French Grammar Book

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Adjectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Indefinite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Definite . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Partitive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Cest vs. Il est. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Comparative & Superlative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Equality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Comparative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Superlative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Equality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Comparative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Superlative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Equality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Comparative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 16
Conditional (Present) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Conditional (Past) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Demonstrative Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Devoir. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Faire Causative Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Future Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Idiomatic Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Avoir. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .25
Faire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Imperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Imperfect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Indirect Discourse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Infinitives Pereceded by Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Interrogative Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Interrogative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Qui/Que . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Lequel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Jouer / Jouer de. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Jours de la Semaine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Language & Nationality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Literary Tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Pass Antrieur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Pass Simple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
 Imperfect Subjunctive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Pluperfect Subjunctive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Months of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Negative Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Object Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Indirect Object Lui & Leur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Disjunctive (stressed) Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Y & En. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Direct Object Pronouns Le, La, and Les. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Ordinal Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Pass Compose. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Verbs conjugated with Avoir. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Verbs Conjugated with Etre. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Reflexive Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Passive voice. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Past infinitive. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Past Subjunctive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Pluperfect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Possessive Adjectives. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Prepositions of Place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Prepositions with Geographical Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 62
Present Participle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Present tense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Quantitative Expressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Question Formation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Reflexive / Reciprocal Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Word order for Reflexive Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Relative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Savoir & Connaitre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Seasons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Subject Pronouns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Vous vs. Tu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Subjunctive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Formation. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Usage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Emotion / Opinion / Judgement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Doubt / Possibility / Uncertainty. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Wishes / Desires. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Necessity / Obligation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Conjunctions . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Conversational Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Official Time. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Venir De + Infinitive: The Immediate past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
 ADJECTIVES

A. Formation of Feminine Form- in most cases the feminine

form of the adjective is formed by adding -e. but there are
exceptions.

Irregular Forms of Adjectives

ADJ. END INGS MASCULINE FEMININE ENGLISH
EQUIV.

-C -CHE blanc blanche white

-C -QUE public publique public

-ER RE premier premire first

-ET TE inquiet inquite nervous

-EUR EURE suprieur suprieure superieur

-EUR EUSE menteur menteuse liar

-EUR RICE acteur actrice actor

-ET ETTE muet muette silent

-IF -IVE actif active active

naf nave naive
sportif sportive athletic

-N -NNE bon bonne good

mignon maignonne cute

-L -LLE gentil gentille nice

intellectuel intellectuelle intellectual
personnel personnelle personal

-EUX -EUSE gnreux gnreuse generous

heureux heureuse happy
srieux srieuse serious
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SPECIAL CASES MASCULINE FEMININE ENGLISH

EQUIV.

beau belle beautiful

*bel
doux douce soft
faux fausse faise
favori favorite favorite
frais frache fresh
long longue long
nouveau nouvelle new
*nouvel
sche
sec vieille dry
vieux old
*vieil

*NOTE: Special forms of these adjectives are used before a

masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute h.

un bel homme

un nouvel tudiant

un vieil ami

B. PLURAL FORMATION- Adjectives with a regular plural form also add -s to

the masculine of feminine singular.

REGULAR PLURAL of ADJECTIVES

 GENDER SINGULAR PLURAL

Masculine grand grands

intelligent intelligents
sympathique sympathiques

Feminine petite petites

blonde blondes
agable agables

NOTE: An adjective that modifies both a masculine and a feminine noun at the
same time takes the masculine plural form
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Nous cherchons une femmer et un homme intelligents.
1. Adjectives ending in s or x in the masculine singular show no change in
the masculine plural form. Feminine forms, however, add s:

un garon franais des garcon franais

un homme heureux des hommes heureux
une jeune fille franais de jeunes filles franaises
une femme heureuse des femmes heureuses

2. Adjectives ending u in the masculine singular add x to form plural

un beau garon des beaux garcon

un nouveau tableau des nouveaux hommes
BUT

une belle maison de belle maisons

une nouvelle voiture des nouvelles voitures

NOTE: The indefinite article des should change de when followed by a plural adjective +
plural noun
de bons amis de jolies femmes
However, the above usage is current undergoing change, and des is used in current
conversational French.

Jai des bons amis.

EXCEPTIONS
3. Adjectives depicting qualified colors do NOT agree with the nouns they modify

des cheveux chtain fonc (dark brown)

des cheveux chtain clair (light brown)
4. Adjectives of color (orange, citron, crme, marron, etc) that are nouns do NOT
agree with the nouns they modify

des rideaux crme

C. POSITION OF ADJECTIVES
1. Adjectives usually follow the nouns they modify, which is the opposite of English
usuage.

un homme amusant a funny man

trios copains agrables three nice friends
une femme lgante an elegant woman

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2. There are a few adjectives that are exceptions to this rule as they precede the noun.
beau handsome/beautiful
bon/mauvais good/bad
grand/petit big ,tall/small ,little,short
jeune/vieux young/old
nouveau new
joli pretty

