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A Definitive Guide to French Verbs

Contents
Preface........................................................................4 The Basics of Verbs What is a verb?...........................................................6 Infinitives....................................................................8 Conjugation..............................................................10 Tense and Aspect......................................................12 Tenses The Present Tense....................................................14 The Present Participle...............................................15 The Perfect Tense.....................................................18 The Auxiliary Verb....................................................19 Reflexive Verbs.........................................................20 The Past Participle....................................................21 The Near Future Tense.............................................25 The Imperfect Tense.................................................27 The Future Tense......................................................30 The Pluperfect Tense................................................32 The Future Perfect Tense.........................................35 The Past Historic Tense............................................39 Moods What is a Mood?......................................................42 The Conditional Mood..............................................43 The Imperative Mood...............................................48 The Subjunctive Mood..............................................52 Third Person Commands with the Subjunctive........56 The Perfect Subjunctive............................................57

Negatives..............................................................................60 Glossary.................................................................................62 Irregular Verb Tables............................................................70

Preface
Verbs play a vital role in grammar, in sentences, in language and understanding them is key to understanding a language. We learn from a young age that verbs are doing words, action words or some other nave and ambiguous definition that deprives verbs of the credit that they truly deserve they are in fact much more important than that and I hope that, in learning them in great depth, you come to appreciate their true responsibility. You may not yet realise how complex verbs can become, particularly if you have never studied a language in so much linguistic depth. It may seem strange to have to study in such detail something you do unconsciously in your mother tongue but my aim is to simplify the world of verbs by stripping them back to the very basics and taking you on a journey that will allow you to eventually structure your own sentences with ease. Linguistic terminology can be confusing for some and it may well be the reason why many people stop learning languages altogether. But avoiding the technical terms can be even more confusing than learning them and I believe that labelling helps us to understand the construction of language and eventually helps us to think independently when building sentences. Do not fret. Any such terminology is written in bold and is explained fully in the glossary at the back of this book.

Take your time when learning French and make sure that you understand everything you have learnt before you move on. Naturally, the topics in this book gradually become more complex and, if you do not understand the previous section, you will find it very difficult to understand the next. This book is not designed to be read in a day and it is important to spend time understanding and mastering each section before tackling a new aspect of verbs. Most of all, enjoy language learning and do not let it become a source of stress. Re-read anything you do not understand and practise as much as you can in order to become as proficient in the language as possible. Happy learning!

What is a verb?
Before you even consider studying verbs in a foreign language, you must understand them in your own. We are told at an early age that verbs are doing words, action words or something of the sort. This is true at a very basic level, but they are much more important than this. Verbs are the chassis of a sentence1 and embedded within them is a plethora of meanings - when the action takes place (tense), how it takes place (sprint and run both have similar meanings, but have different connotations), who is completing the action (subject), who is receiving the action (object) ultimately giving them the most powerful role in meaning. But before we dive into the unknown, let's stick with what we know and consider that primary school definition: doing words. Play, jump, laugh, sit, fall, break, stop, look, grab, kill...all of them expressing some kind of action; something which can be done. In the world of linguistics, these are known as dynamic verbs. What your teachers didn't tell you is that some verbs express more abstract concepts; ideas, thoughts, emotions and other less physical actions: think, know, like, hate, love, believe, wish, hope, dream, envy...what linguists call stative verbs. It's not so important to be able to differentiate between stative and dynamic verbs, but you must understand that they are more than just physical actions and
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The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker

they therefore exceed the old definition of doing words. Verbs in fact refer to an action or a state and provide the bulk of meaning in a sentence - give them the credit they deserve. Finally, try not to make assumptions about French grammar based on that of English. Since they both have different roots, they are bound to differ in some areas and you must not assume that English is the basis upon which all languages work. French has its own way of saying things and you will have to accept this if you wish to go far in language learning.

Infinitives
Verbs in all inflected languages have many different forms which give us more information about the action the word expresses. For example, the verb in John is playing football John played football... and

...is the same: to play. However, it appears in different forms to give us information about the time of the action. The former is playing indicates that the action is currently happening whereas the latter played tells us that the action was completed in the past and is now no longer happening. Changing verbs in this way is known as conjugation and you will be learning how to conjugate verbs in many different ways. However, for a verb to be conjugated, it must have a root form onto which we can add suffixes, prefixes and other elements to alter the meaning. This neutral form of a verb is known as the infinitive and is the form usually found in dictionaries. In English, we can recognise an infinitive by the word to which comes before the verb: to play, to jump, to laugh, to sit, to fall, to think, to know, to like, to hate, to love. Here, we are given no indication of who is doing the action, when it happens or who is the recipient of the action, hence its use as a neutral form. As a result, looking up the word 8

played in a dictionary is futile because it is a conjugated form of the word to play and is not a word in its own right. This can make looking words in any language tricky since some conjugations do not resemble their infinitive: we know that ate is the perfect tense form of to eat but it is unlikely that you will find ate in a dictionary on its own. This is known as an irregular verb and we will encounter similar situations in French, but learning about conjugation will help you to combat this. French infinitives are very different as they are made up of just one word. It is the way the verb ends that provides meaning in French and, for infinitives, there are three possible endings: -er -ir -re jouer to play, aller to go, arriver to arrive finir to finish, partir to leave, mourir to die attendre to wait, prendre to take, boire to drink

Each group of infinitives has its own set of conjugations, although there are some similarities that make memorising them that little bit easier. -er verbs (or first conjugation verbs) are by far the most common, followed by -ir (second conjugation) and, finally the least common of all -re (third conjugation). This make take some time to get your head around, but it isn't nearly as confusing as it may initially appear. 9

Conjugation
French, like English, is known as a non pro-drop language, meaning that it relies on pronouns to tell us who is doing the action. Saying play football in English gives us no indication as to who is playing (other than it is not he, she or it since that would be plays) and sounds more like a command. Likewise, saying joue au foot in French is ambiguous as the person doing the action could be I, he, she or it. Subject pronouns are therefore very important and you must be familiar with them in order to conjugate verbs successfully. Je first person singular Tu second person singular Il / elle / on third person singular Nous first person plural Vous second person plural I You when talking about/to a friend, relative or younger person He / she / it / one on means one or we in an informal manner We this is more formal than on You when talking about/to an older person, someone you do not know well, an authoritative figure or a group of people. They ils is used for a group of men or a mixed group whereas elles is used for a group of women only.

Ils /elles third person plural

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Il, elle and on are grouped together because the conjugation of each one is always the same. The same goes for ils and elles. Like English, the French subject pronoun comes before the verb in affirmative statements: he plays il joue we finish nous finissons

Conjugation of regular verbs is extremely simple since all we have to do is remove the infinitive ending and add the endings that correspond to the subject and the tense.

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Tense and Aspect


The tense of a verb tells us when an action takes, took or will take place. There are three basic tenses: Past happened Present happens Future will happen

Aspect is a little more difficult to grasp as it indicates the whether the action is completed or in progress. The two basic forms of aspect are: Perfective completed Progressive in progress

It is not important that you understand the different aspects of a verb and you are not expected to be able to analyse the differences in meaning, but by combing both tense and aspect, we form six basic tenses that you will learn from this book: Progressive I play Present Tense I was playing Imperfect Tense I will play Future Tense Perfective I played Perfect Tense I had played Pluperfect Tense I will have played Future Perfect Tense

Present Past Future

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TENSES

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The Present Tense


The present tense expresses an action that happens on a regular basis, does happen or is currently happening: I play I do play I am playing In French, all three of these sentences are expressed in exactly the same way. The French present tense is made up of just two parts: the subject and the verb. So, when it comes to translating I am playing is important that you do not try to translate each word individually. You should recognise this as the present tense and conjugate as follows: 1. Remove the -er, -ir or -re from the infinitive. 2. Add the appropriate, present tense ending: -er je tu il / elle / on nous vous ils / elles -e -es -e -ons -ez -ent* -ir -is -is -it -issons -issez -issent* -s -s -ons -ez -ent* -re

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

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OK, so you've got to learn 18 different verb endings, but you will notice patterns that will make learning them much simpler.

