a definitive guide to french verbs

1

A Definitive Guide to

French Verbs

2

Contents

Preface........................................................................4

The Basics of Verbs

What is a verb?...........................................................6

Infinitives....................................................................8

Conjugation..............................................................10

Tense and Aspect......................................................12

Tenses

The Present Tense....................................................14

The Present Participle...............................................15

The Perfect Tense.....................................................18

The Auxiliary Verb....................................................19

Reflexive Verbs.........................................................20

The Past Participle....................................................21

The Near Future Tense.............................................25

The Imperfect Tense.................................................27

The Future Tense......................................................30

The Pluperfect Tense................................................32

The Future Perfect Tense.........................................35

The Past Historic Tense............................................39

Moods

What is a Mood?......................................................42

The Conditional Mood..............................................43

The Imperative Mood...............................................48

The Subjunctive Mood..............................................52

Third Person Commands with the Subjunctive........56

The Perfect Subjunctive............................................57

3

Negatives..............................................................................60

Glossary.................................................................................62

Irregular Verb Tables............................................................70

4

Preface

Verbs play a vital role in grammar, in sentences, in language

and understanding them is key to understanding a language.

We learn from a young age that verbs are doing words,

action words or some other naïve and ambiguous definition

that deprives verbs of the credit that they truly deserve -

they are in fact much more important than that and I hope

that, in learning them in great depth, you come to appreciate

their true responsibility.

You may not yet realise how complex verbs can become,

particularly if you have never studied a language in so much

linguistic depth. It may seem strange to have to study in such

detail something you do unconsciously in your mother

tongue but my aim is to simplify the world of verbs by

stripping them back to the very basics and taking you on a

journey that will allow you to eventually structure your own

sentences with ease.

Linguistic terminology can be confusing for some and it may

well be the reason why many people stop learning languages

altogether. But avoiding the technical terms can be even

more confusing than learning them and I believe that

labelling helps us to understand the construction of language

and eventually helps us to think independently when building

sentences. Do not fret. Any such terminology is written in

bold and is explained fully in the glossary at the back of this

book.

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Take your time when learning French and make sure that you

understand everything you have learnt before you move on.

Naturally, the topics in this book gradually become more

complex and, if you do not understand the previous section,

you will find it very difficult to understand the next. This book

is not designed to be read in a day and it is important to

spend time understanding and mastering each section before

tackling a new aspect of verbs.

Most of all, enjoy language learning and do not let it become

a source of stress. Re-read anything you do not understand

and practise as much as you can in order to become as

proficient in the language as possible.

Happy learning!

6

What is a verb?

Before you even consider studying verbs in a foreign

language, you must understand them in your own. We are

told at an early age that verbs are doing words, action words

or something of the sort. This is true at a very basic level, but

they are much more important than this. Verbs are the

chassis of a sentence1 and embedded within them is a

plethora of meanings - when the action takes place (tense),

how it takes place (sprint and run both have similar meanings,

but have different connotations), who is completing the

action (subject), who is receiving the action (object) -

ultimately giving them the most powerful role in meaning.

But before we dive into the unknown, let's stick with what

we know and consider that primary school definition: doing

words. Play, jump, laugh, sit, fall, break, stop, look, grab,

kill...all of them expressing some kind of action; something

which can be done. In the world of linguistics, these are

known as dynamic verbs.

What your teachers didn't tell you is that some verbs express

more abstract concepts; ideas, thoughts, emotions and

other less physical actions: think, know, like, hate, love,

believe, wish, hope, dream, envy...what linguists call stative

verbs. It's not so important to be able to differentiate

between stative and dynamic verbs, but you must

understand that they are more than just physical actions and

1 The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker

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they therefore exceed the old definition of doing words.

Verbs in fact refer to an action or a state and provide the

bulk of meaning in a sentence - give them the credit they

deserve.

Finally, try not to make assumptions about French grammar

based on that of English. Since they both have different roots,

they are bound to differ in some areas and you must not

assume that English is the basis upon which all languages

work. French has its own way of saying things and you will

have to accept this if you wish to go far in language learning.

8

Infinitives

Verbs in all inflected languages have many different forms

which give us more information about the action the word

expresses.

For example, the verb in

John is playing football and

John played football...

...is the same: to play. However, it appears in different forms

to give us information about the time of the action. The

former is playing indicates that the action is currently

happening whereas the latter played tells us that the action

was completed in the past and is now no longer happening.

Changing verbs in this way is known as conjugation and you

will be learning how to conjugate verbs in many different

ways.

However, for a verb to be conjugated, it must have a root

form onto which we can add suffixes, prefixes and other

elements to alter the meaning. This neutral form of a verb is

known as the infinitive and is the form usually found in

dictionaries. In English, we can recognise an infinitive by the

word to which comes before the verb: to play, to jump, to

laugh, to sit, to fall, to think, to know, to like, to hate, to love.

Here, we are given no indication of who is doing the action,

when it happens or who is the recipient of the action, hence

its use as a neutral form. As a result, looking up the word

9

played in a dictionary is futile because it is a conjugated form

of the word to play and is not a word in its own right. This

can make looking words in any language tricky since some

conjugations do not resemble their infinitive: we know that

ate is the perfect tense form of to eat but it is unlikely that

you will find ate in a dictionary on its own. This is known as

an irregular verb and we will encounter similar situations in

French, but learning about conjugation will help you to

combat this.

French infinitives are very different as they are made up of

just one word. It is the way the verb ends that provides

meaning in French and, for infinitives, there are three

possible endings:

-er jouer to play, aller to go, arriver to arrive

-ir finir to finish, partir to leave, mourir to die

-re attendre to wait, prendre to take, boire to drink

Each group of infinitives has its own set of conjugations,

although there are some similarities that make memorising

them that little bit easier.

-er verbs (or first conjugation verbs) are by far the most

common, followed by -ir (second conjugation) and, finally

the least common of all -re (third conjugation).

This make take some time to get your head around, but it

isn't nearly as confusing as it may initially appear.

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Conjugation

French, like English, is known as a non pro-drop language,

meaning that it relies on pronouns to tell us who is doing the

action. Saying play football in English gives us no indication as

to who is playing (other than it is not he, she or it since that

would be plays) and sounds more like a command. Likewise,

saying joue au foot in French is ambiguous as the person

doing the action could be I, he, she or it. Subject pronouns

are therefore very important and you must be familiar with

them in order to conjugate verbs successfully.

Je first person singular

I

Tu second person singular

You when talking about/to a friend,

relative or younger person

Il / elle / on third person singular

He / she / it / one on means one or we in an informal

manner Nous

first person plural We

this is more formal than on

Vous second person plural

You when talking about/to an older

person, someone you do not know well, an authoritative figure or a

group of people.

Ils /elles third person plural

They ils is used for a group of men or a mixed group whereas elles is used

for a group of women only.

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Il, elle and on are grouped together because the conjugation

of each one is always the same. The same goes for ils and

elles.

Like English, the French subject pronoun comes before the

verb in affirmative statements:

he plays

il joue

we finish

nous finissons

Conjugation of regular verbs is extremely simple since all we

have to do is remove the infinitive ending and add the

endings that correspond to the subject and the tense.

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Tense and Aspect

The tense of a verb tells us when an action takes, took or will

take place. There are three basic tenses:

Past Present Future

happened happens will happen

Aspect is a little more difficult to grasp as it indicates the

whether the action is completed or in progress. The two

basic forms of aspect are:

Perfective Progressive

completed in progress

It is not important that you understand the different aspects

of a verb and you are not expected to be able to analyse the

differences in meaning, but by combing both tense and

aspect, we form six basic tenses that you will learn from this

book:

Progressive Perfective

Present I play Present Tense

I played Perfect Tense

Past I was playing Imperfect Tense

I had played Pluperfect Tense

Future I will play Future Tense

I will have played Future Perfect Tense

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TENSES

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The Present Tense

The present tense expresses an action that happens on a

regular basis, does happen or is currently happening:

I play

I do play

I am playing

In French, all three of these sentences are expressed in

exactly the same way.

