# A-level French/Printable version

The current, editable version of this book is available in Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection, at
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_French

# Verbs

A verb is a word used to describe something that happened, such as an action or state of being.

## Infinitive

The infinite is a verb without a subject or tense. In English, it is usually "to _____". In French, all infinitives end in -er, -ir, or -re.
* parler (to talk)
* finir (to finish)
* entendre (to hear)
Most verbs are -er verbs. Many verbs that end in -er end in -ate in English (for example, the verb to donate is "donner"). Many verbs that end in -ir end in -ish in English (for example, the verb finir means to finish).
The infinitive is used in certain phrases in both English and French.

## Conjugating Verbs

To conjugate a verb means to change it so it can be used with a particular tense and subject. In French, most verbs are conjugated by taking off the -er, -ir, and -re and adding certain endings depending on the tense. However, some verbs do not work like and are irregular verbs.

### Common irregular verbs

Here are twenty verbs that are used a lot, but are not formed like regular -er, -ir, or -re verbs:
* aller (to go)
* avoir (to have)
* boire (to drink)
* connaître (to know)
* courir (to run)
* devoir (to have to)
* dire (to say, to tell)
* dormir (to sleep)
* écrire (to write)
* être (to be)
* faire (to do, to make)
* lire (to read)
* mentir (to lie)
* mettre (to put, to turn on)
* mourir (to die)
* pouvoir (to be able to, can, may)
* prendre (to take)
* recevoir (to receive)
* savoir (to know)
* venir (to come)
* voir (to see)
* vouloir (to want, to wish)

# Verbs/Present

The present tense is used to say something that is going on right now Examples: I walk, You talk, he eats In French, the present is also used to say "I am ____ing" and "I do _____"

## -Er verbs

This is how you write the present for -er verbs. You take off the -er and add certain endings:
| Infinitive | parler (to talk) | donner (to give) | arriver (to arrive) |
| Stem | parl- | donn- | arriv- |
| Je (I) | Je parle | Je donne | J'arrive |
| Tu (You) | Tu parles | Tu donnes | Tu arrives |
| Il/Elle/On (He/She/One) | Il parle | Elle donne | On arrive |
| Nous (We) | Nous parlons | Nous donnons | Nous arrivons |
| Vous (You, formal or pl.) | Vous parlez | Vous donnez | Vous arrivez |
| Ils/Elles (They) | Ils parlent | Elles donnent | Ils arrivent |
Note that if the verb starts with a vowel sound, je is changed to j' (Example: I arrive=J'arrive). Also, tu and vous both mean you. Vous is used with multiple people, or as a formality. Tu is used informally, like with your friends.

### -Er verbs that change a little

In order to keep the same sound throughout all tenses and subjects, some -er verbs change a little. For example, verbs that end in -ger (like manger, to eat and voyager to travel), add an "e" in the nous form". Verbs that end in -cer (like commencer, to begin and lancer to launch) are almost the same, except they add a cedilla on the c instead of an extra e.
| manger | commencer |
| Je mange | Je commence |
| Tu manges | Tu commences |
| Il mange | Elle commence |
| Nous mangeons | Nous commençons |
| Vous mangez | Vous commencez |
| Ils mangent | Elles commencent |
Verbs that end in -yer, such as payer (to pay) and employer (to employ), change the -y to -i in some conjugations
| payer | employer |
| Je paie | J'emploie |
| Tu paies | Tu emploies |
| Il paie | Elle emploie |
| Nous payons | Nous employons |
| Vous payez | Vous employez |
| Ils paient | Elles emploient |
Some verbs that have an e or é in the middle have special rules. Verbs like acheter (to buy) or espérer (to hope), change the e or é to an è in some conjugations.
| acheter | espérer |
| J'achète | J'espère |
| Tu achètes | Tu espères |
| Il achète | Elle espère |
| Nous achetons | Nous espérons |
| Vous payez | Vous espérez |
| Ils achètent | Elles espèrent |
Other verbs, like appeler (to call) and jeter (to throw), double a letter.
| appeler | jeter |
| J'appelle | Je jette |
| Tu appelles | Tu jettes |
| Il appelle | Elle jette |
| Nous appelons | Nous jetons |
| Vous appelez | Vous jetez |
| Ils appellent | Elles jettent |

