Professional Documents
Culture Documents
VOL 1
John Beaver
Table of Contents
PRESENT TENSE
Why are verbs so important anyway? 1 à & de with the infinitive 28
ER verbs 2 Exercises - à, de and the infinitive 29
IR Verbs 3
There are some crazy IR verbs 4 Special constructions 30
RE verbs 5 Exercises - Special constructions 31
Exercises - Present tense 6
PRESENT TENSE
One of your main problems is remembering all the endings for verbs. English has only one
ending. Look at this verb. It’s the present tense of “to sing.”
I sing we sing
you sing you sing
he/she sings they sing
Only in the third person singular do we put a different ending in the present tense.
French is different. Because it derives from Latin more closely than English does, it has a
complete system for endings. You must learn all of them. What a pain!
Don’t panic! In order to help you, French divides verbs into groups called conjugations.
Once you learn the endings for one conjugation, you can do all the verbs in that
conjugation. Easy! Watch this!
ER verbs
Here’s the present tense of all -er verbs. That just means that the verb tells us
what is going on now.
ER verbs form the largest group of verbs in French. Now that you have learned the
endings, you know the present tense of any one of the thousands of -er verbs in French.
Well done!
ouvrir “To open” is a crazy verb. It suffers from an identity crisis because
it doesn’t know what it is. Although it looks like an -ir verb, it is
conjugated like an -er verb.
Like ouvrir are offrir (to offer), souffrir (to suffer), couvrir (to cover) découvrir (to
discover, uncover). They all have identity problems. Look after them nicely.
IR Verbs
Here is the present tense of -ir verbs, our next conjugation.
je fin - is
tu fin - is
As with -er verbs, -ent is not
il/elle/on fin - it pronounced. But you knew
nous fin - iss - ons that, didn’t you?
vous fin - iss - ez
ils/elles fin - iss - ent
A lot of English verbs ending in -ish (e.g. finish, punish, polish: finir, punir, polir) come
from French verbs in this conjugation. What do you think the verbs établir, abolir and
démolir mean?
noircir ________________
jaunir ________________
vieillir ________________
blanchir ________________
rajeunir ________________
refroidir ________________
rafraîchir ________________
je ser - s
tu ser - s
Don’t pronounce -ent!
il ser - t You knew that anyway,
nous serv - ons didn’t you?
vous serv - ez
ils/elles serv - ent
Can you see how this verb is conjugated? For the first three persons (singular) you remove
not just the - ir, but also the consonant in front of it before adding your endings. You
replace the consonant for the last three persons (plural).
dormir to sleep
sortir to go out
partir to leave
mentir to tell lies
sentir to feel, to smell
RE verbs
This is the last conjugation to learn. Yeah!
Here’s our example verb vendre - to sell (in English, what does a vending machine do?)
je vend - s
tu vend - s
il/elle vend
nous vend -ons
Don‛t pronounce
vous vend - ez
-ent!
ils/elles vend - ent
You knew that,
didn‛t you?
1. chanter (ils) _______________ 14. finir (tu) _____________________
2. vendre (nous) _______________ 15. écouter (ils) _________________
26
supermarché.
odeurs.
12. Nous (découvrir) _____________________ un joli petit café dans un village pittoresque.
Copyright © 2001 John Beaver 7
Published by Tralco Educational, Hamilton ON
ISBN: 9781554097029
Nom: Present tense crazy -er verbs
You mean I have to kNOW this!? VOL 1
Similarly, verbs that end in -ger, the nous form of the present tense is spelt
-geons. Here are examples:
nous changeons
nous mangeons No Problem!
nous nageons
nous encourageons
nous plongeons
nous rangeons
nous voyageons
b) Also, the verb acheter adds a grave accent if the next syllable
(which is the ending in the present tense) is not pronounced.
j‛achète
tu achètes
il achète No accent because
ils achètent the ending is pronounced.
Pronounce them. Can you hear
BUT the difference? Check with
your teacher.
nous achetons
vous achetez
je jette j‛ appelle
tu jettes tu appelles
il/elle jette il appelle
ils/elles jettent ils appellent
d) The same sort of thing happens with espérer, préférer and répéter.
In this case, the acute accent changes to a grave accent.
j‛ espère
tu répètes
ils préfèrent
That wasn‛t too
BUT nous espérons bad was it?
vous répétez
nous préférons (because the ending is pronounced.)
Here’s the simple rule for the verbs in b), c), d) and e).
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4. Elles (acheter) ____________ des bijoux, mais nous n’en (acheter) ____________
pas.
10
Irregular verbs
Take a look around you in class. Although you may share some
features in common with your classmates (UGH!), you are all
AARGH!!
quite different. You don’t always obey rules, right? You’re a
bunch of irregular verbs! Here are the ones that you just have to
learn by heart! They are very important! Just like you!
connaître (to know) être (to be) faire (to do, make)
je connais je suis je fais
tu connais tu es tu fais
il/elle connaît il/elle est il/elle fait
nous connaissons nous sommes nous faisons
vous connaissez vous êtes vous faites
ils/elles connaissent ils/elles sont ils/elles font
vouloir (to want) Like voir is also croire (je crois, nous croyons) which means “to
je veux believe” or “to think”.
tu veux
il/elle veut
nous voulons
! Like mettre are also permettre (to allow, permit), omettre
(omit) and promettre (promise).
vous voulez Like prendre are also surprendre, (to surprise) apprendre, (to
ils/elles veulent learn) and comprendre (to understand).