Examples
She eats / She is eating / She does eat she = elle to eat = manger 1. remove the infinitive ending: manger 2. add the appropriate ending for elle - mange 3. she eats = elle mange We finish / We are finishing / We do finish we = nous to finish = finir 1. remove the infinitive ending: finir 2. add the appropriate ending for nous: -finissons 3. we finish = nous finissons

They wait / They are waiting / They do wait they = ils to wait = attendre 1. remove the infinitive ending: attendre 2. add the appropriate ending for il - attendent 3. They wait = ils attendent 15

The Present Participle


As you should already know, French does not differentiate between I am playing (the gerund) and I play; both are expressed using the present tense that you learnt in the previous section. However, French verbs do have an equivalent -ing form and, although it is not used as frequently as in English, it is certainly worth learning. To form the present participle for any verb conjugation: 1. Take the nous form of the verb in the present tense 2. Remove the -ons 3. Add -ant This works for most verbs, except the following. tre to be avoir to have savoir to know tant ayant sachant

The French present participle cannot be used as often as it is in English. The following usage, for example, is wrong: Je suis jouant au foot I am playing football We simply cannot translate the gerund in this way and must use the regular, present tense to say something like this.

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

J'aime jouant au foot I like playing football To translate this, we would use the infinitive: J'aime jouer au foot I like to play football So when can we use the present participle? 1. Expressing an action that is/was happening while another action take/took place: Entendant le bruit, j'ai ferm la fentre Hearing the noise, I closed the window Un homme, fumant une cigarette, est entr le bureau A man smoking a cigarette entered the office 2. Used with en, the present participle can mean by or while: En lisant ce livre tu deviendras trs intelligent By reading this book you will become very intelligent Luc s'est fait mal en mangeant son dner Luc hurt himself while eating his dinner 17

The Perfect Tense


The perfect tense is used to express an action that happened, has happened or did happen: I played I have played I did play As with the present, all of these are expressed in the same way in French. The French perfect tense is made up of three parts: the subject the auxiliary verb and the past participle. The auxiliary verb the equivalent of the word have in I have played and is there only to tell us that we are talking about the past. In French, the auxiliary verb can either be avoir to have or tre to be. We will learn how to choose the auxiliary verb later, but first it is important to know the conjugation for avoir and tre which are both irregular:

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

tre - to be je suis tu es il/elle/on est nous sommes vous tes ils/elles sont

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The Auxiliary Verb


Most verbs use avoir as their auxiliary verb. There are only 16 verbs which use tre, plus all reflexive verbs (page 19). A common way of remembering the 16 tre verbs is DR. & MRS VANDERTRAMP:

Descendre Revenir Mourir Rentrer Sortir Venir Arriver Natre Devenir Entrer Retourner Tomber Rester Aller Monter Partir

to go down/descend to come back to die to come in to go out to come to arrive to be born to become to enter to return to fall to stay to go to go up to leave

descendu revenu mort rentr sorti venu arriv n devenu entr retourn tomb rest all mont parti 19

Reflexive Verbs
A reflexive verb is a verb in which the doer of the action (the subject) is also the receiver of the action (the object). In English, reflexive verbs use reflexive pronouns such as myself, himself, themselves etc. In French, reflexive pronouns precede the verb and are as follows: Infinitive - se je me tu te il/elle/on se

nous nous vous vous ils/elles se

se, me and te all become s', m' and t' when they come before a vowel or silent h. Be careful, some verbs which are reflexive in French are not necessarily reflexive in English, and vice versa: se reposer se brosser se blesser se laver se baigner s'attendre to relax to brush (hair, teeth) to hurt/injure oneself to wash oneself to bathe to expect

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The Past Participle


The past participle is the equivalent of played in I have played and is the verb the provides the meaning. In English, past participles usually end with -ed. In French, regular past participles are formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding: - for -er verbs -i for -ir verbs -u for -re verbs jou played, mang eaten fini finished, parti left attendu waited, descendu descended

When the verb takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. If one man/masculine noun has done the action, the past participle remains unchanged. If more than one man/masculine noun has done the action, add an -s to the end of the past participle. If one woman/feminine noun has done the action, add an -e to the end of the past participle. If more than one women/feminine noun has done the action, add -es to the end of the past participle. Some past participles are irregular and can be found in the verb tables at the back of this book.

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Now it is simply a case of putting the subject, the auxiliary verb and the past participle together.

Examples
She ate / She has eaten / She did eat she = elle to eat = manger 1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the present tense with elle is elle a 2. manger is regular, so its past participle is mang 3. she ate = elle a mang

We finished / We have finished / We did finish we = nous to finish = finir 1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the present tense with nous is nous avons 2. finir is regular, so its past participle is fini 3. we finished = nous avons fini

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They waited / They have waited / They did wait they = ils to wait = attendre 1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the present tense with ils is ils ont 2. attendre is regular, so its past participle is attendu 3. they waited = ils ont attendu You left / You have left / You did leave you = vous to leave = partir 1. partir takes tre, which conjugated in the present tense with vous is vous tes 2. partir is usually irregular, but its past participle is as we would expect: parti 3. Because partir takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is plural, so we must add an -s to the past participle - partis 4. You left = vous tes partis She got dressed / She has got dressed / She did get dressed she = elle to get dressed = s'habiller 1. s'habiller is reflexive and therefore takes tre, which conjugated in the present tense with elle is elle s'est 2. s'habiller is regular so its past participle is habill

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3. Because s'habiller takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is feminine, so we must add an -e to the past participle - habille 4. She got dressed = elle s'est habille

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The Near Future


The near future tense is used to express an action that is going to happen: I am going to play This is by far the easiest way of expressing the future as it does not rely upon a list of endings like the other tenses. Instead, it is constructed in much the same way as English: I subject je am going present tense of to go vais to play infinitive jouer

In order to construct this tense, it is important to familiarise yourself with the conjugation of the irregular verb aller to go: aller - to go je vais tu vas il/elle/on va nous allons vous allez ils/elles vont

Once you have the present tense of aller (the I am going part) all you need is an infinitive. 25

Examples
She is going to eat she = elle to eat = manger 1. Present tense of aller in the elle form - elle va 2. Infinitive to eat - manger 3. She is going to eat = elle va manger

We are going to finish We = nous to finish = finir 1. Present tense of aller in the nous form - nous allons 2. Infinitive to finish - finir 3. We are going to finish = nous allons finir

They are going to wait They = ils to wait = attendre 1. Present tense of aller in the ils form - ils vont 2. Infinitive to wait - attendre 3. They are going to wait = ils vont attendre

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The Imperfect Tense


The imperfect tense is used to express an action that was happening while another action was taking place or that used to happen: I was playing I used to play

Once again, both of the sentences above are expressed in the same way in French and you should not try to translate them word-for-word. The imperfect tense in French is made up of just two parts: the subject and the verb. To conjugate: 1. Start by taking the nous form of the verb which almost always ends with -ons. 2. Remove the -ons - this is the imperfect stem 3. Add the imperfect ending which relates to the subject Imperfect Ending -ais -ais -ait -ions -iez -aient 27

je tu il / elle / on nous vous ils / elles

This method works for all verbs, regular or irregular, except for tre whose nous form (sommes) does not end with -ons. This is no problem. The imperfect stem for tre is t- and all endings are added as usual.

