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575+French Verbsby Gail Stein

TM

Webster’s New World® 575+ French Verbs

Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, NJ

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, NJPublished simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:Stein, Gail Webster’s New World 575+ French verbs / by Gail Stein.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-10 0-7645-7771-9 (pbk.) ISBN-13 978-0-7645-7771-0 (pbk.)1.French language—Verb. 2. French language—Idioms. I. Title: 575+ French verbs. II. Title. PC2271.S74 2005 448.2’421—dc22 2004030066

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to my wonderful editors on the Wiley team, Roxane Cerda, Elizabeth Kuball, and Julie Foss. I couldn’t have done it without all your help.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my loving husband, Douglas; my two wonderful sons, Eric and Michael; and to Katherine Bensen-Piscopo, my future daughter-in-law, who will be the daughter I always wanted.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Verb Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .635

Appendix B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .663

Appendix C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .669

Appendix D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .675

Appendix E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .679

INTRODUCTION

Webster’s 575+ French Verbs is an invaluable tool that will enable students, travelers, and business people alike, to communicate proficiently and effectively in any given situation. Being able to effectively use verbs correctly will give your French more polish and shine. If you’re seeking a more in-depth command of the language, one that will enable you to speak, read, and write like a native, one that will allow you to express your thoughts easily and confidently, then this book is for you. Webster’s 575+ French Verbs not only provides a quick, simple-to-read reference to the conjugation of the 575 most frequently used French verbs but also illustrates their everyday, colloquial, and idiomatic usage in explicit examples (with English equivalents) using a variety of different moods and tenses. Webster’s 575+ French Verbs is divided into three distinct sections: Verb Usage Review (which explains the various moods and tenses used in French), verb charts (containing 576 fully conjugated verbs with example sentences), and five appendices with over 1,800 additional verbs, idiomatic and colloquial expressions, irregular verb forms, common reflexive verbs, as well as an English-French Verb Index.

Verb Usage ReviewThis section provides a comprehensive review of French verbs, where moods and tenses of regular, verbs with spelling changes, and irregular verbs are defined and illustrated through examples. To encourage independence from the verb charts, this section teaches you every-thing you need to know about French verbs and their varying usages, so that you can confi-dently communicate on your own without a crutch.

To get you off to a good start, the “French Subject Pronouns” section is presented so that you will be able to choose the correct pronoun to use no matter what the circumstances. Each subject pronoun requires its own specific ending based upon the subject of the sentence and the time period in which the action is occurring (past, present, or future). The verb charts are divided into two columns: singular ( je -I, tu-you, il-he/elle-she/on- one) and plural (nous-we, vous-you, ils-they/elles-they).

The “Verbals” section explains the formation and use of present participles; the formation, use, and agreement of past participles; and the use of the present and past infinitive, the unconjugated “to be” form of the verb. Comprehensive lists are provided with verbs that are immediately followed by the infinitive, verbs that require à before the infinitive, verbs that require de before the infinitive, and verbs that require other prepositions before the infinitive.

In “Tenses and Moods,” the difference between the two is explained. Then each French simple tense or mood and its corresponding compound tense or mood (refer to Table 9, p. 18), as well as their English equivalents, are illustrated in detail in independent sections. Many examples are provided to foster understanding of the rules.

The “Imperative” section explains how to form affirmative and negative commands and how to make suggestions. All explanations are followed by illustrative examples both in French and in English.

The “Passive Voice” section is presented with directions on substitute constructions that may be used as an alternative. (The passive voice is not as widely used in French as it is in Eng-lish.) Examples are provided for easier understanding.

2 / Webster’s New World 575+ French Verbs

The Verb Usage Review ends with the special of uses of certain verbs: verbs where the meaning is changed based on the tense that is used. Examples illustrate the differences for each verb.

Verb ChartsThe alphabetical “Verb Charts” section, arranged by infinitives, contains 576 fully conjugated verbs. Each chart identifies the French infinitive, its English meaning(s), the present participle, the past participle, and the imperative forms. In the case of reflexive verbs, reflexive pronouns are shown. Then each verb is shown in its simple and compound tenses in both the indicative and subjunctive moods. All charts are followed by a series of example sentences in French and English that show the different usage and meaning of the specific verb.

cuisinerto cookPresent participle: cuisinant Past participle: cuisinéImperative: cuisine, cuisinez, cuisinons

Mode Simple Tenses Compound Tenses

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Ind

icat

ive

Present Passé Composé

cuisinecuisinescuisine

cuisinonscuisinezcuisinent

ai cuisinéas cuisinéa cuisiné

avons cuisinéavez cuisinéont cuisiné

Imperfect Pluperfect

cuisinaiscuisinaiscuisinait

cuisinionscuisiniezcuisinaient

avais cuisinéavais cuisinéavait cuisiné

avions cuisinéaviez cuisinéavaient cuisiné

Passé Simple Passé Antérieur

cuisinaicuisinascuisina

cuisinâmescuisinâtescuisinèrent

eus cuisinéeus cuisinéeut cuisiné

eûmes cuisinéeûtes cuisinéeurent cuisiné

Future Future Perfect

cuisineraicuisinerascuisinera

cuisineronscuisinerezcuisineront

aurai cuisinéauras cuisinéaura cuisiné

aurons cuisinéaurez cuisinéauront cuisiné

Conditional Conditional Perfect

cuisineraiscuisineraiscuisinerait

cuisinerionscuisineriezcuisineraient

aurais cuisinéaurais cuisinéaurait cuisiné

aurions cuisinéauriez cuisinéauraient cuisiné

Su

bju

nct

ive

Present Past

cuisinecuisinescuisine

cuisinionscuisiniezcuisinent

aie cuisinéaies cuisinéait cuisiné

ayons cuisinéayez cuisinéaient cuisiné


cuisinassecuisinassescuisinât

cuisinassionscuisinassiezcuisinassent

eusse cuisinéeusses cuisinéeût cuisiné

eussions cuisinéeussiez cuisinéeussent cuisiné

EXAMPLESCuisinez-vous bien? Do you cook well?Ne lui parle pas quand elle cuisine. Don’t talk to her while she is cooking.J’ai cuisiné hier soir. I cooked last night.Étais-tu surpris que j’aie cuisiné ce repas? Were you surprised that I cooked that

meal?

The present participle in French has an English –ing verb ending equiva-lent. The French present participle may not be used as a gerund.

The past participle is used with either avoir or être to form compound tenses. It may also be used as an adjective.

The imperative is used to give a command or a suggestion.

The indicative mood states facts in the past, present, or future tense.

The subjunctive mood is used when there is wish-ing, emotion, or doubt.

The passé simple and the passé antérieur are only used and seen in literary works.

The imperfect and plu-perfect subjunctive are only used and seen in literary works.

Appendix of Additional VerbsThe Appendix of Additional Verbs contains over 1,500 French verbs with a quick page reference to a fully conjugated verb in the verb charts. This allows you to have command of a huge selection of verbs in the language.

Appendix of Irregular Verb FormsThe Appendix of Irregular Verb Forms helps you to locate the infinitive from which a conju-gated verb was formed. In many instances, this conjugated form bears little resemblance to the infinitive, and its meaning might prove to be deceptive.

Appendix of Idiomatic and Colloquial ExpressionsThis appendix lists idiomatic and colloquial expressions with a variety of high-frequency French verbs. This appendix is an invaluable tool for those who want to perfect their use of French and who want to use the language the way a native would.

Common Reflexive VerbsThis appendix provides the most commonly used French reflexive verbs and their English equivalents. You should expect to encounter these verbs in everyday conversational or writ-ten French. Make sure to follow the rules on reflexive verbs when using these verbs.

English-French Verb IndexThe English-French Verb Index alphabetically lists English verbs followed by their French equivalents, with a page reference that will point you to the proper verb conjugation chart for the French verb. Use this index to select a verb that enables you to express what you would like to say. Make sure to double-check usage in a bilingual dictionary.

Introduction / 3

VERB USAGE REVIEW

This section will help you understand and internalize the rules for conjugating (changing the verb so that it agrees with the subject noun or pronoun) regular, spelling-change, and irregular French verbs in all tenses and moods. You’ll be given the guides you need to readily convert English forms to their French equivalent so that the process will quickly become routine. Your goal should be to become so familiar with French verbs that you can use them automatically, the way a native speaker would. Read this section first for a better understanding of which verbs will follow a regular pattern, which will require an internalized change to maintain proper pronunciation, and which will have to be memorized due to their irregular nature. After you study this information, you’ll have an easier time understanding the verb charts that follow.

Subject PronounsProper verb conjugation requires an understanding of subject nouns and pronouns and how they are used. A subject noun identifies who or what is performing the action of the verb and may be a person, place, thing, idea, or quality. A subject pronoun, which may replace the subject noun, allows for a more fluid conversation by eliminating unnecessary repetition of the same noun:

Carole is my friend. She lives next door to me.Honesty is the best policy. It has always served me well.

