

peignais peignais

illelle/on peignait nous peignions vous peigniez C{J

Fi"rT{-lmr

peins

](.:'ili \'rE

le tu

illelle/on peint nous peignons vous peignez

Je

tu

payais payais

i l! )it:tl: tl'it lli

tu illelle/on

ii

rr':

le tu

ai pay6 as pay6

illelle/on a pay6 nous avons pay6 vous avez pay6 i:r{.r:

vous payiez

S

peigne peignes illelle/on peigne nous peignions vous peigniez

paye

ils/elles payent

p[i f

PRffi$f;fdT

payes

illelle/on paye nous payions

i' tu

F

rl::

illelle/on paye nous payons vous payez i'[:iliii:j[:rl,';

I il.iil

i

L,:;

.r r;4,

it:i"!-

!

{:i i:

it

.i:,

Peint

ji|.,ir:

peignant l: il i,f .,i.t4 i:irlir:.f i

l'as pay4 combien? How much did you pay for it? Mo potronne me paiero demqin. My boss will pay me tomorrow. Les 4tudionts poyent moiti( prix. StJdents pay iralf price. Tu

jeli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=tnev

€,Y,4 jWP*

*i

Pd'dfr'./'! i:,il]i l:i

On o peint l'entrde en bleu clair. We painted the hall light blue. Ce tqbleau a 6tt peint en 1913. This picture was painted in 191 3

ie/i,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

tll,lllllilillill!ii!l;;i

t,':

VeRe TleLEs

Vene Tnsles

ri'

,i,

@ p#trffitrffi (to lose) PHF$EilUT

$:rFq[1,$ffi!\f;T

je

${".I

ffiJI,JN'ETIVE

le tu

PRESHNT SUEJUIUCTIVE

PRESENT

ie tu

je tu

plais plais

vous

perds perds perd perdons perdez

perde perdes il/elle/on perde nous perdions vous perdiez

il/elle/on plait nous plaisons vous plaisez

ils/elles

perdent

ils/elles perdent

ils/elles plaisent

IU

illelle/on nou5

I


as perdu

a perdu avons perdu avez perdu ont perdu

IU

illelle/on nouS

vou5 ils/elles

perdrai perdras perdra perdrons perdrez

perdront

nfritPH$qp\T'nvE

perds/perdons/perdez r:|f{H,$

E t\9"$-

perdais perdais

illelle/on perdait nous perdions vous perdiez ils/elles perdaient c{)ff\tf}tTt&t\tAt"

F{.}TUTEE

je

le tu

ai perdu

|e tu

perdrais perdrais

illelle/on perdrait nous perdrions vous perdriez

i' tu illelle/on nous vous ils/elles

P,A m T'&S}[

Pl-H

perdu

pA ffix"t 0l *'x-ffi,

plairai plairas

ils/elles plairont

/

plalsons

/

plalsez

plaisant

trxAMf,f-s'dpffffiAsFs

EXAMPLE PI{'?ASSS

J'ai perdu mon porte-monnoie dqns le mdtro. I lost my purse on the underground. L'ltolie o perdu un d zdro. ltaly lost one-nil. Si tu te perds, appelle-moi. Call me if you get lost.

Le menu ne

\ee poges 88-91 for informotion on how to form the reflexive verb se perdre.

ie/j'=11,r=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we v6qs=lou ils/elles=they

plaisais plaisais

illelle/on plaisait nous plaisions vous ptatsrez ils/elles plaisaient

le tu

plarrars

plairais

illelle/on plairait nous plairions vous plairiez ils/elles plairaient

plu

PRE$EIUT T'AHTIfr[P''g

perdant

t')

je tu

PAST PARTICIPTE

IMPTRATE\IH plais

ils/elles plaisent

CO[\IDITIONAL

il/elle/on plaira nous plairons vous plairez

ils/elles perdraient PS-{Ii'I'

ai plu as plu a plu avons plu avez plu ont plu

FUTURE

je tu

nous plaisions vous plaisiez IMPERFICT

PERFECT

IMIPERFAST

PffiFTFE#T

plaise plaises il/elle/on plaise

me plait 'dpos. I don't like the menu. te ploirait diqtter lo mer? Would yo,u like to 90 to the seaside? film? Qa t'a plu, Ie film7 Did you like the Q.o

s'il te ploit please s'il vous ploit please

jelj,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=shelit on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

veReTngles

Vsne Tneles

''

'

I

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

PRESENT

il

pleut

tr

pteuve

PRESENT SUB.JUNCTIVE

PRESENT

ie tu

peux peux

il/elle/on peut

nous pouvons vous pouvez tls/eiles peuvent IMPERFECT

PERFECT

il

a plu

il

pleuvait

ai pu as pu

illelle/on a pu nous avons pu vous avez pu ils/elles ont pu CONDITIONAI.

FUTURE

il

pleuvra

il

pleuvrait

FUTURE

je tu

pourrai pourras illelle/on pourra nous pourrons vous pourrez

ils/elles pourront IMPERATIVE

PAST PARTICIPLE

puisses

il/elle/on puisse

nous vous

put55tons

puissiez

ils/elles puissent

IMPERATIVE

le tu

pouvats

pouvais

illelle/on pouvait nous pouvtonS vous pouvtez ils/elles pouvaient CONDITIOI\AL

je tu

pourrais pourrais

illelle/on pourrait nous pourrions vous pourriez ils/elles pourraient PAST PI\NTICIPLE

not used

not used

PRE$ENT PARTICIPLE

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

pleuvant

pouvant

EXAMPLE PHRASES

EXAMPLE PHRA$ES

ll a plu toute la journde. lt rained all day long. ll pleut beaucoup d Glosgow. lt rains a lot in Clasgow. I'espire qu'il ne pleuvra pas demqin. I hope it won't be raining tomorrow.

peux t'oide4 si tu veux. l can help you if you like. le 'J'rii fait tout ce que j'oi pu. I did all I iould. le ne pourroi pis ienir samedi. I won't be able to come

ie/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/onB nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

puisse

IMPERFECT

PERFECT

j' tu

le tu

pu

on Saturday.

lc/i,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous-you ils/elles=they

VeRe

VrRe Tneles

Tlgles

p. prffifl'Bdre

(to take)

pn€$FtilT

F'ffi

H$fi fdT $ U m"J Uf\{{:"{'NVH

je tu

prends prends illelle/on prend nous prenons vous prenez

le tU

illelle/on nous

ils/elles prennent

PITFEfiT

i' tu

vou5 ils/elles

illelle/on protdge nous prot6gions vous prot6giez

prennent

ils/elles protdgent

ils/elles protdgent

le

prenars

tu illelle/on

prenais

je tu

prendrai prendras illelle/on prendra nous prendrons vous prendrez

ils/elles prendront

/

prenons

nouS

vouS ils/elles EIA$"F

NIWPF:ffiAfCVH

prends

,e

tu illelle/on

/

prenez

g:hp,

i' tu illelle/on nous vous

prenait prenions preniez prenaient

fif![\i[]fiT$CI[ss,!""

FLJTC-Iffig

ils/elles

n

pris

/

prot6geons

p&s]

I

pmE$E[sT rrARTn{}l6:]l-'*

PRESENT PAHTICIPLE

prenant

prot6geant

trft

,4 fvrpd"tr-

pd-rffiAstr$

J'oi prk plein de photos. I took lots of pictures. N'oublie pas de prendre ton passeport. Don't forget to take your passport. ll prendro le troin de 8h20. He'll take the 8.20 train. Pour qui est-ce qu'il se prendT Who does he think he is?

r)

See

prot6gerais prot6gerais

ils/elles prot6geraient

IMPERATIVE protdge

ils/elles prot6geaient

illelle/on prot6gerait nous prot6gerions vous prot6geriez

ils/elles prot6geront

prendraient

prot6geais prot6geais

illelle/on prot6geait nous prot5gions vous prot6giez

je tu

prot6gerai prot6geras il/elle/on prot6gera nous prot6gerons vous prot6gerez

prendrions prendriez

je tu

cffirun!"$'flssiAL

le tu

prendrait

s i] [-. E

ai prot6g6 as prot6g6 a prot6g6. , avons protege avez prot6g6 ont prot6g6

FUTURE

prendrais prendrais

[q'T'fl

ItVNPFftFEfiT

PERFECT

as pris illelle/on a pris

ils/elles ont pris

protEge protdges

protdge prot6ges illelle/on protdge nous prot6geons vous prot6gez

ai pris

nous vous ils/elles

je tu

ie tu

prenne prennes prenne prenions preniez

fi[t/[[:!HRFfi:e"t-

nous avons pns vous avez pris

irmH$HtvT $!.j mJ{J l\ig"n{vH

PRESENT

prot6gez

[:]AFi

],

[{][F]i..il

prot6g6

EXAMPLE PF'ffiASSS

protige so petite seur o l'6cole. He protects his little sister at school. Protige ton livre de la pluie. Protect your book from the rain. I e champ est prot6g6 du vent par la colline. The field is sheltered from the wind by the hill. ll

poges 88-91 for information on how to form the reflexive verb se prendre.

ielj'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=the\

lo/i'=l1u=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/ollos=they

Vene TneLes

Vene Theles

h"

trffitrm\'{d'}b$"

(to receive) FffiH$trfldT $UEJUNETIVE

P${Si"$fifttT'


le tu

reqois reEois

je

je

rentre

IU

rentreS

reEoit recevonS recevez

illelle/on nous recevions vous receviez

il/elle/on VOUS

rentre rentrons rentrez

ils/elles reqoivent

ils/elles regoivent

ils/elles

rentrent

PtrFNFFfll'

j' tu

as regu

ils/elles ont

reEU

fltiffifl


recevrai recevras recevra recevronS recevrez

ils/elles recevront

illelle/on recevait nous recevions vous receviez ils/elles recevaient

recevons

je tu

/

recevez

recevrais recevrais

illelle/on recevrait nous recevrions vous recevriez ils/elles recevraient F..r"l$l

I[\IEPHffiA;I"IVF:

/

recevais recevais

#{.}6rumFTt0zuA["

je tu

reEois

je tu

ai regu

F-J{

[;]

s-[

ffi

nous

|

FI-H

re9u

le

tu illelle/on nouS

vous ils/elles

nous vouS ils/elles

je

tu illelle/on

/

rentre rentreS

rentre rentrions rentriez

rentrent

vouS ils/elles

rentrais rentrais

rentrait rentrions rentriez

rentraient

nous vous ils/elles

iir',.Eliiq

rentrerais rentrerais

rentrerait rentrerions rentreriez rentreraient

fr:/r,$'l' Ir,ilifiit

/

rentrez

l' lli ..ili:r'l

r.-'1.;.,,"'

.' :

$t

li

[i'il. S,

rentr6

rl

'

Ne rentre pos trop tard. Don't come home too late. Ils sont rentr4s dons le mogosin. They went into the shop. A quelte heure est-ce qu'elle est rentrdeT What time did she get in? le rentre ddjeuner d midi. I go home for lunch. tt a ddjd rmtr{ ta voiture dqns Ie garage. He's already brought the car into the garage'

@ je/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

nous

le

rentreront

rentrons

EXeM&tt-t

le

tu illelle/on

tu illelle/on

!MPffiH"!i;!'iri'l:1

rentrant

o regu une lettre de Chqrlotte. She received a letter from Charlotte. le ne regois jamqis de courrier. I never get any mail. Elle recevrq une r,lponse la semaine prochaine. She'll get an answer next week.

rentrerai rentreras rentrera rentrerez

rentre

1.[\itr

{l,tJ!\!ffff fiQrulAL

vouS

recevant

Elle

est rentr6(e) sommes rentr6(e)s €tes rent16(e)(s) sont rentr6(e)s

rentreronS

Pmm$fi fili't'

# f) idfA$trq

suis rentr6(e) es rentr6(e)

nouS

ils/elles

16il-th]JilIF\1il

il['{'gfFHffi!i'f]]{; !