C. The following adjective change their meaning according to their pleasure:

ancien mon ancient professeur un livre ancient

my former professor an ancient / old book

certain un certain homme une victoire certaine

a certain, particular man a sure win

cher mes chers collgues des machines chres

me dear colleagues expensive machines

dernier la dernire anne l anne dernire

the final year (in a series) the last, preceding year

grand un grand homme un homme grand

a great man a big /tall man

mme la mme ide l ide meme

the same idea the very idea

pauvre la pauvre famille la famille pauvre

poor, unfortunate family poor, penniless family

propre ma propre chamber une chamber propre

my own room a clean room

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prochain La prochaine fois La semaine prochaine
Next time (in a series) Next week (one coming)
seul Le seul homme Un homme seul
The only man a solitary man

Adverbs

A. FORMATION- Adverbs are generally formed by adding ment to the feminine

form of the adjective. The ment ending is equivalent to the ly adverb ending in
English.
ADJECTIVE ADVERB TRANSLATION
Lent(e) Lentement Slowly
Sincere Sincerement Sincerely
Ouvert(e) Ouvertement Openly
Attentive(-ve) Attentivement Attentively
Heureux(-se) Heureusement fortunately

For the adjectives that end in ant or ent, drop the nt and add mment to creat the
adverb form

Independent independamment- independently

Intelligent intelligemment intelligently

The following are some common adverbs that do NOT have the ment ending.

Bien- well
Mal- badly
Tres- very
Bientot- soon
Souvent- often
Trop- too much/ many
Dj- already
Toujours- always
Vite- quickly
Encore- still, yet

B. POSITION- The normal position for adverbs in simple tenses is directly after the
conjugated verb.
Il etudie attentivement He studies attentively.
Elles jouent bien au tennis They play tennis well.

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In compound tenses, such as the pass compose, the longer adverbs ending in
-ment normally follow the past participle. Short adverbs, suc has those above, follow
the conjugated auxiliary verb and precede the past participle.

Il a etudie attentivement. He studied attentively.

Elle ont bien travaille. They worked well.

Articles
A. INDEFINITE ARTICLES- All nouns in French are either masculine or
feminine are usually preceded by a marker that indicates the gender. One type
of gender marker is the indefinite article UN/ UNE which is equivalent to the
English a/ an. The indefinite article simply states the existence of a person,
thing, or concept; it does not specify any particular one. The plural of UN/
UNE is DES (=some)
Un homme
Un ami
Une soeur
Une jeune fille

Des hommes
Des amis
Des soeurs
Des jeunes filles

1. In most cases, UN/ UNE/ DES becomes DE (D before nouns beginning with
a vowel) after a verb used in the negative
-Tu cherches un camarade de chambre? Are you looking for a roommate?
-Non, je ne cherche pas de camarade de chambre. No, Im not looking for a
roommate.

NOTE: In negative sentences where the main verb is ETRE, the indefinite
articles UN/ UNE/ DES will not undergo any change.
Ce ne sont pas des livres. These arent books.
Ce nest pas un bon livre. This isnt a good book.

2. Nouns referring to males are generally masculine (un homme) and nouns
referring to females are generally feminine (une soeur)
-Some nouns have both masculine and feminine form: un ami/ une amie
- Other nouns, although they refer to both men & women have only one form:
un professeur.

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DEFiNITE ARTICLES

LE, LA, L, LES

SIngular Forms Plural Form

[masculine]

[masculine/feminine nouns that les [masculine/feminine plural]

being with vowel sounds]

[feminine]

Uses of Definite Articles

-designates a noun in a general/generic/collective sense
-designates a noun in a specific sense
-designates an abstract concept

1. General/generic/collective sense- the broadest sense to the idea of

someone or something. Please note that in English, no article is used in this
context.

Anne aime le tennis. [This implies that Anne like tennis in

Anne like tennis. general]

Michel naime pas la [This implies that dislikes all beer]

bire.
Michel doesnt like beer.

Le fromage franais cote cher [This implies all French cheese in

aux Etats-Unis. general is expensive]
French cheese costs a lot in the
USA.

NOTE: The definite article is used often after the verbs AIMER,
DETESTER, and PREFERER to express a generalized sense of like,
dislike, or preference.
-Aimez-vous le vin? Do you like wine?
-Non, je naime pas le vin, mas No, I dont like wine but I like
jaime la bire. beer.
2. Specific Sense- Please note that in English, the article is also used in
this context.

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Voici les cls. [This refers to specific keys that
Here are the keys have already been mentioned]

O est l'Htel Jean-Bart? [This refers to a specific hotel,

Where is the Jean Bart hotel? the Jean-Bart Hotel]

3. Abstract Sense: used to express abstract concept where the

article is normally omitted in English
La libert est importante. [The concept of Freedom]
Freedom is important.

Elle tudie la psychologie. [psychology as science/its

She is studying psychology. concepts]

1. Other Uses of of the Definite Article

a) The definite article is used in conjunction with the preposition de to

indicate possession.
FORMATION le/la/l/les + the possessee + de
possessor

lami de Vincent Vincents friend

les livres dIsabelle Isabelles books

b) The definite article is used before the names of languages, except

after the preposition en and after the verb parler

Le franais est trs French is interesting.

intressant. The film is in Italian.
Le film est en italien.