The French present tense is made up of just two parts: the

subject and the verb. So, when it comes to translating I am

playing is important that you do not try to translate each

word individually. You should recognise this as the present

tense and conjugate as follows:

1. Remove the -er, -ir or -re from the infinitive.

2. Add the appropriate, present tense ending:

* the -ent at the end of a third person, plural verb is not pronounced.

-er -ir -re

je -e -is -s

tu -es -is -s

il / elle / on -e -it -

nous -ons -issons -ons

vous -ez -issez -ez

ils / elles -ent* -issent* -ent*

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OK, so you've got to learn 18 different verb endings, but you

will notice patterns that will make learning them much

simpler.

Examples

She eats / She is eating / She does eat

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. remove the infinitive ending: manger

2. add the appropriate ending for elle - mange

3. she eats = elle mange

We finish / We are finishing / We do finish

we = nous

to finish = finir

1. remove the infinitive ending: finir

2. add the appropriate ending for nous: -finissons

3. we finish = nous finissons

They wait / They are waiting / They do wait

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. remove the infinitive ending: attendre

2. add the appropriate ending for il - attendent

3. They wait = ils attendent

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The Present Participle

As you should already know, French does not differentiate

between I am playing (the gerund) and I play; both are

expressed using the present tense that you learnt in the

previous section. However, French verbs do have an

equivalent -ing form and, although it is not used as

frequently as in English, it is certainly worth learning.

To form the present participle for any verb conjugation:

1. Take the nous form of the verb in the present tense

2. Remove the -ons

3. Add -ant

This works for most verbs, except the following.

être to be étant

avoir to have ayant

savoir to know sachant

The French present participle cannot be used as often as it is

in English. The following usage, for example, is wrong:

Je suis jouant au foot

I am playing football

We simply cannot translate the gerund in this way and must

use the regular, present tense to say something like this.

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Another mistake one might make is assuming that we can say:

J'aime jouant au foot

I like playing football

To translate this, we would use the infinitive:

J'aime jouer au foot

I like to play football

So when can we use the present participle?

1. Expressing an action that is/was happening while another

action take/took place:

Entendant le bruit, j'ai fermé la fenêtre

Hearing the noise, I closed the window

Un homme, fumant une cigarette, est entré le bureau

A man smoking a cigarette entered the office

2. Used with en, the present participle can mean by or while:

En lisant ce livre tu deviendras très intelligent

By reading this book you will become very intelligent

Luc s'est fait mal en mangeant son dîner

Luc hurt himself while eating his dinner

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The Perfect Tense

The perfect tense is used to express an action that happened,

has happened or did happen:

I played

I have played

I did play

As with the present, all of these are expressed in the same

way in French.

The French perfect tense is made up of three parts: the

subject the auxiliary verb and the past participle. The

auxiliary verb the equivalent of the word have in I have

played and is there only to tell us that we are talking about

the past.

In French, the auxiliary verb can either be avoir to have or

être to be. We will learn how to choose the auxiliary verb

later, but first it is important to know the conjugation for

avoir and être which are both irregular:

avoir - to have

j'ai

tu as

il/elle/on a

nous avons

vous avez

ils/elles ont

être - to be

je suis

tu es

il/elle/on est

nous sommes

vous êtes

ils/elles sont

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The Auxiliary Verb

Most verbs use avoir as their auxiliary verb. There are only 16

verbs which use être, plus all reflexive verbs (page 19).

A common way of remembering the 16 être verbs is DR. &

MRS VANDERTRAMP:

Descendre to go down/descend descendu

Revenir to come back revenu

Mourir to die mort

Rentrer to come in rentré

Sortir to go out sorti

Venir to come venu

Arriver to arrive arrivé

Naître to be born né

Devenir to become devenu

Entrer to enter entré

Retourner to return retourné

Tomber to fall tombé

Rester to stay resté

Aller to go allé

Monter to go up monté

Partir to leave parti

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Reflexive Verbs

A reflexive verb is a verb in which the doer of the action (the

subject) is also the receiver of the action (the object). In

English, reflexive verbs use reflexive pronouns such as myself,

himself, themselves etc.

In French, reflexive pronouns precede the verb and are as

follows:

Infinitive - se

je me nous nous

tu te vous vous

il/elle/on se ils/elles se

se, me and te all become s', m' and t' when they come before

a vowel or silent h.

Be careful, some verbs which are reflexive in French are not

necessarily reflexive in English, and vice versa:

se reposer to relax

se brosser to brush (hair, teeth)

se blesser to hurt/injure oneself

se laver to wash oneself

se baigner to bathe

s'attendre to expect

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The Past Participle

The past participle is the equivalent of played in I have

played and is the verb the provides the meaning. In English,

past participles usually end with -ed.

In French, regular past participles are formed by removing

the infinitive ending and adding:

-é for -er verbs joué played, mangé eaten

-i for -ir verbs fini finished, parti left

-u for -re verbs attendu waited, descendu descended

When the verb takes être, the past participle must agree

with the subject.

If one man/masculine noun has done the action, the past

participle remains unchanged.

If more than one man/masculine noun has done the action,

add an -s to the end of the past participle.

If one woman/feminine noun has done the action, add an -e

to the end of the past participle.

If more than one women/feminine noun has done the action,

add -es to the end of the past participle.

Some past participles are irregular and can be found in the

verb tables at the back of this book.

22

Now it is simply a case of putting the subject, the auxiliary

verb and the past participle together.

Examples

She ate / She has eaten / She did eat

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the present tense

with elle is elle a

2. manger is regular, so its past participle is mangé

3. she ate = elle a mangé

We finished / We have finished / We did finish

we = nous

to finish = finir

1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the present tense

with nous is nous avons

2. finir is regular, so its past participle is fini

3. we finished = nous avons fini

23

They waited / They have waited / They did wait

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the present

tense with ils is ils ont

2. attendre is regular, so its past participle is attendu

3. they waited = ils ont attendu

You left / You have left / You did leave

you = vous

to leave = partir

1. partir takes être, which conjugated in the present tense

with vous is vous êtes

2. partir is usually irregular, but its past participle is as we

would expect: parti

3. Because partir takes être, the past participle must agree

with the subject. The subject here is plural, so we must add

an -s to the past participle - partis

4. You left = vous êtes partis

She got dressed / She has got dressed / She did get dressed

she = elle

to get dressed = s'habiller

1. s'habiller is reflexive and therefore takes être, which

conjugated in the present tense with elle is elle s'est

2. s'habiller is regular so its past participle is habillé

24

3. Because s'habiller takes être, the past participle must

agree with the subject. The subject here is feminine, so we

must add an -e to the past participle - habillée

4. She got dressed = elle s'est habillée

25

The Near Future

The near future tense is used to express an action that is

going to happen:

I am going to play

This is by far the easiest way of expressing the future as it

does not rely upon a list of endings like the other tenses.

Instead, it is constructed in much the same way as English:

I am going to play

subject present tense of to go infinitive

je vais jouer

In order to construct this tense, it is important to familiarise

yourself with the conjugation of the irregular verb aller to go:

Once you have the present tense of aller (the I am going part)

all you need is an infinitive.

aller - to go

je vais

tu vas

il/elle/on va

nous allons

vous allez

ils/elles vont

26

Examples

She is going to eat

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. Present tense of aller in the elle form - elle va

2. Infinitive to eat - manger

3. She is going to eat = elle va manger

We are going to finish

We = nous

to finish = finir

1. Present tense of aller in the nous form - nous allons

2. Infinitive to finish - finir

3. We are going to finish = nous allons finir

They are going to wait

They = ils

to wait = attendre

1. Present tense of aller in the ils form - ils vont

2. Infinitive to wait - attendre

3. They are going to wait = ils vont attendre

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The Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is used to express an action that was

happening while another action was taking place or that used

to happen:

I was playing

I used to play

Once again, both of the sentences above are expressed in the

same way in French and you should not try to translate them

word-for-word. The imperfect tense in French is made up of

just two parts: the subject and the verb.