FIJTT"IFiH

pffi *"s,fi t\tT' elAffi'T'tqh pL.ffi

C-k,S,l/lF1

tu il/elle/on

PERFM*T

IMPHRSrfii{:T

illelle/on a reEu nous avons retu vous avez regu r.Lf

regoive reEoives regoive

prlHlili[\t"fi.

PRHSfr[\iT

ruote that rentrer takes avoir in the perfect tense when it is used with a direct

obiec!

see page

1

14.

je/i.=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=w€ vous=you ils/elles=they

Vene TneLrs

VeRe Tneles

i.

..

.

ili-iri5i

,,.q

,.

(to answer) iriiili-r;:i{'rfr'lrl

$ili1("i-

je

je tu

li,j',i. f ,ti6"il:'ii'Ulir,

F ffi

nous vous

illelle/on nous r6pondions vous 16pondiez

ils/elles

16pondent

ils/elles 16pondent

ils/elles r6solvent

i,iii lrrt;

t

ai r6pondu

tu illelle/on

as r6pondu

VOUS

ils/elles

!:';:.i,'ii

le tu

a repondu avons r6pondu avez rEpondu ont r6pondu

nous

iti

i=t,i"fiiljffiiI

illelle/on 16pondait nous 16pondions vous r6pondiez ils/elles 16pondaient

je tu

repondrai 16pondras 16pondra

illelle/on nous 16pondrons vous 16pondrez


ils/elles 16pondront

ils/elles

r6ponds

16pondais 16pondais

1'.i,;i1, 1.|:i'I iil.fi i:\j:iirr._

je tu

flrll [riE i;.t,l

r6ponde 16pondes 16ponde

il

i

/

ld [::

l,::.'j,

r6pondons

PIf trrii;i1t\ij"4' t:rtri.[i'i''i]i;:ii'rl.

/

r6pondez

:rrt

I

:

r6pondrais 16pondrait 16pondrions r6pondriez 16pondraient

r'ii ii r'tiilft il-rll,i:.

16pondu

lt:r

16pondant

.:.{}c.tf':ri, . i -,

r6solvais r6solvais

illelle/on r6solvait nous r6solvions vous r6solviez ils/elles r6solvaient *on$Dl'tri]0cil/4i-

je tu

je tu

r6soudrai r6soudras

illelle/on r6soudra nous r6soudrons

vous r6soudrez

PRA$Eh\!"fi'

!",4\lX

il/elle/on nous r6soudrions

vous r6soudriez ft4$

tMPRFIA'ifiilil: r6solvons

/

r6solvez

p:-It-;1!-1&

r6soudrais r6soudrais 16soudrait

ils/elles 16soudraient

ils/elles r6soudront

/

le tu

ai r6solu

FUT[.JRH

r6sous

tq*'f S L! ffi "! q.r' hlCTl"vf E

qlvnF!EffiF&i{':'n"

as r6solu illelle/on a r6solu nous avons r65olu vous avez r6solu ils/elles ont r6solu

16pondrais

m

r6solve r6solves illelle/on r6solve nous r6solvions vous r6solviez ils/elles 16solvent

PERFE$T

i' tu

H$

je tu

je tu

r6sous r6sous il/elle/on 16sout nous r6solvons vous r6solvez

P*ifif:r,'iril;i'

.':

l'ltFSfilnXT

16ponds 16ponds 16pond 16pondons 16pondez

tu illelle/on

il

li l;i.i

"il'

F,ri tt:i i-i{,;i

ir}..1.

i-:

16solu

r:

r6solvant

.1.'"

Lisez le texte et rhpondez aux questions. Read

the text and answer the questions. C'est elle qui o rdpandu ou tdl4phone. She answered the phone. Qo ne rhpond pos. There's no reply.

je/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we voug=you ils/elles=thev

ExAlblfsf g F'ffIqE

"5d;*'l

J'ai r4solu le probldme. l've solved the problem. La violence ne rlsout rien. Violence doesn't solve anything.

ielj,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we y6u5=lou ils/elles=they

Ill!l ll

Vrne TneLes

VeRe TeBLes

Fi:" f.'tsifi*.}r' *-liil[:ij

rtij.$

(to remain)

]'

Fri hi$'{: f',i'l' $

je tu

reste restes il/elle/on reste

nous restions vous restiez

p'Ii.lrF],'dT

$tvH$i$ifnFFfi"fl'

illelle/on estrest6(e) nous sommes rest6(e)s vous €tes rest6(e)(s) ils/elles sontrest6(e)s $ri

ilr,,i;;;;

reste/restons/restez $Y\.

[1Tl

(,: l] f.i

l1..

irt' F:lirtr

ffi tr 3{;qg.3i,-H

rest6 il;

restant

.i-.

jrL,"L'l

retourne retournes il/elle/on retourne nous retournons vous retournez

ft.,#;.:il,fi f !.f ii!r:,,A "$,fi{;i

Cet 6t6, je reste en Ecosse. l'm staying in Scotland this summer. lls ne sont pas restes tes longtemps. They didn't stay very long. ll leur restait encore un peu d'argent. They still had some money left.

retourne retournes

ils/elles retournent IMPH}?FECT

je tu

suis retourn6(e) es retourn6(e)

il/ellelon est retourn6(e) nous sommesretourn6(e)s vous 6tesretourn6(e)(s) ils/elles sont retourn6(e)s

le tu

retournais retournais

illelle/on retournait nous retournions vous retourniez ils/elles retournaient

SffNfiff[{llSA\t-

FUT'UffiE

je tu

ye

retournerai retourneras illelle/on retournera nous retournerons vous retournerez

tu

retournerais retournerais

il/elle/on retournerait

nous retournerions vous retourneriez ils/elles retourneraient

ils/elles retourneront

9.x,4$T' fr &. f+,'f

IMPE;trAYTVF

retourne

/

retournons

/

PRESI:

T

rjA!'B ! :("'[p[-

fi

retournez

f

{:;0

P[.

F:

retourn6

retournant

EXAMFIF

P'dF?,45}::5

to London? Est-ce que tu es retournle d Londres? .Havg. Yo..Y been back bien retourner en ttqlie un iour, l'd like to go back to ltaly one day' l,oimerqis 'Elle s retourn, lo corte pour vdifier. She turned the card over to check. 7ie, ,rtourrr-toil Turn around 2o6!

fl fi jeli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

*.tl.J tu{e'rtvE

nous retournions vous retourniez

PERFEST

nd

SL$

il/elle/on retourne

ils/elles retournent

ils/elles resteraient

iitilrjJiii"l 1l'li:

T'

resterais resterais

je tu

je tu

ils/elles restaient

illelle/on resterait nous resterions vous resteriez

ils/elles resteront

Td

illelle/on restait nous restions vous restiez

je tu

resterai resteras restera

illelle/on nous resterons vous resterez

F ii{,Fi i{i [:

restais restais

{;*&il'}i iil4Jmf,tl

r:

ie tu

Ihr$

le tu

suis rest6(e) es rest6(e)

pRH$nruT

PRESEftJT

ils/elles restent

ils/elles restent

f;i"i"r"t'rjl

\{f:

ie tu

reste restes il/elle/on reste nous restons vous restez

ie tu

[ J [.]..i iJ 4\! #"ffi

tote that retourner takes avoir in the perfect tense when it is used with a direct obiec! see Page 1 14. t

see

pages 88-91 for informqtion an how to form the reflexive verb se retourner' il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

ie/j'=ltu=you

Vene Tnsles

Vene Tneles

h

fffiwffiffi$e" (to come back) PRESTIUT SI"' B.JU ruETIVE

flHEsr,&tT

le tu

Je

revlens reviens

tu


illelle/on revient nous revenonS vous revenez ils/elles reviennent

IMPERF&CT

PtrRFHS"fl"

je tu

suis revenu(e) es revenu(e)

iUelle/on estrevenu(e)

nous sommes revenu(e)s vous 6tes revenu(e)(s) ils/elles sont revenu(e)s

je tu

reviendrai reviendras illelle/on reviendra nous reviendrons vous reviendrez

ils/elles reviendront

tu

revenons

/

revenez

ie tu

illelle/on revenait nous revenlons vous reveniez ils/elles revenaient

ils/elles reviendraient

revenu

vous riez ils/elles rient

IM*PHFTfJffiTT

j' tu

je tu

ai ri as ri a ri

vous riiez ils/elles riaient

ilslelles ont ri

e;*ruffi!3 [ffi!\iAht

FUTTJHE

je tu

je tu

rirai riras rira

nous ririons vous ririez

vous rirez

ils/elles riraient

ils/elles riront

f;),&s'i" pAF{T'lr}F

IMPEFIJ&{"1{rrfl

revenant

riant

F? li i|llPi"F. d?Ftffi/tSIS

€xAft.,rp*ff fry?tr14s$li

pqs revenu. My cat still hasn't come back. dans cinq minutes! l'll be back in five minutesl Q.o me revientl lt's coming back to me now!