Subject pronouns indicate the endings needed to conjugate verbs in all tenses and moods. French subject pronouns have a number—singular (one) or plural (more than one)—and a gender—masculine or feminine. They may identify any noun. In French, the verb ending must agree with the subject noun or pronoun. Table 1 shows the French subject pronouns and their equivalent English meanings.

Table 1 Subject Pronouns

Person Singular Plural

1st je (I) nous (we)

2nd tu (you) vous (you)

3rd il (he, it) ils (they)

elle (she, it) elles (they)

on (one, you, we, they)

Note the following about the French subject pronouns:

• Je (I) is capitalized only when used at the beginning of a sentence. Je becomes j’ before a vowel or vowel sound (y and unaspirated h, which means that no puff of air is emitted when producing the h sound). This is known as elision.

J’aime le français. I like French.J’habite à New York. I live in New York.

6 / The Basics on Verbs

• Tu is the singular informal or familiar pronoun that expresses “you.” Tu is used to address a friend, relative, child, or pet. The u from tu is never dropped for purposes of elision:

Tu es formidable. You are terrific.

• Vous is the formal or polite pronoun that expresses “you.” In the singular, vous is used to show respect and to address an older person, a stranger, or someone whom you don’t know well. Vous is the only pronoun that expresses “you” in the plural, regardless of the degree of familiarity:

Monsieur, vous êtes très optimiste. Sir, you are very optimistic.Vous êtes mes bons amis. You are my good friends.

• Il (he) and elle (she) may refer to a person or a thing:

Jacques est tombé. (Jack fell.) Il est tombé. (He fell.)L’arbre est tombé. (The tree fell.) Il est tombé. (It fell.)

Lisette est arrivée. (Lisette arrived.) Elle est arrivée. (She arrived.)La lettre est arrivée. (The letter arrived.) Elle est arrivée. (It arrived.)

• On refers to an indefinite person and may express: “you,” “we,” “they,” “one,” or people in general. On is often used to replace nous:

On sort? Shall we go out?

• Ils (they) and elles (they) refer to groups of people. Elles is used only to refer to a group of females. Ils, however, may refer to a group of males or to a combined group consisting of males and females (despite the number of each within the group):

Lise et Luc dansent. (Lise and Luke dance.) Ils dansent. (They dance.)Sue et Lise dansent. (Sue and Lise dance.) Elles dansent. (They dance.)

• Ce (C’ before a vowel) (it, he, she, this, that, these, those) is most frequently used before the verb être (to be) and replaces il, elle, ils, and elles in the following cases:

•• Before a modified noun: C’est un bon professeur. (He’s a good teacher.)•• Before a name: C’est Marie. (It’s Marie.)•• Before a pronoun: C’est moi. (It is me.)•• Before a superlative: C’est le moins cher. (It’s the least expensive.)•• In dates: C’est le onze juillet. (It’s July 11th.)•• In reference to a previous mentioned idea or action: Il est juste. C’est clair. (He is

fair. That’s clear.)•• Before an adjective + à + verb infinitive (“to” + unconjugated verb): C’est inutile à

faire. (That’s useless to do.)

The Basics on VerbsA verb expresses action, feeling, or existence and serves to command, emphasize, declare, or deny something. In dictionaries, verbs are shown in their infinitive, the basic form of the verb that is not conjugated and expresses “to + action.” French verbs must agree in number (singular or plural) with their subjects in order to express tense (past, present, future), and mood (indicative, imperative, conditional, subjunctive). The tense of the verb indicates

the time when an action occurred, while the mood indicates an attitude on the part of the subject. The indicative mood states a fact. The imperative gives a command. The conditional expresses what would happen under certain circumstances. The subjunctive expresses, among other things, wishing, emotion, and doubt. The infinitive mood, the “to” form of the verb, does not require agreement with a subject.

French verb infinitives consist of a stem and an infinitive ending. There are three regular infinitive endings that categorize the three main verb families: –er, –ir, and –re. Additionally there are seven regular verbs ending in –oir or –evoir. Each regular verb within its respective family follows the same rules of conjugation in all tenses and moods. If, therefore, you mem-orize the pattern for the –er family, you then know the pattern for every single verb within that family: parler (to speak), danser (to dance), chanter (to sing), just to name a few. Verbs belonging to the –er family that end in –cer, –ger, –yer, –e + consonant + er, and –é + consonant + er undergo internal spelling changes in certain tenses to preserve the sound of the conju-gated verb form. Irregular verbs follow no particular pattern and must be memorized. Some verbs have irregularities in only some tenses.

VerbalsIn English, verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) are words that are derived from verbs but are generally used as nouns or adjectives. Both present participles and gerunds end in –ing and are distinguishable only by their use in a sentence. A present participle is used only as an adjective and a gerund is used only as a noun:

I saw an amusing film. (amusing = adjective = present participle)Skiing is his favorite pastime. (skiing = noun = gerund)

In French, a present participle may be used as an adjective or after the preposition en to express “while” or “by”:

J’ai vu un film amusant. I saw an amusing film.Il parlait en regardant la télé. He was speaking while watching television.

In French, because a present participle may not be used as a noun, gerunds are expressed by the infinitive:

Faire du ski est son passetemps favori. Skiing is his favorite pastime.

FORMING THE PRESENT PARTICIPLEThe present participle of all French verbs ends in –ant, the English equivalent of –ing. The present participle of most French verbs, whether regular or irregular, is formed by dropping the –ons ending from the nous form of the present tense of the verb and adding –ant, as shown in Table 2.

Verbals / 7

Table 2 Forming the Present Participle

Infinitive Nous Form of Present Present Participle

parler (to speak) nous parlons parlant (speaking)

finir (to finish) nous finissons finissant (finishing)

attendre (to wait) nous attendons attendant (waiting)

aller (to go) nous allons allant (going)

boire (to drink) nous buvons buvant (drinking)

commencer (to begin) nous commençons commençant (beginning)

dire (to say, to tell) nous disons disant (saying)

faire (to do) nous faisons faisant (doing)

manger (to eat) nous mangeons mangeant (eating)

sortir (to go out) nous sortons sortant (going out)

venir (to come) nous venons venant (coming)

voir (to see) nous voyons voyant (seeing)

There are only three irregular present participles in French:

Verb Nous Form Present Participle

avoir (to have) nous avons ayant (having)

être (to be) nous sommes étant (being)

savoir (to know) nous savons sachant (knowing)

USING THE PRESENT PARTICIPLEThe present participle is used:

• With the preposition en to imply simultaneous actions:

Elle est tombé en courant. (She fell [while, when, upon, on, as she was] running.)

Tout may be used before en to add emphasis:

Il parle tout en mangeant. (He speaks even while eating.)

• En + present participle may mean “by.” With the verbs commencer and finir, par + infinitive is used provided there is no direct object:

Ils apprennent beaucoup en voyageant. (They learn a lot by traveling.)As-tu commencé par parler français? (Did you begin by speaking French?)Elle finit par rire. (She ends up laughing.)

BUT:

Il finit l’histoire en riant. (He finishes the story by laughing.)

• Without the preposition en to show a cause, a reason, a motive, a condition, a result, an incidental circumstance, or an action that took place at the same moment as or immediately before the action of the main verb. When used as a verb, the present participle is invariable—meaning that there is no agreement of the present participle with the subject:

Étant fatigué, j’ai cessé de travailler. (Being tired, I stopped working.)Il est sorti, oubliant son portefeuille. (He went out, forgetting his wallet.)Faisant ses devoirs, il a beaucoup appris. (Doing his homework, he learned a lot.)Nous parlions en regardant le film. (We were speaking while watching the film.)Elle est arrivée pleurant. (She arrived crying.)

8 / Verbals

• Some present participles may be used as adjectives and must, therefore, agree in number and gender with the nouns or pronouns they modify. They generally follow the noun or pronoun:

Nous avons entendu des nouvelles surprenantes. (We heard surprising news.)J’ai trouvé ce livre intrigant. (I found that book intriguing.)

• The present participle can, but rarely does, replace a relative clause (qui + verb):

Elle cherche des gens qui parlent français. (She is looking for people who speak French.)Elle cherche des gens parlant français. (She is looking for people speaking French.)

The present participle cannot be used:

• To express the English present progressive form: “to be” + present participle. To express that an action is in progress, use the present tense or être en train de + infinitive:

Ils jouent. (They are playing.)Ils sont en train de jouer. (They are playing.)

• To replace an English gerund (a noun ending in –ing):

Aimes-tu le ski? (Do you like skiing?)Faire des gâteaux est une science. (Baking is a science.)Nous le cacherons sans qu’elle le sache. (We’ll hide it without her knowing it.)