To conjugate:

1. Start by taking the nous form of the verb which almost

always ends with -ons.

2. Remove the -ons - this is the imperfect stem

3. Add the imperfect ending which relates to the subject

Imperfect Ending

je -ais

tu -ais

il / elle / on -ait

nous -ions

vous -iez

ils / elles -aient

28

This method works for all verbs, regular or irregular, except

for être whose nous form (sommes) does not end with -ons.

This is no problem. The imperfect stem for être is ét- and all

endings are added as usual.

Examples

She used to eat / she was eating

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. nous form of the verb which slightly irregular for manger -

mangeons

2. remove the -ons - mangeons

3. Add the appropriate ending for elle - mangeait

4. She used to eat = elle mangeait

We used to finish / we were finishing

We = nous

to finish = finir

1. nous form of the verb finir - finissons

2. remove the -ons - finissons

3. Add the appropriate ending for nous - finissions

4. We used to finish = nous finissions

29

They used to wait / they were waiting

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. nous form of the verb attendre - attendons

2. remove the -ons - attendons

3. Add the appropriate ending for ils - attendaient

4. They used to wait = ils attendaient

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The Future Tense

We already know how to express the near future, but this

restricts us to actions that are going to happen soon. The

future tense is used to express an action that will happen:

I will play

The future in English is made of three parts. In French, there

are just two: the subject and the verb.

Regular verbs use the infinitive as their future stem and then

add endings to indicate the future. With -re verbs, remove

the -e before adding the ending.

Future Ending

je -ai

tu -as

il / elle / on -a

nous -ons

vous -ez

ils / elles -ont

Some future stems are irregular and you can see these in the

verb tables at the back of this book.

31

Examples

She will eat

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. infinitive form of the verb - manger

2. add the appropriate future ending for elle - mangera

3. she will eat = elle mangera

We will finish

we = nous

to finish = finir

1. infinitive form of the verb - finir

2. add the appropriate future ending for nous - finirons

3. we will finish = nous finirons

They will wait

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. infinitive form of the verb - attendre

2. remove the -e - attendr

3. add the appropriate future ending for ils - attendront

4. they will wait = ils attendront

32

The Pluperfect Tense

The pluperfect tense is used to express an action that had

happened: I had played

The pluperfect tense works in much the same way as the

perfect tense. It combines the subject, an auxiliary verb and a

past participle. The only difference between the pluperfect

and the perfect tense is the tense of the auxiliary verb. For

the pluperfect, the auxiliary verb must be in the imperfect

tense.

The choice of auxiliary verb is the same as it would be in the

past and the rules of agreement remain.

Examples

She had eaten

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the imperfect

tense with elle is elle avait


3. she had eaten = elle avait mangé

33

We had finished

we = nous

to finish = finir

1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the imperfect tense

with nous is nous avions


3. we had finished = nous avions fini

They waited / They have waited / They did wait

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the imperfect

tense with ils is ils avaient


3. they had waited = ils avaient attendu

You had left

you = vous

to leave = partir

1. partir takes être, which conjugated in the impefect tense

with vous is vous étiez


would expect: parti




34

4. You had left = vous étiez partis

She had got dressed

she = elle



conjugated in the imperfect tense with elle is elle s'était





4. She had got dressed = elle s'était habillée

35

The Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is used to express an action that will

have happened:

I will have played

The future perfect tense is another tense that works in much

the same way as the past. It combines the subject, an

auxiliary verb and a past participle. The only difference

between the future perfect and the perfect tense is the tense

of the auxiliary verb. For the future perfect, the auxiliary verb

must be in the future tense.

The choice of auxiliary verb is the same as it would be in the

past and the rules of agreement remain. It is therefore

important to familiarise yourself with the future conjugations

for avoir and être which are irregular:

avoir - to have

j'aurai

tu auras

il/elle/on aura

nous aurons

vous aurez

ils/elles auront

être - to be

je serai

tu seras

il/elle/on sera

nous serons

vous serez

ils/elles seront

36

Examples

She will have eaten

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the future tense

with elle is elle aura


3. she will have eaten = elle aura mangé

We will have finished

we = nous

to finish = finir

1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the future tense with

nous is nous aurons


3. we will have finished = nous aurons fini

37

They will have waited

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the future tense

with ils is ils auront


3. they will have waited = ils auront attendu

You will have left

you = vous

to leave = partir

1. partir takes être, which conjugated in the future tense with

vous is vous aurez


would expect: parti




4. you will have left = vous aurez partis

She will have got dressed

she = elle



conjugated in the future tense with elle is elle se sera


38




4. she will have got dressed = elle se sera habillée

39

The Past Historic Tense

The past historic is a literary tense used to express actions

that happened in the past, just like the perfect tense. As you

will only ever read it in novels, poetry and possibly

newspapers, it is not important to study it in depth and you

only need to be able to recognise it.

Conjugation in the past historic is as simple as removing the

infinitive ending and adding the appropriate past historic

ending. -er verbs have their own set of endings while -ir and -

re verbs share the same past historic prefixes:

Past Historic Ending for -er verbs

je -ai

tu -as

il / elle / on -a

nous -âmes

vous -âtes

ils / elles -èrent

Past Historic Ending for -ir/re verbs

je -is

tu -is

il / elle / on -it

nous -îmes

vous -îtes

ils / elles -irent

40

Of course, there are irregular forms of the past historic, many

of which can be found in the verb tables at the back of this

book.

The past historic is very much a dying tense in French and

being able to conjugate it is not necessary. Regular verbs are

easily recognisable without learning the lists of endings and,

as long as you can recognise the few irregular forms, you will

be able to read the past historic with ease.

41

MOODS

42

What is a mood?

So far, we have been learning to conjugate verbs in the

indicative mood, the mood of certainty, fact or question.

Other moods exist to give commands (imperative), express

emotions, doubt, wishes and uncertainty (subjunctive) and

express an action which would or could happen (conditional).

The conditional is often considered more of a tense than a

mood as it conjugates by combining two other tenses, but it

is technically a mood; the form of the verb that shows the

mode or manner in which a thought is expressed2.

Do not be intimidated by the concept of moods; for the most

part, you'll simply learn when to use each one and never

have to think about it. Listen, read and speak enough and

they will eventually all come naturally without the need to

think about the terminology.

2 http://www.dailywritingtips.com/english-grammar-101-verb-mood/

43

The Conditional Mood

The conditional mood is used to express an action that would

or could take place, if the conditions were correct:

I would play

I would have played

The reason it is a mood and not a tense is that it can be

expressed in both the present (the first of the two sentences

above) and the perfect tense (the second sentence).

However, many people consider it a tense because it is

simply a combination of the future tense and the imperfect

tense.

To conjugate in the present tense:

1. Take the future stem (usually the infinitive)

2. Add the conditional endings

Examples

She would eat

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. infinitive form of the verb - manger

2. add the appropriate imperfect ending for elle - mangerait

3. she would eat = elle mangerait

44

We would finish

We = nous

to finish = finir

1. infinitive form of the verb - finir

2. add the appropriate imperfect ending for nous - finirions

3. we would finish = nous finirions

They would wait

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. infinitive form of the verb - attendre

2. remove the -e - attendr

3. add the appropriate imperfect ending for ils - attendraient

4. they would wait = ils attendraient

45

To conjugate the conditional in the perfect tense, as with the

past, pluperfect and future perfect, we use the auxiliary verb

and past participle. Rather predictably, the auxiliary verb for

the conditional perfect must be in the conditional mood.