On a bien ri. We had a good laugh. Ne ris pas, ce n'est pos dr1lel Don't laugh, it's not funny! C'dtoil iuste pour rire' ltwas only for a laugh.

je/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

$3'i\ r'{T"l{i:n

rit.)

ri

ris/rions/riez t'

rirais rirais

il/elle/on rirait

illelle/on nous rirons

PflE$

Mon chat n'est toujours

riais

nous riions

PFi[i$f; [\JT Pg\ffiTEClp[-F

Je reviens

riais

il/elle/on riait

illelle/on nous avons ri vous avez ri

pJ

ries

ils/elles rient

PERFHCT

F.

rie

illelle/on rie nous riions vous riiez

nous rions

,e revlenoralS tu reviendrais illelle/on reviendrait nous reviendrions vous reviendriez

le tu

ris ris

il/elle/on rit

revenals revenais

PAS'T PAffiTICIPLE

$[\{Pfrffi,tli]"'$V#

/

,|e

*s|\t$!Tfr$&lAl-

[:[,.!TUffiF

reviens

ils/elles

revlenne reviennes revienne revenions reveniez reviennent

pffi k"$Er\i"!" ii[-$ m.] L] !\q6'$'trj/Ei

PRE$Hhi"T

ri [. b:

ie/i'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Hllttl rl 1l

Vens Tneles

Vene Tnelss

b

rffimptrffi (to break)

pRESrrdT

je tu

03ffi

ils/elles rompent

ils/elles

ai rompu as rompu a rompu avons rompu avez rompu ont rompu

FUTil'Rf;

je tu

le tu

rompras

[fvfiFNRATIVH

rompais rompais

romprais romprais

illelle/on romprait nous romprions vous rompriez ils/elles rompraient F.A$T

romps/rompons/rompez

F],,A &1"t'B CN

je tu

sais sais


il/elle/on sait

nous vous

Savons savez

p LE

rompu

PAmrIcIPt".H

sache Saches

sache sachions sachiez

ils/elles sachent

ils/elles savent

IMPERFEET

PERFFET

ils/elles rompaient

je tu

je tu

rompes

illelle/on rompait nous rompions vous rompiez

romprai

PME$E'VT SI-IBJUNETIVS

PRE$FflJT'

rompe

iUelle/on rompe nous rompions vous rompiez ils/elles rompent

ils/elles rompront

$s"fi'

[\if;

e#a$r"ixTE0rdA[-

illelle/on rompra nous romprons vous romprez

Bt{fi sfr

mJ U tr\!{:'fl

ll\frFHRF[:ST

PEHFHCT


je ru

romps romps

illelle/on rompt nous romponS vous rompez

j' tu

tr$ERtT ${J

i' tu

je tu

ai su a5 su a su

illelle/on savait

illelle/on nous avons su vous avez 5u ils/elles ont

savais savais

nous vous

savions saviez

ils/elles savaient

su

c0ruptTt0lsp"t

FUT["IRE


je tu

saurai sauras

saurais saurais

iUelle/on saurait

saura

nous vous

SauronS

saurez

saurions sauriez

ils/elles sauraient

ils/elles sauront

tlA$T pAffi"!]#lpLffi

IMPERAI'{V}:

sache/sachons/sachez PRE$HI$"]i- f!&:fiTlidIP[.. E

rompant

sachant

gffAfr/rPs"fi'r"f{trsstrs

E X.A

o rompu le silence. She broke the silence. Paul et lo ont rompu. Paul and Jo have split up.

Tu sois ce que tu vqs faire l'annie prochaineT Do you know what you're doing

Elle

lt/t P ! "

{

i3.1.t \ !}

li i

:

li

next year? pas. I oon know. don'tt Know. Ie ne sois pqs. Je sait pas noger. She can't EIIe ne'oE

swim.

Tu savqis que son-pdre 6tait pakistanals? Did you know her father was Pakistani?

jelj'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous:you ils/elles=they

jelj,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vene

F

Vene TeeLes

Thslrs

SffiK"ltilf (to smell; to feel) $)aHs

ffruf;$Hl'd"$'

ie tu

ils/elles sentent

nous vouS

ils/elles

ai senti as senti a senti avons senti avez senti ont senti

je

nous vous ils/elles

l\lH

sentes

nous sentions vous sentiez

sentais sentais

illelle/on sentait nous sentions vous sentiez

je tu

sentiront

illelle/on sentirait nous sentirions vous sentiriez

i

il',,l"l.$-i"l

[${Pl*ffi

senti

PAftTICIPIF

Ji/fr

nous vous

avOnS Servi

avez servi

ils/elles servent

le tu

ils/elles servaient

serviras servira

je tu

IMPERAIF$*F

servirais servirais

il/elle/on servirait

nous servirions vous servifiez ils/elles serviraient PAST PARTIEIPLE

sers/servons/servez

servi

P,r"{F{["!d;fi Pn""H

pd"sj pFdp?,4

si:,$

EXAMFLE PT{FA$di,

Qa sentoit mouvqis. lt smelt bad. le n'oi rien renti. ldidn'tfeel a thing. EIle ne se sent pos bien. She's not feeling well.

On vous sert? Areyou being served? sert d quoi ce bouton? Whal is this button for? Cq 'servez-vois en vionde. Help yourself to meat.

S

Q

See

servais

illelle/on servait nous servions vous servtez

Servlral

ils/elles serviront

H[\lT

servats

CONDITIONAL

illelle/on nous servirons vous servirez

PR ES

servions serviez

servant

sentant

H.&A

as servi a servi

FUTUHE

je tu

serves

il/elle/on serye

ai servi

ils/elles ont servi

ils/elles sentiraient $3.EIf

sens/sentons/sentez


serye

tfrdpHmFEcT

PERFHCT

sentirais sentirais

Sers

ils/elles servent

i' tu

je tu

sers

illelle/on sert nous seryon5 vous servez

ils/elles sentaient

sentiras

sentira sentirons sentirez

ie ru

ils/elles sentent

je tu

PRESEhIT $ U BJUI\ICTIVE

PRESEft!T

sente

illelle/on sente

sentirai

IiV?PHffiATIWH

F$?HSFIU"T

T

fi#*$L!gTlffizu,qF".

FCJTLJMU

tu illelle/on

u nifi

I[UPHMFffi$T

PHfTFEfr"i'

tu illelle/on

nd"r' $["3 B"J

je tu

sens sens

illelle/on sent nous Sentons vous sentez

I

H

pages 88-91 for informqtion on how to form the reflexive verb se sentir.

jelj'=11,r=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we v6g5=lou ils/elles=they

See

poges 88-91 for informotion on how to form the reflexive verb se servir'

ie4'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vens Tneles

Vens TneLes

F $s,?w'ffilff' (to go out) $]ffi s-.:q g {rd",t i$ iJ $*""t L} [\i {xrft

ii),qj[r,1;1[.:]\{tr

le tu

sors

ie

sors

tu illelle/on

illelle/on sort nous softons vous sortez

nous vous

ils/elles sortent

ils/elles

PiiritHffi*t

h;

je

sorte sortions sortiez

suis sorti(e) es sorti(e) est sorti(e)

TU

illelle/on

sommes sorti(e)s €tes sorti(e)(s) sont sorti(e)s

nouS

vous ils/elles

Je

tu illelle/on nous vouS ils/elles

{:tr

F!"1-&'l.,tFiE:

ie

tu illelle/on nouS

vou5 ils/elles

pFt[$tritl*

vous ils/elles

suff

isent

ai suffi as suffi

sortait

illelle/on nous

sortions sortiez

vouS ils/elles

sortaient

je

sortiras

sortirais sortirais

sortira sortirons sortirez

illelle/on

sortirait

sortiront

ils/elles

a suffi avons suffi avez suffi ont suffi

je

suffirai suffiras

sortiraient

VOUS

ils/elles

suffiront

suffis

sorti

/ suffisons /

PRfSFiIF\i"{-

rJ rui,tTf

vrj

suffise suffises suffise suffisions suffisiez suff

isent

suffisais suffisais

nous vous

suff isions

suffisiez

ils/elles suffisaient

p/l[i

suffirais suffirais

illelle/on suffirait nous suff irions vous suffiriez ils/elles suffiraient plh$'fl $}$,&'ff[*{ r} ["[:

IMP$li?l.1iiVf,:

&:Ain"l ii'l,\ffi r l{:}[F"l-ff

,.$

iUelle/on suffisait

je tu

suffira suffirons suffirez

nous

ffi

il$l\[[)8T1ffi{{i,qp..

tu il/elle/on

sortirions sortiriez

ils/elles

je tu

FUTUffif:

$\cc.!. H"


i_$

IP-'NPtrfi{Ftr*"7

I

suffisez

suffi

lj sii.;llir'.. i::

suffisant

Fr'{,,r{,4

Sf;

&'Xli

$

le ne suis pas sartie ce week-end. I didn't 90 out this weekend. Aur'llie sort avec Bruno. Aur6lie is going out with Bruno. Elle est sortie de l'h6pitolhler: She came out of hospital yesterday. for a walk Je n'oi pos sorti le chien parce qu'il pleuvoif. I didn't take the dog out because it was raining.

[}

suffisons suffisez

PHffi[::HOT

sortant

,,

suffit

nouS

r."effiTE#tFtL

fi ,,r'tr i.} fl f JE_ pi

illelle/on

IU

IU

sors/sortons/sortez

suffis suffis

sortais sortais

sortirai

IilP:

je tu

IU

sortent

h! il} r l{$ ffi

nous vous

pil:tH.$ Htht 1- $

PHE$f;f\{'f

50rte sortes

1fil/if)[:ii"tF'r:S"f

Je

lP\i"{PfrffiA.f

\f

*i#f"},{_ff tF,hri"d.$,1j.:j;

suffiro, 10 eurosT Will'l 0 euros be enough? suffit! That's enough! suffisait de me le demqnder. You only had to ask.

Qo te Qa

il

Note that sortir takes avoir in the perfect tense when it is used with a direct '14. see page 1

objec!

ie/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you

ils/Glles=they

je/i,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vene

VeRe Tneles

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

PRESENT

le tu

suls suis

le

tu illelle/on

illelle/on suit nous Sutvons vous suivez

nous vouS ils/elles

ils/elles suivent

suive suives suive survton5 sutvtez

l tu

al sulvl as suivi illelle/on a suivi nous avons suivi vous avez Sutvl

le

tu illelle/on nouS

vouS ils/elles

ils/elles ont suivi

suivais suivais

suivait

le tu

je

Sulvral suivras il/elle/on suivra

tu il/elle/on

nous suivrons vous sutvrez

nous

ils/elles suivront

ils/elles

vouS

sutvnonS sutvnez

sutvl

suis/suivons/suivez

je tu

.

me suis tu(e)

nous nous sommes tu(e)s vous vous €tes tu(e)(s) ils/elles se sont tu(e)s FUTURE

ie me tairai tu te tairas illelle/on se taira nous nous tairons vous vous tairez ils/elles se tairont IMPERATIVE

tais-toi / taisons-nous / taisez-vous

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

suivant

;";;;;.