FORMING THE PAST PARTICIPLEThe past participle of regular French verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the endings shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Forming the Past Participle

Verb Family Infinitive Past Participle

–er travailler travaillé (worked)

–ir choisir choisi (chosen)

–re perdre perdu (lost)

Some French verbs have irregular past participles that fall into the following groups:

• Those ending in –i:

rire (to laugh) risuffire (to suffice) suffisuivre (to follow) suivi

• Those ending in –is:

acquérir (to acquire) acquisasseoir (to seat) assisconquérir (to conquer) conquismettre (to put) misprendre (to take) pris

Verbals / 9

• Those ending in –it:

conduire (to drive) conduitconstruire (to construct) construitcuire (to cook) cuitdétruire (to destroy) détruitdire (to say, to tell) ditécrire (to write) écritproduire (to produce) produittraduire (to translate) traduit

• Those ending in –u:

apercevoir (to notice) aperçuavoir (to have) euboire (to drink) buconnaître (to know) connucourir (to run) courucroire (to believe) crudevoir (to have to) dûlire (to read) luparaître (to appear) paruplaire (to please) plupouvoir (to be able to) purecevoir (to receive) reçusavoir (to know) suse taire (to be quiet) tutenir (to hold) tenuvaloir (to be worth) valuvenir (to come) venuvivre (to live) vécuvouloir (to want) voulu

• Those ending in –ert:

ouvrir (to open) ouvertoffrir (to offer) offertsouffrir (to suffer) souffert

• Those ending in –int:

atteindre (to attain) atteintcraindre (to fear) craintéteindre (to extinguish) éteintjoindre (to join) jointpeindre (to paint) peintplaindre (to pity) plaint

• Those totally irregular:

être (to be) étéfaire (to make, to do) faitmourir (to die) mortnaître (to be born) né

Any compound infinitive, an infinitive comprised of a prefix + a verb, forms its past parti-ciple according to the list above, for example:

comprendre (to understand) compriscouvrir (to cover) couvertpermettre (to permit) permissourire (to smile) sourisoutenir (to support) soutenu

10 / Verbals

USING THE PAST PARTICIPLEIn French, as in English, the past participle is used to form the seven compound (perfect) tenses, to form the passive voice with être (to be), and as an adjective:

J’ai étudié pour mon examen. I studied for my test.Le lit n’a pas été fait. The bed wasn’t made.Les fenêtres sont ouvertes. The windows are open.

In French, compound tenses may be formed with avoir or être as the helping (auxiliary) verb that precedes the past participle. In order to select the correct helping verb, keep the follow-ing in mind:

• The overwhelming majority of verbs require avoir as their helping verb.• Reflexive verbs (those whose infinitive is preceded by the reflexive pronoun se—see

Appendix D) always use être as their helping verb: Je me suis lavé la figure. (I washed my face.)

• The most common intransitive verbs (those that do not take a direct object) use être as their helping verb. These verbs generally show motion or change of place, state, or condition and include those shown in Table 4.

Table 4 Verbs That Use être as Their Helping Verb

Infinitive Meaning Past Participle

aller to go allé

arriver to arrive arrivé

descendre * to go down descendu

devenir to become devenu

entrer to enter entré

monter * to go up monté

mourir to die mort

naître to be born né

partir to leave parti

passer * to pass by passé

rentrer * to return home rentré

rester to remain resté

retourner * to return retourné

revenir to come back revenu

sortir * to go out sorti

tomber to fall tombé

venir to come venu

Verbs with an asterisk in Table 4 use avoir instead of être when they are followed by a direct object. Note the difference in meaning:

J’ai descendu l’escalier. I went downstairs.J’ai descendu mon livre. I took my book downstairs.Je suis descendu vite. I went down quickly.

Il a monté l’escalier. He went upstairs.Il a monté son livre. He took his book upstairs.Il est monté lentement. He went up slowly.

Verbals / 11

J’ai passé une semaine à Paris. I spent a week in Paris.Je suis passé par ta maison. I passed by your house.

Elle a rentré son chat. She brought her cat in.Elle est rentrée tôt. She came home early.

A-t-il retourné la table? Did he turn the table over?Est-il retourné du Japon? Did he return from Japan?

Elles ont sorti leur argent. They took out their money.Elles sont sorties. They went out.

AGREEMENT OF PAST PARTICIPLESPast participles of verbs conjugated with avoir agree in gender (add –e for the feminine) and number (add –s for the plural) with a preceding direct object noun, pronoun, or antecedent unless the direct object is linked to the infinitive and not to the conjugated verb:

Je ne l’ai pas entendu(e). I didn’t hear him (her).Regarde la lettre que j’ai écrite. Look at the letter I wrote.Ces films? Je ne les ai pas encore vus. Those films? I haven’t seen them yet.

BUT:

Les filles? Je les ai entendu chanter. The girls? I heard them singing.

Past participles of verbs conjugated with être agree in gender and number with the subject:

Elle est arrivée en retard. She arrived late.Nous sommes venu(e)s à l’heure. We came on time.

Past participles of reflexive verbs agree with the reflexive pronoun only when that pronoun is acting as a direct object. When the reflexive pronoun serves as an indirect object (the direct object follows the verb), there is no agreement:

Elles se sont lavées. They washed themselves.Elles se sont lavé les cheveux. They washed their hair.

THE INFINITIVEAlthough the infinitive is a verb form, it may be used as a subject:

Mentir est un péché. Lying is a sin.

As a command (generally on signs and in recipes):

À vendre. For sale.Ne pas toucher. Don’t touch.

Laisser refroidir. Allow to cool.Faire bouillir l’eau. Boil the water.Faire venir le docteur. Send for the doctor.

12 / Verbals

Or as part of a question or an exclamation:

Quoi faire? What should we do?Oh, avoir encore vingt ans! Oh, to be twenty again!

Certain French verbs are followed by the infinitive, as shown in Table 5.

Table 5 Verbs Followed by the Infinitive

aimer to like, to love

aimer mieux to prefer

aller to go

compter to intend

désirer to wish, to want

détester to hate

devoir to have to

entendre to hear

envoyer to send

espérer to hope

faillir to almost do, to just miss doing

faire to make

falloir to be necessary

laisser to let, to allow

oser to dare

penser to intend

pouvoir to be able

préférer to prefer

prétendre to claim

savoir to know how to

souhaiter to wish

valoir mieux to be better

venir to come

voir to see

vouloir to wish, to want

J’aime danser. I like to dance.Sais-tu cuisiner? Do you know how to cook?

The infinitive is used after all prepositions except en (which is followed by a present parti-ciple) and après (which is followed by the past infinitive). Many verbs require the preposition à before the infinitive, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6 Verbs Requiring à Before the Infinitive

aider à to help

s’amuser à to have fun

apprendre à to learn (teach) to

arriver à to succeed in

s’attendre à to expect to

avoir à to have to

chercher à to try to

Verbals / 13

14 / The Basics on Verbs

commencer à to begin to

consentir à to consent to

consister à to consist of

continuer à to continue to

se décider à to decide to

se disposer à to be disposed

demander à to ask to

encourager à to encourage to

enseigner à to teach to

forcer à to force to

s’habituer à to get used to

hésiter à to hesitate to

inciter à to incite to

s’intéresser à to be interested in

inviter à to invite to

se mettre à to begin to

obliger à to oblige to

passer (du temps) à to spend (time)

penser à to think about

persister à to persist in

se plaire à to take pleasure in, to enjoy

se préparer à to prepare to

renoncer à to give up

rester à to remain to

réussir à to succeed in

servir à to serve to

songer à to think about

suffire à to be enough to

tenir à to insist on

travailler à to work to

Il commence à pleuvoir. It is beginning to rain.Ça ne sert à rien. That serves no purpose.

Some verbs require the preposition de before the infinitive, as shown in Table 7.

Table 7 Verbs Requiring de Before the Infinitive

accepter de to accept

accuser de to accuse of

s’agir de to be a question of

achever de to finish

s’arrêter de to stop

blamer de to blame

cesser de to stop

choisir de to choose

se contenter de to be satisfied with

continuer de to continue

convenir de to be fitting

décider de to decide

défendre de to forbid

se dépêcher de to hurry

s’efforcer de to strive

empêcher de to prevent from

essayer de to try

s’étonner de to be surprised at

éviter de to avoid

féliciter de to congratulate on

finir de to finish

se garder de to take care not to

menacer de to threaten

mériter de to deserve

négliger de to neglect

s’occuper de to take care of

offrir de to offer

oublier de to forget

parler de to speak about

se passer de to do without

persuader de to persuade

se plaindre de to complain about

prier de to beg, to ask

promettre de to promise

proposer de to propose

recommander de to recommend

refuser de to refuse

regretter de to regret

remercier de to thank for

reprocher de to reproach

rêver de to dream about

rire de to laugh at

risquer de to risk

se souvenir de to remember

suggérer de to suggest

tâcher de to try

se vanter de to boast of

venir de to have just

J’ai oublié de te téléphoner. I forgot to call you.L’enfant tâche de nager. The child is trying to swim.

Some verbs require the pattern à quelqu’un + de before the infinitive, as shown in Table 8.