Examples
She used to eat / she was eating she = elle to eat = manger 1. nous form of the verb which slightly irregular for manger mangeons 2. remove the -ons - mangeons 3. Add the appropriate ending for elle - mangeait 4. She used to eat = elle mangeait We used to finish / we were finishing We = nous to finish = finir 1. nous form of the verb finir - finissons 2. remove the -ons - finissons 3. Add the appropriate ending for nous - finissions 4. We used to finish = nous finissions

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They used to wait / they were waiting they = ils to wait = attendre 1. nous form of the verb attendre - attendons 2. remove the -ons - attendons 3. Add the appropriate ending for ils - attendaient 4. They used to wait = ils attendaient

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The Future Tense


We already know how to express the near future, but this restricts us to actions that are going to happen soon. The future tense is used to express an action that will happen: I will play The future in English is made of three parts. In French, there are just two: the subject and the verb. Regular verbs use the infinitive as their future stem and then add endings to indicate the future. With -re verbs, remove the -e before adding the ending. Future Ending -ai -as -a -ons -ez -ont

je tu il / elle / on nous vous ils / elles

Some future stems are irregular and you can see these in the verb tables at the back of this book.


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Examples
She will eat she = elle to eat = manger 1. infinitive form of the verb - manger 2. add the appropriate future ending for elle - mangera 3. she will eat = elle mangera We will finish we = nous to finish = finir 1. infinitive form of the verb - finir 2. add the appropriate future ending for nous - finirons 3. we will finish = nous finirons They will wait they = ils to wait = attendre 1. infinitive form of the verb - attendre 2. remove the -e - attendr 3. add the appropriate future ending for ils - attendront 4. they will wait = ils attendront

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The Pluperfect Tense


The pluperfect tense is used to express an action that had happened: I had played The pluperfect tense works in much the same way as the perfect tense. It combines the subject, an auxiliary verb and a past participle. The only difference between the pluperfect and the perfect tense is the tense of the auxiliary verb. For the pluperfect, the auxiliary verb must be in the imperfect tense. The choice of auxiliary verb is the same as it would be in the past and the rules of agreement remain.

Examples
She had eaten she = elle to eat = manger 1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the imperfect tense with elle is elle avait 2. manger is regular, so its past participle is mang 3. she had eaten = elle avait mang

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We had finished we = nous to finish = finir 1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the imperfect tense with nous is nous avions 2. finir is regular, so its past participle is fini 3. we had finished = nous avions fini

They waited / They have waited / They did wait they = ils to wait = attendre 1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the imperfect tense with ils is ils avaient 2. attendre is regular, so its past participle is attendu 3. they had waited = ils avaient attendu You had left you = vous to leave = partir 1. partir takes tre, which conjugated in the impefect tense with vous is vous tiez 2. partir is usually irregular, but its past participle is as we would expect: parti 3. Because partir takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is plural, so we must add an -s to the past participle - partis 33

4. You had left = vous tiez partis She had got dressed she = elle to get dressed = s'habiller 1. s'habiller is reflexive and therefore takes tre, which conjugated in the imperfect tense with elle is elle s'tait 2. s'habiller is regular so its past participle is habill 3. Because s'habiller takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is feminine, so we must add an -e to the past participle - habille 4. She had got dressed = elle s'tait habille

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The Future Perfect Tense


The future perfect tense is used to express an action that will have happened: I will have played The future perfect tense is another tense that works in much the same way as the past. It combines the subject, an auxiliary verb and a past participle. The only difference between the future perfect and the perfect tense is the tense of the auxiliary verb. For the future perfect, the auxiliary verb must be in the future tense. The choice of auxiliary verb is the same as it would be in the past and the rules of agreement remain. It is therefore important to familiarise yourself with the future conjugations for avoir and tre which are irregular:

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

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

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Examples
She will have eaten she = elle to eat = manger 1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the future tense with elle is elle aura 2. manger is regular, so its past participle is mang 3. she will have eaten = elle aura mang We will have finished we = nous to finish = finir 1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the future tense with nous is nous aurons 2. finir is regular, so its past participle is fini 3. we will have finished = nous aurons fini

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They will have waited they = ils to wait = attendre 1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the future tense with ils is ils auront 2. attendre is regular, so its past participle is attendu 3. they will have waited = ils auront attendu You will have left you = vous to leave = partir 1. partir takes tre, which conjugated in the future tense with vous is vous aurez 2. partir is usually irregular, but its past participle is as we would expect: parti 3. Because partir takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is plural, so we must add an -s to the past participle - partis 4. you will have left = vous aurez partis She will have got dressed she = elle to get dressed = s'habiller 1. s'habiller is reflexive and therefore takes tre, which conjugated in the future tense with elle is elle se sera 2. s'habiller is regular so its past participle is habill

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3. Because s'habiller takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is feminine, so we must add an -e to the past participle - habille 4. she will have got dressed = elle se sera habille

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The Past Historic Tense


The past historic is a literary tense used to express actions that happened in the past, just like the perfect tense. As you will only ever read it in novels, poetry and possibly newspapers, it is not important to study it in depth and you only need to be able to recognise it. Conjugation in the past historic is as simple as removing the infinitive ending and adding the appropriate past historic ending. -er verbs have their own set of endings while -ir and re verbs share the same past historic prefixes: Past Historic Ending for -er verbs -ai -as -a -mes -tes -rent Past Historic Ending for -ir/re verbs -is -is -it -mes -tes -irent

je tu il / elle / on nous vous ils / elles

je tu il / elle / on nous vous ils / elles

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Of course, there are irregular forms of the past historic, many of which can be found in the verb tables at the back of this book. The past historic is very much a dying tense in French and being able to conjugate it is not necessary. Regular verbs are easily recognisable without learning the lists of endings and, as long as you can recognise the few irregular forms, you will be able to read the past historic with ease.

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MOODS

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What is a mood?
So far, we have been learning to conjugate verbs in the indicative mood, the mood of certainty, fact or question. Other moods exist to give commands (imperative), express emotions, doubt, wishes and uncertainty (subjunctive) and express an action which would or could happen (conditional). The conditional is often considered more of a tense than a mood as it conjugates by combining two other tenses, but it is technically a mood; the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed2. Do not be intimidated by the concept of moods; for the most part, you'll simply learn when to use each one and never have to think about it. Listen, read and speak enough and they will eventually all come naturally without the need to think about the terminology.

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/english-grammar-101-verbmood/

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The Conditional Mood


The conditional mood is used to express an action that would or could take place, if the conditions were correct: I would play I would have played The reason it is a mood and not a tense is that it can be expressed in both the present (the first of the two sentences above) and the perfect tense (the second sentence). However, many people consider it a tense because it is simply a combination of the future tense and the imperfect tense. To conjugate in the present tense: 1. Take the future stem (usually the infinitive) 2. Add the conditional endings

Examples
She would eat she = elle to eat = manger 1. infinitive form of the verb - manger 2. add the appropriate imperfect ending for elle - mangerait 3. she would eat = elle mangerait

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We would finish We = nous to finish = finir 1. infinitive form of the verb - finir 2. add the appropriate imperfect ending for nous - finirions 3. we would finish = nous finirions They would wait they = ils to wait = attendre 1. infinitive form of the verb - attendre 2. remove the -e - attendr 3. add the appropriate imperfect ending for ils - attendraient 4. they would wait = ils attendraient

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To conjugate the conditional in the perfect tense, as with the past, pluperfect and future perfect, we use the auxiliary verb and past participle. Rather predictably, the auxiliary verb for the conditional perfect must be in the conditional mood.