Suzanne parle franais Susan speaks French, but she

mais elle ne parle pas doesnt speak Spanish.
espagnol.

NOTE: When the verb PARLER is modified by adverb the definite article is
optional.

Sophie parle bien le Sophie speaks French well.
franais.

c) The definite article indicates the idea per when used before units
of measure.

Cest 5F...le kilo (per kilo)

le litre (per liter)
la livre (per book)
la bouteille (per bottle)

d) When the definite article is placed before the days of the

week, it indicated the idea of a repeated occurrence
(ever____or on_____s). The days of the week are all masculine
and are not capitalized in French.
lundi Monday vendredi Friday
mardi Tuesday samedi Saurday
mecredi Wednesday dimanche Sunday
jeudi Thursday

Elle tudie le dimanche. She studies on Sundays.

Il ne travaille pas le samedi. He doesnt work on Saturdays.
Je sors le samedi. I go out every Saturday.

NOTE: When no article is used with the days of the week, this
indicates a one time occurrence and does not indicate a habitual
occurrence.

Quest-ce que vous faites What are you doing

samedi? Saturady?

e) The definite article is generally used with the parts of the

body.

8
 -Quest-ce que tu as? Whats the matter with you?
-Oh, jai mal la tte. I have a headache.

-Est-ce quil a les cheveux Does he have blond hair?

blonds? No, he has black hair.
- Non, il a les cheveux noirs.

-Le pauvre Paul: Il a mal au Poor Paul! His back hurts.

dos.

*NOTE: Unlike English, in French, the possessive adjectives (my,

your, his/her,our,their) are never used with parts of the body, but
instead, the definite articles are used because the nature of the
sentences itself clearly indicates possession.

**NOTE: When the part of the body is modified by an adjective

that precedes the noun, however, the indefinite article is used
instead.

CONTRACTIONS WITH THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

1. + Definite Article
DEFINITE ARTICLE CONTRACTIONS with PREPOSITIONS
+ le au

+ la la

+ l l

+ les aux

Tu parle au pre de Paul. You are talking to Pauls father.

Je vais la campagne.
Il parle loncle de
Frdric.
Elle donne du vin aux
parents.
Im going to the country.
Hes talking to Frederics uncle.
Shes giving some wine to the
parents.

9

2. DE + Definite Article

Definite Article Contractions with Prep. DE

de + le du

de + la de la

de +l de l

de + les des

Nous parlons du frre de Were talking about Thomass

Thomas. brother.

Tu parles de la belle-mre de Are you talking about Jeans

Jean. mother in law?

Vous parlex de lenfant de Youre talking about Phillippes

Phillippe. child.

Les amis des garons sont The boys friends are annoying.
pnibles.

C. PARTITIVE
1. Distinctive Features
- The partitive is used to express the idea of a certain
quantity or portions of something , but not the whole
thing
Equivalent to some or any (=a part of) in English that can be used
- Equivalent to some or any (=a part of) in English that can
be used both with concrete or abstract nouns
- In English, the partitive 10 article is often omitted, but in
French it must always be use before a noun whenever the
idea of some or any is implied

2. FORMATION
LE PARTITIVE
Masculine Feminine M or F before a M/F plural
Singular Singular vowel or aspirate
H

du de la de l des

Est-ce que tu veux du vin? Do you want wine?

Non, je vais acheter de la
bire.
Elle a de largent?
Oui, et elle achte des petits
pois.
No, Im going to buy some
beer.
Does she have any money?
Yes, and shes buying some
peace.

*NOTE: After a negative construction, the partitive articles du, de

la, de l, and des change to de or d regardless of the gender or
number of the noun except after the verb ETRE. The English
equivalence to the partitive in the negative is no or any.

10, cont
Il ny a pas de pain There is no bread today.
aujordhui. There isnt any bread today.

Elle na pas achet de She didnt buy any

croissants. croissants.

Vous ne prenez pas de Youre not having any salad?

salade?
BUT
Ce nest pas du vin This isnt american wine.
amricain.

NOTE: Remember that un/une means a/an and is used before

singular, countable, nonspecified noun. Normally, is a/an is in the
the English sentence, that is you cue to use un/une in French. The
partitives du, de la, de l, and des, on the other hand, mean
some/any (part of) a whole quantity or of a noun that is not
countable. Remember that both the indefinite and partitive
articles change to de after a negative construction.
-Paul, tu prends une bire ou du vin?
Paul, are you having a beer or some wine?

-Moi, je prends une bire, merci.

Im having a beer, thanks.

Je ne prends pas de vin.

Im not having any wine.

-Oui, je prends du vin. Je ne prends pas de bire.

Yes, Im having some wine. Im not having a beer.

Some nouns, however, can be modified by either the indefinite

article: th, caf, Coca, bire, Orangina, etc... In this case, the
indefinite article un/une means a whole measure of, while the
partitive articles mean part of a whole quantity.
-Quest-ce que tu prends What are you having to drink,
comme boisson, Georges? Georges?
-Oh, je prends du Coca. Oh, Im having (some) Coke.
(=a glass of Coke, ie: part of a
bottle)
OR
-Oh, je prends un Coca. Oh, Im having a bottle of
Coke.