Table 8 Verbs Requiring à quelqu’un + de

commander à quelqu’un de to order (someone) to (do something)

conseiller à quelqu’un de to advise (someone) to (do something)

défendre à quelqu’un de to forbid (someone) to (do something)

demander à quelqu’un de to ask (someone) to (do something)

Verbals / 15

dire à quelqu’un de to tell (someone) to (do something)

écrire à quelqu’un de to write (to someone) to (do something)

interdire à quelqu’un de to forbid (someone) to (do something)

offrir à quelqu’un de to offer (someone) to (do something)

ordonner à quelqu’un de to order (someone) to (do something)

permettre à quelqu’un de to allow (someone) to (do something)

promettre à quelqu’un de to promise (someone) to (do something)

proposer à quelqu’un de to propose (to someone) to (do something)

recommander à quelqu’un de to recommend (to someone) to (do something)

reprocher à quelqu’un de to reproach (someone) for something

suggérer à quelqu’un de to suggest (to someone) to (do something)

téléphoner à quelqu’un de to telephone (someone) to (do something)

La mère permet à ses enfants de sortir. The mother allows her children to go out.J’ai suggéré à mon amie de m’aider. I suggested that my friend help me.

Two verbs that require à quelqu’un + à before an infinitive are

enseigner à quelqu’un à to teach (someone) to (do something)apprendre à quelqu’un à to teach (someone) to (do something)

J’apprends à mon neveu à conduire. I am teaching my nephew to drive.

Some prepositions are commonly followed by an infinitive.

afin de in order toau lieu de instead ofavant de beforepour in order to, for the purpose ofsans without

Paul regarde la télé au lieu de faire Paul watches television instead of doing ses devoirs. his homework.

Note:

• After verbs of motion, the preposition pour is generally omitted.

Il est descendu écouter la radio. He came downstairs to listen to the radio.

• Par may follow commencer and finir in certain idiomatic expressions.

Il a commencé par parler français. He began (by) speaking French.Elles ont fini par rire. They ended up (by) laughing.

Most nouns and adjectives are followed by de before an infinitive.

C’est une bonne idée de savoir nager. It’s a good idea to know how to swim.Elle est heureuse de rentrer. She is happy to go home.

Note:

• Certain adjectives and nouns may be followed by à before an infinitive that implies a passive meaning.

Ce livre est difficile à comprendre. This book is hard to understand.Ce tricot est facile à tricoter. This sweater is easy to knit.

16 / Verbals

• The preposition à is used with certain nouns before an infinitive to express purpose or function:

Regarde ma chambre à coucher. Look at my bedroom.On n’emploie plus une machine à écrire. We no longer use a typewriter.

• The preposition à is used before an infinitive after le dernier (the last), le seul (the only), le premier (the first), and other numerals, and after a few adjectives showing tendency, fitness, and purpose, such as habile (skillful), lent (slow), and prêt (ready).

Il est le dernier à arriver. He is the last to arrive.Nous sommes prêts à partir. We are ready to leave.

THE PAST INFINITIVEThe past infinitive is used to express a previous action regardless of the English translation and also after the preposition après. It is formed by using the correct helping verb (avoir or être) in its infinitive form and the past participle of the verb showing the action.

On l’a punie pour avoir menti. They punished her for lying.Elle est partie sans avoir dit merci. She left without saying thank you.Après avoir dormi, ils se sont habillés. After having eaten, they got dressed.Après être arrivée, elle s’est assise. After having arrived, she sat down.

NEGATING THE INFINITIVEBoth parts of a negative precede the present infinitive.

Je vous conseille de ne rien faire. I advise you not to do anything.Le docteur a dit de ne pas manger. The doctor said not to eat.

With the past infinitive, both parts of a negative may precede the helping verb (avoir or être) or the second part of the negative may be placed between the helping verb and the past participle.

Il regrette de ne pas m’avoir dit au revoir. He regrets not saying good-bye to me.Il regrette de ne m’avoir pas dit au revoir.

Note: Personne, nul, and aucun always follow the infinitive or the past participle.

Elle est triste de ne rencontrer personne. She is sad not to meet anyone.Elle est triste de n’avoir rencontré personne. She is sad not to have met anyone.

French Tenses and MoodsThere are seven simple and seven corresponding compound tenses and moods in French. Tense refers to a time period—present, past, or future—whereas a mood shows how the sub-ject views the action. The tenses in French are the present, the imperfect, the past definite, and the future. The moods in French are the indicative (states a fact), the conditional (states what would happen under certain circumstances), the subjunctive (expresses a subjective response or attitude), the infinitive (the “to” form of the verb), and the imperative (com-mand). A simple tense or mood consists of one verb tense form to express an action whereas

French Tenses and Moods / 17

a compound tense requires the use of the appropriate helping verb (avoir or être) followed by a past participle expressing the action. Table 9 compares seven simple and compound tenses and moods in French.

Table 9 Simple Tenses and Corresponding Compound Tenses/Moods

Simple Tense/Mood Compound Tense/MoodPresent Past Indefinite (Compound Past)

le présent le passé composé

do/does; am/are/is have, did + past participle

Je parle. J’ai parlé.

I speak, I do speak, I am speaking. I spoke, I have spoken, I did speak.


l’imparfait le plus-que-parfait

was; used to had + past participle

Tu parlais. Tu avais parlé.

You were speaking. You used to speak. You had spoken.

Past Definite (Simple Past) Past Anterior

le passé simple le passé antérieur

have, did had + past participle

Il parla. Il eut parlé.

He spoke. He had spoken.

Future Future Perfect (Future Anterior)

le futur le futur antérieur

will will have + past participle

Nous parlerons. Nous aurons parlé.

We will speak. We will have spoken.

Conditional Conditional Perfect

le conditionnel le conditionnel passé

would would have + past participle

Vous parleriez. Vous auriez parlé.

You would speak. You would have spoken.

Present Subjunctive Past Subjunctive

le présent du subjonctif le passé du subjonctif

do/does; am/are/is; will; may have/did/may have + past participle

ils parlent ils aient parlé

they (do, are, will, may) speak(ing) they (did speak), (will, may) have spoken

Imperfect Subjunctive Pluperfect Subjunctive

l’imparfait du subjonctif le plus-que-parfait du subjonctif

have/did/might had/might have + past participle

on parlât on eût parlé

they (have, did, might) speak they (had spoken) might have spoken

Note the following:

• Each compound tense requires a form of the helping verb—avoir or être (which is conjugated in the corresponding simple tense) and a past participle. See page 139 for the complete conjugation of avoir and page 54 for the complete conjugation of être.

• The imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive appear only in literary and historical works and should be learned only for the purpose of recognition in those works.

18 / French Tenses and Moods

THE PRESENT AND THE PASSÉ COMPOSÉThe present indicative is a simple tense that expresses what is happening now. Its corre-sponding compound is the passé composé, a tense expressing an action or state of being that occurred at a particular time in the past.

Forming the Present Tense of Regular VerbsTo form the present tense of a regular verb in either the –er, –ir, or –re family, simply drop the infinitive ending and add the appropriate endings for each subject shown in Table 10.

Table 10 The Present Tense of Regular Verbs

parler (to speak) finir (to finish) vendre (to sell)

je parle je finis je vends

tu parles tu finis tu vends

il/elle/on parle il/elle/on finit il/elle/on vend

nous parlons nous finissons nous vendons

vous parlez vous finissez vous vendez

ils/elles parlent ils/elles finissent ils/elles vendent

The verb rompre (to break) and other compound verbs that include rompre in their stems, such as corrompre (to corrupt) and interrompre (to interrupt), add t to the third person singu-lar form: il rompt, il corrompt, il interrompt.

J’aime le français. I like French.Vous maigrissez. You are getting thin.Il rompt toujours ses promesses. He always breaks his promises.

Forming the Present of –oir and –evoir VerbsTo form the present tense of the seven regular verbs that end in –oir and –evoir, drop the –oir or –evoir infinitive ending and add the endings shown in Table 11. All other verbs ending in –oir (avoir, voir, etc.) are irregular and require memorization. Verbs ending in –cevoir change c to ç before o and u to preserve the soft –s sound.

Table 11 The Present of –oir and –evoir Verbs

Infinitive Meaning Subject Ending Conjugated Verb

apercevoir to notice je –ois aperçois

concevoir to conceive tu –ois conçois

décevoir to deceive il –oit déçoit

devoir to owe, have to elle –oit doit

percevoir to perceive on –oit perçoit

recevoir to receive nous –evons recevons

redevoir to still owe vous –evez redevez

recevoir to receive ils –oivent reçoivent

Tu dois étudier. You have to study.Je reçois le journal chaque jour. I receive the newspaper every day.


Forming the Present of Verbs with Spelling ChangesRegular verbs with spelling changes all belong to the –er verb family. They are often called “shoe” verbs because their changes often occur in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, creating the effect of a shoe:

je nous

tu vous

il, elle, on ils, elles

There are five categories of verbs that require spelling changes:

• Verbs ending in –cer: Change c to ç before a or o to maintain a soft sound. In the present, this occurs only in the nous form:

•• prononcer (to prononce): je prononce, tu prononces, il prononce, nous prononçons, vous prononcez, ils prononcent

•• Other –cer verbs include annoncer, avancer, commencer, effacer (to erase), lancer (to throw), menacer, placer (to place), remplacer (to replace), and renoncer à (to give up).

Nous commençons la leçon. We begin the lesson.Je renonce à fumer. I’m giving up smoking.