Examples

She would have eaten

she = elle

to eat = manger

1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the conditional

mood with elle is elle aurait


3. she would have eaten = elle aurait mangé

We would have finished

we = nous

to finish = finir

1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the conditional mood

with nous is nous aurions


3. we would have finished = nous aurions fini

46

They would have waited

they = ils

to wait = attendre

1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the conditional

mood with ils is ils auraient


3. they would have waited = ils auraient attendu

You would have left

you = vous

to leave = partir

1. partir takes être, which conjugated in the conditional

mood with vous is vous auriez


would expect: parti




4. You would have left = vous auriez partis

She will have got dressed

she = elle



conjugated in the conditional mood with elle is elle se serait


47




4. She will have got dressed = elle se serait habillée

48

The Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is used to give commands:

Play!

Let's play!

Since we can only give commands to other people, the

imperative mood only exists for the second person singular

(tu), second person plural (vous) and first person plural

(nous).

Regular conjugation is really simple as it is usually the same

as the present indicative, minus the subject pronoun.

The only exception is that the -s is removed from the tu form

of -er verbs.

With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun is removed and

the equivalent emphatic pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous,

vous, eux, elles) must follow the verb with a hyphen.

Examples

Eat! (to a friend)

to eat = manger

1. present tense indicative, tu form of manger - tu manges

2. remove the subject pronoun - tu manges

3. manger is an -er verb, so we must remove the -s - manges

4. eat! = mange

49

Let's finish!

we = nous

to finish = finir

1. present indicative, nous form of finir - nous finissons

2. remove the subject pronoun - nous finissons

3. Let's finish! = finissons!

Wait! (to a group of people)

you = vous

to wait = attendre

1. present indicative, vous form of attendre - vous attendez

2. remove the subject pronoun - vous attendez

3. Wait! = attendez!

Hurry up! (to a friend)

you = tu, emphatic form = toi

to hurry = se dépêcher

1. present indicative, tu form of se dépêcher - tu te dépêches

2. remove the subject + reflexive pronouns - tu te dépêches

3. as it is an -er verb, remove the final -s - dépêches

4. add the emphatic pronoun to the end - dépêche-toi

5. Hurry up! = dépêche-toi!

50

Word order with the imperative can become confusing when

we start to add pronouns.

For negative commands (telling somebody not to do

something), pronouns come before the verb and follow the

standard pronoun order, as shown by the table below:

Ne le fais pas! Don't do it!

Ne le lui donnez pas! Don't give it to him!

Ne me le donne pas! Don't give it to me!

me

te

se

nous

vous

le

la

les

lui

leur y en

51

Affirmative commands (telling somebody to do something)

are not so simple. Firstly, all pronouns are hyphenated after

the verb in the following order:

Mange-le! Eat it!

Tuez-les! Kill them!

me and se become moi and toi respectively, unless they are

followed by y or en, in which case they become m' and s'.

Ecoutez-moi! Listen to me!

Va-t'en! Go away!

The final -s is not dropped from the tu form when followed

by y or en.

Penses-y Think about it

Vas-y Go (away)!

Irregular imperatives can be found in the verb tables at the

back of this book but are often the same as their subjunctive

form...

le

la

les

moi / m'

toi / t'

lui

nous

vous

leur

y en

52

The Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive is rather a complex mood as it can be used in

so many situations. Generally, it is used to express a will,

wish, necessity or doubt although there are many other

situations in which it can be used.

The subjunctive is dying out in English, although its use with

the verb to be remains common:

I wish (that) I were younger (as opposed to I wish I am younger)

It is important that you be there (as opposed to It is important that you are there)

In French, the subjunctive only follows the word que. That is

not to say that it always follows que, but cannot be used

unless que appears before it.

Take the phrase: It is important that you be here

We are clearly expressing a necessity, which indicates that

we need to use the subjunctive. The word que is the

equivalent of the English that in this case. Therefore:

Il est important que tu sois ici

...is how to say it is important that you be here.

53

To conjugate regular verbs:

1. Take the ils/elles form of the verb

2. Remove the -ent

3. Add the subjunctive ending

Most of the time, the subjunctive will look no different to the

indicative because the endings for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils and

elles are the same.

Some subjunctive forms are irregular and can be found in the

irregular verb tables at the back of this book.

NB. There is no future subjunctive. When phrases are used in

the future tense, the present subjunctive is used.

Here are some phrases that the subjunctive must follow:

Subjunctive Ending

je -e

tu -es

il / elle / on -e

nous -ions

vous -iez

ils / elles -ent

54

afin que... so that...

pourvu que... provided that...

la/le seul(e)...que... the only...that...

à condition que... provided that...

il faut que... it is important that...

il est important que... it is important that..

vouloir que... to want

avant que...* before...

douter que... to doubt that...

avoir besoin que... to need

il est possible que... it is possible that..

ne pas penser que... to not think that...

être content que... to be happy that

à moins que...* unless...

bien que... although

craindre que...* to fear that

There are indeed many other phrases that require the

subjunctive and you will certainly come across them if you

read and listen to enough French.

*These phrases also require a ne explétif which comes

before the verb:

Partons avant qu'il n'arrive! Let's leave before he arrives!

Je ne veux pas le faire à moins que tu ne le fasses avec moi.

I don't want to do it unless you do it with me.

55

Examples

It is important that she eats

she = elle

to eat = manger

1.take the ils/elles form of manger - mangent

2. remove the -ent -mangent

3. add the subjunctive ending for elle - mange

4. it is important that she eats - il est important qu'elle

mange

We must / it is important that we finish

we = nous

to finish = finir

1.take the ils/elles form of finir- finissent

2. remove the -ent -finissent

3. add the subjunctive ending for nous - finissions

4. we must finish - il faut qu'on finissions

The only person who waits

The only person = La seule personne

to wait = attendre

1.take the ils/elles form of attendre - attendent

2. remove the -ent -attendent

3. add the subjunctive ending for il/elle/on - attende

4. the only person who waits - la seule personne qui attende

56

Third Person Commands with the Subjunctive

The subjunctive is also used to express a sort of 'command' in

the third person, such as:

Let him do it!

God save the Queen

In French, this is simply the word que, followed by the

subject and the verb in the subjunctive:

Qu'il le fasse! Let him do it!

Que Dieu sauve la Reine God Save the Queen

57

The Perfect Subjunctive

The perfect subjunctive is used in the same way as the

present subjunctive, only in the perfect tense. It works in

exactly the same way as the perfect tense, only the auxiliary

verb must be in the subjunctive. It is therefore important

that you are familiar with the subjunctive conjugations for

avoir and être:

The rules for auxiliary verbs and agreement remain the same

as those for the perfect tense and it is only the auxiliary verb

that will change.

avoir - to have

j'aie

tu aies

il/elle/on ait

nous ayons

vous ayez

ils/elles aient

être - to be

je sois

tu sois

il/elle/on soit

nous soyons

vous soyez

ils/elles soient

58

Examples

I am happy that you ate

you = vous

to eat = manger

1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the subjunctive

mood with vous is vous ayez


3. I am happy that you ate = je suis content(e) que vous ayez

mangé

I doubt that he has finished

I = je

he = il

to finish = finir

1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the subjunctive mood

with il is il ait


3. I doubt that he has finished = Je doute qu'il ait fini

59

Although I cried, I was happy

I = je

to cry = pleurer

1. pleurer takes avoir, which conjugated in the subjunctive

mood with je is j'aie

2. pleurer is regular, so its past participle is pleuré

3. Although I cried, I was happy = bien que j'aie pleuré, j'étais

content

I am afraid that he hasn't arrived

I = je

he = il

to arrive = arriver

1. arriver takes être, which conjugated in the subjunctive

mood with il is il soit

2. arriver is regular, so its past participle is arrivé

3. I am afraid that he hasn't arrived = j'ai peur qu'il ne soit

pas arrivé

60

Negatives

By now, you should be an expert in French verbs...in the

affirmative at least! To make a sentence negative, the verb

must be sandwiched by two negative parts

ne verb negative word

Ne always appears in negative phrases (except in spoken

French in which it can be omitted) but the negative word

depends on the meaning of the negation.