## -Ir and -Re verbs

Here are the tables for -ir and -re verbs.
| -IR | -RE |
| finir (to finish) | vendre (to sell) |
| Je finis | Je vends |
| Tu finis | Tu vends |
| Il finit | Elle vend |
| Nous finissons | Nous vendons |
| Vous finissez | Vous vendez |
| Ils finissent | Elles vendent |
Note that some of the -ir verb forms have an "-iss" in them, and one of the -re verb forms has no ending.

## Irregular verbs

Most verbs are regular. Some commonly-used ones are not and have to be learned by heart. Here are some commonly-used irregular verbs in the present tense.
| aller (to go) | je vais tu vas il va | nous allons vous allez ils vont |
| avoir (to have) | j'ai tu as il a | nous avons vous avez ils ont |
| boire (to drink) | je bois tu bois il boit | nous buvons vous buvez ils boivent |
| connaître (to know) | je connais tu connais il connaît | nous connaissons vous connaissez ils connaissent |
| courir (to run) | je cours tu cours il court | nous courons vous courz ils courent |
| devoir (to have to, "must") | je dois tu dois il doit | nous devons vous devez ils doivent |
| dire (to say, to tell) | je dis tu dis il dit | nous disons vous dites ils disent |
| dormir (to sleep) | je dors tu dors il dort | nous dormons vous dormez ils dorment |
| écrire (to write) | j'écris tu écris il écrit | nous écrivons vous écrivez ils écrivent |
| être (to be) | je suis tu es il est | nous sommes vous êtes ils sont |
| faire (to do, to make) | je fais tu fais il fait | nous faisons vous faites ils font |
| lire (to read) | je lis tu lis il lit | nous lisons vous lisez ils lisent |
| mentir (to lie) | je mens tu mens il ment | nous mentons vous mentez ils mentent |
| mettre (to put, to turn on) | je mets tu mets il met | nous mettons vous mettez ils mettent |
| mourir (to die) | je meurs tu meurs il meurt | nous mourons vous mourez ils meurent |
| pouvoir (to be able to, "can", "may") | je peux tu peux il peut | nous pouvons vous pouvez ils peuvent |
| prendre (to take) | je prends tu prends il prend | nous prenons vous prenez ils prennent |
| recevoir (to receive) | je reçois tu reçois il reçoit | nous recevons vous recevez ils reçoivent |
| savoir (to know) | je sais tu sais il sait | nous savons vous savez ils saven |
| venir (to come) | je viens tu viens il vient | nous venons vous venez ils viennent |
| voir (to see) | je vois tu vois il voit | nous voyons vous voyez ils voient |
| vouloir (to want, to wish) | je veux tu veux il veut | nous voulons vous voulez ils veulent |

## Present Participle

The present participle is the form of the verb that ends in -ing. In English, it usually is used with a form of "to be", such as "I am sneezing" and "They were going". In French, they don't use the present participle that way. Instead, they use the present or the imperfect. The only time they use the present is when somebody is doing something while doing something else.
* Example: I watch TV while eating
* Becomes: Je regarde la télé en mangeant
The present participle is formed with the "nous" form of the present tense with the -ons replaced with a -ant
| Verb | Donner | Finir | Vendre | Manger |
| Nous form | donnons | finissons | vendons | mangeons |
| Minus -ons | donn- | finiss- | vend- | mange- |
| Pres. Part. | donnant | finissant | vendant | mangeant |
Most irregular verbs follow this form
* faire: faisant
* boire: buvant
* écrire: écrivant
But there are three exceptions:
* avoir: ayant
* être: étant
* savoir: sachant

# Verbs/PC

The passé composé is the most common way to talk in the past tense in French.