• Verbs ending in –ger: Insert a silent e between g and a and g and o to maintain a soft sound. In the present, this occurs only in the nous form:

•• manger (to eat): je mange, tu manges, il mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils mangent

•• Other –ger verbs include arranger, changer, corriger (to correct), déménager (to move), déranger (to disturb), diriger (to direct), nager (to swim), obliger, partager (to divide), plonger (to dive), ranger (to tidy), songer à (to think about), and voyager.

Manges-tu des legumes? Do you eat vegetables?Tu ne me dérange pas. You aren’t bothering me.

• Verbs ending in –yer: Change y to i before silent e in all “shoe” forms:

•• employer (to use): j’emploie, tu emploies, il emploie, nous employons, vous employez, ils emploient

•• Other –yer verbs include ennuyer (to bother), envoyer (to send), essuyer (to wipe), nettoyer (to clean), and renvoyer (to fire).

•• Verbs that end in –ayer may or may not change the y to i before a silent e. These verbs include essayer (to try) and payer.

Je te paie demain. I will pay you tomorrow.Nettoie ta chambre. Clean your room.

• Verbs ending in e + consonant + er: Change the silent e before the infinitive ending to è for all forms within the “shoe”:

•• acheter (to buy): je achète, tu achètes, il achète, nous achetons, vous achetez, ils achètent

•• Other e + consonant + er verbs include achever (to finish), amener (to bring), élever (to bring up, to raise), emmener (to lead away), enlever (to remove), geler (to freeze), lever (to raise), peser (to weigh), and promener (to walk).

•• Two common verbs, appeler (to call) and jeter (to throw), along with any related compound verb, such as rappeler (to recall), rejeter (to reject), projeter (to project), double the consonant before the infinitive ending in all forms within the “shoe”:

appeler: j’appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, nous appelons, vous appelez, ils appellent jeter: je jette, tu jettes, il jette, nous jetons, vous jetez, ils jettent


J’achète un cadeau à mon amie. I’m buying a gift for my friend.Luc promène son chien dans le parc. Luke is walking his dog in the park.

• Verbs ending in é + consonant + er: Change é to è within the “shoe”:

•• célébrer (to celebrate): je célèbre, tu célèbres, il célèbre, nous célébrons, vous célébrez, ils célèbrent

•• Other é + consonant + er verbs include célébrer, espérer (to hope), posséder (to possess), préférer, protéger (to protect), and répéter (to repeat).

•• Je célèbre mon anniversaire en mai. I celebrate my birthday in May.•• Nous préférons aller au cinema. We prefer going to the movies.

The Present of Irregular VerbsIrregular verbs do not adhere to any set pattern of rules and, therefore, must be memorized. The most common present tense irregular verbs, which can be found in the charts that fol-low, are

• aller (to go)• asseoir (to seat)• avoir (to have)• battre (to beat)• boire (to drink)• conduire (to drive) Verbs like conduire include construire (to construct), inscrire (to register), produire (to

produce), and traduire (to translate).• connaître (to know, to be acquainted with) Verbs like connaître include paraître (to appear), disparaître (to disappear), and

reconnaître (to recognize).• courir (to run)• craindre (to fear) Verbs like craindre include atteindre (to reach), éteindre (to extinguish), joindre (to

join), peindre (to paint), and plaindre (to pity).• croire (to believe)• cueillir (to pick)• devoir (to have to, to owe)• dire (to say, to tell)• distraire (to distract)• dormir (to sleep) Verbs like dormir keep the consonant before the –ir ending in all plural forms:

endormir (to put to sleep), mentir (to lie), partir (to go away), sentir (to feel, to smell), servir (to serve), sortir (to go out).

• écrire (to write)• être (to be)• faire (to make, to do)• falloir (to be necessary)• fuir (to flee)• lire (to read)• mettre (to put [on]) Verbs like mettre include commettre (to commit), permettre (to permit), promettre (to

promise), and remettre (to put back).• offrir (to offer)• ouvrir (to open)• paraître (to seem) A verb like paraître is apparaître (to appear).• plaire (to please)• pleuvoir (to rain)


• pouvoir (to be able to)• prendre (to take) Verbs like prendre include apprendre (to learn), comprendre (to understand), reprendre

(to take back), and surprendre (to surprise).• recevoir (to receive) Verbs like recevoir include apercevoir (to notice) and concevoir (to conceive).• rire (to laugh) A verb like rire is sourire (to smile).• savoir (to know [a fact])• suivre (to follow): A verb like suivre is poursuivre (to pursue).• tenir (to hold) Verbs like tenir include appartenir à (to belong to), obtenir (to obtain), and retenir (to

retain)• vaincre (to defeat) A verb like vaincre is convaincre (to convince).• valoir (to be worth)• venir (to come) Verbs like venir include devenir (to become) and revenir (to come back).• vivre (to live) A verb like vivre is survivre (to survive).• voir (to see)• vouloir (to wish, to want)

Nous avons une grande maison. We have a big house.Je suis américaine. I am American.Il fait chaud aujourd’hui. It’s hot today.

The Present of Impersonal VerbsSome verbs are only conjugated in the third person singular in all tenses where il means “it.” Consult the charts that follow to find these verbs in other tenses.

advenir il advient it happens

bruiner il bruine it’s drizzling

convenir il convient it’s suitable

dégeler il dégèle it’s thawing

falloir il faut it’s necessary

geler il gèle it’s freezing

grêler il grêle it’s hailing

importer il importe it’s important

neiger il neige it’s snowing

pleuvoir il pleut it’s raining

regeler il regèle it’s freezing again

tonner il tonne it’s thundering

Il faut étudier pour réussir. It is necessary to study to succeed.Il pleut à verse. It’s raining cats and dogs.


The Present of Reflexive VerbsA reflexive verb, one that shows that the subject is acting upon itself, can be identified by the reflexive pronoun se that precedes the infinitive. In the reflexive construction the subject and the reflexive pronoun refer to the same person. The reflexive pronoun may act either as a direct or an indirect object. Reflexive verbs, like all other verbs, are conjugated in the vari-ous tenses according to their infinitive ending and to any spelling changes or irregularities. Reflexive verbs, unlike other verbs however, must be preceded by their appropriate reflexive pronoun:

Je me lave. Nous préparons-nous bien?Tu te rases. Vous brossez-vous les cheveux?Il ne se lève pas. Ne s’amusent-ils pas?Elle ne se maquille pas. Ne se reposent-elles pas?

Many verbs can be non-reflexive or reflexive depending upon whether the subject is acting upon itself or upon someone or something else.

Elle lave le chien. She is washing the dog.Elle se lave. She is washing herself.

When there is one subject that is followed by a conjugated verb and an infinitive, the reflex-ive pronoun is placed before the infinitive:

Je vais me réveiller tôt. I’m going to wake up early.Il ne doit pas se peigner. He doesn’t have to comb his hair.

A list of common reflexive verbs appears in Appendix D.

Uses of the Present TenseThe present tense is used to:

• Express what the subject does or is doing at the current time:

Jean regarde la télévision. John watches television. John is watching television. John does watch television.

• Express an action that will take place in the near future:

Je te téléphone ce soir. I’ll call you tonight.

• Ask for instructions:

Je viens à midi? Shall I come at noon?

• Express an action or event that began in the past and is continuing in the present:

Depuis quand (combien de temps) How long have you been living in Paris?habites-tu à Paris?J’habite à Paris depuis un an. I’ve been living in Paris for a year.

Other ways to express the same question and answer are

Combien de temps y a-t-il que tu habites à Paris?Il y a un an que j’habite à Paris.Ça fait combien de temps que tu habites à Paris?Ça fait un an que j’habite à Paris.Voilà un an que j’habite à Paris.


Forming the Passé ComposéThe passé composé (the compound past), also referred to as the past indefinite, is comprised of two parts: a helping verb conjugated in the present tense (avoir: j’ai, tu as, il a, elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont, elles ont OR être: je suis, tu es, il est, elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont, elles sont) and a past participle (refer to Tables 3 and 4):

Henri a mangé. Henry ate.Elles sont allées au cinéma. They went to the movies.Nous nous sommes réveillés tôt. We woke up early.

The passé composé is negated by placing ne and the other negative word around pronouns that precede it and the conjugated helping verb:

Henri n’a rien mangé. Henry didn’t eat anything.Elles ne sont jamais allées au cinéma. They never went to the movies.Nous ne nous sommes pas réveillés tôt. We didn’t wake up early.

Inversion may be used to form a question in the passé composé by reversing the order of the subject pronoun and the conjugated helping verb:

Henri (n’) a-t-il (rien) mangé? Did(n’t) Henry eat (anything)?(Ne) sont-elles (jamais) allées au cinéma? Did(n’t) they (ever) go to the movies?(Ne) nous sommes-nous (pas) réveillés tôt? Did(n’t) we wake up early?

Uses of the Passé ComposéThe passé composé is used to express:

• A specific action or event that was started and completed at a definite time in the past (even if the time isn’t mentioned):

Nous avons joué au football. We played soccer.La petite fille est tombée. The little girl fell.Ils se sont dépêchés. They hurried.