ne...aucun(e)* not one, not any, no ne...guère rarely

ne...jamais never

ne...ni...ni neither...nor

ne...nulle part nowhere

ne...pas not

ne...personne nobody

ne...plus no longer, anymore

ne...que only

ne...rien nothing

*must agree with the noun to which it refers

61

Examples

Je ne l'ai pas fait

I haven't done it / I didn't do it

Il ne mange jamais les légumes

He never eats vegetables

Nous n'avons pas vu personne

We didn't see anyone

Elle n'a ni frère ni soeur

She has neither brother nor sister

Vous n'avez aucune idée

You have no idea

Je ne les ai vus nulle part

I haven't seen them anywhere

On ne se réveille qu'avant midi

We only wake up after midday

Elles ne se sont jamais arrivées

They never arrived

Je ne la vois guère

I rarely see her

62

Glossary

affirmative statement a declarative sentence; a sentence which states something to be true .

auxiliary verb a verb that does not provide meaning to a sentence but helps to establish the tense in which the action takes place.

compound tense a tense that is made up of three parts: subject, auxiliary verb and past participle.

conditional a form of writing verbs when the action could or would happen if the conditions were sufficient to allow it to happen.

conjugation changing a verb's form so that it tells us more about the tense and subject of the action.

63

connotation the implications of a word outside of its denotation (dictionary definition).

dynamic verb a verb which expresses a physical action.

emphatic pronoun a pronoun used to emphasise a particular person. In French, these are: moi (me), toi (you, to a friend, family member or younger person), lui (him), elle (her), nous (us), vous (you, plural or formal), eux (them, men or mixed group), elles (them, women).

feminine noun a French noun which falls under the feminine gender. Grammatical gender does not necessarily relate to biological gender and is simply a way of categorising nouns.

first conjugation verb the most common form of verb in French; all those whose infinitive ends with -er.

64

future stem The form of a verb in the future tense before the addition of future endings.

gerund the -ing form of a verb in English which either acts as a noun or to express an action that is currently taking place.

imperative a form of writing verbs when giving commands, making suggestions or giving instructions.

imperfect stem The form of a verb in the imperfect tense before the addition of imperfect endings.

indicative mood a form of writing verbs when stating facts, certainties and questions.

infinitive the root form or un-conjugated form of a verb.

65

infinitive ending the final two letters of a French infinitive. Either ---er,-ir or re.

inflected language a language which changes the way words are spelt to create different meanings.

irregular verb a verb which does not follow the normal pattern of conjugation.

masculine noun a French noun which falls under the masculine gender. Grammatical gender does not necessarily relate to biological gender and is simply a way of categorising nouns.

ne explétif the word ne that appears in affirmative statements and carries no meaning whatsoever. It is used to indicate a sense of doubt or fear in some situations but is very rare.

66

non pro-drop language a language that relies upon pronouns to indicate the subject of a sentence. English is a non pro-drop language.

noun a person, place or thing.

object the person/thing receiving the action in a sentence.

past participle The form of a verb that indicates that the action happened in the past. Typically, English past participles end with -ed. In French, they usually end with -é, -i or -u.

perfect tense the past tense, used to express an action that happened in the past, usually on just one occasion.

prefix a group of letters that can be put at the start of a word to alter its meaning.

67

present participle The -ing form of a verb that indicates that the action is currently happening.

pronoun a word that replaces a noun.

reflexive pronoun A pronoun used to indicate that the subject of the action is performing said action on them/itself. In French, they are me (myself), te (yourself, to a friend, family member or younger person), se (himself, herself, itself), nous (ourselves), vous (yourself, plural and formal) and se (themselves).

reflexive verb a verb in which the subject is also the object. Reflexive verbs are accompanied by reflexive pronouns.

regular verb a verb which follows a pattern in its conjugation.

68

second conjugation verb French verbs whose infinitives end with -ir.

stative verb a verb which expresses a state of being rather than a physical action.

subject the person/thing doing the action in a sentence.

subject pronoun a pronoun that replaces the name of the subject of a sentence. In French, these are: je (I), tu (you, to a friend, family member or younger person, il (he/it), elle (she/it), on (we, one), nous (we), vous (you, plural or formal), ils (they, men or mixed group), elles (they, women).

subjunctive a form of writing verbs when there is an element of uncertainty, emotion, wish or doubt.

69

suffix a group of letters that can be put at the end of a word to alter the meaning.

tense forms that a verb can take to indicate the time of the action.

third conjugation verb the least common form of verb in French; all those whose infinitives end with -re.

verb a word which expresses an action or state of being.

70

Irregular Verb Tables

The following pages contain simple tense conjugations for

some of the most commonly used verbs in French. Some

include similar conjugation sections which list further verbs

that conjugate in a similar way based on their ending. For

example:

to come - venir I come - je viens

to remember - se souvenir I remember - je me souviens

Perfect tenses are not included in the tables as they are

made by combining elements from other tenses (pluperfect =

imperfect auxiliary + past participle, for example) and can

therefore be constructed from the information given.

Participles are provided under all tables and the auxiliary

verb is given for each.

71

aller - to go

Present Imperfect Future

je vais tu vas il/elle/on va nous allons vous allez ils/elles vont

j'allais tu allais il/elle/on allait nous allions vous alliez ils/elles allaient

j'irai tu iras il/elle/on ira nous irons vous irez ils/elles iront

Conditional Past Historic Subjunctive Imperative

j'irais tu irais il/elle/on irait nous irions vous iriez ils/elles iraient

j'allai tu allas il/elle/on alla nous allâmes vous allâtes ils/elles allèrent

j'aille tu ailles il/elle/on aille nous allions vous alliez ils/elles aillent

(tu) vas-y! (nous) allons-y! (vous) allez-y!

Present Participle: allant Auxiliary verb: être

Past Participle: allé

72

avoir - to have


j'ai tu as il/elle/on a nous avons vous avez ils/elles ont

j'avais tu avais il/elle/on avait nous avions vous aviez ils/elles avaient

j'aurai tu auras il/elle/on aura nous aurons vous aurez ils/elles auront


j'aurais tu aurais il/elle/on aurait nous aurions vous auriez ils/elles auraient

j'eus tu eus il/elle/on eut nous eûmes vous eûtes ils/elles eurent

j'aie tu aies il/elle/on ait nous ayons vous ayez ils/elles aient

(tu) aie! (nous) ayons! (vous) ayez!

Present Participle: ayant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: eu

73

battre - to beat


je bats tu bats il/elle/on bat nous battons vous battez ils/elles battent

je battais tu battais il/elle/on battait nous battions vous battiez ils/elles battaient

je battrai tu battras il/elle/on battra nous battrons vous battrez ils/elles battront


je battrais tu battrais il/elle/on battrait nous battrions vous battriez ils/elles battraient

je battis tu battis il/elle/on battit nous battîmes vous battîtes ils/elles battirent

j'batte tu battes il/elle/on batte nous battions vous battiez ils/elles battent

(tu) bats! (nous) battons! (vous) battez!

Present Participle: battant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: battu

74

boire - to drink


je bois tu bois il/elle/on boit nous buvons vous buvez ils/elles boivent

je buvais tu buvais il/elle/on buvait nous buvions vous buviez ils/elles buvaient

je boirai tu boiras il/elle/on boira nous boirons vous boirez ils/elles boiront


je boirais tu boirais il/elle/on boirait nous boirions vous boiriez ils/elles boiraient

je bus tu bus il/elle/on but nous bûmes vous bûtes ils/elles burent

je boive tu boives il/elle/on boive nous buvions vous buviez ils/elles boivent

(tu) bois! (nous) buvons! (vous) buvez!