CEST VS. IL EST

11
Both Il (ils, elle, elles) and Ce can mean he, she, it, or that as the
subject of the verb ETRE, but these pronouns are not
interchangeable. There are specific grammatical rules that
require choosing between Il (ils, elle, elles) and Ce.
- Generally, if the word following ETRE could itself function
as the subject of a verb, you use CE.
- If the word following the ETRE cannot be the subject of a
verb, you must use the appropriate personal pronoun il, elle,
ils, elles.

A. CE + ETRE
1. Proper Noun Cest Jeanne.

2. Disjunctive Pronoun Cest elle.

Ce sont elles.

3. Noun Cest une calculatrice?

-Non, ce nest pas une
calculatrice. Cest un ordinateur.

4. Modified noun of Cest un bon profeseur.

profession, nationality,
religion

5. Masculine adjective -Tu travailles dans un restaurant

referring to a complete franais?
idea -Oui, cest intressant.

B. IL/ ELLE/ ILS/ ELLES + ETRE

1. Adjective referring Elle est belle.
to specific people or
things

2. Prepositional Phrase Elle est dans un caf.

Ils sont Paris.

3. Unmodified noun of Elle est professor.

profession, nationality,
and religion

NOTEL: When starting a noun profession, nationality, or religion,

both CEST and IL EST can be used if the noun is unmodified. In
such a case, when you use CEST retain the article; after IL EST
omit it. When the noun is modified by an adjective, you must use
CEST.

COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE

A. ADVERBS
1. Equality

COMPARISONS OF EQUALITY w/ ADVERBS

AUSSI + adverb + as....as
QUE

12
12, cont
 Il danse aussi bien que son frre.
He dances as well as his brother.

Sophie shabille aussi lgamment que sa mre.

Sophie dresses as elegantly as her mother.

2. COMPARATIVE

COMPARATIVE OF ADVERBS
PLUS + adverb+ QUE morethan (-er)
MOINS +adverb+QUE lessthan (-er)
MIEUX + QUE better than
Il parle plus lentement que Marie.
(He speaks slower than Marie.)

Elles travaillent moins vite que leurs amis.

(They work less than their friends.)

**NOTE: The adverb BIEN (well) is irregular. The comparative form is

MIEUX (better). (Plus bien or plus mieux is NOT acceptable in French.)

Vous chantez bien You sing well.

Vous chantez mieux que Jean You sing better than Jean.

3. SUPERLATIVE

SUPERLATIVE OF ADVERBS
LE + PLUS + adverb + de the most in/of (-er)
LE + MOINS +adverb+ de the least in/of (-er)
LE MIEUX + de the best of/in

Il parle le plus vite de la classe.

He speaks the fastest in the class.

Elles travaillent le moins attentivement de tous les tudiants.

They work the least attentively of all the students.

**NOTE: The adverb bien (well) is irregular: the superlative form is LE MIEUX
(the best). (le plus bien / le plus mieux is NOT acceptable in French.)

Vous chantez le mieux du groupe.

(You sing the best of the group.)

13
B. ADJECTIVES remember that the adjective must agree in gender & in number with the noun
it modifies.

1. EQUALITY

COMPARISONS OF EQUALITY WITH ADJECTIVES

AUSSI + adjective + QUE asas

Ma maison est aussi grande que ton appartement. My house is as big as your
apartment.

Ma mre est aussi ge que mon pre. My mother is as old as my

father.

**NOTE : The adjective agrees in gender & in number with first noun & NOT the noun
that follows QUE.

2. COMPARATIVE

COMPARATIVE WITH ADJECTIVES

PLUS + adjective + QUE morethan (-er)
MOINS +adjective + QUE lessthan (-er)
MEILLEUR(E)(S) +QUE better than

Ma maison est plus grande que ton appartment. My house is bigger

than your apartment.

Ma mre est moins ge que mon pre. My monther is younger

than my father.

**NOTE: The adjective BON (good) is irregular: the comparative form is

MEILLEUR(E)(S). (plus bon/ plus meilleur(e)(s) is NOT acceptable in French.)

MEILLEUR(E)(S) + QUE = better than

Ma note en franais est meilleure que ta note.

My French grade is better than yours.

14
3. Superlatives will always precede the adjective whether the adjective precedes or
follows the noun
Superlatives With Adjectives
Le/La/L/Les + PLUS + Adjective + the most . in/of (.-est)
DE
Le/La/L/Les + MOINS +adjective the least. in/of (-est)
+DE

Marie est la plus jolie fille de la famille. Marie is the prettiest girl in
the family.
Son frre est le moins grand de tous. Her brother is the shortest of all.
BUT
*Il a les cassettes les plus interessantes He has the most interesting cassettes of
du groupe. the group.

*Voila ma cassette la plus chere. Heres my most expensive cassette

*NOTE: To form the superlative of adjectives that follow the noun,

two markets are used. Place either a definite article or possessive
adjective before the noun. And then place PLUS or MOINS before
the adjective

**NOTE: The adjective bon is irregular: the superlative form is

le/la/l/les MEILLEUR(E)(S).(Le/la/les plusbon(ne)(s)/le/la/les
plus meilleur(e)(s) is NOT acceptable in French)

Voila les meilleurs disques de ma collection.