• A specific action or event that occurred at a specific point in past time:

M’avez-vous téléphoné hier? Did you call me yesterday?Il est arrivé à deux heures. He arrived at two o’clock.Ne t’es-tu pas couché avant minuit? Did you go to bed before midnight?

• A specific action or event that was repeated for a stated number of times:

J’ai lu ce roman trois fois. I read that book three times.Ils sont allés en Europe deux fois. They went to Europe twice.Il s’est rasé une seule fois hier. He shaved only once yesterday.

The following words and expressions often require the use of the passé composé because they specify a definite past time:

• l’année passée (last year)• avant-hier (the day before yesterday)• d’abord (at first)• enfin (finally)• ensuite (then, next)• l’été passé/l’hiver passé (last summer/last winter)• finalement (finally)• une fois (one time)


• hier (yesterday)• hier soir (last night)• l’autre jour (the other day)• ce jour-là (that day)• un jour (one day)• le mois passé (dernier) (last month)• la semaine passée (dernière) (last week)• soudain (suddenly)• tout d’un (à) coup (suddenly)

Je suis allé au match de football hier. I went to the soccer match yesterday.Tout d’un coup elle a éternué. All of a sudden she sneezed.Je me suis couché tôt hier soir. I went to bed early last night.

For refl exive verbs in the passé composé and in all compound tenses, the refl exive pronoun is placed before the conjugated helping verb (être). The past participle agrees in number and gender with the preceding refl exive pronoun only when that pronoun serves as a direct object. When the refl exive pronoun serves as an indirect object, there is no agreement of the past participle.

Elle s’est lavée. She washed herself.Elle s’est lavé la figure. She washed her face.

THE IMPERFECT AND THE PLUPERFECTThe imperfect is a simple tense that expresses or describes continuous, repeated, habitual, or incomplete actions, situations, or events in the past. The imperfect describes what was going on at an unspecific time in the past or what used to happen. Its corresponding compound is the pluperfect, a tense expressing an action or state of being that had taken place and that had been completed in the past before another action took place.

Forming the Imperfect of Regular VerbsTo form the imperfect tense of a regular verb in either the –er, –ir, or –re family, simply drop the –ons ending from the nous form of the present tense and add the appropriate endings for each subject shown in Table 12.

Table 12 The Imperfect of Regular Verbs

parler (to speak) finir (to finish) perdre (to lose)

nous parlons nous finissons nous perdons

je parlais je finissais je perdais

tu parlais tu finissais tu perdais

il/elle/on parlait il/elle/on finissait il/elle/on perdait

nous parlions nous finissions nous perdions

vous parliez vous finissiez vous perdiez

ils/elles parlaient ils/elles finissaient ils/elles perdaient

Je regardais les enfants jouer. I was watching the children play.Il choisissait toujours la glace comme He would always choose ice cream asdessert. dessert.Ce marchand vendait les vêtements This merchant used to sell sports de sport. clothes.


Note: Verbs such as étudier (to study), rire (to laugh), sourire (to smile), and vérifier (to check) end in –ions in the present. When –ons is dropped to form the imperfect, two i’s are present in the nous and vous forms:

Nous étudiions. We were studying.Riiez-vous? Were you laughing?

Forming the Present Imperfect of Verbs with Spelling ChangesVerbs ending in –cer change –c to –ç before –a to maintain the soft c sound in the je, tu, il (elle), and ils (elles) forms:

Je lançais la balle. I was throwing the ball.Effaçais-tu les fautes? Were you erasing the mistakes?Le spectacle commençait. The show was beginning.Les voitures avançaient rapidement. The cars were advancing quickly.

Verbs ending in –ger change –g to –ge before –a to maintain the soft g sound in the je, tu, il (elle), and ils (elles) forms:

Quand j’étais jeune, je mangeais peu. When I was young, I would eat little.Voyageais-tu beaucoup? Did you used to travel a lot?Ma soeur me dérangeait toujours. My sister would always bother me.Dirigeaient-ils une grande enterprise? Did they manage a big company?

The Imperfect of Irregular VerbsAll remaining verbs, including reflexive verbs, follow the same rules for the formation of the imperfect as do regular verbs, except for the verb être. A list of the nous form of the most common irregular verbs follows. Simply drop the –ons ending and add the imperfect endings shown above:

• aller (to go): nous allons• avoir (to have): nous avons• boire (to drink): nous buvons• conduire (to drive): nous conduisons• connaître (to know): nous connaissons• courir (to run): nous courons• craindre (to fear): nous craignons• croire (to believe): nous croyons• devoir (to have to): nous devons• dire (to say, to tell): nous disons• dormir (to sleep): nous dormons• écrire (to write): nous écrivons• faire (to make, to do): nous faisons• lire (to read): nous lisons• mettre (to put): nous mettons• offrir (to offer): nous offrons• ouvrir (to open): nous ouvrons• plaire (to please): nous plaisons• pouvoir (to be able to): nous pouvons• prendre (to take): nous prenons• recevoir (to receive): nous recevons


• savoir (to know): nous savons• suivre (to follow): nous suivons• tenir (to hold): nous tenons• valoir (to be worth): nous valons• venir (to come): nous venons• vivre (to live): nous vivons• voir (to see): nous voyons• vouloir (to wish, to want): nous voulons

Ils venaient toujours à l’heure. They always came on time.Savais-tu les règles? Did you know the rules?

Notes:

• For être, use the imperfect endings with the stem: ét–: j’étais, tu étais, il (elle) était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils (elles) étaient.

Nous étions heureux. We were happy.

• For reflexive verbs, simply place the reflexive pronoun before the verb.

Ils se dépêchaient. They were hurrying.

The Imperfect of Impersonal VerbsFor verbs conjugated in the third person singular where il means “it,” consult the chart that follows to find these verbs in the imperfect.

advenir il advenait it was happening

bruiner il bruinait it was drizzling

convenir il convenait it was suitable

dégeler il dégelait it was thawing

falloir il fallait it was necessary

geler il gelait it was freezing

grêler il grêlait it was hailing

importer il importait it was important

neiger il neigeait it was snowing

pleuvoir il pleuvait it was raining

regeler il regelait it was freezing again

tonner il tonnait it was thundering

Il importait faire le ménage. It was important to do the housework.Il neigeait. It was snowing.

Uses of the ImperfectThe imperfect is used to:

• Describe ongoing, continuous, habitual, or repeated actions or events in the past (which may or may not have been completed):

Je travaillais tous les jours. I worked (used to work, would work) every day.


• Describe what was going on when something else happened:

Je travaillais quand il m’a téléphoné. I was working when he called.

• Describe a person, place, thing, or state of mind:

Les oiseaux chantaient. The birds were singing.

• Express the day, month, or time of day:

C’était samedi. It was Saturday.

• Express an action or event that began in the past and continued for some time in the past:

Depuis quand (combien de temps) How long had you been livinghabitais-tu à Paris? in Paris?J’habitais à Paris depuis un an. I had been living in Paris for a year.

Other ways to express the same question and answer are

Combien de temps y avait-t-il que tu habitais à Paris?Il y avait un an que j’habitais à Paris.Ça faisait combien de temps que tu habitais à Paris?Ça faisait un an que j’habitais à Paris.Voilà un an que j’habitais à Paris.

• Express two actions occurring simultaneously:

Elle riait pendant que je pleurais. She was laughing while I was crying.

The following words and expressions often require the use of the imperfect because they usu-ally imply repetitious or habitual past actions:

• autrefois (formerly)• chaque jour (semaine, mois, année) (each [every] day [week, month, year])• de temps à autre (from time to time)• de temps en temps (from time to time)• d’habitude (usually)• d’ordinaire (usually, generally)• en ce temps-là (at that time)• en général (generally)• fréquemment (frequently)• généralement (generally)• habituellement (habitually)• parfois (sometimes)• quelquefois (sometimes)• souvent (often)• toujours (always)• tous les jours (mois) (every day [month])• tout le temps (all the time)

Mon mari jouait au golf tout le temps. My husband used to play golf all the time.Nous allions souvent en France. We often went to France.

Verbs that indicate a state of mind in the past are generally used in the imperfect. When the state of mind occurred at a specific time in the past, however, the passé composé is used:

• aimer (to like, to love)• croire (to believe)• désirer (to desire)• espérer (to hope)• être (to be)


• penser (to think)• pouvoir (to be able to)• préférer (to prefer)• regretter (to regret, to be sorry)• savoir (to know [how])• vouloir (to want)

Je ne pouvais pas continuer à travailler. I wasn’t able to continue working.Soudain, je n’ai pas pu continuer Suddenly I wasn’t able to continue à travailler. working.

Forming the PluperfectThe pluperfect is comprised of two parts: a helping verb conjugated in the present tense (avoir: j’avais, tu avais, il avait, elle avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils avaient, elles avaient OR être: j’étais, tu étais, il était, elle était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient, elles étaient) and a past participle (refer to Tables 3 and 4):

Ils avaient parlé. They had spoken.Elle est arrivée tôt. She had arrived early.Tu t’étais préparé avec soin. You had prepared yourself carefully.

