er verb conjugation

er verb conjugation

Refresher: what is conjugation?Conjugation is changing the verb to match the subject of the sentence. (The subject is the person or thing doing the verb)

We have already conjugated the verb tre:je suisnous sommestu esvous tesil/elle/on estils/elles sont

Remember: only verbs can be conjugated. Not nouns, not adjectives.

Refresher: what is an infinitive?An infinitive is a verb that has not been conjugated.

In English, infinitives have to in front of them (such as, to study, to swim, to play).If you see an infinitive in French, it can be assumed that the English equivalent has to in front of it.As a reminder, when tre is not conjugated, it means to be.

Examples of er verbs(in their infinitive form)aimer = to like/lovereposer = to restadorer = to adorenager = to swimdtester = to hatetraner = to hang outregarder = to watchporter = to wearmanger = to eattudier = to studyjouer = to playparler = to speakskier = to skiacheter = to buyrester = to staycouter = to listen tovoyager = to traveldanser = to dance

How to conjugate an er verbStep 1: remove the erStep 2: add the following endingsje enous onstu esvous ezil/elle/on eils/elles ent

** The endings in red are all pronounced the same silently!

An example of a conjugated er verbregarderje regardenous regardonstu regardesvous regardezil/elle/on regardeils/elles regardent

VERY VERY important: In English, we say, both, I am watching, and I watch. In French, there is no difference!! Je regarde = I watch AND I am watchingtu regardes = You watch AND you are watchingnous regardons = We watch AND we are watching

Sample sentences using regarder conjugatedJe regarde la tl.Im watching TV.Tu regardes la tl avec des copains?Do you watch TV with friends?Elle regarde la tl au lit.She is watching TV in bed.Nous regardons la tl la maison.We watch TV at home.Vous regardez la tl quelque fois?Do you watch TV sometimes?Ils regardent la tl en t.They watch TV in summer.

Sample sentences usingaimer conjugated*Notice that aimer starts with a vowel, so the je form needs to be modified slightly. This will be true of all verbs that begin with vowels! (Such as adorer, couter or tudier)Jaime nager.I like to swimTu aimes nager?Do you like to swim?Il aime skier en hiver.He likes to ski in winter.Nous aimons jouer au tennis quand il fait beau.We like to play tennis when the weather is nice.Vous aimez jouer au tennis?Do you like to play tennis?Elles aiment la pizza!They like pizza!

Refresher: Why do we conjugate?You may ask yourself, why do we need to learn all these different endings we dont have to do this in English! Well, yes you do. Conjugation in your native language comes to you by instinct. You do it without thinking. If you didnt, you would sound like this:Good morning, mom. Today, I to swim at the rec center. Tom, he be my friend, so we hangs out together. He are very nice. He to come over to our house this afternoon, be that okay?

What this means is, EVERY TIME you use a verb in French, you MUST think about conjugation. It is not optional! You will sound extremely awkward if you do not do it, you will not be able to communicate well, and your grade will suffer.

So, then, whats up withall those infinitives?You may have noticed with the aimer sentence samples (two slides ago) that there were quite a few infinitives! Yet, on the last slide, I said to think about conjugation with EVERY VERB!And this is true. This means think about conjugation it doesnt mean that every verb gets conjugated all the time. It means think.

Example: Jaime nager. = I like to swim.

Aimer gets conjugated (jaime) but notice that the English equivalent is to swim. An infinitive! So, when there are two verbs back to back, the first verb is conjugated, the second one is not.Other times when this will happen will be, for example, I want to eat. She is able to play. My brother needs to clean.

So did I mention, think about what youre doing?

Refresher: How to make a negativeIn English, in general, we add do not or does not before a verb to express a negative.

In French, ne pas is used. The is a conjugated verb.

Examples: Elle ne mange pas la pizza. = She does not eat pizza.Nous ne parlons pas francais. = We do not speak French.Je naime pas tudier. = I do not like to study.

**Ne and pas do not belong together!

Refresher: Three ways of asking yes/no questionsThe simplest is to put a question mark at the end of a statement: Tu aimes nager?The most elegant is to put est-ce que (which means is it that) in front: Est-ce que tu aimes nager?The most common is to invert the subject and verb: Aimes-tu nager?

Why did we learn about weather last week, and verbs this week?The idea is for you to be able to discuss what you like to do in the certain seasons, and in certain weather conditions.If you have not already done so, please download the handout from the website that says Les Passe-temps at the top (these are pasttimes). There is another handout that has pictures of folks doing things, and gives you sample sentences to describe them. Have a hard copies of both in front of you, as well as your notes on the weather and seasons.

QuestionsThe very first verbs at the tope of Les Passe-temps will help you describe what you like and dislike to do.Next, you see En automne, en hiver, en t, au printemps. These are the four seasons, with in in front of them. Notice that printemps (spring) has au.And then, there is a question: Quest-ce que tu aimes faire? This asks What is it that you like to do?

So, when someone asks you, En hiver, quest-ce que tu aimes faire? What are they asking? How might you answer?

**Notice that we saw est-ce que, or is it that, a little while ago. This is quest-ce que, or what is it that. Being able to tell the difference is vital.

Questions continuedThe next question is similar, but not exactly the same. Quest-ce que tu fais? is What is it that you do?

Someone might ask, Au printemps, quest-ce que tu fais? What are they asking? How might you answer?What about, Au printemps, est-ce que tu aimes jouer au tennis?What about, Quand il neige, quest-ce que tu fais?Or, Quand il fait chaud, skies-tu?

**Its important to notice the phrasing of questions. Quest-ce que tu aimes faire, and Quest-ce que tu fais, ask for different types of answers. One first one looks for Jaime with an infinitive verb, and the second looks for Je, plus a conjugated verb.

Question variationsQuest-ce quelle aime faire? Quest-ce quelle fait?Quest-ce que vous aimez faire, toi et Marc?Au printemps est-ce quil reste au lit?Quand il fait froid, restes-tu la maison?Quand il fait frais, tu joues dans les feuilles?Toi et Elisabeth, vous jouez au hockey en hiver?Tu aimes le printemps?Tu aimes quand il neige?

Sports!Most names of sporting games are cognates in French and in English. When you refer to playing a sport, use the verb jouer, to play, followed by au or la.

Jaimejouer au tennisjouer au basketballjouer au football (soccer)jouer au baseballjouer au football amricainjouer au tennisjouer au hockeyjouer au volleyballjouer la crosse*Notice that swimming and skiing are sports, but they dont have play in front of them either in French or in English! Same goes for track and field events, diving, etc.**For sports that end in ball, usually the ball can be left off. Baseball is an exception. So, its fine to say, Je joue au basket.

Practice! Translate these sentencesIn summer, I like to hang out with friends.We do not like to ski in April.Louis hates to stay home when its sunny.Do you eat pizza? (informal)Elise and Marie play soccer in the fall.I am resting.Olivier is not buying a TV.We are dancing in the snow!Are you listening? (plural)I hate to study in July when its beautiful!