# French/Lessons/School

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## Grammar · Present perfect with regular verbs

The passé composé$^{presentperfect}$ is a compound tense, and is therefore composed of an auxiliary verb and a past participle. With most verbs, that auxiliary verb is avoir.

### Meaning

In English, verbs conjugated in the passé composé literally mean have/has ____ed. While there is a simple past tense in French, it is almost always only used in formal writing, so verbs conjugated in the passé composé can also be used to mean the English simple tense.
For example, the passé composé forms of parler$^{tospeak}$ , [avoir] parlé, literally mean has/have spoken, but also means spoke.

### Basic formation

To conjugate a verb in the passé composé, the helping verb, usually avoir, is conjugated in the present indicative and the past participle is then added.

#### Auxiliary verb - avoir

Conjugate avoir in the present indicative.

#### Past participle

* -er verbs: replace -er with é
* -ir verbs: replace -ir with i
* -re verbs: replace -re with u
* irregular verbs: varied; must be memorized

#### Avoir + past participle

Please also note:
Fem. Subject or Person (Elles, Elle, Nous, On etc.)- Add another e with no aigu or grave to end of word- if a female person is partaking in the group.
Plural Subject (On, Nous, Tu, Vous etc.)- Add another "s" to end of word.
Finally, some verbs are irregular for the past participle, such as aller (to go), instead of using avoir to form the past participle, they will use être (to be) to form the past participle.
Always check the verb's irregularities before using to form past participle. Some "past participle" irregulars are regular verbs when forming other tenses.

### Examples
## Vocabulary · At school · À l'école

^ The word professeur is considered masculine at all times, even if the teacher is female. The only case when "professeur" can be preceded by feminine determinant is either when contracting it in colloquial language "la prof", or when adding a few words before : "madame/mademoiselle la/le professeur".

## Vocabulary · Actions

In French, you do not "own" body parts. While in English, you would say my hand or your hand, the definite article is almost always used in French:
    la main$^{myhand}$
    la jambe$^{myleg}$
    le bras$^{myarm}$
To and of are part of the verbs écouter and entendre respectively. It is not necessary to add a preposition to the verb. Other verbs, such as répondre (à), meaning to respond (to), are almost always followed by a preposition.

### Supplementary usage notes · Entendre
## Grammar · To write and to read · Écrire et lire
### Écrire

Écrire is an irregular French verb, meaning to write. It varies from other -re verbs in the plural conjugation, by adding a v. Its past particple, écrit, is also irregular.
| écrire /e.kʁiʁ/ | to write |
| j'écris /e.kʁi/ | I write |
| tu écris /e.kʁi/ | you write |
| il écrit /e.kʁi/ | he writes |
| nous écrivons /e.kʁi.vɔ̃/) | we write |
| vous écrivez /e.kʁi.ve/ | you write |
| ils écrivent /e.kʁiv/ | they write |
| écrit /e.kʁi/ | written |
The verb coécrire$^{toco-write}$ /ko.e.kʁiʁ/ is conjugated the same way. The nouns écriture /e.kʁi.tyʁ/, meaning writing or handwriting, and écrivain /e.kʁi.vɛ̃/, meaning writer, are derived from écrire.

### Lire

Lire is an irregular French verb, meaning to read. Its plural conjugation adds an s, and its past participle is lu.
| lire /liʁ/ | to read |
| je lis /'li/ | I read |
| tu lis /'li/ | you read |
| il lit /'li/ | he reads |
| nous lisons /li.zɔ̃/ | we read |
| vous lisez /li.ze/ | you read |
| ils lisent /liz/ | they read |
| lu /ly/ | read |
The verbs élire$^{toelect}$ /e.liʁ/ and relire$^{toreread}$ /ʁǝ.liʁ/ are conjugated the same way. The adjective lisible /lizibl/, meaning readable or legible, is derived from lire.

### Examples
## Supplementary vocabulary · Classes/grades

The way that grades are numbered in France is opposite the way they are in the US. Whereas American grade numbers increase as you approach your senior year, they descend in France.

## Exercises

(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate each phrase.
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Rewrite each phrase in the present perfect.
Level two lessons  · Culture →
School · Culture · Shopping · Going out · Transportation · Everyday life · Rural life · Food and drink · Dining · Communication
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