EXAMPLE PHRASES

EXAMPLE PHNASFS

Mon chot me suit partout

dqns

la

maison. My cat follows me everywhere around

the house. Il

a

Elles

un cours d'qllemond pendant six mois. He did a Cerman course for 6 months. n'anivent pas d suivre eh maths. They can't keep up in maths.

suivi

io{'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we v6us=you ils/elles=they

Il

s'est

je tu

te taises

il/elle/on

se taise

me taise

nous nous taisions vous vous taisiez ils/elles se taisent IMPERFECT

t'es tu(e) il/elle/on s'est tu(e)

suivraient

PAST PARTICIPLE

IMPERATIVE

tait

PERFECT

SUIVIEZ

suivrait

se

ils/elles se taisent

suivaient

sulvrars suivrais

me tais

te tais

nous nous taisons vous vous taisez

SUrVtOnS

CONDITIONAL

FUTURE

il/elle/on

suivent

IMPEHFECT

PERFECT

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

PRESENT

je tu

TeeLEs ,':'

je tu

me taisais

te taisais

illelle/on se taisait nous nous taisions vous vous taisiez ils/elles se taisaient CONDITIONAL

ye

tu

me tairais

te tairais il/elle/on se tairait

nous nous tairions vous vous tairiez ils/elles se tairaient PAST PARTICIPLE

tu

tu. He stopped talking.

Taisez-vous! Be quiet! Sophie, tais-toil Be quiet SoPhie!

ie/i,=|tu=youi|=he/ite||e=she/iton=we/onenous=wevous=youils/elles=they

VeRe Teeles

VEne TheLes

> tCIrmflner (to fall)

w ftemfrn' (to hoto) prq H$ E rsT' $ [J

Pi?t)$H!UT IU

tiens tiens

illelle/on

tient

le

nous

tenons tenez

vouS ils/elles

tiennent

ie tu

ffi .$

L] ndff Tfi \./Fl

tienne tiennes

r

ai tenu

tenu a tenu nous avons tenu vouS avez tenu ils/elles ont tenu

tu illelle/on

as

illelle/on tienne

nous teniOnS vous teniez ils/elles tiennent

je tu

je

tiendrai

tu il/elle/on

tiendras

nous vous

tiendra tiendrons tiendrez

ils/elles

tiendront

I|\IgPffiffiATfiVffi

tiens/tenons ltenez

ils/elles tombent

ils/elles tenaient

illelle/on tiendrait

nous tiendrions vous tiendriez ils/elles tiendraient r N3

suis tomb6(e) es

nous sommes tomb6(e)s vous 6tes tomb6(e)(s) ils/elles sont tomb6(e)s

kE

tenu

le tu

tomberai tomberas

il/elle/on tombera

nous tomberons vous tOmberez ils/elles tomberont IMPF{4AffNVfi

tombe/tombons/tombez

pl\H$K[u"n" $fi ffiTl(:npLF

PRESE[\!T $3ds{4'11#lpLffi

tenant

tombant

SXS

iX,?,Pf..

*i

Tiens-moi la moin. Hold mv hand.

Tiens-toi

fi

See

tombe tombes

illelle/on tombe

nous tombions vous tombiez ils/elles tombent

je tu

tombais tombais

illelle/on tombait

nous tombions vous tombiez ils/elles tombaient

je tu

tomberais tomberais

iUelle/on tomberait nous tomberions vous tomberiez ils/elles tomberaient PA$T pAR'I"[{:[$']fl-

Hii

tomb6

EXAIV{pd.F p$"ff,-{,,q,str$

PSf ffi A,$trS

EIle tenoit beaucoup d son"chot. She was really Tiens, prends mon stylo. Here, have my pen.

je tu

$ U H"]U NU0TI\f tr

*${vmNTlf}NAi-

FUT[.'fi€

tiendrais tiendrais

$E[\lT

I!V!FHRFEfiT

tomb6(e) illelle/on esttomb6(e)

nous tenions vous teniez

*$$.$"F] flIA $?TIfi

tombes

nous tombons vous tombez

je tu

tenais tenais

il/elle/on tenait

je tu

tombe

PERFEC'fi'

GCIq\!mflTtolvA[-

il:U'TUffiC

le tu

il/elle/on tombe

tftnpHRr"gcT'

PHffiFE$T

pffi fi

PRE$EfU"tr

attached to her cat'

Attention, tu vas tomber! Be careful, you'll fall! Nicole est tomb4e de chevql. Nicole fell off her horse' the stairs Elle s'est fsit mal en tombant dans l'escalier. she hurt herself falling down

droit!Sit up straight!

pages 88-91 for informotion on how ta form the reflexive verb se tenir.

jelj'=ltu-you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nou$:we voua=you ils/elles=they

jeli,=|tu=youil=he/itel|e=she/iton=we/onenou$=Wevous=youils/e||e$=they

..r

l:"itri-

VeRe Tneles

,+"";,:$ Vrne Teeles

> traire (to milk) PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

PRESENT

je tu

trais trais

illelle/on trait nous trayons vous trayez ils/elles traient


je tu

traie traies

illelle/on traie

nous trayions vous trayiez ils/elles traient IMPERFECT

PERFECT

i' tu

>

ai trait

trait a trait avons trait avez trait ont trait as

FUTURE

je tu

trairai trairas illelle/on traira nous trairons vous trairez

ils/elles trairont IMPERATIVE

trais/trayons ltrayez

le tu

trayais trayais

illelle/on trayait

nous trayions vous trayiez ils/elles trayaient CONDITIONAL

je tu

trairais trairais

iUelle/on trairait

nous trairions vous trairiez ils/elles trairaient PAST PARTICIPLE

trait

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

PRESENT

je

le tu

vaincs vaincs

illelle/on vainc nous vainquons vous vainquez ils/elles vainquent

illelle/on

il::

ar valncu as vaincu

i.:1Ti,^-,,

:Yuilfl:;"

ils/elles ont vaincu

varnquars

vainquais

illelle/on vainquait

:::: vous :1:::::l' valnqulez ils/elles vainquaient

le tu

vaincrai vaincras

illelle/on vaincra nous vaincrons vous vaincrez ils/elles

le tu

CONDITIONAL

FUTURE

je tu

ils/elles vainquent TMPERFECT

PERFECT

, tu

vainque vainques iUelle/on vainque nous vainquions vous vatnqutez

""i^ir""t

vaincrais

illelle/on vaincrait

nous vatncnonS vous vaincriez ils/elles vaincraient PAST PARTICIPLE

IMPERATIVE vaincs / vainquons

varncrars

/ vainquez

vaincu

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

trayant

vainquant

EXAMPLE PHBASES

EXAMPLE PI{BASES

A lo ferme, on o appris d troire les vaches. We learnt to milk cows on the farm. Elle trsit les voches d six heures du motin. She milk the cows at 6 am.

L'ormde o 6t6 vaincue. The army was defeated. Lo France s vaincu la Corde trois buts q deux. France beat Korea 3 goals

ieli'=l tu=you il=he/it ellb=she/it on=we/one nous=we vou$=you ils/elles=they

to 2.

ie/i,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we y6u3=|ou ils/elles=they

Vene

Vene TneLrs

Taelrs

> vendF€ (to sell)

p, waloif (to be worth) PRSSHN}T $

PRESf;hIT

je tu

vaux vaux

il/elle/on vaut

le tu

I",'

RJU N#TNVE

vaille vailles

illelle/on vaille

nous valons vous valez

nous valions vous valiez

ils/elles valent

ils/elles vaillent IIMPERFEET

PERFECT

j' tu illelle/on nous vous ils/elles

ai valu as valu a valu avons valu avez valu ont valu

FUTURg"

je tu

vaudrai vaudras illelle/on vaudra nous vaudrons vous vaudrez

ils/elles vaudront IIV?PERATNVE

vaux/valons lvalez

je tu

valais valais

illelle/on valait

vends venos vend nous vendons vous venoez Je

tu il/elle/on

ils/elles

I

tu illelle/on

nous vouS ils/elles

ils/elles valaient

je tu

as vendu

a vendu

avons vendu avez vendu ont vendu

vendrai vendras illelle/on vendra nous vendrons vous vendrez

nous vaudrions vous vaudriez

ils/elles vendront

ils/elles vaudraient

valu

ai vendu

je tu

illelle/on vaudrait

IMPERATIVE

vends/vendons/vendez

PI4HSHNT FANTfiCIPtffi

PRESET\IT' PAffiT f;!PI.H

valant

vendant

EXAMPLE FHtrA$T'S

EXAMPI-E FFffi'llsgs

vout combien? How much is it worth? (.o voudroit Io peine d'essoyer. lt would be worth a try. Il vout mieux ne pas y pensei: lt's best not to think about it.

Il

Qo

ieli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we v6u5=lou ils/elle$=they

ie tu

vende vendes illelle/on vende nous vendions vous vendiez

ils/elles vendent IMPERFECT

FUTURE

vaudrais vaudrais

PIA$T P'$,i{T!fifi?tE

vendent

PERFECT

nous valions vous valiez c0rumlTl0niA[-

PRE$ENT SU B-IU I\'CTIVE

PRESEfUT

je tu

venoars

vendais

illelle/on vendait

nous vendions vous vendiez ils/elles vendaient

cor!DtfloNl\L

je tu

vendrais vendrais

il/elle/on vendrait

nous vendrions vous vendriez ils/elles vendraient PAST PAHTICIPTE

vendu

son vdlo pour 50 euros. He sold me his bike for 50 euros' que vendez des piles? Do you sell batteries? vous Est-ce EIle voidrait vendre ss voiture. She would like to sell her car.

m'u vendu

ie/j,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vene Tneues

Vens Tasles gfefiXfrffi"

@

Pfd ffi,S E

PHF$nihqT

je tu

>

(to come)

viens viens

illelle/on vient

nous venonS vous venez ils/elles viennent

r'j'f

le


$

Uc

tiJ

[."r

vienne viennes vienne venions veniez

,e

suis venu(e)