Examples
She would have eaten she = elle to eat = manger 1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the conditional mood with elle is elle aurait 2. manger is regular, so its past participle is mang 3. she would have eaten = elle aurait mang We would have finished we = nous to finish = finir 1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the conditional mood with nous is nous aurions 2. finir is regular, so its past participle is fini 3. we would have finished = nous aurions fini

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They would have waited they = ils to wait = attendre 1. attendre takes avoir, which conjugated in the conditional mood with ils is ils auraient 2. attendre is regular, so its past participle is attendu 3. they would have waited = ils auraient attendu You would have left you = vous to leave = partir 1. partir takes tre, which conjugated in the conditional mood with vous is vous auriez 2. partir is usually irregular, but its past participle is as we would expect: parti 3. Because partir takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is plural, so we must add an -s to the past participle - partis 4. You would have left = vous auriez partis She will have got dressed she = elle to get dressed = s'habiller 1. s'habiller is reflexive and therefore takes tre, which conjugated in the conditional mood with elle is elle se serait 2. s'habiller is regular so its past participle is habill

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3. Because s'habiller takes tre, the past participle must agree with the subject. The subject here is feminine, so we must add an -e to the past participle - habille 4. She will have got dressed = elle se serait habille

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The Imperative Mood


The imperative mood is used to give commands: Play! Let's play! Since we can only give commands to other people, the imperative mood only exists for the second person singular (tu), second person plural (vous) and first person plural (nous). Regular conjugation is really simple as it is usually the same as the present indicative, minus the subject pronoun. The only exception is that the -s is removed from the tu form of -er verbs. With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun is removed and the equivalent emphatic pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles) must follow the verb with a hyphen.

Examples
Eat! (to a friend) to eat = manger 1. present tense indicative, tu form of manger - tu manges 2. remove the subject pronoun - tu manges 3. manger is an -er verb, so we must remove the -s - manges 4. eat! = mange 48

Let's finish! we = nous to finish = finir 1. present indicative, nous form of finir - nous finissons 2. remove the subject pronoun - nous finissons 3. Let's finish! = finissons!

Wait! (to a group of people) you = vous to wait = attendre 1. present indicative, vous form of attendre - vous attendez 2. remove the subject pronoun - vous attendez 3. Wait! = attendez!

Hurry up! (to a friend) you = tu, emphatic form = toi to hurry = se dpcher 1. present indicative, tu form of se dpcher - tu te dpches 2. remove the subject + reflexive pronouns - tu te dpches 3. as it is an -er verb, remove the final -s - dpches 4. add the emphatic pronoun to the end - dpche-toi 5. Hurry up! = dpche-toi!

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Word order with the imperative can become confusing when we start to add pronouns. For negative commands (telling somebody not to do something), pronouns come before the verb and follow the standard pronoun order, as shown by the table below:

me te se nous vous
Ne le fais pas! Ne le lui donnez pas! Ne me le donne pas! Don't do it! Don't give it to him! Don't give it to me!

le la les

lui leur

en

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Affirmative commands (telling somebody to do something) are not so simple. Firstly, all pronouns are hyphenated after the verb in the following order:

le la les
Mange-le! Tuez-les!

moi / m' toi / t' lui

nous vous leur


Eat it! Kill them!

en

me and se become moi and toi respectively, unless they are followed by y or en, in which case they become m' and s'. Ecoutez-moi! Va-t'en! Listen to me! Go away!

The final -s is not dropped from the tu form when followed by y or en. Penses-y Vas-y Think about it Go (away)!

Irregular imperatives can be found in the verb tables at the back of this book but are often the same as their subjunctive form...

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The Subjunctive Mood


The subjunctive is rather a complex mood as it can be used in so many situations. Generally, it is used to express a will, wish, necessity or doubt although there are many other situations in which it can be used. The subjunctive is dying out in English, although its use with the verb to be remains common: I wish (that) I were younger
(as opposed to I wish I am younger)

It is important that you be there


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

In French, the subjunctive only follows the word que. That is not to say that it always follows que, but cannot be used unless que appears before it. Take the phrase: It is important that you be here We are clearly expressing a necessity, which indicates that we need to use the subjunctive. The word que is the equivalent of the English that in this case. Therefore: Il est important que tu sois ici ...is how to say it is important that you be here.

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To conjugate regular verbs: 1. Take the ils/elles form of the verb 2. Remove the -ent 3. Add the subjunctive ending Subjunctive Ending -e -es -e -ions -iez -ent

je tu il / elle / on nous vous ils / elles

Most of the time, the subjunctive will look no different to the indicative because the endings for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils and elles are the same. Some subjunctive forms are irregular and can be found in the irregular verb tables at the back of this book. NB. There is no future subjunctive. When phrases are used in the future tense, the present subjunctive is used. Here are some phrases that the subjunctive must follow:

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afin que... pourvu que... la/le seul(e)...que... condition que... il faut que... il est important que... vouloir que... avant que...* douter que... avoir besoin que... il est possible que... ne pas penser que... tre content que... moins que...* bien que... craindre que...*

so that... provided that... the only...that... provided that... it is important that... it is important that.. to want before... to doubt that... to need it is possible that.. to not think that... to be happy that unless... although to fear that

There are indeed many other phrases that require the subjunctive and you will certainly come across them if you read and listen to enough French. *These phrases also require a ne expltif which comes before the verb: Partons avant qu'il n'arrive! Je ne veux pas le faire moins que tu ne le fasses avec moi. Let's leave before he arrives! I don't want to do it unless you do it with me.

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Examples
It is important that she eats she = elle to eat = manger 1.take the ils/elles form of manger - mangent 2. remove the -ent -mangent 3. add the subjunctive ending for elle - mange 4. it is important that she eats - il est important qu'elle mange We must / it is important that we finish we = nous to finish = finir 1.take the ils/elles form of finir- finissent 2. remove the -ent -finissent 3. add the subjunctive ending for nous - finissions 4. we must finish - il faut qu'on finissions

The only person who waits The only person = La seule personne to wait = attendre 1.take the ils/elles form of attendre - attendent 2. remove the -ent -attendent 3. add the subjunctive ending for il/elle/on - attende 4. the only person who waits - la seule personne qui attende 55

Third Person Commands with the Subjunctive


The subjunctive is also used to express a sort of 'command' in the third person, such as: Let him do it! God save the Queen In French, this is simply the word que, followed by the subject and the verb in the subjunctive: Qu'il le fasse! Que Dieu sauve la Reine Let him do it! God Save the Queen

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The Perfect Subjunctive


The perfect subjunctive is used in the same way as the present subjunctive, only in the perfect tense. It works in exactly the same way as the perfect tense, only the auxiliary verb must be in the subjunctive. It is therefore important that you are familiar with the subjunctive conjugations for avoir and tre:

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

tre - to be je sois tu sois il/elle/on soit nous soyons vous soyez ils/elles soient

The rules for auxiliary verbs and agreement remain the same as those for the perfect tense and it is only the auxiliary verb that will change.


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Examples
I am happy that you ate you = vous to eat = manger 1. manger takes avoir, which conjugated in the subjunctive mood with vous is vous ayez 2. manger is regular, so its past participle is mang 3. I am happy that you ate = je suis content(e) que vous ayez mang I doubt that he has finished I = je he = il to finish = finir 1. finir takes avoir, which conjugated in the subjunctive mood with il is il ait 2. finir is regular, so its past participle is fini 3. I doubt that he has finished = Je doute qu'il ait fini

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Although I cried, I was happy I = je to cry = pleurer 1. pleurer takes avoir, which conjugated in the subjunctive mood with je is j'aie 2. pleurer is regular, so its past participle is pleur 3. Although I cried, I was happy = bien que j'aie pleur, j'tais content I am afraid that he hasn't arrived I = je he = il to arrive = arriver 1. arriver takes tre, which conjugated in the subjunctive mood with il is il soit 2. arriver is regular, so its past participle is arriv 3. I am afraid that he hasn't arrived = j'ai peur qu'il ne soit pas arriv

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Negatives
By now, you should be an expert in French verbs...in the affirmative at least! To make a sentence negative, the verb must be sandwiched by two negative parts ne verb negative word

Ne always appears in negative phrases (except in spoken French in which it can be omitted) but the negative word depends on the meaning of the negation.