Present Participle: buvant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: bu

75

commencer - to start


je commence tu commences il/elle/on commence nous commençons vous commencez ils/elles commencent

je commençais tu commençais il/elle/on commençait nous commencions vous commenciez ils/elles commençaient

je commencerai tu commenceras il/elle/on commencera nous commencerons vous commencerez ils/elles commenceront

Conditional Past Historic Subjunctive

je commencerais tu commencerais il/elle/on commencerait nous commencerions vous commenceriez ils/elles commenceraient

je commençai tu commenças il/elle/on commença nous commençâmes vous commençâtes ils/elles commencèrent

je commence tu commences il/elle/on commence nous commencions vous commenciez ils/elles commencent

Imperative

(tu) commence! (nous)commençons! (vous) commencez!

Isn't commencer regular?

Commencer is regular, but if the ending does not start with

an e- or -i, you must put a cedilla (ç) on the c in order to

soften the [c] sound.

Present Participle: commençant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: commencé

76

Similar conjugations:

produire to produce introduire to introduce

construire to build réduire to reduce

cuire to cook traduire to translate

déduire to deduce

conduire - to drive


je conduis tu conduis il/elle/on conduit nous conduisons vous conduise ils/elles conduisent

je conduisais tu conduisais il/elle/on conduisait nous conduisions vous conduisiez ils/elles conduisaient

je conduirai tu conduiras il/elle/on conduira nous conduirons vous conduirez ils/elles conduiront


je conduirais tu conduirais il/elle/on conduirait nous conduirions vous conduiriez ils/elles conduiraient

je conduisis tu conduisis il/elle/on conduisit nous conduisîmes vous conduisîtes ils/elles conduisirent

je conduise tu conduises il/elle/on conduise nous conduisions vous conduisiez ils/elles conduisent

Imperative

(tu) conduis! (nous) conduisons! (vous) conduisez!

Present Participle: conduisant


Past Participle: conduit

77

connaître - to know (a person)


je connais tu connais il/elle/on connait nous connaissons vous connaissez ils/elles connaissent

je connaissais tu connaissais il/elle/on connaissait nous connaissions vous connaissiez ils/elles connaissaient

je connaîtrai tu connaîtras il/elle/on connaîtra nous connaîtrons vous connaîtrez ils/elles connaîtront


je connaîtrais tu connaîtrais il/elle/on connaîtrait nous connaîtrions vous connaîtriez ils/elles connaîtraient

je bus tu bus il/elle/on but nous bûmes vous bûtes ils/elles burent

je connaisse tu connaisses il/elle/on connaisse nous connaissions vous connaissiez ils/elles connaissent

Imperative

(tu) connais! (nous) connaissons! (vous) connaissez!

Present Participle: connaissant


Past Participle: connu

Similar Conjugations

apparaître to appear

disparaître to disappear

paraître to seem

reconnaître to recognise

excl. naître to be born

78

Present Participle: courant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: couru

courir - to run


je cours tu cours il/elle/on court nous courons vous courez ils/elles courent

je courais tu courais il/elle/on courait nous courions vous couriez ils/elles couraient

je courrai tu courras il/elle/on courra nous courrons vous courrez ils/elles courront


je courrais tu courrais il/elle/on courrait nous courrions vous courriez ils/elles courraient

je courus tu courus il/elle/on courut nous courûmes vous courûtes ils/elles coururent

je coure tu coures il/elle/on coure nous courions vous couriez ils/elles courent

(tu) cours! (nous) courons! (vous) courez!

79


se plaindre to complain

atteindre to reach

peindre to paint

teindre to dye

joindre to join

craindre - to fear


je crains tu crains il/elle/on craint nous craignons vous craignez ils/elles craignent

je craignais tu craignais il/elle/on craignait nous craignions vous craigniez ils/elles craignaient

je craindrai tu craindras il/elle/on craindra nous craindrons vous craindrez ils/elles craindront


je craindrais tu craindrais il/elle/on craindrait nous craindrions vous craindriez ils/elles craindraient

je craignis tu craignis il/elle/on craignit nous craignîmes vous craignîtes ils/elles craignirent

je craigne tu craignes il/elle/on craigne nous craignions vous craigniez ils/elles craignent

Imperative

(tu) crains! (nous) craignons! (vous) craignez!

Present Participle: craignant


Past Participle: craint

80

Present Participle: croyant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: cru

croire - to believe


je crois tu crois il/elle/on croit nous croyons vous croyez ils/elles croient

je croyais tu croyais il/elle/on croyait nous croyions vous croyiez ils/elles croyaient

je croirai tu croiras il/elle/on croira nous croirons vous croirez ils/elles croiront


je croirais tu croirais il/elle/on croirait nous croirions vous croiriez ils/elles croiraient

je crus tu crus il/elle/on crut nous crûmes vous crûtes ils/elles crurent

je croie tu croies il/elle/on croie nous croyions vous croyiez ils/elles croient

(tu) crois! (nous) croyons! (vous) croyez!

81

Present Participle: devant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: dû

devoir - to have to


je dois tu dois il/elle/on doit nous devons vous devez ils/elles doivent

je devais tu devais il/elle/on devait nous devions vous deviez ils/elles devaient

je devrai tu devras il/elle/on devra nous devrons vous devrez ils/elles devront


je devrais tu devrais il/elle/on devrait nous devrions vous devriez ils/elles devraient

je dus tu dus il/elle/on dut nous dûmes vous dûtes ils/elles durent

je doive tu doive il/elle/on doive nous devions vous deviez ils/elles doivent

(tu) dois! (nous) devons! (vous) devez!

82

Present Participle: disant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: dit

dire - to say/tell


je dis tu dis il/elle/on dit nous disons vous dites ils/elles disent

je disais tu disais il/elle/on disait nous disions vous disiez ils/elles disaient

je dirai tu diras il/elle/on dira nous dirons vous direz ils/elles diront


je dirais tu dirais il/elle/on dirait nous dirions vous diriez ils/elles diraient

je dis tu dis il/elle/on dit nous dîmes vous dîtes ils/elles dirent

je dise tu dises il/elle/on dise nous disions vous disiez ils/elles disent

(tu) dis! (nous) disons! (vous) dites!

83

dormir - to sleep


je dors tu dors il/elle/on dort nous dormons vous dormez ils/elles dorment

je dormais tu dormais il/elle/on dormait nous dormions vous dormiez ils/elles dormaient

je dormirai tu dormiras il/elle/on dormira nous dormirons vous dormirez ils/elles dormiront


je dormirais tu dormirais il/elle/on dormirait nous dormirions vous dormiriez ils/elles dormiraient

je dormis tu dormis il/elle/on dormit nous dormîmes vous dormîtes ils/elles dormirent

je dorme tu dormes il/elle/on dorme nous dormions vous dormiez ils/elles dorment

Imperative

(tu) dors! (nous) dormons! (vous) dormez!

Present Participle: dormant


Past Participle: dormi


sortir to go out

partir to leave

mentir to lie (tell a lie)

servir to serve

se sentir to feel

84

écrire - to write


j'écris tu écris il/elle/on écrit nous écrivons vous écrivez ils/elles écrivent

je écrivais tu écrivais il/elle/on écrivait nous écrivions vous écriviez ils/elles écrivaient

je écrirai tu écriras il/elle/on écrira nous écrirons vous écrirez ils/elles écriront


je écrirais tu écrirais il/elle/on écrirait nous écririons vous écririez ils/elles écriraient

j'écrivis tu écrivis il/elle/on écrivit nous écrivîmes vous écrivîtes ils/elles écrivirent

j'écrive tu écrives il/elle/on écrive nous écrivions vous écriviez ils/elles écrivent

Imperative

(tu) écris! (nous) écrivons! (vous) écrivez!