TU

es venu(e)

est venu(e) sommes venu(e)s 6tes venu(e)(s) sont venu(e)s


je

tu illelle/on nouS

vous ils/elles

venats venais

venait venions veniez

je tu

je

viendrai viendras illelle/on viendra nous viendrons vous viendrez

IU

viendrais viendrais

il/elle/on

viendrait

ils/elles viendront

ils/elles

ilf,"'[FF:&:fr"&T$Vlr

viens/venons /venez $Hfsl'f

nous VOUS

,Pl-l$l;

i'

viendrions viendriez

illelle/on

l:;jl,iR'1"[r*llB]["ffi

venu

P$?ffi

vetes

illelle/on v€te

vOt

nous v6tions vous v6tiez ils/elles v€tent F[WPH}TFK*T

PEffiFfr#'T

je tu

j' tu

ai v6tu as v€tu il/elle/on a v€tu nous avons v€tu

v€tais

nous v6tions vous v€tiez

avez vOtu

ils/elles v€taient (": {:., f d

FUT["0m8

f

} }T

q

je tu

je tu

v€tirai v€tiras illelle/on v€tira nous v6tirons vous v€tirez

t

v€tirais v€tirais

nous v6tirions vous v6tiriez ils/elles v€tiraient F"dh$}' F,ft

ilvtF!8trV"\.{ti/F;

fi:iT

tr$lP[.H

v6tu

v6ts/v€tons/v€tez ifi[[pt

{:} h} A

illelle/on v6tirait

ils/elles v€tiront

r{"r{.\$f

v6tais

illelle/on v€tait

ils/elles ont vOtu

pftfj*ig:i\j'l

v€te

tu

ils/elles v6tent

vous

$tr$$.d' ${."lSJ{.Jfi,{#T{l/fi

je

v€ts v6ts

nous v€tons vous v€tez

viendraient

FhqFi-['F*l PC-H

F:

v€tant

venant

ff-;9*4,,14Ph f,:

je tu

venaient

fl:$i\trm['ffi0rsA{"

g1(_i?'L!ffiH

(to dress)

PRH$$IFiT

viennent

$MiPffiffiFtrCT

$jlHffirrtrflT

F!il{fr

zu*T[Vr,

w&$;na"

i#j"d&4$Sr$

viendro pas cette ann,Ae. She won't be coming this year. Fatou et Malik viennent du S6ndgol. Fatou and Malik come from Senegal. Je viens de manger. l've just eaten. EIle ne

EK,4/WpA€ Fddffi/q$s.f; It litt

6tait v\tu d,un pantalon et d'un pull. He was wearing trousers. and a iumper' fout se lever, se'lover et se votir e'n 1 0 minutes. You have to get up, get washed and get dressed in 10 minutes.

()

ie/i'-ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

see

pages 88-91 for informqtion on how to form the reflexive verb se vQtir.

ie/i,=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

Vens TagLrs

Vpne Tneles

F vivre pnFsEtuT

je tu

PFIESEh{T' S{"I EJU Nfr TIVH

vis vis

illelle/on vit

nous vivons vous vivez ils/elles vivent

ar vecu as v6cu

illelle/on a v6cu nous avons v6cu vous avez v6cu ils/elles ont v6cu

je tu

vives

vlvral vivras

illelle/on vivait

illelle/on vivra

nous vivrons vous vivrez ils/elles vivront IMFERAT[VH

vis/vivons lvivez

vivrais vivrais

illelle/on vivrait

nous vivrions vous vivriez PN-E

v6cu

fiffNm[Tlsl\!Al-

je tu

verrai verras

verrais verrais

illelle/on verrait

illelle/on verra nous verrons vous verrez

nous verrions vous verriez ils/elles verraient

ils/elles verront

PA$T PAffiTIEtPLg

llVfi Pffi F&l''\:I" j\itF.:

vois/voyons /voYez fi'i

1(;lF !.H

PF{ENiL:}ii"t n'll

vivant

voyant

EXAMFLE f'F'fr.ASFS

F.{:i^wF{ {. u. .r::...rr

i,

venez me voir quand vous serez d Paris. Come and see me when you're in Paris. ne vois rien sans mes lunettes. I can't see anything without !Y glasses. le 'Est-ce que tu l'os vu? Did you see him? or Have you seen him? Est-ce que cette tache se voitT Does that stain show?

r) ieli'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nous=we vous=you ils/elles=they

ils/elles voyaient

FL'Tti*nfr

PRESETST PART'CIPI-H

Ma seur vit en Espagne. My sister lives in Spain. ll o vdcu dix ans d Lyon, He lived in Lyons for 10 years. Les gorilles vivent surtout dqns Ia fordf. Corillas mostly live in the forest.

voyais

nous voytons vous voyiez

avons vu avez vu ils/elles ont vu

je tu

voyais

illelle/on voyait

nous vous

ils/elles vivraient Pld$,"i &:'A*{Tlel

le tu

ai vu as vu il/elle/on a vu

ils/elles vivaient

voies

TfuXPERFSCT

i' ru

nous vivions vous viviez

voie

ils/elles voient

PtrFgFffiCT'

je vivais tu vivais

IUETIVE

nous voyions vous voyiez

ils/elles voient

ils/elles vivent

IJ

il/elle/on voie

nous voyons vous voyez

nous vivions vous vtvtez

HSHIUT $U EJ

le tu

vois vois

illelle/on voit

illelle/on vive

le tu

PIft

PF?H$HTST"

vlve

c0Fdmtfl0NAL

FUTLIRE

le tu

,e

tu

tMPEnFd:Cl'

PERFECT

, tu

ts v'ffifir (to see)

(to live)

see pages 88-91 for informotion

on

how to

form the reflexive verb se voir.

ielj,-ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one 6qu5=w€ vous=you ils/elles=they

Vrne lNoex

Vens TneLrs

b. qdf'}*.fifi#xq" i:'Fl

F:jSi

(to want) ,:,ffi

E|'* T'

ils/elles veuillent

ils/elles veulent

I

voulu a voulu avons voulu avez voulu ont voulu a5

nouS

vous ils/elles 'Fcr f i.lffif,!

voudrai

tu illelle/on

voudraS

voudront

ils/elles

Fi

fi

tlil

ils/elles voulaient

i'

F),pl, "ffi

r,.,}

ni ["] il T

T[

*

i

fi

#

fld s"

[-

nous voudrions vous voudriez ils/elles voudraient il"l"fl

fi

$

pF- H

voulu

$] [- ]"n

With the exception of reflexive verbs which always take 6tre, all verbs have the same auxiliary (6tre or avoir) as their model verb. There are a few exceptions 1 2. which are inilicated by a superior number or

An asterisk (*) means that the verb takes avoir when it is used with a direct object, and 6tre when it isn't.

r)

For more information on verbs that take either avoir or €tre, see page 114.

abaisser

abandonner abattre ab0tir

abimer abolir

abonder abonner aborder aboutir aooyer abreuver

abriter abrutir x,jn fu,{ia{

ft

frffi{$sw

All the verbs are in alphabetical order. For reflexive verbs like s'asseoir (to sit down) or se taire (to siop talking),look under asseoir or taire, not under s' or se.

ab16ger

voulant

a:

t$te Werh

rusm

The verbs in bold are the model verbs which you will find in the verb tables. All the other verbs follow one of these patterns, so the number next to each verb indicates which pattern fits this particular verb. For example, .aider (to help) follows the same pattern as donner (number 29 in the verb tables)'

voudrais voudrais

illelle/on voudrait

!ltl:$ ll' ft:l

[\{il

/ veuillons / veuillez

&:

nous voulions vous vouliez

je tu

voudra voudrons voudrez

nous vous

voulais voulais

illelle/on voulait

{:

je

n

je tu

ai voulu

tu illelle/on

tm

Superior numbers (1, 2 etc) refer you to notes on.page 107. These notes explain any differences between the verbs and their model.

lR'XPffiFlFI:ICT

ft:nr$q{:;Efr"r

$r,'

nJ[j t\jfi i"]idn

nous voulions vous vouliez

nous voulons vous voulez

$MF fiF{$:8

$iF,J

veuille veuilles illelle/on veuille

veux

illelle/on veut

veuille

F$fr ru"f

je tu

Je veux

tu

ff-Bmqnr

,f,i{ ff ll,$ &;$

pour Nodl.She wants a bike for Christmas. lls voulaient aller qu cindma. They wanted to go to the cinema. Tu voudrqis une tasse de th6? Would you like a cup of tea?

Elle veut un v6lo

ie/j'=ltu=you il=he/it elle=she/it on=we/one nou$=we v6u5=lou ils/elles=they

absenter (s') absorber absoudrea abstenir (s') abstraire abuser accabler accaparer acc6der acc6l6rer accepter accompagner

accomplir accorder 10 accoter 20 accoucher 29 accouder (s') ?q accourtr29 accoutumer accrocher 29 )9 accroitre6 accroupir (s') 39 accueillir 54 accumuler 67 29 accuser acharner (s') 29 36 29

39 29 29 29 29 |

/

39

acheminer

29 29

acheter

29 29 22 39 23 29 29 29 29 2

achever

44

71

acqu6rir actionner

84 86 29 29 29 35 ?q

29 29

3

)q

adorer

29

aoosser

29

adoucir

39 29 90

adresser adveni13 aerer

affaiblir affairer (s') affaisser (s') affamer

aff16ter

35 39

29 29 29

affermir

39

afficher

29 29

affirmer affliger affoler affranchir

affronter

46 29 39 35 29 13

adh6rer

?<

agacer agenouiller (s') agir agiter agrandir

adjoindre admettre admirer adopter

4)

ag16er

48

ahurir

29 29

aider

39 29 39 19 39 29

aigrir

39

activer adapter

additionner

29 29 29

29

aiguiser aimanter aimer aiouter ajuster alarmer alerter alimenter all6cher all6ger all6guer aller allier aflumer alt6rer alterner af unir amaigrir ambitionner am6liorer am6nager amener ameuter amincir amoindrir amollir amonceler

29 29

29 29 29

29 29 29 35

67 35

4 20 29 35

29 39 39

29 29

46 44 29 39 39 39 5

V,ena

Vrne lnloex amorcer

amplifier amputer amuSer analyser

an6antlr angorsser

animer annexer annoncer

annoter annuler

anoblir anticiper aparser

apercevoir apitoyer aplatir

apparaitre' appareiller apparenrer apparier appartentr appauvrlr

appeler applaudir appliquer apponer appr6cier apprenore appreter apprivoiser approcher

approfondir approprier approuver appuyer arc-bouter argenter arguer armer arpenter arracner arranger arrCter

arriver arrondir arroser asphyxrer aspirer assag rr

assainir assassiner

13

20 29

i

29 44

assembler assener

i

asseoir (s')

29 ^^i

29 I 39 ; 29 i

29

5

t1

(.ltalOgUer

60

bouleverser

2\)

