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FRENCH VERBS
French verbs are formed by: a stem + an ending (-ER, -IR or – RE).
To use the verbs in different tenses, we need to know some rules. These rules are simple and are applied to nearly all verbs. Unfortunately, some verbs do not follow theses rules and it is therefore important to know these IRREGULAR VERBS such as “aller” (to go), “faire” (to do), “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be).
Most of the time, the rule is: keep the stem, take away the ending and replace it by another ending depending on the person/subject.
PRESENT TENSE (e.g.: I play)
To write in the present tense, we only change the ending (the stem remains the same). Let’s have a look at the endings: they are different according to the ending of the infinitive: verbs in – ER are different from those in – IR or – RE.
JOU ER FIN IR ATTEND RE
Je jou e fin is attend s Tu jou es fin is attend s Il/Elle/On jou e fin it attend Nous jou ons fin issons attend ons Vous jou ez fin issez attend ez Ils/Elles jou ent fin issent attend ent
Can you think of the verbs you already know? With the help of your neighbours, write them in the appropriate column.
- ER verbs - IR verbs - RE verbs Irregular in the present tense
PERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I played)
Two groups There are two groups of verbs for the perfect tense:
- the “être” verbs: refer to the MR AND MRS V.TAPE list in your vocabulary book
- the “avoir” verbs: all the other verbs
Three parts The perfect tense is made by 3 parts: subject (I, you...) + “être” or “avoir” in the present + main verb
We already know how to do être” and “avoir” in the present tense. The ending of the main verb changes in the perfect tense as well.
The ending For example, “I played” will not be “J’ai jouer” but “J’ai jou é ”! It is very simple, and you need to make sure you write this ending properly as examiners are very strict on this.
So, how do we know how to change the endings? EASY! -ER verbs: -er turns into -é (jouer j’ai joué) -IR verbs: -ir turns into -i (finir j’ai fini) -RE verbs: -re turns into -u (attendre j’ai attendu)
Unfortunately, there are someirregular verbs, and we need to know
them. The main ones are: “être”(j’ai été), “avoir” (j’ai eu), “faire” (j’ai fait).
So all the “avoir” verbs are very easy to form. Now, we need to concentrate on the “être” verbs, as they require a bit more attention.
The “être” verbs Do you remember what we need to add at the end of the adjectives if
they are feminine or plural? Yes, an-s or an-e (or even both).
For example, if we are talking about a tall boy, we would say “un grand garcon”, but for a tall girl, we would say “grand e ”, and for more than one girl, we would say “grand es ”.
The “être” verbs work the same way: the ending of the main verb will
also need an -e or an -s depending on the subject.
Now, an “avoir” verb in the perfect tense. TRAVAILLER
J’..............................
Tu.............................
Il/Elle/On.................. .
Nous........................
Vous.........................
Ils/Elles.....................
And an “être” verb. ALLER
Je (m)................................
Je (f)..................................
Tu (m)................................
Tu (f)..................................
Il........................................
Elle.....................................
Vous (m.)………..................
Vous (f.).............................
Nous (m)............................
Nous (f)...............................
Ils.......................................
Elles...................................
THE IMPERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I used to play) Like for the present and simple future tenses, to do the imperfect tense, we need to take the ending of the infinitive and change it into:
Je -ais
Tu -ais
Il/Elle/On -ait
Nous -ions
Vous -iez
Ils/Elles -aient
So we have:
TRAVAILLER
Je travaill ais
Tu travaill ais
Il/Elle/On travaill ait
Nous travaill ions
Vous travaill iez
Ils/Elles travaill aient
This goes for most of the verbs: refer to your vocabulary lists for the irregular ones.
THE FUTURE TENSE (e.g.:I will play/I am going to play)
In French, there are two future tenses, as in English: I am going to play and I will play. Both are very easy: let’s have a look.
First, the “simple” future (“I will...”): to form this tense, we keep the whole infinitive and add the following endings
Je -ai
Tu -as
Il/Elle/On -a
Nous -ons
Vous -ez
Ils/Elles -ont
TRAVAILLER
Je travailler ai Tu travailler as Il/Elle/On travailler a
Nous travailler ons Vous travailler ez Ils/Elles travailler ont
This pattern is used for all – ER and – IR verbs. For the – RE verbs, we need to take the -e away: saying “j’attendreai” would not be very easy to pronounce! This is why we will say “j’attendrai” instead.
Now, try to fill these tables:
Regular verbs
Subject Verb Future tense Imperfect ending Conditional
Je Retourner
Tu Descendre
Il/Elle/On Rester
Nous Sortir
Vous Arriver
Ils/Elles Partir
Irregular verbs
Subject Verb Future tense Imperfect ending Conditional
Je Aller
Tu Avoir
Il/Elle/On Faire
Nous Etre
Vous Aller
Ils/Elles Faire
- PRESENT TENSE (e.g.: I play)
- PERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I played)
- THE IMPERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I used to play)
- THE FUTURE TENSE (e.g.:I will play/I am going to play)
- THE CONDITIONAL (e.g.: I would play)
- REVIEW OF ALL TENSES
