Dt.

30/01/2023 Maanye Patel

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Ultimate note-collection

The French language (known as ‘Francais’ in French) can be a difficult language to grasp and
excel in. That is the very reason many native French-speakers consider themselves lucky.

For us, who wish to use French as a second-language, learning it can be quite challenging, due to
its various rules & exceptions.

So here is a collection of all French concepts that could prove pretty functional for us to deepen
our understanding on this very particular language.

Abbreviation(s) : SW - stem-word (base word for conjugation)

©Copyright 2023 [Maanye R Patel]

Concept #1 Maanye Patel

 Verb conjugations

There are three types of verbs in French: ‘er’, ‘ir’, ‘re’ (based on endings).

Each verb has different endings for the word to be conjugated.

Subject pronoun ‘er’ ‘ir’ ‘re’

Je e is s
Tu es is s
Il/elle e it -
Nous ons issons ons
Vous ez issez ez
Ils/elles ent issent ent

Concept #2 Maanye Patel

 Passé composé

Passé composé is the English past-tense.

It refers to the actions done in the past and emphasizes on the results in the present.

You either use Avoir or Etre (Avoir is used in majority of the times).

The following are the endings.

er-ending Eliminate the ‘er’ & add an ‘e’

ir-ending Eliminate the ‘ir’ & add an ‘i’
re-ending Eliminate the ‘re’ & add an ‘u’

However, there are some notable exceptions (where Etre is used).

A - arriver -partir

D - descendre -monter

V - venir -aller

E - entrer -sortir

N - naitre -mourir

T - tomber -rester

Retourner (extra verb).

Concept #3 Maanye Patel

L’imparfait
Imparfait is the English simple-past tense.

It is used to tell stories and reports on the past actions.

To conjugate in Imparfait, take the ‘nous’-form-of-verb and eliminate the ‘ons’-

ending.

Add the following endings to it.

Subject pronoun Endings

Je ais
Tu ais
Il/elle ait
Nous ions
Vous iez
Ils/elles aient

Exceptions: -

L’imparfait has only one exception.

Etre - never use the ‘nous’-form of Etre to conjugate (i.e- nous sommes).

Use the word Etre itself [by eliminating the ‘re’ at the end (SW- Et)].
Concept #4 Maanye Patel

La différence entre passé composé et

l'imparfait
Many learners find it hard to decide between l’imparfait and passé composé when
talking about the past.

Although, both talk about past, they both are used in different contexts.

Here are some pointers which help deciding between the two.

Passé composé L’imparfait

answer the question- what happened?
express a past-action which happened
on a specific occasion
express a one-time past action
used when actions happened one after
the other
answer the question- what was
something like?
express a repeated action
talk about a past-action whose
beginning and end is unknown
used when actions happened
simultaneously

Concept #5 Maanye Patel

Le futur simple

Futur sample is the English ‘will’-future tense.

It is used to tell future intentions and talk about future plans.

Unlike other tenses, here in futur sample, you need to add the endings to the
infinitive verb without changing the verb’s form.

Subject pronouns Endings

Je ai
Tu as
Il/elle a
Nous ons
Vous ez
Ils/elles ent

There are certain exceptions with many different SWs:

1. Etre - ser 6. Savoir - saur

2. Avoir - aur 7. Pleuvoir - pleuvr
3. Aller - ir 8. Voir - verr
4. Faire - fer 9. Vouloir - voudr
5. Venir - viendr 10. Courir - courr.

Concept #6 Maanye Patel

Le futur proche

Futur proche corresponds to ‘…going-to’ in English.

It is used to talk about the near-future.

The aller conjugation is used to conjugate verbs in futur proche:

The IV is added after the conjugation.

Subject pronouns Conjugation

Je vais
Tu vas
Il/elle va
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils/elles vont

Here’s something you wished to read/hear from the very-beginning of your French
course:

There are absolutely no exceptions in futur proche.

Concept #7 Maanye Patel

Comparaisons

There are 3 ways to compare in French- with noun, verb or an adjective.

For now, only the comparisons with adjectives are focused.

Comparison Meaning
Plus more than
Aussi same as
Moins less than

Way to compare:

Plus/aussi/moins… que… (the rest of the sentence)