ne...aucun(e)* ne...gure ne...jamais ne...ni...ni ne...nulle part ne...pas ne...personne ne...plus ne...que ne...rien
*must agree with the noun to which it refers

not one, not any, no rarely never neither...nor nowhere not nobody no longer, anymore only nothing


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Examples
Je ne l'ai pas fait I haven't done it / I didn't do it Il ne mange jamais les lgumes He never eats vegetables Nous n'avons pas vu personne We didn't see anyone Elle n'a ni frre ni soeur She has neither brother nor sister Vous n'avez aucune ide You have no idea Je ne les ai vus nulle part I haven't seen them anywhere On ne se rveille qu'avant midi We only wake up after midday Elles ne se sont jamais arrives They never arrived Je ne la vois gure I rarely see her

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Glossary affirmative statement a declarative sentence; a sentence which states something to be true . a verb that does not provide meaning to a sentence but helps to establish the tense in which the action takes place. a tense that is made up of three parts: subject, auxiliary verb and past participle. a form of writing verbs when the action could or would happen if the conditions were sufficient to allow it to happen. changing a verb's form so that it tells us more about the tense and subject of the action.

auxiliary verb

compound tense

conditional

conjugation

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connotation

the implications of a word outside of its denotation (dictionary definition). a verb which expresses a physical action. a pronoun used to emphasise a particular person. In French, these are: moi (me), toi (you, to a friend, family member or younger person), lui (him), elle (her), nous (us), vous (you, plural or formal), eux (them, men or mixed group), elles (them, women). a French noun which falls under the feminine gender. Grammatical gender does not necessarily relate to biological gender and is simply a way of categorising nouns. the most common form of verb in French; all those whose infinitive ends with -er.
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dynamic verb emphatic pronoun

feminine noun

first conjugation verb

future stem

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

gerund

the -ing form of a verb in English which either acts as a noun or to express an action that is currently taking place. a form of writing verbs when giving commands, making suggestions or giving instructions. The form of a verb in the imperfect tense before the addition of imperfect endings. a form of writing verbs when stating facts, certainties and questions. the root form or unconjugated form of a verb.

imperative

imperfect stem

indicative mood

infinitive

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infinitive ending

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

inflected language

a language which changes the way words are spelt to create different meanings. a verb which does not follow the normal pattern of conjugation. a French noun which falls under the masculine gender. Grammatical gender does not necessarily relate to biological gender and is simply a way of categorising nouns. the word ne that appears in affirmative statements and carries no meaning whatsoever. It is used to indicate a sense of doubt or fear in some situations but is very rare.
65

irregular verb

masculine noun

ne expltif

non pro-drop language

noun object

a language that relies upon pronouns to indicate the subject of a sentence. English is a non pro-drop language. a person, place or thing. the person/thing receiving the action in a sentence. The form of a verb that indicates that the action happened in the past. Typically, English past participles end with -ed. In French, they usually end with -, -i or -u. the past tense, used to express an action that happened in the past, usually on just one occasion. a group of letters that can be put at the start of a word to alter its meaning.

past participle

perfect tense

prefix

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present participle

The -ing form of a verb that indicates that the action is currently happening. a word that replaces a noun. A pronoun used to indicate that the subject of the action is performing said action on them/itself. In French, they are me (myself), te (yourself, to a friend, family member or younger person), se (himself, herself, itself), nous (ourselves), vous (yourself, plural and formal) and se (themselves). a verb in which the subject is also the object. Reflexive verbs are accompanied by reflexive pronouns. a verb which follows a pattern in its conjugation.

pronoun reflexive pronoun

reflexive verb

regular verb

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second conjugation verb

French verbs whose infinitives end with -ir. a verb which expresses a state of being rather than a physical action. the person/thing doing the action in a sentence. a pronoun that replaces the name of the subject of a sentence. In French, these are: je (I), tu (you, to a friend, family member or younger person, il (he/it), elle (she/it), on (we, one), nous (we), vous (you, plural or formal), ils (they, men or mixed group), elles (they, women). a form of writing verbs when there is an element of uncertainty, emotion, wish or doubt.

stative verb

subject

subject pronoun

subjunctive

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suffix

a group of letters that can be put at the end of a word to alter the meaning. forms that a verb can take to indicate the time of the action.

tense

third conjugation verb

the least common form of verb in French; all those whose infinitives end with -re. a word which expresses an action or state of being.

verb

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Irregular Verb Tables


The following pages contain simple tense conjugations for some of the most commonly used verbs in French. Some include similar conjugation sections which list further verbs that conjugate in a similar way based on their ending. For example: to come - venir to remember - se souvenir I come - je viens I remember - je me souviens

Perfect tenses are not included in the tables as they are made by combining elements from other tenses (pluperfect = imperfect auxiliary + past participle, for example) and can therefore be constructed from the information given. Participles are provided under all tables and the auxiliary verb is given for each.

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Present je vais tu vas il/elle/on va nous allons vous allez ils/elles vont Conditional j'irais tu irais il/elle/on irait nous irions vous iriez ils/elles iraient

aller - to go Imperfect j'allais tu allais il/elle/on allait nous allions vous alliez ils/elles allaient Past Historic j'allai tu allas il/elle/on alla nous allmes vous alltes ils/elles allrent

Future j'irai tu iras il/elle/on ira nous irons vous irez ils/elles iront Subjunctive j'aille tu ailles il/elle/on aille nous allions vous alliez ils/elles aillent

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

Present Participle: allant Past Participle: all

Auxiliary verb: tre

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avoir - to have Present Imperfect j'ai j'avais tu as tu avais il/elle/on a il/elle/on avait nous avons nous avions vous avez vous aviez ils/elles ont ils/elles avaient Conditional Past Historic j'aurais j'eus tu aurais tu eus il/elle/on aurait il/elle/on eut nous aurions nous emes vous auriez vous etes ils/elles auraient ils/elles eurent

Future j'aurai tu auras il/elle/on aura nous aurons vous aurez ils/elles auront Subjunctive j'aie tu aies il/elle/on ait nous ayons vous ayez ils/elles aient

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

Present Participle: ayant Past Participle: eu

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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Present je bats tu bats il/elle/on bat nous battons vous battez ils/elles battent Conditional je battrais tu battrais il/elle/on battrait nous battrions vous battriez ils/elles battraient

battre - to beat Imperfect je battais tu battais il/elle/on battait nous battions vous battiez ils/elles battaient Past Historic je battis tu battis il/elle/on battit nous battmes vous batttes ils/elles battirent

Future je battrai tu battras il/elle/on battra nous battrons vous battrez ils/elles battront Subjunctive j'batte tu battes il/elle/on batte nous battions vous battiez ils/elles battent

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

Present Participle: battant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: battu

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Present je bois tu bois il/elle/on boit nous buvons vous buvez ils/elles boivent Conditional je boirais tu boirais il/elle/on boirait nous boirions vous boiriez ils/elles boiraient

boire - to drink Imperfect je buvais tu buvais il/elle/on buvait nous buvions vous buviez ils/elles buvaient Past Historic je bus tu bus il/elle/on but nous bmes vous btes ils/elles burent

Future je boirai tu boiras il/elle/on boira nous boirons vous boirez ils/elles boiront Subjunctive je boive tu boives il/elle/on boive nous buvions vous buviez ils/elles boivent

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

Present Participle: buvant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: bu

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Present je commence tu commences il/elle/on commence nous commenons vous commencez ils/elles commencent Conditional je commencerais tu commencerais il/elle/on commencerait nous commencerions vous commenceriez ils/elles commenceraient Imperative (tu) commence! (nous)commenons! (vous) commencez!

commencer - to start Imperfect je commenais tu commenais il/elle/on commenait nous commencions vous commenciez ils/elles commenaient Past Historic je commenai tu commenas il/elle/on commena nous commenmes vous commentes ils/elles commencrent

Future je commencerai tu commenceras il/elle/on commencera nous commencerons vous commencerez ils/elles commenceront Subjunctive je commence tu commences il/elle/on commence nous commencions vous commenciez ils/elles commencent

Present Participle: commenant Auxiliary verb: avoir Past Participle: commenc

Isn't commencer regular?