C. Nouns

1. Equality

Equality Of Nouns
AUTANT DE + noun + Que as much / many.as
(w/o article)

Jai autant de disques que mon ami. I have as many records as my friend.
 2. Comparative 15
Comparative Of Nouns
PLUS DE + noun + QUE (w/o article) more than..
MOINS DE + noun + QUE (w/o less/ fewer.than
article)

Philippe a moins de disques que Georges. Phillipe has fewer records

than George.

Jai plus de disques que Georges. I have more records than

George

CONDITIONAL (Present)
A. FORMATION- The is often equivalent to the English would + verb. For
most verbs, the stem of the conditional is the infinitive except for RE verbs
which drop the final E.

Infinite / Irregular stem + Imperfect Endings

1. Stems
a. REGULAR
PARLER PARLER-
ETUDIER ETUDIER-
FINIR FINIR-
SORTIR SORTIR-
ATTENDRE ATTENDR-
DIRE DIR-
ECRIRE ECRIR-

b. SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR- spelling changes that occur in the present

tense of certain ER verbs appear throughout the conditional.

e y i

Acheter Acheter- Ennuyer enneier-

Se lever Se lever- Nettoyer nettoier-
essayer essaier-
payer paier-
employer emploier-

16
 l ll t tt
sappeler sappeller- jeter jetter

c. IRREGULAR STEM CHANGES

aller ir-

avoir aur-
devenir deviendr-
envoyer enverr-
tre ser-
faire fer-
pouvoir pourr-
recevoir recevr--
savoir saur--
venir viendr--
voir verr-
vouloir voudr--

d. STEM ENDINGS
-ais -ions

-ais -iez

-ait -aient

B. USES of the Conditional

1. POLITENESS when making requests or seeking information.

Je voudrais parler au patron, Id like to speak with the

sil vous plait. boss please

Pourriez-vous me dire o se Could you tell me where the

trouve le bureau de employment agency is?
placement?
Auriez-vous le temps pour Would you have the times for
une interview aujordhui? an interview today?

2. Indication of action at a future that is hypothetical; it may or may not

happen.

17
 Il a dit quil irait chez le mdecin 3h He said that he would go to the doctors
at 3oclock.

3. SI clause used in conjunction with the imperfect. Imperfect will ALWAYS follow SI &
the conditional will be in the other clause. Indicates what WOULD happen (conditional)
IF certain conditions were met.

Si j tais infirmire, je travaillerais If I were a nurse, I would work at a

dans le cabinet dun mdecin. doctors office.

17, cont
 CONDITIONAL (PAST)

FORMATION- To form the past conditional in French, the auxiliary
verb (AVOIR or ETRE) in the present conditional is followed by the
past participle of the main verb.
Je serais arriv(e)... Nous aurons fini...

Tu lui aurais parl... Vous vous seriez

fch...

USAGE- expressed what would have happened if another event

had taken pace or if certain conditions had been present. Thus, it
is commonly used in experiences of regret and reproach.

1.Ways of expressing regret and reproach in English are

could have or should have.

POUVOIR in past conditonal + infinitive = could have

DEVOIR in past conditonal + infinitive = should have

Tu aurais pu me tlphoner! You could have called me!

Tu as raison. Jaurais d te Youre right. I should have
tlphoner. called you.

2.SI CLAUSES- the past conditional most often appears in

sentences in which the verb in the SI CLAUSES is in the
PLUPERFECT
SI + PLUPERFECT, PASTCONDITIONAL

Si tu me lavais dit, jaurais pu appoter tous les outils

ncessaires pour rparer ta voiture.
Tu naurais pas eu faire venir un mcanicien si tu mavais
parl de tes difficults.

NOTE: Either the present or past conditional must be used

following the expression au cas o

Au cas o tu aurais encore des problmes, tu pourrais me
donner un coup de fils.
In case you have further problems, you could give me a call.

Au cas o le mcanicien naurait pas pu rparer ta voiture,

donne-moi un coup.
In case your mechanic isnt able to come repair your call,
give me a call.

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES
This/That/These
Masculine singular Ce Ce livre This, that
Masculine singular (before a vowel) Cet cet homme This, that
Feminine Singular Cette Cette femme This, that
M&F Plurel Ces Ces tentes These, those
Ce garon va faire du Camping This boy is going to go camping.
Cet homme va avec le garcon This man is going to go with the boy.
Cette femme naime pas le camping This woman doesnt like camping
Ces sacs de couchage sont confortables These sleeping bags are
comfortable.
Ces tentes ne sont pas grandes These tents arent big.

The distinction between this and that or these and those is not made as frequently
in French as in English. When the need arises to make this distinction for clarity,
emphasis, or comparison. -ci (=this) is added immediately after one noun and -la (=that)
after the other.

-Quel maillot vas-Lu acheter?