Present Participle: écrivant


Past Participle: écrit


décrire to describe

transcrire to transcribe

s'inscrire to register

servir to serve

85

Present Participle: envoyant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: envoyé

envoyer - to send


j'envoie tu envoies il/elle/on envoie nous envoyons vous envoyez ils/elles envoient

j'envoyais tu envoyais il/elle/on envoyait nous envoyions vous envoyiez ils/elles envoyaient

j'enverrai tu enverras il/elle/on enverra nous enverrons vous enverrez ils/elles enverront


j'enverrais tu enverrais il/elle/on enverrait nous enverrions vous enverriez ils/elles enverraient

j'envoyai tu envoyas il/elle/on envoya nous envoyâmes vous envoyâtes ils/elles envoyèrent

j'envoie tu envoie il/elle/on envoie nous envoyions vous envoyiez ils/elles envoient

(tu) envoie! (nous) envoyons! (vous) envoyez!

86

Present Participle: étant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: été

être - to be


je suis tu es il/elle/on est nous sommes vous êtes ils/elles sont

j'étais tu étais il/elle/on était nous étions vous étiez ils/elles étaient

je serai tu seras il/elle/on sera nous serons vous serez ils/elles seront


je serais tu serais il/elle/on serait nous serions vous seriez ils/elles seraient

je fus tu fus il/elle/on fut nous fûmes vous fûtes ils/elles furent

je sois tu sois il/elle/on soit nous soyons vous soyez ils/elles soient

(tu) sois! (nous) soyons! (vous) soyez!

87

Present Participle: faisant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: fait

faire - to do/make


je fais tu fais il/elle/on fait nous faisons vous faites ils/elles font

je faisais tu faisais il/elle/on faisait nous faisions vous faisiez ils/elles faisaient

je ferai tu feras il/elle/on fera nous ferons vous ferez ils/elles feront


je ferais tu ferais il/elle/on ferait nous ferions vous feriez ils/elles feraient

je fis tu fis il/elle/on fit nous fîmes vous fîtes ils/elles firent

je fasse tu fasses il/elle/on fasse nous fassions vous fassiez ils/elles fassent

(tu) fais! (nous) faisons! (vous) faites!

88

Present Participle: n/a Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: fallu

Falloir is an impersonal verb with only one form. It used

frequently to mean to have to or to be necessary. When used

in a general sense, il faut is followed by an infinitive:

Il faut faire la vaisselle

It is important to do the washing up

When used with a specific person, we use il faut que which

must be followed by the subjunctive

Il faut que je fasse la vaiselle

It is important that I do the washing up

falloir - to have to / to be necessary


il faut il fallait il faudra


il faudrait il fallut il faille n/a

89

Present Participle: lisant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: lu

lire - to read


je lis tu lis il/elle/on lit nous lisons vous lisez ils/elles lisent

je lisais tu lisais il/elle/on lisait nous lisions vous lisiez ils/elles lisaient

je lirai tu liras il/elle/on lira nous lirons vous lirez ils/elles liront


je lirais tu lirais il/elle/on lirait nous lirions vous liriez ils/elles liraient

je lus tu lus il/elle/on lut nous lûmes vous lûtes ils/elles lurent

je lise tu lises il/elle/on lise nous lisions vous lisiez ils/elles lisent

(tu) lis! (nous) lisons! (vous) lisez!

90

manger - to eat


je mange tu manges il/elle/on mange nous mangeons vous mangez ils/elles mangent

je mangeais tu mangeais il/elle/on mangeait nous mangions vous mangiez ils/elles mangeaient

je mangerai tu mangeras il/elle/on mangera nous mangerons vous mangerez ils/elles mangeront


je mangerais tu mangerais il/elle/on mangerait nous mangerions vous mangeriez ils/elles mangeraient

je mangeai tu mangeas il/elle/on mangea nous mangeâmes vous mangeâtes ils/elles mangèrent

je mange tu manges il/elle/on mange nous mangions vous mangiez ils/elles mangent

Imperative

(tu) mange! (nous) mangeons! (vous) mangez!

Present Participle: mangeant


Past Participle: mangé

Isn't manger regular?

Manger is regular, but if the ending does not start with an e-

or -i, you must one after the -g- in order to soften the [g]

sound.

91


permettre to allow/permit

compromettre to compromise

promettre to promise

admettre to admit

mettre - to put


je mets tu mets il/elle/on met nous mettons vous mettez ils/elles mettent

je mettais tu mettais il/elle/on mettait nous mettions vous mettiez ils/elles mettaient

je mettrai tu mettras il/elle/on mettra nous mettrons vous mettrez ils/elles mettront


je mettrais tu mettrais il/elle/on mettrait nous mettrions vous mettriez ils/elles mettraient

je mis tu mis il/elle/on mit nous mîmes vous mîtes ils/elles mirent

je mette tu mettes il/elle/on mette nous mettions vous mettiez ils/elles mettent

Imperative

(tu) mets! (nous) mettons! (vous) mettez!

Present Participle: mettant


Past Participle: mis

92

Present Participle: mourant Auxiliary verb: être

Past Participle: mort

mourir - to die


je meurs tu meurs il/elle/on meurt nous mourons vous mourez ils/elles meurent

je mourais tu mourais il/elle/on mourait nous mourions vous mouriez ils/elles mouraient

je mourrai tu mourras il/elle/on mourra nous mourrons vous mourez ils/elles mourront


je mourrais tu mourrais il/elle/on mourrait nous mourrions vous mouriez ils/elles mourraient

je mourus tu mourus il/elle/on mourut nous mourûmes vous mourûtes ils/elles moururent

je meure tu meures il/elle/on meure nous mourions vous mouriez ils/elles meurent

(tu) meurs! (nous) mourons! (vous) mourez!

93

Present Participle: naissant Auxiliary verb: être

Past Participle: né

naître - to be born


je nais tu nais il/elle/on naît nous naissons vous naissez ils/elles naissent

je naissais tu naissais il/elle/on naissait nous naissions vous naissiez ils/elles naissaient

je naîtrai tu naîtras il/elle/on naîtra nous naîtrons vous naîtrez ils/elles naîtront


je naîtrais tu naîtrais il/elle/on naîtrait nous naîtrions vous naîtriez ils/elles naîtraient

je naquis tu naquis il/elle/on naquit nous naquîmes vous naquîtes ils/elles naquirent

je naisse tu naisses il/elle/on naisse nous naissions vous naissiez ils/elles naissent

(tu) nais! (nous) naissons! (vous) naissez!

94

ouvrir - to open


j'ouvre tu ouvres il/elle/on ouvre nous ouvrons vous ouvrez ils/elles ouvrent

je ouvrais tu ouvrais il/elle/on ouvrait nous ouvrions vous ouvriez ils/elles ouvraient

j'ouvrirai tu ouvriras il/elle/on ouvrira nous ouvrirons vous ouvrirez ils/elles ouvriront


j'ouvrirais tu ouvrirais il/elle/on ouvrirait nous ouvririons vous ouvririez ils/elles ouvriraient

j'ouvris tu ouvris il/elle/on ouvrit nous ouvrîmes vous ouvrîtes ils/elles ouvrirent

j'ouvre tu ouvres il/elle/on ouvre nous ouvrions vous ouvriez ils/elles ouvrent

Imperative

(tu) ouvre! (nous) ouvrons! (vous) ouvrez!