Commencer is regular, but if the ending does not start with an e- or -i, you must put a cedilla () on the c in order to soften the [c] sound.

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Present je conduis tu conduis il/elle/on conduit nous conduisons vous conduise ils/elles conduisent Conditional je conduirais tu conduirais il/elle/on conduirait nous conduirions vous conduiriez ils/elles conduiraient Imperative (tu) conduis!

conduire - to drive Imperfect je conduisais tu conduisais il/elle/on conduisait nous conduisions vous conduisiez ils/elles conduisaient Past Historic je conduisis tu conduisis il/elle/on conduisit nous conduismes vous conduistes ils/elles conduisirent

Future je conduirai tu conduiras il/elle/on conduira nous conduirons vous conduirez ils/elles conduiront Subjunctive je conduise tu conduises il/elle/on conduise nous conduisions vous conduisiez ils/elles conduisent

Present Participle: conduisant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) conduisons! (vous) conduisez! Past Participle: conduit

Similar conjugations: produire to produce construire to build cuire to cook dduire to deduce introduire to introduce rduire to reduce traduire to translate

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connatre - to know (a person) Present Imperfect Future je connais je connaissais je connatrai tu connais tu connaissais tu connatras il/elle/on connait il/elle/on connaissait il/elle/on connatra nous connaissons nous connaissions nous connatrons vous connaissez vous connaissiez vous connatrez ils/elles connaissent ils/elles connaissaient ils/elles connatront Conditional Past Historic Subjunctive je connatrais je bus je connaisse tu connatrais tu bus tu connaisses il/elle/on connatrait il/elle/on but il/elle/on connaisse nous connatrions nous bmes nous connaissions vous connatriez vous btes vous connaissiez ils/elles connatraient ils/elles burent ils/elles connaissent Imperative Present Participle: connaissant (tu) connais! Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) connaissons! (vous) connaissez! Past Participle: connu

Similar Conjugations apparatre to appear disparatre to disappear paratre to seem reconnatre to recognise excl. natre to be born

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Present je cours tu cours il/elle/on court nous courons vous courez ils/elles courent Conditional je courrais tu courrais il/elle/on courrait nous courrions vous courriez ils/elles courraient

courir - to run Imperfect je courais tu courais il/elle/on courait nous courions vous couriez ils/elles couraient Past Historic je courus tu courus il/elle/on courut nous courmes vous courtes ils/elles coururent

Future je courrai tu courras il/elle/on courra nous courrons vous courrez ils/elles courront Subjunctive je coure tu coures il/elle/on coure nous courions vous couriez ils/elles courent

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

Present Participle: courant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: couru

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Present je crains tu crains il/elle/on craint nous craignons vous craignez ils/elles craignent Conditional je craindrais tu craindrais il/elle/on craindrait nous craindrions vous craindriez ils/elles craindraient Imperative (tu) crains!

craindre - to fear Imperfect je craignais tu craignais il/elle/on craignait nous craignions vous craigniez ils/elles craignaient Past Historic je craignis tu craignis il/elle/on craignit nous craignmes vous craigntes ils/elles craignirent

Future je craindrai tu craindras il/elle/on craindra nous craindrons vous craindrez ils/elles craindront Subjunctive je craigne tu craignes il/elle/on craigne nous craignions vous craigniez ils/elles craignent

Present Participle: craignant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) craignons! (vous) craignez! Past Participle: craint

Similar Conjugations se plaindre to complain atteindre to reach peindre to paint teindre to dye joindre to join

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Present je crois tu crois il/elle/on croit nous croyons vous croyez ils/elles croient Conditional je croirais tu croirais il/elle/on croirait nous croirions vous croiriez ils/elles croiraient

croire - to believe Imperfect je croyais tu croyais il/elle/on croyait nous croyions vous croyiez ils/elles croyaient Past Historic je crus tu crus il/elle/on crut nous crmes vous crtes ils/elles crurent

Future je croirai tu croiras il/elle/on croira nous croirons vous croirez ils/elles croiront Subjunctive je croie tu croies il/elle/on croie nous croyions vous croyiez ils/elles croient

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

Present Participle: croyant Past Participle: cru

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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devoir - to have to Present Imperfect je dois je devais tu dois tu devais il/elle/on doit il/elle/on devait nous devons nous devions vous devez vous deviez ils/elles doivent ils/elles devaient Conditional Past Historic je devrais je dus tu devrais tu dus il/elle/on devrait il/elle/on dut nous devrions nous dmes vous devriez vous dtes ils/elles devraient ils/elles durent

Future je devrai tu devras il/elle/on devra nous devrons vous devrez ils/elles devront Subjunctive je doive tu doive il/elle/on doive nous devions vous deviez ils/elles doivent

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

Present Participle: devant Past Participle: d

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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Present je dis tu dis il/elle/on dit nous disons vous dites ils/elles disent Conditional je dirais tu dirais il/elle/on dirait nous dirions vous diriez ils/elles diraient

dire - to say/tell Imperfect je disais tu disais il/elle/on disait nous disions vous disiez ils/elles disaient Past Historic je dis tu dis il/elle/on dit nous dmes vous dtes ils/elles dirent

Future je dirai tu diras il/elle/on dira nous dirons vous direz ils/elles diront Subjunctive je dise tu dises il/elle/on dise nous disions vous disiez ils/elles disent

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

Present Participle: disant Past Participle: dit

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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Present je dors tu dors il/elle/on dort nous dormons vous dormez ils/elles dorment Conditional je dormirais tu dormirais il/elle/on dormirait nous dormirions vous dormiriez ils/elles dormiraient Imperative (tu) dors!

dormir - to sleep Imperfect je dormais tu dormais il/elle/on dormait nous dormions vous dormiez ils/elles dormaient Past Historic je dormis tu dormis il/elle/on dormit nous dormmes vous dormtes ils/elles dormirent

Future je dormirai tu dormiras il/elle/on dormira nous dormirons vous dormirez ils/elles dormiront Subjunctive je dorme tu dormes il/elle/on dorme nous dormions vous dormiez ils/elles dorment

Present Participle: dormant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) dormons! (vous) dormez! Past Participle: dormi

Similar Conjugations sortir to go out partir to leave mentir to lie (tell a lie) servir to serve se sentir to feel

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Present j'cris tu cris il/elle/on crit nous crivons vous crivez ils/elles crivent Conditional je crirais tu crirais il/elle/on crirait nous cririons vous cririez ils/elles criraient Imperative (tu) cris!

crire - to write Imperfect je crivais tu crivais il/elle/on crivait nous crivions vous criviez ils/elles crivaient Past Historic j'crivis tu crivis il/elle/on crivit nous crivmes vous crivtes ils/elles crivirent

Future je crirai tu criras il/elle/on crira nous crirons vous crirez ils/elles criront Subjunctive j'crive tu crives il/elle/on crive nous crivions vous criviez ils/elles crivent

Present Participle: crivant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) crivons! (vous) crivez! Past Participle: crit

Similar Conjugations dcrire to describe transcrire to transcribe s'inscrire to register servir to serve

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Present j'envoie tu envoies il/elle/on envoie nous envoyons vous envoyez ils/elles envoient Conditional j'enverrais tu enverrais il/elle/on enverrait nous enverrions vous enverriez ils/elles enverraient

envoyer - to send Imperfect j'envoyais tu envoyais il/elle/on envoyait nous envoyions vous envoyiez ils/elles envoyaient Past Historic j'envoyai tu envoyas il/elle/on envoya nous envoymes vous envoytes ils/elles envoyrent