Which bathing suit are you going to buy?
-Je vais acheter ce maillot.
l'm going to buy this / that bathing suit.
-Moi, je vais acheter ce maillot-ci, pas ce maillot-l.
I'm going to buy this bathing suit, not that bathing suit.
DEVOIR

18
The present and the pass compos of DEVOIR have several meanings, depending on the
context of the sentence. The following illustrate the four basic meanings of DEVOIR:
1. [present tense / DEVOIR + Direct object] to owe (money & objects)
2. [present tense / DEVOIR + infinitive] have to, must
3. (pass compos] had to, must have
4. [imparfait] was supposed to
5 [conditional] should
19

DEVOIR
je dois (P) Nous devons (P)
ai du (PC) avons du (PC)
devais (I) devions (I)
devrais (C) devrions (C)
Tu dois (P) Vous devez (P)
as du (PC) avez du (PC)
devais (I) deviez (I)
devrais (C) devriez (C)
il / elle / on ils/ elles
doit (P) doivent (P)
a du (PC) ont du (PC)
devait (I) devaient (I)
devrait (C) devraient (C)

Past Participle: du Auxiliary in P.C. - Avoir

Tu dois vingt francs ta soeur.
Nous devons rentrer ce soir.
lls ont d aller en ville.
Il doit tre malade ou il a d oublier.
Il devait venir hier soir.
Vous devriez faire vos devoirs.
You owe twenty francs to your sister
We have to go home tonight.
They had to go into town.
He must be sick or he must have forgotten.
He was supposed to come last night.
You should do your homework.
 FAIRE CAUSATIVE CONSTRUCTION
The causative FAIRE construction is used to express the idea of having something done,
making someone do something, or causing something to be done

A. FORMULATION
SUBJECT + FAIRE(Conjugated)+ INFINITIVE+ DIRECTOBJECT(Subject of Inf.)

20

J'ai fait venir le pre la runion.

Il fait construire une maison.
Nous faisons manger le chat.

B) When there are two objects of the infinitive, the indirect object always refers
to the person or thing that is completing the action (subject of the infinitive) and
the direct object refers to the object that receives the action of the infinitive.

SUBJ + FAIRE (conjugated) + INFINITVE + DO + + IO

Il fera boire un peu de vin son enfant.
He will make his child drink a little wine.

Son dernier bouquin a fait gagner beaucoup d'argent Jean-Jaques.

His last book earned Jean-Jaques a lot of money.

Elle a fait visiter la ferme ses parents.

She had her parents visit the farm.

Tu vas faire perdre son poste ton copain.

You are going to make your friend lose his job.

C) When the direct & indirect objects are in the form of object pronouns, they
precede the verb FAIRE and NOT the infinitive.

OBJECT FAIRE INFINITVE

SUBJECT PRONOUN + (conjugated) +

Il la fait construire.
He is having it built.

Il lui en fera boire un peu.

He will make him/her drink a little of it.
 Elle la leur a fait visiter.
She had them visit it.

Tu vas le lui faire prendre.

You are going to make him lose it.

B. SE FAIRE + INFINITIVE means to have I get something done to oneself.

Thus, the subject is not performing the action, but is having the action
done by someone or something else.
21
Je me fais couper les cheveux. I'm getting a haircut.
Elle se fait bronzer la plage. She is getting a tan at the beach.
 21, cont
FUTURE

A. IMMEDIATE FUTURE It is possible to express a future idea by using the

Immediate future (used to express a future idea that is in the not-too
distant future.)
1. equivalent in English: to be going + 2nd verb in the
infinitive

I'm going to go to the concert.

2. formed by: conjugated form of ALLER + 2nd verb in the

infinitive
Je vais aller au cinma Im going to the movies.

NOUS ALLONS FAIRE UN TOUR EN WE'RE GOING TO GO FOR A RIDE.

VOITURE.

QU'EST-QUE VOUS ALLEZ FAIRE CE WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO

3. SOIR? TONIGHT?
IN THE NEGATIVE, NE...PAS IS PLACED AROUND THE CONJUGATED
FORM OF ALLER.

MATHIDE NE VA PAS QUITTER MATHIDLE ISN'T GOING TO
LA MAISON. LEAVE THE HOUSE.

B. REGULAR FUTURE

A. FORMATION THE IS OFTEN EQUIVALENT TO THE ENGLISH WILL +

VERB. FOR MOST VERBS, THE STEM OF THE REGULAR FUTURE IS THE
INFINITIVE EXCEPT FOR THE -RE VERBS WHICH DROP THE FINAL -E.

INFINITIVE / IRREGULAR STEM + FUTURE ENDINGS

A. STEMS
REGULAR

PARLER PARLER

ETUDIER ETUDIER

FINIR FINIR

22

SORTIR SORTIR

ATTENDRE ATTENDR

DIRE DIR

ECRIRE ECRIR
 22, cont

SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR- spelling changes that occur in the present tense of certain
-ER verbs appear throughout the future.

e
y i
ennuyer ennuier-
acheter ach ter- nettoyer nettoier-
se lever se l ver- essayer essaier-
payer paier-
employer emploier-

l ll t tt
sappeler sappeller- jeter jetter-

IRREGULAR STEM CHANGES

aller ir-
avoir aur-
devenir deviendr-
envoyer enverr-
tre ser-
faire fer-
pouvoir fer-
pouvois pourr-
recevoir recevr--
savoir saur--
venir viendr--
voir verr-
vouloir voudr--

d. STEM ENDINGS
-ai -ons
 -as -ez

-a -ont

The future tense is used:

1. to express an action, event, or state that will occur in the future.