The pluperfect is negated by placing ne and the other negative word around pronouns that precede it and the conjugated helping verb:

Ils n’avaient pas parlé. They hadn’t spoken.Elle n’était jamais arrivée tôt. She had never arrived early.Tu ne t’étais pas préparé avec soin. You hadn’t prepared yourself carefully.

Inversion may be used to form a question in the pluperfect by reversing the order of the sub-ject pronoun and the conjugated helping verb:

(N’) Avaient-ils (pas) parlé? Had(n’t) they spoken?(N’) Était-elle (jamais) arrivée tôt? Had(n’t) she (ever) arrived early?(Ne) T’es-tu (pas) préparé avec soin. Had(n’t) you prepared yourself carefully?

Use of the PluperfectThe pluperfect is used to express a specific action or event that had taken place and had been completed before another action (not necessarily mentioned, but if so, generally in the passé composé or the imperfect) took place.

Y aviez-vous réfléchi avant d’agir ? Had you thought about it before acting?Il était resté à la maison. He had stayed home.Quand je me suis habillé, je m’étais When I got dressed, I had already washed déjà lavé. myself.Quand j’allais à l’école, mes parents When I would go to school, my parents hadétaient déjà partis au bureau. already left for the office.

THE PAST DEFINITE AND THE PAST ANTERIORThe past definite (passé simple) is a simple tense that is used primarily in formal, literary, and historical writings to express completed actions, situations, or events in the past. The passé composé is used in conversation and informal writing. The corresponding compound


of the past definite is the past anterior (passé antérieur), a tense expressing an action or state of being that had taken place and that had been completed in the past before another action took place.

Forming the Past Definite of Regular VerbsTo form the past definite of a regular verb in either the –er, –ir, or –re family, simply drop the infinitive ending and add the appropriate endings for each subject shown in Table 13.

Table 13 The Past Definite of Regular Verbs

travailler (to work) choisir (to choose) répondre (to answer)

je travaillai je choisis je répondis

tu travaillas tu choisis tu répondis

il/elle/on travailla il/elle/on choisit il/elle/on répondit

nous travaillâmes nous choisîmes nous répondîmes

vous travaillâtes vous choisîtes vous répondîtes

ils/elles travaillèrent ils/elles choisirent ils/elles répondirent

L’armée française gagna la bataille. The French army won the battle.Vous trahîtes votre patrie. You betrayed your country.Le village perdit sa liberté. The village lost its freedom.

For refl exive verbs, simply place the refl exive pronoun before the verb.

Elle se réveillèrent. They awakened.Je me dépêchai. I hurried.

Forming the Past Definite of Verbs with Spelling ChangesVerbs ending in –cer change –c to –ç before –a to maintain the soft c sound in all forms except ils:

La guerre commença. The war began.Ces gens dénoncèrent leur gouvernement. Those people denounced their government.

Verbs ending in –ger change –g to –ge before –a to maintain the soft g sound in all forms except ils:

Elle présagea l’avenir. She foresaw the future.Ils négligèrent leurs responsabilités. They neglected their responsibilities.

The Past Definite of Irregular VerbsVerbs with irregular stems in the passé simple generally end in i or u and have the following endings:

je s nous mestu s vous tesil t ils rent


Table 14 lists the most common irregular verbs in the past definite and their stems. Note that many of these stems are the same as, or closely resemble, the past participle of the verb:

Table 14 Past Definite Irregular Verbs Stems

Verb Infinitive Past Definite Stem

avoir (to have) eu–

boire (to drink) bu–

connaître (to know) connu–

construire (to build) construis–

courir (to run) couru–

craindre (to fear) craigni–

croire (to believe) cru–

devoir (to have to) du–

dire (to say, to tell) di–

écrire (to write) écrivi–

être (to be) fu–

faire (to do) fi–

joindre (to join) joigni–

lire (to read) lu–

mettre (to put) mi–

mourir (to die) mouru–

naître (to be born) naqui–

ouvrir (to open) ouvri–

peindre (to paint) peigni–

plaire (to please) plu–

pouvoir (to be able to) pu–

prendre (to take) pri–

recevoir (to receive) reçu–

rompre (to break) rompu–

savoir (to know) su–

tenir *(to hold) tin–

traduire (to translate) traduisi–

vaincre (to vanquish) vainqui–

venir *(to come) vin–

vivre (to live) vécu–

voir (to see) vi–

vouloir (to wish, to want) voulu–

Note: There are special nous and vous forms for tenir, venir, and their related verbs: nous tînmes, nous vînmes, vous tîntes, vous vîntes.

Les deux pays eurent une dispute. The two countries had a dispute.Sartre vécut au vingtième siècle. Sartre lived in the twentieth century.


The Past Definite of Impersonal VerbsFor verbs conjugated in the third person singular where il means “it,” consult the chart that follows to find these verbs in the past definite.

advenir il advint it happened

bruiner il bruina it drizzled

convenir il convint it was suitable

dégeler il dégela it thawed

falloir il fallut it was necessary

geler il gela it froze

grêler il grêla it hailed

importer il importa it was important

neiger il neigea it snowed

pleuvoir il plut it rained

regeler il regela it froze again

tonner il tonna it thundered

Il lui convint rester en ville. It was suitable to stay in town.Il grêla. It hailed.

Use of the Past DefiniteThe past definite is used to express completed actions in formal writing:

Napoléon fut empéreur de la France. Napoleon was an emperor of France.Cette femme aida les pauvres. That woman helped the poor.

Forming the Past AnteriorThe past anterior (passé antérieur) is comprised of two parts: a helping verb conjugated in the present tense (avoir: j’eus, tu eus, il eut, elle eut, nous eûmes, vous eûtes, ils eurent, elles eurent OR être: je fus, tu fus, il fut, elle fut, nous fûmes, vous fûtes, ils furent, elles furent) and a past participle (refer to Tables 3 and 4 above):

Il eut aidé le président. He had helped the president.Elle fut morte jeune. She had died young.Ils se furent défendus. They had defended themselves.

The past anterior is negated by placing ne and the other negative word around pronouns that precede it and the conjugated helping verb:

Il n’eut jamais aidé le président. He had never helped the president.Elle ne fut pas morte jeune. She hadn’t died young.Ils ne se furent pas défendus. They hadn’t defended themselves.

Inversion may be used to form a question in the past anterior by reversing the order of the subject pronoun and the conjugated helping verb:

(N’) Eut-il (jamais) aidé le président? Had(n’t) he ever helped the president?(Ne) Fut-elle (pas) morte jeune? Had(n’t) she died young?(Ne) Se furent-ils (pas) défendus ? Had(n’t) they defended themselves?


Use of the Past AnteriorThe past anterior, like the pluperfect, is used to express a specific action or event that had taken place and had been completed before another action took place (expressed in the past definite) and follows conjunctions of time: aussitôt que, dès que (as soon as) and lorsque, quand (when). Like the past definite, the past anterior is used primarily in formal and liter-ary works.

Aussitôt que le gouverneur eut As soon as the governor had greeted thesalué la foule, il partit. crowd, he left.Quand la princesse fut arrivée When the princess had arrived at the castle, au chateau, elle se reposa. she rested.

THE NEAR FUTURE, THE FUTURE, AND THE FUTURE PERFECTThe near future expresses what the subject is going to do or what is going to take place in the not-too-distant future. The future is a simple tense that expresses what will happen. Its corresponding compound is the future perfect, a tense expressing an action or state of being that will have been completed in the future.

Forming the Near FutureEvents or actions that are going to take place in the immediate future may be expressed in the following manner:

• By using the present:

J’arrive dans une heure. I’ll be arriving in an hour.

• By using the conjugated form of the irregular verb aller: to go (je vais, tu vas, il va, elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont, elles vont) followed by the infinitive of the verb:

Je vais arriver dans une heure. I’m going to arrive in an hour.Allez-vous m’attendre? Are you going to wait for me?(Ne) Vas-tu (pas) sortir ce soir? Are(n’t) you going to go out tonight?

Forming the Future Tense of Regular VerbsTo form the future tense of a regular verb, add the endings shown in Table 15 to the infinitive stem. Note that –re verbs drop the final –e before adding these endings. For reflexive verbs, simply place the reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb.

Table 15 The Future Tense of Regular Verbs

gagner (to speak) choisir (to finish) entendre (to hear)

je gagnerai je choisirai je entendrai

tu gagneras tu choisiras tu entendras

il/elle/on gagnera il/elle/on choisira il/elle/on entendra

nous gagnerons nous choisirons nous entendrons

vous gagnerez vous choisirez vous entendrez

ils/elles gagnerent ils/elles choisiront ils/elles entendront


Je n’oublierai rien. I won’t forget anything.Nous obéirons. We will obey.Perdront-elles patience? Will they lose patience?Elle se maquillera. She will put on her makeup.