Future j'enverrai tu enverras il/elle/on enverra nous enverrons vous enverrez ils/elles enverront Subjunctive j'envoie tu envoie il/elle/on envoie nous envoyions vous envoyiez ils/elles envoient

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

Present Participle: envoyant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: envoy

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Present je suis tu es il/elle/on est nous sommes vous tes ils/elles sont Conditional je serais tu serais il/elle/on serait nous serions vous seriez ils/elles seraient

tre - to be Imperfect j'tais tu tais il/elle/on tait nous tions vous tiez ils/elles taient Past Historic je fus tu fus il/elle/on fut nous fmes vous ftes ils/elles furent

Future je serai tu seras il/elle/on sera nous serons vous serez ils/elles seront Subjunctive je sois tu sois il/elle/on soit nous soyons vous soyez ils/elles soient

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

Present Participle: tant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: t

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Present je fais tu fais il/elle/on fait nous faisons vous faites ils/elles font Conditional je ferais tu ferais il/elle/on ferait nous ferions vous feriez ils/elles feraient

faire - to do/make Imperfect je faisais tu faisais il/elle/on faisait nous faisions vous faisiez ils/elles faisaient Past Historic je fis tu fis il/elle/on fit nous fmes vous ftes ils/elles firent

Future je ferai tu feras il/elle/on fera nous ferons vous ferez ils/elles feront Subjunctive je fasse tu fasses il/elle/on fasse nous fassions vous fassiez ils/elles fassent

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

Present Participle: faisant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: fait

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falloir - to have to / to be necessary Present Imperfect Future il faut il fallait il faudra Conditional Past Historic Subjunctive il faudrait il fallut il faille

Imperative n/a

Present Participle: n/a Past Participle: fallu

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Falloir is an impersonal verb with only one form. It used frequently to mean to have to or to be necessary. When used in a general sense, il faut is followed by an infinitive: Il faut faire la vaisselle It is important to do the washing up When used with a specific person, we use il faut que which must be followed by the subjunctive Il faut que je fasse la vaiselle It is important that I do the washing up

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Present je lis tu lis il/elle/on lit nous lisons vous lisez ils/elles lisent Conditional je lirais tu lirais il/elle/on lirait nous lirions vous liriez ils/elles liraient

lire - to read Imperfect je lisais tu lisais il/elle/on lisait nous lisions vous lisiez ils/elles lisaient Past Historic je lus tu lus il/elle/on lut nous lmes vous ltes ils/elles lurent

Future je lirai tu liras il/elle/on lira nous lirons vous lirez ils/elles liront Subjunctive je lise tu lises il/elle/on lise nous lisions vous lisiez ils/elles lisent

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

Present Participle: lisant Past Participle: lu

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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Present je mange tu manges il/elle/on mange nous mangeons vous mangez ils/elles mangent Conditional je mangerais tu mangerais il/elle/on mangerait nous mangerions vous mangeriez ils/elles mangeraient Imperative (tu) mange!

manger - to eat Imperfect je mangeais tu mangeais il/elle/on mangeait nous mangions vous mangiez ils/elles mangeaient Past Historic je mangeai tu mangeas il/elle/on mangea nous mangemes vous mangetes ils/elles mangrent

Future je mangerai tu mangeras il/elle/on mangera nous mangerons vous mangerez ils/elles mangeront Subjunctive je mange tu manges il/elle/on mange nous mangions vous mangiez ils/elles mangent

Present Participle: mangeant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) mangeons! (vous) mangez! Past Participle: mang

Isn't manger regular? Manger is regular, but if the ending does not start with an eor -i, you must one after the -g- in order to soften the [g] sound.

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Present je mets tu mets il/elle/on met nous mettons vous mettez ils/elles mettent Conditional je mettrais tu mettrais il/elle/on mettrait nous mettrions vous mettriez ils/elles mettraient Imperative (tu) mets!

mettre - to put Imperfect je mettais tu mettais il/elle/on mettait nous mettions vous mettiez ils/elles mettaient Past Historic je mis tu mis il/elle/on mit nous mmes vous mtes ils/elles mirent

Future je mettrai tu mettras il/elle/on mettra nous mettrons vous mettrez ils/elles mettront Subjunctive je mette tu mettes il/elle/on mette nous mettions vous mettiez ils/elles mettent

Present Participle: mettant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) mettons! (vous) mettez! Past Participle: mis

Similar Conjugations permettre to allow/permit compromettre to compromise promettre to promise admettre to admit

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Present je meurs tu meurs il/elle/on meurt nous mourons vous mourez ils/elles meurent Conditional je mourrais tu mourrais il/elle/on mourrait nous mourrions vous mouriez ils/elles mourraient

mourir - to die Imperfect je mourais tu mourais il/elle/on mourait nous mourions vous mouriez ils/elles mouraient Past Historic je mourus tu mourus il/elle/on mourut nous mourmes vous mourtes ils/elles moururent

Future je mourrai tu mourras il/elle/on mourra nous mourrons vous mourez ils/elles mourront Subjunctive je meure tu meures il/elle/on meure nous mourions vous mouriez ils/elles meurent

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

Present Participle: mourant

Auxiliary verb: tre

Past Participle: mort

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Present je nais tu nais il/elle/on nat nous naissons vous naissez ils/elles naissent Conditional je natrais tu natrais il/elle/on natrait nous natrions vous natriez ils/elles natraient

natre - to be born Imperfect je naissais tu naissais il/elle/on naissait nous naissions vous naissiez ils/elles naissaient Past Historic je naquis tu naquis il/elle/on naquit nous naqumes vous naqutes ils/elles naquirent

Future je natrai tu natras il/elle/on natra nous natrons vous natrez ils/elles natront Subjunctive je naisse tu naisses il/elle/on naisse nous naissions vous naissiez ils/elles naissent

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

Present Participle: naissant Past Participle: n

Auxiliary verb: tre

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Present j'ouvre tu ouvres il/elle/on ouvre nous ouvrons vous ouvrez ils/elles ouvrent Conditional j'ouvrirais tu ouvrirais il/elle/on ouvrirait nous ouvririons vous ouvririez ils/elles ouvriraient Imperative (tu) ouvre!

ouvrir - to open Imperfect je ouvrais tu ouvrais il/elle/on ouvrait nous ouvrions vous ouvriez ils/elles ouvraient Past Historic j'ouvris tu ouvris il/elle/on ouvrit nous ouvrmes vous ouvrtes ils/elles ouvrirent

Future j'ouvrirai tu ouvriras il/elle/on ouvrira nous ouvrirons vous ouvrirez ils/elles ouvriront Subjunctive j'ouvre tu ouvres il/elle/on ouvre nous ouvrions vous ouvriez ils/elles ouvrent

Present Participle: ouvrant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) ouvrons! (vous) ouvrez! Past Participle: ouvert

Similar Conjugations couvrir to cover dcouvrir to discover souffrir to suffer offrir to offer/give (gift)

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pleuvoir - to rain Present Imperfect Future il pleut il pleuvait il pleuvra Conditional Past Historic Subjunctive il pleuvrait il plut il pleuve

Imperative n/a

Present Participle: pleuvant Past Participle: plu

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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Present je peux tu peux il/elle/on peut nous pouvons vous pouvez ils/elles peuvent Conditional je pourrais tu pourrais il/elle/on pourrait nous pourrions vous pourriez ils/elles pourraient

pouvoir - to be able Imperfect je pouvais tu pouvais il/elle/on pouvait nous pouvions vous pouviez ils/elles pouvaient Past Historic je pus tu pus il/elle/on put nous pmes vous ptes ils/elles purent

Future je pourrai tu pourras il/elle/on pourra nous pourrons vous pourrez ils/elles pourront Subjunctive je puisse tu puisses il/elle/on puisse nous puissions vous puissiez ils/elles puissent