23

Il aura dix ans le mois prochain. He will be ten years old next month.

2. after quand (when), lorsque (when), aussitt que (as soon as), ds que (as soon as), and
aprs que (after) when expressing a future action
 23, cont
Ds quelle aura son diploma, As soon as she has her diploma,
Monique fera un aux Etais-Unis pour Monique will travel to the United
perfectionner son anglais. States to perfect her English

Quand elle nous rendra visite en juillet, When she visits us in July, we will take
nous lemmnerons Chicago avec her to Chicago with us. .
nous.

3. States the results of a SI clause in the present tense.

Si elle russit cet examen If she passes this competitive

comptitif, elle sera professeur exam, she will be an English
danglais et son employ sera professor and her job will be
garanti. guaranteed

Monique acceptera un poste Monique will accept a job in

Strasbourg si son mari y trouve Strasbourg if her husband finds a
du travail. job there. .

FUTURE PERFECT
A. FORMATION- The future perfect (futur antrieur) is formed with the future tense of
the auxiliary AVOIR or ETRE and the past participle of the main verb. Agreement rules,
word order, and negative/interrogative patterns are the same as for the pass compose.

tudier Arriver Se Coucher

jaurai tudi je serai arrive(e) je me suis couch(e)

tu auras tudi tu seras arrive(e) tu te seras couch(s)

il/elle/on aura tudi il/elle/on on il/elle/on

arriv couch
arrive couche
arriv couch
nous aurons tudi nous serons arriv(e)(s) nous nous couch(e)(s)

vous aurez tudi vous serez arriv(e)(s) vous vous serez couch(e)(s)

ils/elles auront tudi ils/elles seront ils/elles se sont

arrivs couches
arrives couches

B. USAGE- the future perfect is used to express an action that will have taken place
before another action in the future. It expresses the English will have + past particle
En lan 2010, tout aura change. By the year 2010, everything will have changed.
1. Use the future perfect with quand, lorsque, aussitt que, ds que, and aprs que if that
action will have taken place before another future action.

24
Ex. 1 Ds quil auro trouv un emploi, il achtera une voiture.
(As soon as he has found (will have found) a job, he will buy a car.)

Ex.2 Partons aussitt quil aura appel.

(Lets leave as soon as he has called (will have called).)

2. At times, it is up to the speaker to decide whether to use the simple future or the future
perfect after one of the above conjuctions. When both clauses are in the simple future, it
is implied that both action took place at the same time.

Ex.1 Aussitt quil achtera sa nouvelle voiture, il nous emmnera fair un tour.
(As soon as he buys his new car, he will take us for a ride.)

Ex.2 Aussitt quil aura achet sa nouvelle voiture, il nous emmnera fair un
tour.
(As soon as he has bought (will have bought) his new car, he will take us for a ride.)

3. After the conjuction aprs que, the future perfect is used when that action takes place
in the future.

Ex.1 Aprs que nous serons revenus, je te raconterai toutes nos aventures.
(After we (will) have returned, I will tell you about all our adventures.)

Si/ Conjunction clause Main Clause

Si Present Present
Future
Imperative
Quand Future Future
Lorsque Imperative
Ds que Future perfect
Aussitt que Future Perfect Future
Imperative
Aprs que Future Perfect Future
Imperative

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
A. AVOIR The verb AVOIR is used in many common idiomatic expression. An
idiom is an expression that cannot be translated literally. Note that in many
AVOIR idioms, AVOIR has the meaning of the English verb TO BE rather than
TO HAVE

Avoirans to beyears old

____besoin de to need

____bon/mauvais caractre25 to have a good/bad personality

____chaud to be hot
____envie de to feel like
____faim to be hungry
____froid to be cold
____lintention de to intend to
____mal to have a(n) ache
____peur (de) to be afraid (of)
____raison to be right
____soif to be thirsty
____sommeil to be sleepy
____tort to be wrong
EXAMPLES:
-Cest un beau garon. Quel ge a-t-il? Hes a handsome boy. How old is he?
-Il a onze ans. Hes eleven years old.

-Quest-ce tu prends quand tu as soif? What do you have when youre

thirsty?
-Dhabitude, je prends un grand verre deau. Usually I have a big glass of water.

-Jai envie daller la boum, mais jai mal I feel like going to the party, but my
aux pieds. feet hurt.

-Tu as besoin de nouvelles chaussures! You need new shoes!