## Être and Avoir

14 être verbs :
| aller (to go) | partir (to leave) |
| arriver (to arrive) | passer (to pass) |
| descendre (to descend/ to go downstairs) | rester (to stay) |
| entrer (to enter) | retourner (to return) |
| monter (to climb) | sortir (to go out) |
| mourir (to die) | tomber (to fall) |
| naître (to be born) | venir (to come) |
You may have noticed that many of the 14 être verbs have to do with movement. Except naître (to be born) mourir (to die) and rester (to stay) these verbs are motion verbs. That doesn't mean however that all motion verbs use être in the passé composé. For instance, courir (to run) is conjugated with avoir.
The reason these verbs are être verbs is because they are intransitive, that is they don't have a direct object.
Examples of Intransitive Verbs (Etre verbs):
* He stayed two hours after the party.
* The leaf fell from the tree.
* The children went to school in the morning.
Examples of Transitive Verbs (Avoir verbs):
(The verb is in bold and its object is in italics)
* She picked up her purse.
* The boy kicked the soccer ball.
* Mother is making dinner tonight.
| Conjugation of être (to be) | Conjugation of être (to be) | Conjugation of avoir (to have) | Conjugation of avoir (to have) |
| Je suis | Nous sommes | J'ai | Nous avons |
| Tu es | Vous êtes | Tu as | Vous avez |
| Il/Elle/On est | Ils/Elles sont | Il/Elle/On a | Ils/Elles ont |

## How to make the passé composé

| Subject + | Conjugation of être/avoir + | past participle of the verb (to have) | English translation |
| Tu | as | lu | You have read |
| Nous | avons | mangé | We ate/We have eaten |
| Il | est | allé | He went |
As you can see from the above table to form the passé composé you need to:
* Conjugate avoir or être
* change the verb to the past participle

### Avoir passé composé examples

* Ils ont mangé. They have eaten.
* J'ai dancé. I danced.
* Il a vu un chat. He saw a cat.
* Elle a vendu sa voiture. She sold her car.

### Être passé composé examples

* Je suis allé à la bibliothèque. I went to the library.
* Ils sont venus après l'école. They came home after school.
* La feuille est tombé de l'arbre. The leaf fell from the tree.
* Il est resté à l'école à jouer au basket. He stayed after school to play basketball.

## Forming the Past Participle
### Regular ER Verbs

| Verb | Drop ER | Add É | Past Participle | English |
| manger | mang - er | mang + é | mangé | to eat |
| dancer | danc - er | danc + é | dancé | to dance |
| payer | pay - er | pay + é | payé | to pay |

### Regular IR Verbs

| Verb | Drop IR | Add I | Past Participle | English |
| finir | fin - ir | fin + i | fini | to finish |
| réussir | réuss - ir | réuss + i | réussi | to succeed |
| dormir | dorm - ir | dorm + i | dormi | to sleep |

### Regular RE Verbs

| Verb | Drop RE | Add U | Past Participle | English |
| perdre | perd - re | perd + u | perdu | to lose |
| vendre | vend - re | vend + u | vendu | to sell |
| répondre | répond - re | répond + u | répondu | to answer |

### Irregular Verbs

This is a list of some of the most common irregualr verbs and their past participles.
| Verb | Past Participle | Verb | Past Participle |
| avoir | eu (had) | boire | bu (drank) |
| conduire | conduit (driven, drove) | connaître | connu (known, knew) |
| courir | couru (ran) | croire | cru (believed) |
| devoir | dû (had to, owed) | dire | dit (said, told) |
| écrire | écrit (written, wrote) | être | été (been, was) |
| faire | fait (made, done, did) | falloir | fallu (had to, should, was necessary) |
| lire | lu (read) | mettre | mis (put) |
| mourir | mort (died) | naître | né (born) |
| ouvrir | ouvert (opened) | pleuvoir | plu (rained) |
| pouvoir | pu (was able to) | prendre | pris (took) |
| recevoir | reçu (received) | savoir | su (knew) |
| venir | venu (came) | vivre | vécu (lived) |
| voir | vu (saw) | vouloir | voulu (wanted) |