Imperative

n/a

Present Participle: pouvant Past Participle: pu

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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Present je prends tu prends il/elle/on prend nous prenons vous prenez ils/elles prennent Conditional je prendrais tu prendrais il/elle/on prendrait nous prendrions vous prendriez ils/elles prendraient Imperative (tu) prends!

prendre - to take Imperfect je prenais tu prenais il/elle/on prenait nous prenions vous preniez ils/elles prenaient Past Historic je pris tu pris il/elle/on prit nous prmes vous prtes ils/elles prirent

Future je prendrai tu prendras il/elle/on prendra nous prendrons vous prendrez ils/elles prendront Subjunctive je prenne tu prennes il/elle/on prenne nous prenions vous preniez ils/elles prennent

Present Participle: prenant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) prenons! (vous) prenez! Past Participle: pris

Similar Conjugations apprendre to learn mprendre to mistake surprendre to surprise comprendre to understand

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Present je reois tu reois il/elle/on reoit nous recevons vous recevez ils/elles reoivent Conditional je recevrais tu recevrais il/elle/on recevrait nous recevrions vous recevriez ils/elles recevraient Imperative (tu) reois!

recevoir - to receive Imperfect je recevais tu recevais il/elle/on recevait nous recevions vous receviez ils/elles recevaient Past Historic je reus tu reus il/elle/on reut nous remes vous retes ils/elles reurent

Future je recevrai tu recevras il/elle/on recevra nous recevrons vous recevrez ils/elles recevront Subjunctive je reoive tu reoives il/elle/on reoive nous recevions vous receviez ils/elles reoivent

Present Participle: recevant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) recevons! (vous) recevez! Past Participle: reu

Similar Conjugations percevoir to perceive apercevoir to foresee dcevoir to disappoint

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Present je ris tu ris il/elle/on rit nous rions vous riez ils/elles rient Conditional je rirais tu rirais il/elle/on rirait nous ririons vous ririez ils/elles riraient Imperative (tu) ris!

rire - to laugh Imperfect je riais tu riais il/elle/on riait nous riions vous riiez ils/elles riaient Past Historic je ris tu ris il/elle/on rit nous rmes vous rtes ils/elles rirent

Future je rirai tu riras il/elle/on rira nous rirons vous rirez ils/elles riront Subjunctive je reoive tu reoives il/elle/on reoive nous recevions vous receviez ils/elles reoivent

Present Participle: riant Auxiliary verb: avoir (nous) rions! (vous) riez! Past Participle: ri

Similar Conjugations sourire to smile

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Present je m'assieds tu t'assieds il/elle/on s'assieds nous nous asseyons vous vous asseyez ils/elles s'asseyent Conditional je m'assirais tu t'assirais il/elle/on s'assirait nous nous assirions vous vous assiriez ils/elles s' assiraient Imperative (tu) assieds-toi!

s'asseoir - to sit down Imperfect je m'asseyais tu t'asseyais il/elle/on s'asseyait nous nous asseyions vous vous asseyiez ils/elles s'asseyaient Past Historic je m'assis tu t'assis il/elle/on s'assit nous nous assmes vous vous asstes ils/elles s'assirent

Future je m'assirai tu t'assiras il/elle/on s'assira nous nous assirons vous vous assirez ils/elles s' assiront Subjunctive je m'asseye tu t'asseyes il/elle/on s'asseye nous nous asseyions vous vous asseyiez ils/elles s'asseyent

Present Participle: s'asseyant Auxiliary verb: tre (nous) asseyonsnous! (vous) asseyez-vous! Past Participle: assis

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savoir - to know (a fact) Present Imperfect Future je sais je savais je saurai tu sais tu savais tu sauras il/elle/on sait il/elle/on savait il/elle/on saura nous nous savons nous savions nous saurons vous vous savez vous saviez vous saurez ils/elles savent ils/elles savaient ils/elles sauront Conditional Past Historic Subjunctive je saurais je sus je sache tu saurais tu sus tu saches il/elle/on saurait il/elle/on sut il/elle/on sache nous saurions nous smes nous sachions vous sauriez vous stes vous sachiez ils/elles sauraient ils/elles surent ils/elles sachent

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

Present Participle: sachant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: su

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Present je suis tu suis il/elle/on suit nous nous suivons vous vous suivez ils/elles suivent Conditional je suivrais tu suivrais il/elle/on suivrait nous suivrions vous suivriez ils/elles suivraient

suivre - to follow Imperfect je suivais tu suivais il/elle/on suivait nous suivions vous suiviez ils/elles suivaient Past Historic je suivis tu suivis il/elle/on suivit nous suivmes vous suivtes ils/elles suivirent

Future je suivrai tu suivras il/elle/on suivra nous suivrons vous suivrez ils/elles suivront Subjunctive je suive tu suives il/elle/on suive nous suivions vous suiviez ils/elles suivent

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

Present Participle: suivant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: suivi

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Present je viens tu viens il/elle/on vient nous venons vous venez ils/elles viennent Conditional je viendrais tu viendrais il/elle/on viendrait nous viendrions vous viendriez ils/elles viendraient Imperative (tu) viens!

venir - to come Imperfect je venais tu venais il/elle/on venait nous venions vous veniez ils/elles venaient Past Historic je vins tu vins il/elle/on vint nous vnmes vous vntes ils/elles vinrent

Future je viendrai tu viendras il/elle/on viendra nous viendrons vous viendrez ils/elles viendront Subjunctive je vienne tu viennes il/elle/on vienne nous venions vous veniez ils/elles viennent

Present Participle: venant Auxiliary verb: tre (nous) venons! (vous) venez! Past Participle: venu

Similar Conjugations se souvenir* to remember soutenir to support tenir to hold devenir* to become revenir* to come back prvenir to warn appartenir to belong contenir to contain entretenir to maintain

* the auxiliary verb is tre for these verbs

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Present je vis tu vis il/elle/on vit nous vivons vous vivez ils/elles vivent Conditional je vivrais tu vivrais il/elle/on vivrait nous vivrions vous vivriez ils/elles vivraient

vivre - to live Imperfect je vivais tu vivais il/elle/on vivait nous vivions vous viviez ils/elles vivaient Past Historic je vcus tu vcus il/elle/on vcut nous vcmes vous vctes ils/elles vcurent

Future je vivrai tu vivras il/elle/on vivra nous vivrons vous vivrez ils/elles vivront Subjunctive je vive tu vives il/elle/on vive nous vivions vous viviez ils/elles vivent

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

Present Participle: vivant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: vcu

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Present je vois tu vois il/elle/on voit nous voyons vous voyez ils/elles voient Conditional je verrais tu verrais il/elle/on verrait nous verrions vous verriez ils/elles verraient

voir - to see Imperfect je voyais tu voyais il/elle/on voyait nous voyions vous voyiez ils/elles voyaient Past Historic je vis tu vis il/elle/on vit nous vmes vous vtes ils/elles virent

Future je verrai tu verras il/elle/on verra nous verrons vous verrez ils/elles verront Subjunctive je voie tu voies il/elle/on voie nous voyions vous voyiez ils/elles voient

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

Present Participle: voyant Past Participle: vu

Auxiliary verb: avoir

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Present je veux tu veux il/elle/on veut nous voulons vous voulez ils/elles veulent Conditional je voudrais tu voudrais il/elle/on voudrait nous voudrions vous voudriez ils/elles voudraient

vouloir - to want Imperfect je voulais tu voulais il/elle/on voulait nous voulions vous vouliez ils/elles voulaient Past Historic je voulus tu voulus il/elle/on voulut nous voulmes vous voultes ils/elles voulurent

Future je voudrai tu voudras il/elle/on voudra nous voudrons vous voudrez ils/elles voudront Subjunctive je veuille tu veuilles il/elle/on veuille nous voulions vous vouliez ils/elles veuillent

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

Present Participle: voulant

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Past Participle: voulu

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