WAIT A MINUTE!
You have two different verbs meaning the same thing! How can savoir and connaître both
mean “to know”?
No problem! Just remember that connaître means to know in the sense of “to be
acquainted with” - i.e. people and places. Savoir on the other hand means to know by
using brainpower. You know answers, facts, information. Study these examples:
38
ses spectateurs.
nager ici?
de France demain.
bien la tête!
__________-ils.
Negatives
To make a verb in the present tense negative, simply put ne in front of the verb and
pas after it.
5. (Pouvoir)____________________ - tu m’aider?
23
Using the infinitive, we are given a great number of possibilities if we use it with another
verb.
futur proche
We can talk about the future, using aller + the infinitive of the verb
1. Il téléphone à Jacques.
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1. __________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
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Modal auxiliaries
These four verbs are very commonly used with the infinitive:
Note: savoir is often used to translate “can” when it means “to know how to.”
Nous savons faire cet exercice We can (know how to) do this exercise.
Je ne sais pas nager. Au secours! I can’t (don’t know how to) swim. Help!
15
Exercise J - Modal auxiliaries
Fill in the blanks using the example as a guide.
dangereux!
12. Nous (devoir essayer) ______________________________ d’arriver à l’heure.
13. Est-ce que vous (vouloir venir) ________________________ au cinéma avec nous?
14. Elle (ne pas pouvoir sortir) ____________________________ parce qu’elle est malade.
15. Est-ce que Papa (devoir chercher) ________________________ les billets pour le
concert?
1. ___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________________________
6. ___________________________________________________________________
7.___________________________________________________________________
8. ___________________________________________________________________
9. ___________________________________________________________________
10.___________________________________________________________________
Copyright © 2001 John Beaver 27
Published by Tralco Educational, Hamilton ON
ISBN: 9781554097029
Nom: Infinitive à and de
You mean I have to kNOW this!? VOL 1
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Copyright © 2001 John Beaver 29
Published by Tralco Educational, Hamilton ON
ISBN: 9781554097029
Nom:
Infinitive Special constructions
You mean I have to kNOW this!? VOL 1
Special constructions
Then there are some very important verbs that follow a certain pattern.
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Copyright © 2001 John Beaver 31
Published by Tralco Educational, Hamilton ON
ISBN: 9781554097029
Nom:
You mean I have to kNOW this!? VOL 1
The futur proche means “I am going to...” “he is going to...” etc., so it’s a kind of
future tense.
Now you are going to learn how to learn the Futur Simple. This is translated into English
as “will” or “shall.” It’s also very easy to form.
futur simple
With the regular verbs, take the INFINITIVE as your stem and add the following endings:
If you’re watching carefully, you have noticed that with -re verbs the final e drops off. It’s
not needed.
Irregular verbs
It can’t be that easy! There must be some irregulars!
Alright, there are irregulars. They are really important because they are used
for more than just the future. Learn them carefully.
aller ir-
avoir aur-
These must
devoir devr-
be learned!
être ser-
faire fer-
falloir il faudra
mourir mourr-
pouvoir pourr-
recevoir recevr-
savoir saur-
venir viendr-
devenir deviendr-
revenir reviendr-
voir verr-
vouloir voudr-
Well, remember the principle? If the next syllable is unpronounced there is a change in the
stem. In the case of the future stem, the next syllable is so weak as to be unpronounced
(make sure you don’t pronounce it!). In fact, it’s quite squashed out, so there is a stem
change.
BUT
What a pain!
no change with the following verbs:
1. Aujourd’hui je vais à Paris; demain, _______________________ à Rome.
4. Cet après-midi nous pouvons venir chez toi; ce soir ______________________ sortir.
8. Ce soir je sais faire cet exercice; demain matin _______________________ si j’ai raison!
10
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2. Qu’est ce que vous ferez à 5h.? (rentrer à la maison).
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7. Qu’est-ce que nous ferons de ces déchets? (jeter ces déchets dans la poubelle).
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1. Quand mon père (voir) ______________ mon bulletin, il (être) _____________ furieux.
2. Quand nous (aller) _____________à Paris, nous (visiter) _______________ les beaux
sites.
la main.
chambre.
une Porsche.
des cadeaux.
dans le lac.
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9
9. Que feras-tu pour ton prochain anniversaire?
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IMPERATIVE
Imperative
The Imperative is great. You can use it to order people around, and let’s face it, we all
enjoy doing that!
Well, it stands to reason that you only give orders to someone called “you,” so the
two principal forms you use are the tu and vous forms of the present tense. Just
take away the tu and the vous and hey presto! you have it.
...and so on. Now, if you are really observant, you will have noticed that the tu form of
the -er verbs is missing an -s. That’s OK. It is like that. I didn’t make a mistake!