Present Participle: ouvrant


Past Participle: ouvert


couvrir to cover

découvrir to discover

souffrir to suffer

offrir to offer/give (gift)

95

Present Participle: pleuvant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: plu

pleuvoir - to rain


il pleut il pleuvait il pleuvra


il pleuvrait il plut il pleuve n/a

96

Present Participle: pouvant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: pu

pouvoir - to be able


je peux tu peux il/elle/on peut nous pouvons vous pouvez ils/elles peuvent

je pouvais tu pouvais il/elle/on pouvait nous pouvions vous pouviez ils/elles pouvaient

je pourrai tu pourras il/elle/on pourra nous pourrons vous pourrez ils/elles pourront


je pourrais tu pourrais il/elle/on pourrait nous pourrions vous pourriez ils/elles pourraient

je pus tu pus il/elle/on put nous pûmes vous pûtes ils/elles purent

je puisse tu puisses il/elle/on puisse nous puissions vous puissiez ils/elles puissent

n/a

97


apprendre to learn

méprendre to mistake

surprendre to surprise

comprendre to understand

prendre - to take


je prends tu prends il/elle/on prend nous prenons vous prenez ils/elles prennent

je prenais tu prenais il/elle/on prenait nous prenions vous preniez ils/elles prenaient

je prendrai tu prendras il/elle/on prendra nous prendrons vous prendrez ils/elles prendront


je prendrais tu prendrais il/elle/on prendrait nous prendrions vous prendriez ils/elles prendraient

je pris tu pris il/elle/on prit nous prîmes vous prîtes ils/elles prirent

je prenne tu prennes il/elle/on prenne nous prenions vous preniez ils/elles prennent

Imperative

(tu) prends! (nous) prenons! (vous) prenez!

Present Participle: prenant


Past Participle: pris

98


percevoir to perceive

apercevoir to foresee

décevoir to disappoint

recevoir - to receive


je reçois tu reçois il/elle/on reçoit nous recevons vous recevez ils/elles reçoivent

je recevais tu recevais il/elle/on recevait nous recevions vous receviez ils/elles recevaient

je recevrai tu recevras il/elle/on recevra nous recevrons vous recevrez ils/elles recevront


je recevrais tu recevrais il/elle/on recevrait nous recevrions vous recevriez ils/elles recevraient

je reçus tu reçus il/elle/on reçut nous reçûmes vous reçûtes ils/elles reçurent

je reçoive tu reçoives il/elle/on reçoive nous recevions vous receviez ils/elles reçoivent

Imperative

(tu) reçois! (nous) recevons! (vous) recevez!

Present Participle: recevant


Past Participle: reçu

99

rire - to laugh


je ris tu ris il/elle/on rit nous rions vous riez ils/elles rient

je riais tu riais il/elle/on riait nous riions vous riiez ils/elles riaient

je rirai tu riras il/elle/on rira nous rirons vous rirez ils/elles riront


je rirais tu rirais il/elle/on rirait nous ririons vous ririez ils/elles riraient

je ris tu ris il/elle/on rit nous rîmes vous rîtes ils/elles rirent

je reçoive tu reçoives il/elle/on reçoive nous recevions vous receviez ils/elles reçoivent

Imperative

(tu) ris! (nous) rions! (vous) riez!

Present Participle: riant


Past Participle: ri


sourire to smile

100

s'asseoir - to sit down


je m'assieds tu t'assieds il/elle/on s'assieds nous nous asseyons vous vous asseyez ils/elles s'asseyent

je m'asseyais tu t'asseyais il/elle/on s'asseyait nous nous asseyions vous vous asseyiez ils/elles s'asseyaient

je m'assiérai tu t'assiéras il/elle/on s'assiéra nous nous assiérons vous vous assiérez ils/elles s' assiéront


je m'assiérais tu t'assiérais il/elle/on s'assiérait nous nous assiérions vous vous assiériez ils/elles s' assiéraient

je m'assis tu t'assis il/elle/on s'assit nous nous assîmes vous vous assîtes ils/elles s'assirent

je m'asseye tu t'asseyes il/elle/on s'asseye nous nous asseyions vous vous asseyiez ils/elles s'asseyent

Imperative

(tu) assieds-toi! (nous) asseyons-nous! (vous) asseyez-vous!

Present Participle: s'asseyant

Auxiliary verb: être

Past Participle: assis

101

Present Participle: sachant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: su

savoir - to know (a fact)


je sais tu sais il/elle/on sait nous nous savons vous vous savez ils/elles savent

je savais tu savais il/elle/on savait nous savions vous saviez ils/elles savaient

je saurai tu sauras il/elle/on saura nous saurons vous saurez ils/elles sauront


je saurais tu saurais il/elle/on saurait nous saurions vous sauriez ils/elles sauraient

je sus tu sus il/elle/on sut nous sûmes vous sûtes ils/elles surent

je sache tu saches il/elle/on sache nous sachions vous sachiez ils/elles sachent

(tu) sache! (nous) sachions! (vous) sachiez!

102

Present Participle: suivant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: suivi

suivre - to follow


je suis tu suis il/elle/on suit nous nous suivons vous vous suivez ils/elles suivent

je suivais tu suivais il/elle/on suivait nous suivions vous suiviez ils/elles suivaient

je suivrai tu suivras il/elle/on suivra nous suivrons vous suivrez ils/elles suivront


je suivrais tu suivrais il/elle/on suivrait nous suivrions vous suivriez ils/elles suivraient

je suivis tu suivis il/elle/on suivit nous suivîmes vous suivîtes ils/elles suivirent

je suive tu suives il/elle/on suive nous suivions vous suiviez ils/elles suivent

(tu) suis! (nous) suivons! (vous) suivez!

103


se souvenir* to remember prévenir to warn

soutenir to support appartenir to belong

tenir to hold contenir to contain

devenir* to become entretenir to maintain

revenir* to come back

* the auxiliary verb is être for these verbs

venir - to come


je viens tu viens il/elle/on vient nous venons vous venez ils/elles viennent

je venais tu venais il/elle/on venait nous venions vous veniez ils/elles venaient

je viendrai tu viendras il/elle/on viendra nous viendrons vous viendrez ils/elles viendront


je viendrais tu viendrais il/elle/on viendrait nous viendrions vous viendriez ils/elles viendraient

je vins tu vins il/elle/on vint nous vînmes vous vîntes ils/elles vinrent

je vienne tu viennes il/elle/on vienne nous venions vous veniez ils/elles viennent

Imperative

(tu) viens! (nous) venons! (vous) venez!

Present Participle: venant

Auxiliary verb: être

Past Participle: venu

104

Present Participle: vivant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: vécu

vivre - to live


je vis tu vis il/elle/on vit nous vivons vous vivez ils/elles vivent

je vivais tu vivais il/elle/on vivait nous vivions vous viviez ils/elles vivaient

je vivrai tu vivras il/elle/on vivra nous vivrons vous vivrez ils/elles vivront


je vivrais tu vivrais il/elle/on vivrait nous vivrions vous vivriez ils/elles vivraient

je vécus tu vécus il/elle/on vécut nous vécûmes vous vécûtes ils/elles vécurent

je vive tu vives il/elle/on vive nous vivions vous viviez ils/elles vivent

(tu) vis! (nous) vivons! (vous) vivez!

105

Present Participle: voyant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: vu

voir - to see


je vois tu vois il/elle/on voit nous voyons vous voyez ils/elles voient

je voyais tu voyais il/elle/on voyait nous voyions vous voyiez ils/elles voyaient

je verrai tu verras il/elle/on verra nous verrons vous verrez ils/elles verront


je verrais tu verrais il/elle/on verrait nous verrions vous verriez ils/elles verraient

je vis tu vis il/elle/on vit nous vîmes vous vîtes ils/elles virent

je voie tu voies il/elle/on voie nous voyions vous voyiez ils/elles voient

(tu) vois! (nous) voyons! (vous) voyez!

106

Present Participle: voulant Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: voulu

vouloir - to want


je veux tu veux il/elle/on veut nous voulons vous voulez ils/elles veulent

je voulais tu voulais il/elle/on voulait nous voulions vous vouliez ils/elles voulaient

je voudrai tu voudras il/elle/on voudra nous voudrons vous voudrez ils/elles voudront


je voudrais tu voudrais il/elle/on voudrait nous voudrions vous voudriez ils/elles voudraient

je voulus tu voulus il/elle/on voulut nous voulûmes vous voulûtes ils/elles voulurent

je veuille tu veuilles il/elle/on veuille nous voulions vous vouliez ils/elles veuillent

(tu) veuille! (nous) veuillons! (vous) veuillez!

a definitive guide to french verbs

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