(

balbutier

2A

boulonner bourdonner bourrer

( aUSef

baliser

bannir

assrster

29 20 39 29

baptiser baratiner

39 29

29

barbouiller

29

bousculer bousiller

fo

boutonner

1q

braconner brailler

39

?q 39 39

39

)9

| bAiller 39 I baiser 29 r baisser

29

branler braquer

29 29 29 29

bavarder baver b6cher becqueter b6gayer b6ler b6n6ficier b6nir bercer berner beugler beurrer biaiser

10 29 29 29

54 29 29 29

8 39

29 29 29 29 29

bichonner biffer

)a )o

brouiller

29

br0ler bru nir buter

29 54 29

blesser

29 29 39

29 29

boire boiter bombarder bondir bonifier

9

?o

)q 29

)9 29 29

border borner boucher boucler

bouder bouffer

bricoler brider briguer briller brimer

5

1q

39 29 20

blottir (se)

breveter

brosser

bl€mir bloquer

bredouiller

29

39 13

39

13

Draver

29

20

blaser

29

blaguer bldmer blanchir

braireT

briser broder broncher

60 ?o

46 29

39

bou rsoufler

29 29 29 29 29 29 29

42

29 29 29 39 29

29 29 (se)

brandir

39

battre

39

29 1 baignel

brancher

61

attendrir atterrir attirer attraper attribuer

46 aviver 29' avoir 6 , avouer 39 , bdcler 29 i bafouer 20 i bagarrer

batailler batifoler

29 29

bdtir

attendre

aviser

baser

29 29

29 29

5

augmenter i autoriser I avachir (s') 29 avaler 54 i avancer 29), avanlager 29 i aventurer 29 i avertir 29 i aveugler 29 r avilir

barioler barrer barricader basculer

29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 86 29

39

61

39 20

39

bouillir

)q

1 atteindre atteler

j

13

29

29

29

bouffir bouger

39 67 29

I associer I assombrir : assommer i assortir Jv , assouplr 29 i assouplir 29 assourdir 68 I assujettir 54 i assumer 39 , assurer 5Z i astiquer 29 j astreindre 29 i atermoyer 20 i attabler (s') 84 I attacher 39 i attaquer

(,1\ef

29 29

asservlr assi6ger assigner assimiler

29 1 3 29 29

39 i 29 ; 29 i 20 I 66 : 29 I 29 ,

7

39 46

balader (se) balafrer balancer balayer

11

lo 29 39 20 29 29 29 29 29 29

Droyer

cabrer (se) cacner cadrer cajoler calculer caler cdliner calmer calomnier carquer camper capituler capter captiver

capturer caract6riser careS5er

cancaturer

',i\5ef

.ttapulter

coer c eindre r 6l6brer (

t eler

censurer ce rcler certifier cesser chag riner

chahuter chamailler chanceler cnanger chanter

chantonner cnarger charmer charrier chasser chOtier

chatouiller chauffer chausser

chercher ch6rir chiffrer choisir

39

ch6mer choquer

29

cnoyer

l9

chuchoter

29 29 29 29 29 29 29 20 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29

circoncire8 circonscri re

circonvenirl circuler cirer ciseler

citer clarifier clasSer

classifier

cligner

clignoter clouer coder

codifier cogner coiffer

29 29

29 29 29

I

35

6l 35

coincer coincider collaborer

collectionner

;

,

2 t9

coller coloniser colorer colorier

13 29 I 29 I 29 I 29 29 ' i 29 20

0

combattre

1

comDter

29

29 I commander 20 r commemorer 29 I commencer 29 r commettre

48

29

communier

29 : communiquer

5 . comparaitre 46 comparer 29 compenser 29 complaire 46 compl6ter 29 complimenter 20 compliquer 29 comporter 20 composer 29 comPoster 29 comprendre 29 compromettre 29 compter 39 conceder 29 , concentrer 39 concerner 29 concevoir 29 . concilier 54 conclure 29 concourir 8l concurrencer 31 condamner 90 condenser 29 r condescendrel

29 2 29 20 29

conduire conf6rer confier confire9

confirmer

20 , confisquer 29 , confondre 29 r conforter

29

cong6dier congeler

20 z9 29

connaitre conquerir

29 r

consacrer

conseiller consentir consid6rer consister consoler consolider consommer conspirer constater consterner constituer construtre consulter contacter

'

29 29

I

'l3

; ,

20 29 57 29 29 63 35

29

, , i , r

contaminer contempler contenir contenter conter contester

continuer contraindre

I contraner ' contraster 29 , contredire 29 I contrefaire 66 I contrevenirl 48 I contribuer 29 i contr6ler 35 . convaincre 29 i convenirl 29 I convertir 68 , convier 20 r Convoquer 14 coop6rer 17 ; copier 1 3 i correspondre 29 29

29 ', corriger

29 25 24 35 20 81

29 29

I ,

70

,

20

.

3

I

29

2 15

29

corrompre corroyer cOtoyer coucher

coudre couler couper courber

courir co0ter couvrir cracher

craindre craquer

cr6er

29 . 78 r 35 I

luoex

39 cr6pir 29 creuser 44 crever 29 29 i cribler 20 29 ', crier 29 29 critiquer 2 29 crocheter 21 29 : croire 29 29 ' croiser 22 29 croitre 29 29', crouler 39 24 I croupir 20 29 I crucifier 23 29 I cueillir 24 29 , cuire 29 29 I culbuter 29 84 : cultiver 29 29 I cumuler 29 29' curer 29 29 t, daigner 29 29 r damner 29 danser 18 29 20 r dater 29 29 , d6barquer 28 , d6barrasser 29 10 37 i d6battre 90 d6baucher 29 29 29 ; d6biliter 29 29i d6biter 35 87 d6blat6rer 29 90 : d6bloquer 29 19 d6boiter 29 20 d6border 29 29 : d6boucher 35 d6bourser 29 20 d6boutonner 29 70 : d6brailler (se) 29 46 d6brancher 29 60 76 d6brayer 54 d6brouiller 29 29 54 d6buter 29 29 d6caler 29 16' d6canter 29 29 d6caper 29 29 ; d6capoter 35 29 d6c6der' 2 17 , d6celer 29 , d'6.cCl6.rer 35 56 d6centraliser 29 29 29 I d6cerner 68 18 d6cevoir 29 29 r d6chainer 19 d6charger 46

Vrne lNoex

VEne lNoex d6chiffrer

d6geler d6g6n6rer

2 35

d6gonfler d69ourdir d6go0ter

29

d6grader d6gringoler d6griser

29 29

d6chiqueter

42

d6chirer d6cider d6cimer d6clamer d6clarer

29 29 29 29 29

d6classer

29

d6clencher d6cliner d6coder d6col6rer

29 29 29

d6guerpir

35

d,6jeter

29

d6jeuner d6jouer

d6coller

d6commander 29 d6concerter d6conseiller

d6contracter dEcorer d6coudre d6couler d6couper d6courager

29 29 29 29 16 29 29

46

d6couvrir

56

d6cr6ter d6crier d6crire d6crocher

35

d6croitrelo d6daigner d6dicacer

20 31

29 22 29 13

dr6dier

d6dire d6dommager

28 46

d6douaner

29 29

d6doubler

d6guiser d69uster

39 29

d6polir d6poser d6pouiller

29 | 29 |

29

d6ooussi6rer 35 |

29 29 39

d6noncer d6nouer d6panner d6paqueter d6partager

13 29 29

d6fraichir d6gager d69ainer d6gauchir d6gazonner

29 39

29

29 29 29 35

6ceurer

29

6conduire 6conomiser 6corcher 6couler 6couter

d6savouer

d6figurer

d6former

39

€branler 6carteler 6carter 6changer 6chapper 6chauder 6chauffer 6chelonner 6chouer 6clabousser 6claircir 6clairer 6clater 6clipser

d6partir (se)

46

d6passer

29 39 29

d6payser d6pecer d6p0cher

39 29

20 29 5

42 46 58 59 29

44 29

i

d6t6riorer

d6terminer d6tester

29 i d6truire d6saccoutumer 29 | d6valer

67 |

d6sapprouver 29

29

d6foncer

6blouir

29 29 39 29

d€naturer d6nier d6nigrer d6niveler

30 29 29 29

29

I I

d6tenir

d6router

46 44

29 20

donner dormir

13

29

24

d6savantaqer 46 I

d6molir d6monter d€montrer d6multiplier d6munir

diversifier diviser divorcer

29 29

48

d6missionner

distribuer

35 | d6tourner

d6sassortir

demeurerl l

50 86 29 20 29

46 i d6traquer 29 ! d6tromper

29

29

)9

distordre distraire

d6roger d6rouler

d6sagr6ger d6salt6rer d6samorcer

29

5

89

distinguer

d6169ler

78

46 29 z

6^l

71

6bahir (s') 6battre (s') 6baucher

d6mentir d6mettre

29 29

29 29 39 29 29 29

29 29 20

29

d6primer

20

29 29

disposer disputer dissocier dissoudrel2 distendre

d6tordre

60 35 35

destiner destituer d6sunir d6tacher d6taillet d6tecter d6teindre d6teler d6tendre

29 39

d6raciner d6ranger d6raper

d6layer d6l69uer d6lib6rer d6lier d6lirer d6livrer d6loger demander d6manteler d6marquer d6marrer d6m6ler d6m6nager d6mener (se)

d6laisser

dessaisir dess6cher desserrer dessiner

29 29 29 50

d6pr6cier d6prendre

d6nombrer

d6finir

i i i

d6sorienter

20 66 29 29 45 29

29 29

20

d6filer

39 |

29 | 1 3 I 63 I

29 29 42

29 39

24 5/ 29

35

61 i 89 I 29 |

20 i 54 i 39 !

d6duire d6faire d6falquer d6favoriser d6fendre d6f6rer d6ficeler d6fier

29 89

d6peindre d6pendre d6penser d6p6rir d6pister d6placer d6plaire d6plier d6ployer

devancer

35 | d6velopper

3 I devenir d6sapprendre 66 | d6verser

descendre* d6semparer d6sennuyer

1

39

i

d6vdtir d6vier deviner

29 i d6visser 25 | d6voiler 29 i devoir

54 i d6vorer d6sensibiliser 29 I d6vouer

29 | d6s6ouilibrer 29 | d6sentraver d6serter

29

d€sesp6rer

35 29 29 29 29 29

d6shabiller d6shabituer d6sh6riter d6signer d6sinfecter d6sint6grer

dicter diffdrer I diffuser 1 dig6rer i diluer

|

diminuer

i diner i dire | diriger 35 | disconvenir d6sint6resser 29 i discourir d6sintoxiquer 29 i discriminer 29 | discuter d€sirer 29 j disioindre d6sister (se) 39 | disparaitre d6sob6ir 29 | dispenser d6soler d6sorganiser 29 i disPerser