There is another form of the imperative - the nous form. This is a kind of suggestion,
as we say in English “let’s...” This uses, you’ve guessed it, the nous form:
Most other verbs form their imperative like this. There are only two exceptions you
need to bother with at the moment. They are être and avoir:
Sois! Aie!
Soyons! Ayons!
Soyez! Ayez!
Copyright © 2001 John Beaver 39
Published by Tralco Educational, Hamilton ON
ISBN: 9781554097029
Nom: Negatives
You mean I have to kNOW this!? VOL 1 imperative
Negatives
To make an imperative negative, simply put ne in front and pas after the verb.
Exercise T - l‛impératif
Let’s order people around! Tell the following to do whatever is indicated.
Would you use tu or vous forms for them? 20
ton chien aller dans le jardin Va dans le jardin!
tes amis venir à la maison Venez à la maison!
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Copyright © 2001 John Beaver 41
Published by Tralco Educational, Hamilton ON
ISBN: 9781554097029
Nom:
You mean I have to kNOW this!? VOL 1
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Exercise V - l‛impératif
Here are some situations. What orders would you give?
situation: Tes amis veulent rester à la maison, mais il fait si beau dehors.
réponse: Ne restons pas dans la maison! Allons faire une promenade!
Here are some verbs you might like to use if you are short of ideas: acheter, aider, aller,
attendre, commander, passer, prêter, téléphoner, préparer
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Maman, _____________________________________________________________
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13. Tu as faim.
Maman, ______________________________________________________________
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15
In French the present tense is used in two situations where in English we use other tenses.
Let’s have a look at them.
a) venir de + infinitive
This means to “have just” done something. In English it looks like a past tense. In French
the present tense of venir is used to convey this meaning:
The action of working began in the past but it is still continuing in the present. Because it
is still going on in the present, French uses the present tense.
Depuis can also mean “for” and indicate the length of time an action has been continuing.
Il y a..que and voilà...que also illustrate a similar concept, although they deal specifically
with lengths of time. Remember to use the present tense!
Easier than I
thought!
12
b) & c) Again, do not translate directly. What tense do you need to translate the verbs
in italics?
12. I have been playing video games since 9:15 last night.
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ANSWERS 8. paient
9. essaie
Exercise A - Present tense
Exercise E - Irregular verbs in the present tense
1. chantent 14. finis
2. vendons 15. écoutent 1. pouvons 2. as
3. rendent 16. dormons 3. doivent 4. sont
5. disons 6. fait
4. punissez 17. sent
7. veulent 8. venez
5. sors 18. servent
6. donne 19. polissent 9. prenons 10. dites
7. parle 20. parlez 11. vont 12. peux
8. entendons 21. pars 13. faites 14. veut
9. sors 22. réponds 15. ouvrent 16. promettent
10. offrent 23. souffre 17. voulons 18. viens
11. dansent 24. punit 19. sais 20. fais
12. voles 25. choisis 21. met 22. disent
13. finissons 26. arrivons 23. découvrons 24. sommes
25. savons 26. dis
Exercise B - Present tense 27. mettez 28. peuvent
29. devez 30. souffre
1. cherchons perd 31. doit 32. permets
2. entend 33. font 34. prends
3. demandent abolissent 35. offrent 36. êtes
4. choisit 37. va 38. ont
5. entends
6. partent Exercise F - Irregular verbs
7. pars
8. rencontrent 1. font
9. trouve ouvre regarde 2. surprend
perd est ferme 3. Savez peut
10. démolissent 4. sais viennent
11. sert sentons 5. offrons ouvre découvre couvre
12. découvrons 6. comprenons
7. apprennent
Exercise C - Crazy -er verbs 8. promets
9. refaites
1. achètes 10. annonçons 10. dites mets
2. espèrent 11. préfère 11. devons disent
3. jettent 12. nageons
4. répétons 13. répètent Exercise G - Present tense
5. appelles 14. préfère
6. voyageons 15. préfères 1. ouvre
7. plongeons 16. espère 2. veulent
8. dirigeons 17. jettes 3. nageons
9. essaie 18. paies 4. choisissent
5. peux
Exercise D - Verbs with special problems 6. font
7. ne met pas
1. espèrent 8. punissent
2. préfère 9. prenons
3. jettent 10. faites
4. achètent achetons 11. apprend
5. annonçons 12. répare
6. changeons 13. préfère
7. nageons 14. oublient
Copyright © 2001 John Beaver
50 Published by Tralco Educational, Hamilton ON
ISBN: 9781554097029
You mean I have to kNOW this!? Vol 1 Nom: Answers
15. découvre 5. Marcel refuse d’aider son frère.
16. devons 6. Nous essayons d’améliorer nos notes.
17. dites 7. Marie propose de faire une petite excursion à la
18. faites campagne.
19. paie 8. Notre prof menace de donner beaucoup de
20. connais crois devoirs aujourd’hui.
21. voient 9. Elles invitent leurs amis à venir chez elles.
22. comprends 10. La jeune fille oublie d’obtenir la permission de
23. sentons brûle ses parents.
Exercise H - futur proche Exercise M - Special contructions
section b) & c)