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.

JOUER FINIR ATTENDRE Je joue finis attends Tu joues finis attends Il/Elle/On joue finit attend Nous jouons finissons attendons Vous jouez finissez attendez Ils/Elles jouent finissent attendent

Can you think of the verbs you already know? With the help of your neighbours, write them in the appropriate column.

Irregular in the present -ER verbs -IR verbs -RE verbs tense

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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 joué”! 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 some irregular 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 “grande”, and for more than one girl, we would say “grandes”. 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. 2

Let’s take an example: “rester” (to stay). As this is an –ER verb, we already know the -er will turn into -é.

So, if a boy says “I stayed”, we would say “je suis resté”, but if a girl says “I stayed”, we would say “je suis restée”. And if a group of boys says it, we would say “nous sommes restés”, and a group of girls, “nous sommes restées”. Note: if we have a group of boys and girls, this will be in the masculine form (no -e).

Summary: to write in the perfect tense, we need to answer these questions: - is it an “être” or “avoir” verb? - if it is an “être” verb, who is the subject? (Masculine? Feminine? Plural?) Last but not least, never forget the accent on the -e for the –ER verbs: if you write “j’ai joue” instead of “j’ai joué”, you will not be awarded any mark!

Your turn now: do you remember “être” and “avoir” in the present tense?

ÊTRE Je...... Nous...... Tu...... Vous...... Il/Elle/On...... Ils/Elles......

AVOIR J’...... Nous......

Tu...... Vous......

Il/Elle/On...... Ils/Elles......

3 Now, an “avoir” verb in the perfect tense.TRAVAILLER

J’...... Nous......

Tu...... Vous......

Il/Elle/On...... Ils/Elles......

And an “être” verb.ALLER

Je (m)...... Vous (m.)………......

Je (f)...... Vous (f.)......

Tu (m)...... Nous (m)......

Tu (f)...... Nous (f)......

Il...... Ils......

Elle...... 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 Nous -ions

Tu -ais Vous -iez

Il/Elle/On -ait Ils/Elles -aient

4 So we have:

TRAVAILLER Je travaillais Nous travaillions

Tu travaillais Vous travailliez

Il/Elle/On travaillait Ils/Elles travaillaient

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 Nous -ons

Tu -as Vous -ez

Il/Elle/On -a Ils/Elles -ont

TRAVAILLER Je travaillerai Nous travaillerons Tu travailleras Vous travaillerez Il/Elle/On travaillera Ils/Elles travailleront

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.

5 Unfortunately, there are irregular verbs. These verbs will have their stem changed, but the ending will follow the same pattern as all the other verbs. You will have to refer to your vocabulary book to see which verbs are irregular, but here are some:

Être je serai Avoir j’aurai Faire je ferai

 The second future (“I am going to...”) is even simpler! All you need to do is to know how to do “ALLER” in the present tense. Do you remember it?

Je ...... Nous...... Tu...... Vous...... Il/Elle/On...... Ils/Elles......

I am going to play Je vais jouer

THE CONDITIONAL (e.g.: I would play)

This is the last tense we are going to have a look at and is very easy. You already know one by heart: I would like = je voudrais. But how do we get this? To form this tense, we take the stem of the simple future (if you remember, in most of the case, this is the whole infinitive), and add the endings of the imperfect tense. Let’s take two examples. First, a regular verb: “jouer”.

Future Imperfect Conditional: replace the tense ending ending Je jouerai -ais Je jouerais

Now, an irregular verb: “être” Future Imperfect Conditional: replace the tense ending ending Je serai -ais Je serais

6 Now, try to fill these tables:

Regular verbs

Imperfect Subject Verb Future tense Conditional ending Je Retourner

Tu Descendre

Il/Elle/On Rester

Nous Sortir

Vous Arriver

Ils/Elles Partir

Irregular verbs

Imperfect Subject Verb Future tense Conditional ending Je Aller

Tu Avoir

Il/Elle/On Faire

Nous Etre

Vous Aller

Ils/Elles Faire

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PRESENT TENSE (e.g.: I play) ...... 1 PERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I played) ...... 2 THE IMPERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I used to play) ...... 4 THE FUTURE TENSE (e.g.:I will play/I am going to play) ...... 5 THE CONDITIONAL (e.g.: I would play) ...... 6 REVIEW OF ALL TENSES ...... 7

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