Forming the Future of –oir and –evoir VerbsThe future of verbs that end in –oir and –evoir drops the –oi from the infinitive ending and adds the endings shown in Table 16. All other verbs ending in –oir (avoir, voir, etc.) are irregu-lar and require memorization. Verbs ending in –cevoir change c to ç before o and u to pre-serve the soft s sound.

Table 16 The Future of –oir and –evoir Verbs

Infinitive Meaning Future Stem

apercevoir to notice apercevr–

concevoir to conceive concevr–

décevoir to deceive décevr–

devoir to owe, have to devr–

percevoir to perceive percevr–

recevoir to receive recevr–

redevoir to still owe redevr–

Tu devras travailler plus dur. You will have to work harder.Vous recevrez un beau cadeau. You will receive a pretty gift.

Forming the Future of Verbs with Spelling ChangesThere are two categories of verbs that require spelling changes in the future:

• Verbs ending in –yer: (except envoyer, to send, which is irregular) Change y to i in all future forms. For verbs ending in –ayer this change is optional.

•• employer (to use): j’emploierai, tu emploieras, il emploiera, nous emploierons, vous emploierez, ils emploieront

•• payer (to pay): je payerai (paierai), tu payeras (paieras), il payera (paiera), nous payerons (paierons), vous payerez (paierez), ils payeront (paieront)

• Verbs ending in e + consonant + er: (not those ending in é + consonant + er) Change the silent e before the infinitive ending to è in all future forms:

•• acheter (to buy): je achèterai, tu achèteras, il achètera, nous achèterons, vous achèterez, ils achèteront


• In the future, verbs like appeler and jeter double the consonant before the infinitive ending:

•• appeler (to call): j’appellerai, tu appelleras, il appellera, nous appellerons, vous appellerez, ils appelleront

Elle se lèvera bientôt. She will get up soon.Je jetterai les ordures. I’ll throw out the garbage.

The Future of Irregular VerbsThe most common future tense irregular verbs, which can be found in the list that follows, are:

Infinitive Future Stem

aller (to go) ir–

asseoir (to seat) assiér– or assoir–

avoir (to have) aur–

courir (to run) courr–

cueillir (to pick) cueiller–

envoyer (to send) enverr–

être (to be) ser–

faire (to make, to do) fer–

mourir (to die) mourr–

pouvoir (to be able to) pourr–

savoir (to know) saur–

tenir (to hold) tiendr–

valoir (to be worth) vaudr–

venir (to come) viendr–

voir (to see) verr–

vouloir (to wish, to want) voudr–

Je serai chez toi à midi. I’ll be at your house at noon.Il m’enverra un paquet. He will send me a package.

The Future of Impersonal VerbsConsult the list at the top of the next page to find these verbs in the future tenses.


advenir il adviendra it will happen

bruiner il bruinera it will drizzle

convenir il conviendra it will be suitable

dégeler il dégelera it will thaw

falloir il faudra it will be necessary

geler il gelera it will freeze

grêler il grêlera it will hail

importer il importera it will be important

neiger il neigera it will snow

pleuvoir il pleuvra it will rain

regeler il regelera it will freeze again

tonner il tonnera it will thunder

Il faudra y aller. It will be necessary to go there.Il ne bruinera pas. It will not drizzle.

Uses of the Future TenseThe future tense is used

• To express future time:

Je ne t’oublierai jamais. I will never forget you.

• After quand (when), lorsque (when), dès que (as soon as), aussitôt que (as soon as), tant que (while), and pendant que (while) when the future is implied, even though the present may be used in English:

Je regarderai la television pendant que tu I’ll watch television while you do yourferas tes devoirs. homework.

Forming the Future PerfectThe future perfect is comprised of two parts: a helping verb conjugated in the future tense (avoir: j’aurai, tu auras, il aura, elle aura, nous aurons, vous aurez, ils auront, elles auront OR être: je serai, tu seras, il sera, elle sera, nous serons, vous serez, ils seront, elles seront) and a past participle (refer to Tables 3 and 4 above):

Il aura parlé avant mon arrivée. He will have spoken before my arrival.Ils seront rentrés avant moi. They will have gone home before me.Elle se sera habilleé avant huit heures. She will have dressed before 8 o’clock.

The future perfect is negated by placing ne and the other negative word around pronouns that precede it and the conjugated helping verb:

Il n’aura pas parlé avant mon arrivée. He will not have spoken before my arrival.Ils ne seront pas rentrés avant moi. They will not have gone home before me.Elle ne se sera pas habilleé avant She will not have dressed before 8 o’clock.huit heures.

Inversion may be used to form a question in the future perfect by reversing the order of the subject pronoun and the conjugated helping verb:


(N’) Aura-t-il (pas) parlé avant mon Will he (not) have spoken before my arrivée? arrival?(Ne) Seront-ils (pas) rentrés avant moi? Will they (not) have gone home before me?(Ne) Se sera-t-elle (pas) habillée avant Will she (not) have dressed before eight huit heures? o’clock?

Uses of the Future PerfectThe future perfect is used

• After quand (when), lorsque (when), dès que (as soon as), aussitôt que (as soon as), tant que (while), and pendant que (while) when the future is in the main clause.

Dès que nos invites seront arrives, As soon as our guests have arrived, nous mangerons. we will eat.

• To express probability or supposition in the past:

Il ne m’a pas envoyé de cadeau. He didn’t send me a gift. Il aura oublié mon anniversaire. He must have forgotten my birthday.Elles ne sont pas venues. They haven’t arrived. Il sera arrivé quelque chose. Something must have happened.

THE CONDITIONAL AND THE CONDITIONAL PERFECTBoth the conditional and the conditional perfect are not tenses and, therefore, do not relate to any period of time. The conditional is a simple mood that expresses what would happen or what the subject would do given certain circumstances or suppositions. Its correspond-ing compound is the conditional perfect, a mood expressing an action or state of being that would have been completed had something else had or had not occurred.

Forming the Conditional of Regular VerbsTo form the conditional tense of a regular verb, add the imperfect endings shown in Table 17 to the infinitive (future) stem. Note that –re verbs drop the final –e before adding these end-ings. For reflexive verbs, simply place the reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb.

Table 17 The Conditional of Regular Verbs

arriver (to arrive) désobéir (to disobey) attendre (to wait)

je arriverais je désobéirais je attendrais

tu arriverais tu désobéirais tu attendrais

il/elle/on arriverait il/elle/on désobéirait il/elle/on attendrait

nous arriverions nous désobéirions nous attendrions

vous arriveriez vous désobéiriez vous attendriez

ils/elles arriveraient ils/elles désobéiraient ils/elles attendraient

Je t’aiderais. I would help you.Les enfants obéiraient. The children would obey.Il me défendrait. He would defend me.Te détendrais-tu? Would you relax?


Forming the Conditional of –oir and –evoir VerbsThe conditional of verbs that end in –oir and –evoir drops the –oi from the infinitive ending and adds the endings shown in Table 18. All other verbs ending in –oir (avoir, voir, etc.) are irregular and require memorization. Verbs ending in –cevoir change c to ç before o and u to preserve the soft s sound.

Table 18 The Conditional of –oir and –evoir Verbs

Infinitive Meaning Future Stem

apercevoir to notice apercevr–

concevoir to conceive concevr–

décevoir to deceive décevr–

devoir to owe, have to devr–

percevoir to perceive percevr–


redevoir to still owe redevr–


Il ne devrait pas revenir. He wouldn’t have to come back.S’apercevraient-ils de cette erreur? Would they notice that error?

Forming the Conditional of Verbs with Spelling ChangesThere are two categories of verbs that require spelling changes in the conditional:

• Verbs ending in –yer: (except envoyer, to send, which is irregular) Change y to i in all future forms. For verbs ending in –ayer this change is optional.

•• employer (to use): j’emploierais, tu emploierais, il emploirait, nous emploierions, vous emploieriez, ils emploieraient

•• payer (to pay): je payerais (paierais), tu payerais (paierais), il payerait (paierait), nous payerions (paierions), vous payeriez (paieriez), ils payeraient (paieraient)

• Verbs ending in e + consonant + er: (not those ending in é + consonant + er) Change the silent e before the infinitive ending to è in all future forms:

•• acheter (to buy): je achèterais, tu achèterais, il achèterait, nous achèterions, vous achèteriez, ils achèteraient

In the future, verbs like appeler and jeter double the consonant before the infinitive ending:

•• appeler (to call): j’appellerais, tu appellerais, il appellerait, nous appellerions, vous appelleriez, ils appelleraient

Il amènerait sa mere au lycée. He would bring his mother to school.Appelleriez-vous vos parents ? Would you call your parents?

The Conditional of Irregular VerbsThe most common irregular verbs in the conditional, which can be found in the list that fol-lows, are


Infinitive Conditional Stem

aller (to go) ir–

asseoir (to seat) assiér– or assoir–

avoir (to have) aur–

courir (to run) courr–

cueillir (to pick) cueiller–

envoyer (to send) enverr–

être (to be) ser–

faire (to make, to do) fer–

mourir (to die) mourr–

pouvoir (to be able to) pourr–

savoir (t

tm 575+french verbs - the eye...french has an english –ing verb ending equiva-lent. the french...

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