French Study Notes

By: Kivtej 8B

Present Tense VerbsRegular Verbs:The first type of regular verbs are: ER

When conjugating ER verbs, you remove the ER at the end and replace it with the following:

The red indicates the infinitive ending that is to be removed and the green indicates the present tense ending that must be added to conjugate the verb.

Je regarder - Je regarde Nous regarder – Nous regardonsTu regarder - Tu regardes Vous regarder – Vous regardezIl regarder - Il regarde Ils regarder – Ils regardentElle regarder – Elle regarde Elles regarder – Il/elle regardent

- IR VerbsThe next type of regular verb is: IR

The red indicates the infinitive ending that is to be removed and the green indicates the present tense ending that must be added to conjugate the verb.

Je Finir – Je Finis Nous Finir - Nous Finissons

Tu Finir - Tu Finis Vous Finir - Vous Finissez

Il/elle Finir - Il/elle Finit Ils/elles Finir - Ils/elles Finissent

Some more -IR Verbs:

1. Finir 5. Accomplir 2. Choisir 6. Blanchir 3. Rougir

- RE VerbsThe red indicates the infinitive ending that is to be removed and the green indicates the present tense ending that must be added to conjugate the verb.

Je Vendre – Je vends Nous Vendre - Vendons

Tu Vendre – Tu vends Vous Vendre – Vendez

Il/elle Vendre - Il/elle Vend Ils/elles Vendre – Vendent

Other RE Verbs:

1. Perdre 3. Descendre 5. Rendre2. Vendre 4. Entendre 6. Attendre

For Il/elle do not add anything

Irregular VerbsThere are many irregular verbs. All irregular verbs conjugate differently.

Faire – to do; to make Etre – to be

Je fais- I Do/I make Je suis

Tu fais Tu es

Il/elle fait Il/Elle est

Nous faisons Nous sommes

Vous faites Vous êtes

Ils/elles font Ils/Elles sont

Verbs Cont.3. Aller – to go 4. Avoir – to have

Je vais- I’m going J’ai

Tu vas- Tu as

Il/elle va- Il/Elle a

Nous allons- Nous avons

Vous allez- Vous avez

Ils/Elles vont- Ils/Elles ont

Please compare these verbs carefully. They are frequently confused!

NegationIn negation there is only one rule, and that rule is that: one and only one verb goes in the ne … pas sandwich, and that is the first verb.

Negation and the futur proche Je vais manger du chocolat Je ne vais pas manger de chocolat.

Negation and le passé composéJ’ai mangé du chocolatJe n’ai pas mangé de chocolat.

Negation and the pronoun “EN” Est-ce qu’il y a du chocolat? Non, il n’y en a pas!

Negation and InversionA-t-il de belles soeurs?N’a-t-il pas de belles soeurs?

The ne…pas sandwich is shown in red, the verb is in blue.

Futur ProcheFutur Proche is formed by conjugating aller and following it with an infinitive (the – er, -ir, - re form of the verb). In French, aller means “to go” and is used, as in English, to show the immediate future

Je vais- I’m going InfinitiveTu vas- you’re going nagerIl/elle va- he or she is going finirNous allons- we are going vendreVous allez- you are going attendreIls/Elles vont- they are going courir

1. Je vais manger du chocolat- I am going to eat chocolate 2. Tu vas jouer au hockey?- You are going to play hockey?3. Je ne vais pas étudier. I am not going to study. 4. Vas-tu chanter au concert? – Are you going to sing at the concert?5. Non, je n’y vais pas chanter.

Double VerbsSometimes we want to use two verbs in a sentence. When we do, we only conjugate the first verb and the second verb stays in its infinitive

form (- er,- ir,- re form). This is the same as how the futur proche is formed, except a variety of verbs are used as the first (or auxiliary) verb.

Example:

1. J’aime manger. I like to eat. 2. Je sais nager. I know how to swim.3. Je veux finir. I want to finish4. Je dois attendre. I have to wait.5. Puis-je aller aux toilettes? Can I go to the washroom?6. Voulez-vous aller au concert? Do you want to go to the concert?7. Ils ne veulent pas faire leurs devoirs.They don’t want to do their

hmwk.8. J’ai voulu acheter cette robe! 9. Je n’ai pas dû finir mes devoirs ce soir!10. Je ne veux pas en manger. I don’t want to eat any!