89 84

13

29

26 29 91

20 29 29 29

27

35

29 29

29 2a 46 90 17 29

29 43

57 29 29

doubler douter dresser

durcir durer

6craser

effaroucher effectuer effeuiller effondrer efforcer (s') effrayer 6galer 6garer egayer 6qorqer 6laborer 6lancer (s') 6largir 6lectrifier 6lever

29 29 29 29 13 60

6liminer

29 45 29 29

10

6lire 6loigner 6luder 6manciper 6maner

29

embarrasser

39

29 39

29 46 29 29 29 29 29 29

13 39

enfreindre

61

20

engager

40 46

44

engloutir engourdir

29

emm6nager 6mouvoir

46 44 32

emparer empOcher

29 29

empi6ter

35

emprrer

emprunter

29 39 54 29 29 29 29

encadrer

)q

encombrer

29 29 29 29

encourager

46

1?,

encourir endetter endoctriner

17 29 29

29

endommager

46

(s')

29 29 29 29 24 29 29 29

29 29

emplir emproyer

empoisonner emporter

j i

emprisonner

?<

encaisser

20

t6crire

3l

enchainer enchanter

6crouler (s') 6difier

29 20 29

effacer effarer

enfouir

29

6cr6mer 6crier (s')

6diter 6duquer

29

48

39

39 29 29 29 29 29 29

50 46

?9

29

6mettre 6migrer emmener

30

24

6nerver enfanter enfermer enfiler enflammer enfler enfoncer

29 29 29 embaucher 39 embellir 29 emboiter embourgeoiser (s') 29 29 emDrasser 46 6merger

I

(s') enduire endurcir endormir

39

engraisser engueuler enivrer enjoliver enlacer

29 29 13

enlever enneiger

44 46 54

ennuyer 6noncer enqu6rir (s') enqueter enraciner enfa9er enregistrer

13

29 29 46 29

enrichir

enrouler enseigner ensevelir ensuivre (s')3 entamer entasser entendre

enterrer enthousiasmer

entourer entrainer entraver entrelacer

39 39 29

39 29

29 39 82

29 29 89 29 29 29 29 29 13

(s')

48

entreprendre

66 33 84 93

entremettre

entrer* entretenir entrevoir 6num6rer 35 39 envahir envelopper 29 envisager 46

envoler (s') envoyer 6pandre 6panouir 6pargner 6parpiller 6pater 6peler 6plucher 6ponger 6pouser dpouvanter 6preindre 6prendre (s') 6prouver 6puiser 6quilibrer 6quiper 6quivaloir esclaffer (s') escorter esp6rer esquisser esquiver essayer essorer essouffler essuyer estimer estroprer 6tablir 6taler 6tayer 6teindre 6tendre 6ternuer 6tiqueter 6tirer 6toffer 6tonner 6touffer 6tourdir 6trangler €tre 6treindre 6tudier 6vader (s') 6valuer 6vanouir (s') 6vaporer 6veiller 6venter 6vertuer (s')

29

34 89 39 29 29

29 5

29

46 29 29 61

66 29 29

29 29

88 29 29 35 29

29 60 29 29

54 29

zv 39

29 60 61

89

29 42 29 29 29 29 39 29

36 61

20 29 29 39 29 29 29 29

Vene lNpex

VeRe lNosx

fermenter

29 29 29 14

f6ter feuilleter fiancer ficeler

42

froncer frotter frustrer

13

fuir

29 29 40

fumer

29

excommunier

20

ficher fier figer filer fileter

29

fusiller gAcher gagner galoper

29 29

fermer

29 excuser 35 ex6crer 29 ex6cuter 29 exempter 29 financer exhiber 29 finir exhorter 46 fixer exiger 29 flairer exiler flamber 29 exister 35 fldner exon6rer 20 flanquer exp6dier exp6rimenter 29 flatter fl6chir 29 expirer 29 fl6trir expliquer 29 fleurirla exploiter 29 flotter exploser foisonner 29 exporter 29 fomenter exposer 29 foncer exprimer fonctionner 29 expulser exterminer 29 fonder 86 fondre extraire forcer 29 exulter forger 29 fabriquer formaliser (se) 29 fdcher 29 former faciliter formuler 29 fagonner fortifier 29 facturer faillirr3 poge 107 foudroyer 37 fouetter faire 38 fouiller falloir 20 fourmiller falsifier familiariser 29 fournir fourrer 39 farcir fourvoyer 29 fasciner 29 fracasser fatiguer 29 franchir faucher 29 frapper faufiler 29 frayer fausser freiner 29 favoriser

29 29 29 29

\

20 46 29 13

39

29 29 39

grossir

grouiller grouper gu6rir guerroyer

guetter guider guinder habiller

29 43 29

manier manifester manigancer

20 29

manipuler man€uvrer

29

39

46

manquer

gauchir

39

influencer

13

labourer

29 29

informer ing6nier (s')

tacer

13

l6cher

)q 29

inhaler

29 20 29 20 20 29 29 29

lamenter (se)

29 29 29

tancer

13

languir

39 54 29

35

l6cher

3I

l6gatiser

29

l6gif6rer l6siner

39 29

h6berger h6b6ter

gaufrer

g€ner g6n6raliser g6rer

)a

to

54

29

giboyer gifler givrer

70 13

gracer glisser

13

46 29

glorifier gommer gonfler go0ter

29 39 29 60 29

42

je0ner

29 20 29

g6mir

54

leter

29

39 29

39 29

maltraiter manger

giter

hiter

29

?a ?q

gaspiller

gouverner gracrer

grandir gratifier gratter

)a 29 29

20 29 29 29 29 20 39

20 29

nausSer

+o

?(

hennir

39

h6risser

29

h6riter h6siter heurter hocher

29 29 29

nonorer horrifier nuer humaniser

humidifier humilier hurler hypnotiser id6aliser

identifier ignorer illuminer

29 lv 20 29 29 20 20 29 29 29

20

9raver gravir greffer gr€ler

29 39 29

29

illustrer imaginer

griffonner grignoter griller

29 29

imiter immigrer

29 29 29 29 29 29

29

grimacer

l3

immiscer (s') immobiliser

29

13

infirmer infliger

initier

iniurier innover inoculer inonder inqui6ter inscrire

insensibiliser

ins6rer insinuer insister inspecter

35

29 29 29

Insprrer

)o

installer

instituer

29 29

instruire

t1

insurger

insulter (s') int6grer intensifier

29 46

interc6der

35

interdire

28 29 29

int6resser

interloquer interroger interrompre intervenir

37

44 29

jaunir

2 29 29

indiquer induire

84

29 29 29 29 29 24 29 29 29 46

haleter handicaper hanter harceler harmoniser hasarder

bl 44

54 29 29

infecter infeaster

isoler

jaillir

39 29

29

20

inculper

Incorporer incriminer

investir

4"1

geindre geler

29 29

laser

incommoder

invertir

hair

gausser (se)

29

29 29

inventer

hacher

39 1q

't3

maitriser majorer malfaire malmener

29 29 29

3

29 29

9aranur garoer garer

garnir

)9

29 29 29 39

inciter incliner inclurel6

't

29 29 29

habiter habituer

29 29 29 29 29 29

29

20 39

)o

magnifier maigrir maintenir

J> 54 29

39 29

35 35

39 39

29

impressionner

fendre ferler

29 29 29 29 13

mijoter mimer

inviter invoquer irriter

29

29 29

friser frissonner froisser f16ler

1A

29

?o

9rommeler gronoer

f6liciter

macher machiner

29 29 29 29 't4

gro9ner

29 29

35

f6ler

meuftnr

improviser inaugurer

griser

feinter

29 29 29 eo

20 29

imprimer

81

61

lubrifier lutter

intituler intriguer introduire

29

feindre

29 29 24 29

29 29 29 29 29 29

grimper grincer

29 29 29

fr6mir fr6quenter frirerr

immoler impatienter impliquer implorer importer

39 29

6viter 6voluer 6voquer exag6rer exalter examiner exasp6rer exc6der excepter exciter exclamer (s') exclure

35

20

ioindre louer jouir juger

jumeler JUrer

iustifier

laisser

larmoyer taver

lever lib6rer licencier lier

ligoter limer limiter liqu6fier

liquider lire livrer loger

lorgner lotir

46

loucher louer

76

rouPer

90

louvoyer

5

46 29 39 29 29 29 54

13

29

29 manufacturer 29 manutentionner 29

marcher

29

maner marquer marteler masquer

20 29

massacrer masser

29 29

29

mat6rialiser

29

maudire

47

maugr6er m6caniser 35 29 m6connaitre 35 m6contenter 29 m6dire M m6diter m,6faire 35 20 m6fier (se) 20 29 29 29 20 29 45 29

M

m6langer m€ler menacer m6nager

mendier mener

mentionner mentir m6prendre (se) m6priser m6riter mesurer mettre meubler meugler

19 29 15 29 28 29 37

20 40 29 13

46 20 44

39 29 29 29 29 29 29

miauler

miner minimiser mobiliser

1

modeler mod6rer moderniser

29

modifier

20

moisir

moissonner

39 29 39

monopoliser

60 29 49

mollir monnayer

monter* montrer moquer (se) mordre morfondre (se)

29 50 70

20

mortifier motiver moucher moudre mouiller

29

fo 51

29

52

mourir mouvoirl muer

29

T

multiplier munir m0rir murmurer museler

29

20 39 39

29 5

muter mutiler

29 29

mystifier nager

20 46

naitre nantir

53 39 29 29 29 29

narrer navrguer navrer n6cessiter

46

29 78 66 29

n6gliger n69ocier neiger

29

nier niveler noircir

20

nommer

29 29

29 4A 29 29

nettoyer

normaliser

20

46 54 5

39

lF|n l l l

Vene lNoex

Vene h{oex nouer

29 29

nourrir

39

noter

noyer

^

nuirel6 numeroter ob6ir obiecter obliger oblit6rer obscurcir obs6der observer

obstiner (s') obtenir occuper

octroyer offenser

offrir omettre op6rer opposer

opprimer oroonner organiser

54 24 29 39 29

46 35 39

29 29 84 29

54 29 55 48 35

palpiter panser parachever parachuter

paver pavoiser

poser

29 29

publier punrr

39

poss6der

?<

purifier

posler

29

pouoroyef

54 89

qualifier quereller

20 20 29 29 29 29 1 0 29 29 29

pourfendre

questionner quCter

POUtt..r,o

29

pouvorr'-

65

raccommoder

peindre

6"1

pratiquer

29

raccompagner

peler pencher penqre p6n6trer penser percer percevorr

44

p16c6der prOcher p16ciser

?<

raccorder

29 29 28 J5

raccourctr raccrocner racheter racler racoter raconter raffermir raffiner rafler rafraichir ragaillardir