# Verbs/Imperfect

The French imperfect tense (l'imparfait) is a past tense. It is used in the following situations:

## Use of the imperfect

* Progressive actions: In English, we would convey these ideas with the form "I was __ing", "You were __ing", etc. In French, they use the imperfect.
* Stuff that you used to do:

## Forming the imperfect

The imperfect tense is formed with the "nous" form of the present tense with the -ons replaced with the imperfect endings.
| Verb | Donner | Finir | Vendre | Manger | Endings |
| Nous form | donnons | finissons | vendons | mangeons | |
| Minus -ons | donn- | finiss- | vend- | mange- | |
| Je | donnais | finissais | vendais | mangeais | -ais |
| Tu | donnais | finissais | vendais | mangeais | -ais |
| Il/Elle/On | donnait | finissait | vendait | mangeait | -ait |
| Nous | donnions | finissions | vendions | mangions | -ions |
| Vous | donniez | finissiez | vendiez | mangiez | -iez |
| Ils/Elles | donnaient | finissaient | vendaient | mangeaient | -aient |
Note that the verb manger (and other verbs that end in -ger) have an extra e in the -je, -tu, -il, and -ils tenses, but not in the nous or vous tenses. With verbs like commencer that end in -cer, a cedilla is used in those four forms in place of the extra e.

### Irregular verbs

The imperfect of irregular verbs is formed much as they would be with regular verbs, by removing the -ons and adding the imperfect endings.
| Verb | Nous Form | Imperfect je | Imperfect nous |
| avoir | avons | avais | avions |
| boire | buvons | buvais | buvions |
| conduire | conduisons | conduisais | conduisions |
| connaître | connaissons | connaissais | connaissions |
| courir | courons | courais | courions |
| croire | croyons | croyais | croyions |
| devoir | devons | devais | devions |
| dire | disons | disais | disions |
| écrire | écrivons | écrivais | écrivons |
| faire | faisons | faisais | faisions |
| falloir | none | il fallait | none |
| lire | lisons | lisais | lisions |
| mettre | mettons | mettais | mettions |
| mourir | mourons | mourais | mourions |
| naître | naissons | naissais | naissions |
| ouvrir | ouvrons | ouvrais | ouvrions |
| pleuvoir | none | il pleuvait | none |
| pouvoir | pouvons | pouvais | pouvions |
| prendre | prenons | prenais | prenions |
| recevoir | recevons | recevais | recevions |
| savoir | savons | savais | savions |
| venir | venons | venais | venions |
| vivre | vivons | vivais | vivions |
| voir | voyons | voyais | voyions |
| vouloir | voulons | voulais | voulions |
The nous form of the verb être does not end in -ons, so it is irregular in the imperfect tense.
* être
* J'étais
* Tu étais
* Il était
* Nous étions
* Vous étiez
* Ils étaient
Note that this is the same form as the past participle étant

# Verbs/Future
## The simple Future

The simple future is formed by adding the endings (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont) to the infinitive form of a verb. If the infinitive verb ends in -e, drop the final -e before adding the appropriate ending. The example will illustrate the translation of simple future in English: Je parlerai = I will talk/speak.
Simple future examples :
| | Parler | Vendre | Finir |
| Je | parlerai | vendrai | finirai |
| Tu | parleras | vendras | finiras |
| Il/Elle | parlera | vendra | finira |
| Nous | parlerons | vendrons | Finirons |
| Vous | parlerez | vendrez | finirez |
| Ils/ Elles | parleront | vendront | finiront |

## See also

* All the conjugations on French Wiktionary