Passé ComposéThe 1st part of the passé compose is the auxiliary verb. Most of the time this auxiliary verb is AVOIR. There are only a small number of verbs which use ETRE as an auxiliary verb: those are the Dr/Mrs. Vandertramp verbs. The 2nd part of the passé composé is the past participle. It is not a verb in the sense that it does not conjugate. The past participle is formed by changing the –er, -ir and -re infinitive endings, to é, i, and u.

Avoir:J’ai mangé Nous avons regardéTu as fini Vous avez rougiIl/elle a attendu Ils/elles ont vendu

ÊtreJe suis sortie Nous sommes sorti(e)sTu es sortie Vous êtes sorti(e)(es)(s)Il est sorti Ils sont sortisElle est sortie Elles sont sorties

Formation of the past participle

In the passé composé, the majority of past participles are regularly formed. The pattern is:

Manger mangéFinir finiVendre vendu

Examples with avoir:

1. J’ai mangé du poulet2. J’ai fini un biscuit

Examples with être:

3. Il est sorti4. Je suis tombé

Irregular Past Participles that still use AVOIR

Avoir eu – to have Pouvoir pu – to be able to Savoir su – to know somethingDevoir dû – to have to; must; ought Voir vu – to see Vouloir voulu - to wantFaire fait – to do, makeEcrire écrit – to writeDire dit – to say Lire lu – to read Connaître connu – to know someoneÊtre été – to be (I was, etc)*Mettre mis – to put*Prendre pris – to take *Ouvrir ouvert – to open

DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP VERBS (THESE TAKE ÊTRE) Devenir devenu – to becomeRevenir revenu – to come back; to come againMonter monté – to go up; to climbRester resté – to staySortir sorti – to go out; to exit; to come outVenir venu – to comeAller allé – to goNaitre né – to be bornDescendre descendu – to go down; to descendEntrer entré – to enter; to go in; to come inRetourner retourné – to return; go backTomber tombé – to fall (HINT : tumble)Rentrer rentré – to come back in ; re-enterArriver arrivé – to arriveMourir mort – to diePartir parti – to leave 

Y/EN1, 2 Rule:Rule 1:If there is only 1 verb, then the Y/EN goes BEFORE the 1st verb

Rule 2:If there are only 2 verbs, then the Y/EN goes BEFORE the 2nd verb (which is an infinitive, not a participle).

The pronoun Y replaces a prepositional phrase. That means that the prepositional phrase is removed and the pronoun Y is added to the sentence (see the 1, 2 rule above with respect to where it is placed). Prepositional phrases can begin with a variety of prepositions (À , dans, sur, etc), but this year we have focused on those that begin with À

À+ le= auÀ+l’= à l’À+ la= à laÀ+ les= aux

The prepositional phrase that will be replaced is shown in red and the verb(s) are shown in blue. Participles are in green.

1. On va à la bibliothéqueOn y va .

2.Elles marchent à l’école. Elles y marchent.

3. Je vais marcher au magasin et elle ne veut pas y marcher. Veux-tu y aller?

4. Ils ont fait leurs devoirs à la bibliothèque. J’y ai travaillé aussi.

Y/ENThe pronoun en is used to replace partitive phrases that begin with the following partitives:

De + le = duDe + la = de laDe + l’ = de l’De + les = des

The partitive phrase is shown in red and the verb is shown in blue.

1. Nous voulons de la salade.Nous en voulons.

2. Je veux avoir du café.Je veux en avoir.

3. Tu as dû faire des devoirs, n’est-ce pas? Oui, j’en ai dû faire.

Inversions

Note: When the inversion, means that there are two vowels together (a-il) , a “t” is added to separate them.

To form a question by inversion you switch the verb with the subject. The subject pronouns are: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles.

Example:1. Je vais manger- I am going to eat

Vais-je manger?- Am I going to eat ?

