verb groups

8/4/2019 Verb Groups

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Verb groupsFrench regular verbs fall into three groups :

group 1 where the infinitive ends in 'er' group 2 where the infinitive ends in 'ir' group 3 where the infinitive ends in 're'

Fortunately about 80% of French verbs are in the first group and are mostly regular so if you knowone, you know how to conjugate lots of verbs!

Group 1

manger (to eat)habiter (to live)decider (to decide)laver (to wash)

chercher (to look for)arriver (to arrive)

Group 2

finir (to finish)sortir (to go out)partir (to leave)venir (to come)

choisir (to choose)dormir (to sleep)

Group 3

vendre (to sell)prendre (to take)attendre (to wait)rpondre (to reply)

entendre (to hear)perdre (to lose)

Le, la ou l'This is a very fundamental point of French Grammar nouns have a gender; they are masculine orfeminine. For masculine nouns we use le, for feminine nouns we use la. Both masculine andfeminine nouns that begin with a vowel use l'.

How do we know which are masculine and which are feminine? We have to learn it with the word.If you are not sure, look it up in your dictionary.

A good tip is to learn the word with an adjective that indicates whether it is masculine or feminine.It's not always logical. For example: le ballon is a big ball like a football and la balle is a small balllike a tennis ball. Why is one masculine and the other feminine? So my trick to remember is to addan adjective; le gros ballon et la petite balle.


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Regular AdjectivesWe have looked at nouns and the fact that they are masculine or feminine. Now we are going tolook at adjectives. These are the words that describe a noun. For example, when we ask aboutsomeone's eyes we describe them as beautiful or blue or sad. These are adjectives. In English,these words never change, they are always written and pronounced in the same way for everynoun. In French, these words vary whether they describe a masculine or feminine noun and if theyare singular or plural.

Look at the following examples:

Un grand jardin - a big garden Une grande maison - a big house Les grands garons - big boys Les grandes voitures - big cars

Notice the changes to the regular adjective 'grand' when it is describing different nouns. We add

an 'e' to a regular adjective describing a singular feminine noun, we add an 's' for plural masculinenouns and 'es' for plural feminine nouns.


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Irregular Adjectives

Now let's look at irregular adjectives. Remember that, in French, adjectives vary whether theydescribe a masculine or feminine noun and if they are singular or plural.

Look at the following examples:

Adjectives ending in 'f', we make feminine by replacing 'f' with 've':

un vlo neuf une voiture neuve des vlos neufs des voitures neuves

Adjectives ending in 'x', we make feminine by replacing 'x' by 'se'. Note that we do NOT add an 's'in the masculine plural:

un garon srieux une fille srieuse des garons srieux des filles srieuses

Note the irregular feminine forms for the following adjectives ending in 'x':

un vieux livre but un vieil homme (we use vieil in front of masculine nouns begining with avowel or silent 'h'.)

une vieille maison deux vieux chiens deux vieilles dames un climat doux

une peau douce un faux passeport une fausse rponse


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The verb 'to be' - treThe verb 'tre' ( to be ) is a very important verb and of course it is irregular:

Je suis Britannique. (I am British)Tu es grand. (You are tall.)Il est marrant. (It's funny.)Elle est prte. ( She's ready.)Nous sommes la gare. (We're at the station.)Vous tes en retard. (You're late.)Ils sont dans le jardin. ( They're in the garden.)Elles sont l'cole. (They (girls) are at school.)

Je ne suis pas d'ici. (I'm not from around here.)Tu n'es pas trs grand. (You're not very tall.)Il n'est pas marrant. (It's not funny.)Elle n'est pas prte. (She's not ready.)Nous ne sommes pas la gare. (We're not at the station.)Vous n'tes pas en retard. (You're not late.)Ils ne sont pas ici. (They're not here.)Elles ne sont pas l'cole. (They aren't at school.)


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The verb 'to have' avoir:The verb 'avoir' is another important verb and of course it too is irregular:

J'ai trois frres. (I have three brothers.)Tu as une belle maison. (You have a beautiful home.)Il a un chien mchant. (He has a vicious dog.)Elle a beaucoup d'argent. ( She has a lot of money.)Nous avons un trs grand jardin. (We have a big garden.)Vous avez de bonnes ides. (You have some good ideas.)Ils ont deux enfants. (They have two children.)Elles ont les mmes chaussures. (They have the same shoes.)

Je n'ai pas de frres. (I don't have any brothers.)Tu n'as pas assez de temps. (You don't have enough time.)Il n'a pas de valise. (He doesn't have a suitcase.)Elle n'a pas de voiture. (She doesn't have a car.)Nous n'avons pas d'animaux. (We don't have any animals.)

Vous n'avez pas de devoirs ce soir. (You don't have any homework this evening.)Ils n'ont pas d'argent. (They don't have any money.)Elles n'ont pas de diplmes. (They don't have any qualifications.)


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Expressions used with 'avoir':

When we talk about our age:

J'ai vingt-trois ans. (I am 23.)Quel ge a-t-il? ( How old is he?)Elle a sept ans. (She is 7.)Vous avez quel ge? (How old are you?)

When you talk about what you need:

J'ai besoin de trois oeufs. (I need three eggs.)As-tu besoin d'argent? (Do you need any money?)Il a besoin de faire du sport. (He needs to do some exercise.)Nous n'avons pas besoin de rien. ( We don't need anything.)Ont-ils besoin d'aide? (Do they need any help?)


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When you talk about what you are afraid of:

J'ai peur de prendre l'avion.( I'm afraid of flying.)A-t-il peur de moi? (Is he afraid of me?)Nous avons peur de faire une erreur. (We are afraid of making a mistake.)Les filles ont peur du noir. (The girls are afraid of the dark.)

When we talk about heat or cold:

Tu as froid. (You're cold.)Il n'a pas chaud. ( He isn't warm.)Avez-vous trop chaud? (Are you too hot?)Elles n'ont pas froid. (They aren't cold.)

When we talk about being hungry or thirsty:

J'ai faim. (I'm hungry.)As-tu soif? (Are you thirsty.)Il n'a pas faim. (He isn't hungry.)Nous avons soif. (We are thirsty.)

When we say we are right or wrong:

J'ai raison. (I'm right.)Il n'a pas tort. (He's not wrong.)Nous avons raison. (We're right.)Ils ont tort. (They're wrong.)


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http://www.frenchgrammarsecrets.com/etre/menu.php

http://theologicalfrench9587.wordpress.com/common-verbs-er-ir-reoir-groups/

http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/French/Grammar/Verbs/index.html

http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/~ra735/grammar/french/verbs/group1verb.html
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