89

13

pr6dire pr6f6rer pr6juger

68

p16lever

35

29

20 46 56 29

pervertir

1q

peser

44 20

20 39 29 29

peuprer

photographier picoter pi6ger

pi6tiner pincer placer plaider plaindre

57

pararyser

parcourir

29 17

pardonner

29

parer parfondre

29 70 29

plaisanter planifier plaquer pleurer

parier parler parquer partager

20

pleuvoir

29 29

plier

participer

29

plaire

plonger polir polluer

i

29

39

29 20 29 57 29 13 13

I i j Itl

I

29

prendre

66

pr6parer

29

)q

pressentir p16sumer

29

pr6tendre pr€ter r'".-'

Rq

pr6valoilu

29 88

prevenrr

90

Pr6voir2r

93 20 29 20

pner priver privil6gier proc6der procramer proc16er

29 18 63

20 29

proronger

profiter progresser

to

64 20 46

31

29 29 78

produire

29

46 44

p16m6diter

prescrrre p16senter p16server p16sider

39

pers6cuter pers6v6rer persister persuaoer

p6trifier p6trir

poursuivre

29

29 35 29

46

provenir

35

p€cher p6cher peigner

paraitre

parfumer

prouver

70

pourrir

48

29

29

pondre

29 29 90 20

60 29

p6rir permettre

)9 44

protester

39 82 29

payer

perforer

20

29

poruer

29 29

29 29 29

pacifier p6lir parper

pauser

pomper ponctuer

29 29 39 29 29 29

62 29 29

osciller oser

oxyder

patienter p6tir

perdre perfectionner

29

ouvrir

parvenir passer* passionner

58 90 59

29 29

orner orthographier

6ter oublier outrager

partir

promener pfomettre . 2? promouvorr-prononcer

35

29 19 29 29

+z 46 44 48 JZ

13

29

39

proposer proscrire

29

prott6ger

67

31

quitter rabattre

39

29 2

29 29 29 39

29 29 39 39

raidir

39

railler ratsonner rajeunir raiouter rajuster ralentir rallier rallonger rallumer

29 29 39 29 29 39

20 46

ramasSer

29 29

ramener

44

ramollir

39

ranrmer rappeler

29

rapponer rappfocner

29 29 29 29

raser

rassembler rass616ner rasSurer

rater rationaliser rattraper ravir ravitailler r6agir

35

29 29 29

29 39 29 39

16aliser

29

rebattre

t0

rebondir

39

rebuter receler

29

recenSer

29

recevoir

68

16chapper 16chauffer

29 29 29 29 29 29 29

rechercher 16citer 16clamer

16colter

recommanoer recommencer 16compenser 16concilier reconduire 16conforter reconnaitre reconquCrir reconstruire

29 20 24 29

20 16 17 56

r,6c16er

19

16crier (se) 16crire

20

rectifier recueillir recuire reculer

20

16cup6rer

5)

recycler redescendre r6diger redire redoubler

?o

1A

retourner*

renommer

29

?o

29

renoncer renouer renouveler

retrancher retransmettre

29

r6t16cir retrousSer

169ir 16gler 169ner

39

16nover

)o

rerouver

renseigner

29

16unir

rentrer*

69

16ussir

?o

renverser

revaloir r6veiller

88 29

16habiliter 16habituer

29 29 29 29

29

renausser

29

16imprimer 16int6grer relaillir

29

reparaitre rdparer

12

z+ 29

retancer

13

16partir repeindre repenore

10 61

rev€tir

91

eo

r6viser

repentir (se)

78

reperdre

62

revivre revotr r6volter rhabiller ridiculiser

29 92 93 29 29 29 29 75

35

35

reproduire

l4

risquer

)q

20 20 29

16pudier

20

rivaliser

29 29 76 29

37

remuer

i

74 29

za

24

20 29

revenir rever 16v6rer

repartir

remanier remarier remarquer rembourser rem6dier remercier remettre remmener

r6duire refaire r6f6rer refermer r6fl6chir refl6ter refondre r6former

refuser

29 89

reluire23

remplir remployer remponer

r6fugier (se)

35

revendiquer revenore

rep16senter

?o

refroidir

r6v6ler

reprendre

redresser

29 20

29 89 57 29 58

20 45

redouter

70

7C

16organiser 16pandre

70 29 66 29

remordre remorquer remoudre rempracer

35

renvoyer

repousser

+b 28 29 29

29 39

IJ

73 29 48 39 29 29 39

44

remonter* remontrer

?(

35 39

relicher rel69uer relever relier relire

3.1

35

42 43 39 29

rr5jouir

a/

recopier recouore recourir recouvrir

renifler

)a

rejoindre

15

39

29

regretter fegrouper

13

reconvertir

r6futer regagner regaillardir regarder r6g6n6rer

rdpondre

)9 IU

3

r6server 16sider

29 29 29 20 29 29

20

r6signer r6silier

48

16sister

44 49 29 50 29

16sonner

ressaisir

39 ?o

51

ressembler

29

IJ

ressemeler ressenUr

39

renaitre24

54 29 29 53

rench6rir

39

rencontrer rendormir

29

rendre renfermer renfler renforcer renler

requ€rir

16soudre respirer resplendir

ressortir

rester

29 29

restreindre r6sulter r6sumer resurgir r6tablir retaper retarder retenir

13

reUrer

20

retomber

30 8

71

29

5

rigoler rire

rogner

rompre ronfler ronger

r6tir

i

rougrr rourer rousp6ter rouvrtr rutner Saccager saisir salir

78

Satuer

80 72

sanctifier sangloter

61

satisfaire sauter

46 39 39

29 35

56 29

46 39 39 29

20

39 39

sauver

savoir

29 37 29 29 29 77

29 29 84 29 85

scier

20

scinder scintiller

29 29

s6cher Secouer

29

29 29

sauvegarder

VrRe lNoex

Vene lNoex

Semer

17 24 29 44

sentir

78

s6parer Serref

29 29

secourir s6duire sembler

vendre

13 24

verdir

39

54

traire

29 86

verooyer v6rifier vernir verrouiller

traiter

29

verser

29

31

v€tir

9^l

35

VCXCT

29 48

vibrer vider vieillir

29 29

29

tournoyer

81 35

tousser

82 20

tracer

sugg6rer

suivre

tracaSser

traduire trahir trainer

sertir

39

servir

79

supplier supposer surcharger surenchErir surfaire

s6vir sevrer

39

surgerer

44

surqir

39

transcrire transf6rer

o/

surmonter'

49

transformer

29 29 29

surpaS5er

59

surprenore surveiller survenir survtvre susciter suspendre tacher tacher tailler taire (se) taper

66 29

transmettre transparaitre transprrer transplanter

tater taxer teindre teinter t6l6phoner

29 29

si6ger siffler signaler signer signifier simplifier simuler soigner sombrer sommeiller songer 50nner

20 20 29 29 29 29

-1

29

46 39 37 2

90 92 29 89

29

transporter traquer travailler traversef

39

57 29 29

vitrifier vitup6rer vivifier vivre

20

29 29

29

soupeser

44

tenir

a4

sourire

75

souscrire

3l

tenter terminer ternir

29 29 39 29 20 35

ulc6rer

39 29 29

unifier unir

35

user

tomber

85

tondre tonner tordre torpiller tortiller torturer toucher tourmenter tourner

70 29

usiner utiliser vacciner

50

vaincre

29 29 29 29 29 29

valoir

29 29 29 87 88

vanter

29

varier v6g6ter veiller vendanger

20

sous-entenclre

89

souStrarre

86 84

soutenir souvenir (se) sp6cialiser sp6cifier standardiser stationner st6riliser stimuler stup6fier subir submerger subsister

84 29

20 29 29 29 29 20 39

46 29

substituer subvenirl succ6der

29 90

sucer

13

35

terrassef

terrifier t6ter ti6dir timbrer tirer tol6rer

29 29 29 89

urbaniser

39 29 29 29 29

t6moigner tendre

t6l6viser

61

virer

29

29

29

29 29 46 44 29 48

violer

20 39 29

visser

55

83 29

venir

viser visiter

souffrir souhaiter souiller soulager soulever souligner soumettre soupgonner

sortir*

29 29

venger

29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 20

tr6bucher trembler tremper tricher tricoter trier triompher tripoter tromper troquer trotter troubler trouer trouver truffer truquer tuer tutoyer

46 29 80

89 46 90

54 29 29

suer

suffire

35

20 92

Notes t)

Auxiliary=avoir.

2) Auxiliary = €tre. 3) Only infinitive and 3rd persons of each tense used. 4) Past participle: absous, absoute. s) Conjugated with either avoir or etre. 6) No circumflex on: j'accrois, tu accrois, and accru. z) Hardly used except in the infinitive and the 3'd persons of the present, future and conditional.

8) e)

Past participle: circoncis. Past participle: confit.

10) No circumflex on: je d6crois, tu d6crois, and d6cru. 11) When demeurer means to live, the auxiliary is avoir; when it means to remain, the auxiliary is €tre.

vocif6rer

35

voiler

29

voir voter

93 l9

vomir voter

39 29

29 29

vouer

vouloir

29 94

14) When fleurir means to prosper, the present participle is florissant, and the imperfect is florissait.

29

vouvoyer voyager

54

1s)

46

29

29 29 29 29 29 54 35

20 39 29 29

29

46

vrombir

39

vulgariser z6brer

29

z6zayer

60

ztgzaguer

29

35

12) Past participle: dissous, dissoute. 13) Present participle: faillant; past participle: failli; future: je faillirai, conditional: je faillirais, efc. NB: f'ai failli tomber = | nearly fell.

etc;

Past participle: frit; used mainly in the present tense singular and in compound tenses.

16) Past participle: inclus. 17) Past participle: m0, rnue, mus, mues. 18) Past participle: nui.

tr)

In questions, je peux can be replaced by ie puis: Puis-je vous aider? May I help you?

20) Subjunctive: je pr6vale, efc. 21 ) Future: je pr6voirai, etc; conditional: je pr€voirais, etc. 22) Used only in the infinitive, present and past participles, and compound renses.

2r)

Past participle: relui.

24) No past participle, no compound tenses.

ilt" o*rH What is the pa: The passive is a is the person o qtven, we we'

[J

ruote that des meanings, sur

something is

)

For moro

de changes to o most words stai Je

r

n'ai pas d'r

sBN 978-0-00-719644-9

E ,ll[il[ilililtlilLllilll,

Collins Easy Learning French Grammar (Gnv64)

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