2. Tu vas jouer au hockey- you are going to play hockey.Vas-tu jouer au hockey- you are going to play hockey?

3. Il a une soeur. A-t-il une soeur? Does he have a sister?

4. N’ont-ils pas vendu leur maison? Didn’t they sell their house?

B.A.N.G.S. AdjectivesA,B,C, rule

Almost all adjectives go after the noun they describe,But the B.A.N.G.S. adjectives go before the noun‘Cause they do.

B.A.N.G.S. stands for beauty, age, number, goodness and size because the adjectives that go before the noun they describe can be grouped into those categories.

Beauty: Beau/laidÂge: nouveau/ancien/vieux/jeuneNumber: dernier/premier/1,2,3,4,5 etc.Goodness: bon/mauvaisSize: grand/gros/long/petit

In addition, many of these adjectives also have irregular feminine forms.

Masculine Feminine

Ancien Ancienne

Beau Belle

Bon Bonne

Dernier Dernière

Grand Grande

Gros Grosse

Jeune Jeune

Long Longue

Mauvais Mauvaise

Nouveau Nouvelle

Petit Petite

Vieux Vieille

B.A.N.G.S. Adjectives

Possessive AdjectivesMy Mon Ma Mes

Your (tu) Ton Ta TesHis/Her Son Sa SesOur Notre Notre NosYour (vous) Votre Votre VosTheir Leur Leur Leurs

It is important to remember that possessive adjectives, like all other adjectives in French, must agree with their subject. In the case of the possessives, that means they agree in gender and number with THE THING POSSESSED, not the possessor.

Voici Marie et son chien et regarde, voila Marc et son chien.This is Marie and her dog and look, there is Mark and his dog.

Marc est faché; Marie a pris sa chaise. Mark is angry; Marie took his chair.

In English to make an adjective into an adverb we add the suffix “LY”

Example: Beautiful + ly = Beautifully

In French, adverbs are also formed by adding a suffix to an adjective. However, in French, the suffix is added to the feminine form of the adjective. Regular masculine adjectives end in a consonant and the feminine adjective is formed by adding “E” . The adverb is formed by adding “MENT” to the feminine form:

Adverbs

Masculine Feminine Feminine Added With The Suffix

“MENT”

GrandLent

GrandeLente

GrandementLentement

Adverbs formed with “ment”

If the MASCULINE form of an adjective ENDS WITH A VOWEL (i or u), the adverb is created by adding  MENT to it. It is not necessary to an an “e” first.

MasculineAdjective

Ending in an I or u

Adverb Form

JoliAbsolu

Vrai

JolimentAbsolument

Vraiment

Comparatives and

Superlatives Simple Comparative Superlative Good Better Best

Bad Worse Worst

Smart Smarter Smartest

Beautiful More Beautiful Most Beautiful

Simple Adjectives:

1. Le garҫon intelligent- the boy is intelligent (A,B,C rule – the adjective goes after the noun)

2. La belle fille triste - the beautiful girl (A,B,C rule – the B.A.N.G.S. adjective is going before the noun)

There are 3 types of comparisons in French:

More ….. Than - Plus … que +

Less ….. Than – Moins …. Que - Equal /As …. As - Aussi …. Que =

Note the comparison is in red and the noun it modifies is in green.

1. Il est plus intelligent que son père. He is more intelligent than his father

2. Est-elle moins intelligente que sa mère?3. Nous ne sommes pas aussi curieux que nos ancêstres.

Comparative Adjectives

Meilleur que et Pire que

There are also two irregular comparisons:Meilleur … que better thanMeilleurs …. queMeilleure…. que better thanMeilleures …. que

Pire …. que worse than

Examples of the comparative:Note the comparison is in red and the noun it modifies is in green.

Est- il meilleur que son père comme chef?Elle est meilleure que sa soeur.Les maths sont pire que l’art pour moi.

There are only two forms of superlative adjectives:Le /la/les plus – the mostLe/la/ les moins – the least

There are also two irregular superlatives:Le meilleur/les meilleursLa meilleure/les meilleures

Le pireExamples of Superlatives:The superlative is in red, the noun it modifies is in green. Pay

attention to the placement of the superlative phrase.

1. Il est le garҫon le plus intelligent.2. Elle est la fille la plus bavarde de la classe.3. Ils sont les plus grands garçons de l’école mais ils ne sont

pas les meilleurs jouers de volleyball.

Superlative Adjectives