B. FAIRE

1. SPORTS- Faire is used in conjunction with sports activities

FAIRE + de + definite article + sport
Faire
de laththisme de la natation
de larobic de la planche voile
 du baseball de la plonge sous-marine
de basket-ball du rugy
de la bicyclette du ski (nautique)
du cyclisme du surf
du foot du tennis
du football amricain du volleyball
du hockey du golf
du jogging

EXAMPLES
-Fais-tu du sport? Do you play sports?
-Oui, mon amie et moi, nous Yes, my friend and I play tennis.
And
du tennis. Et toi? you?
26
-Moi, je fais de la planche voile. I windsurf.

26, cont
 2. WEATHER EXPRESSIONS
a. Il fait/ Il fait/ Il va faire
. . . . beau It was nice out. It was nice out Its going to be nice
out.
. . . . du vent It was windy. It was windy Its going to be
windy
. . . . du soleil It was sunny. Its sunny Its going to be
sunny
. . . . mauvais It was bad outside. Its bad outside Its going to be bad
outside
. . . . chaud It was hot outside. Its hot outside Its going to be hot
outside
. . . . froid It was cold outside. Its cold outside Its going to be cold
outside
. . . . frais It was cool outside. Its cool outside Its going to be cool
outside
b. OTHER WEATHER EXPRESSIONS

Il a plu/ Il pleut/ Il va pleuvoir It rained Its raining Its going to rain

Il a neig/ Il neige/ Il va neiger It snowed Its snowed Its going to snow

Le ciel a t couvert (nuageux) It was cloudy.

Le ciel est couvert (nuageux) Its cloudy.
Il va y avoir des nauges Its going to be
cloudy.

Il y a eu un orage There was a

Il y a un orage thunderstorm.
Il va y avoir un orage Theres a
thunderstorm.
Theres going to
be a thunderstorm

IMPERATIVE

Imperative forms of a verb are used to give orders or commands or to make requests
A.FORMATION- only exists in the TU/NOUS/VOUS forms
1. Drop the subject pronoun from the present tense of the verb
2. for all regular er verbs and aller. With the TU form of the imperative the final
s is dropped
3. The negative is formed by placing NE before the verb & PAS after the verb
PARLER
tu parles Parle! Speak! Ne parle pas! Dont speak!
vouz parlez Parlez! Speak! Ne parlez pas! Dont speak!
nous parlons Parlons! Lets speak! Ne parlons pas! Lets not speak!

27
FINIR
tu finis Finis! Finish! Ne finis pas! Dont finish!
vouz finissez Finissez! Finish! Ne finissez pas! Dont finish!
nous finissons Finissons! Lets finish! Ne finissons pas! Lets not finish!

Rpondre
tu rponds Rponds! Answer! Ne rponds pas! Dont answer!

vouz rpondez Rpondez! Answer! Ne rpondez pas! Dont answer!

nous rpondons rpondons! Lets answer! Ne rpond pas! Lets not answer!

B. Imperatives Followed by Object Pronouns

When a command form is accompanied by an object pronoun, the object pronoun
follows the affirmative command and is attached to it by a hyphen. In a negative
command, the object pronoun precedes the verb.

Regardez cette emission. Look at this program.

Regarze-la! Look at it!
Ne la regardez pas! Dont look at it!

Rponds au professeur. Answer the teacher.

Ronds-lui! Answer him/her!
Ne lui rponds pas! Dont answer him/her!

Nous le regardons souvent. We watch it often.

Regardons-le! Lets watch it!
Ne le regardons pas! Lets not watch it!

NOTE When the object pronoun ME follows the affirmative command, the stressed
form MOI must be used.

Donnez-moi du caf sil vous plait. Give me some coffee, please.

Ne me donnez pas de caf, Dont give me any coffee, give me some
donnez moi du th. tea

28
 C. Imperatives of the Reflexive Verbs

To form the imperatice of reflexive verbs, you also begin with the appropriate
person (tu ,nous,or vous) of the present tense and remove the subject pronoun. In the
case of the reflexive verbs, however, the reflexive pronoun , like other object
pronouns, is placed AFTER the verb and is attached to it by the hyphen in affirmative
commands.

Vous vous amusez bien. You have a good time.

Amusez-bien vous! Have a goodtime!

Nous nous reposons. We are resting.

Reposons-nous! Lets rest!

1. When TE follows the affirmative command form, the stressed form TOI is used.
Tu te lves. You get up.
Lve-toi vite! Get up quickly!
2. In a negative command, the reflexive pronoun precedes the verb

Ne vous amusez pas trop! Dont have too much fun!

Ne te lve pas! Dont get up!
Ne nous reposons pas maintenant! Dont rest now!

-le -me (moi) -y -en

-la -te (toi)
-les -lui
-leur
-nous
-vous

Object pronoun in AFFIRMATIVE Imperatives

IMPERFECT

A. FORMATION of the imperfect- To form the imperfect tense of a verb, remove the
-ONS ending of the first person
plural (NOUS form) -ais -ions of the
present tense and add -ais -iez the following
endings. -ait -aient

29
 VENDRE- tp sell
PARLER- to speak
je parlais je vendais
tu parlais tu vendais
il/elle/on parlait il/elle/on vendait
nous parlions nous vendions
vous parliez vous vendiez
ils/elles parlaient ils/elles vendaient

All verbs, even those that are irregular, form the imperfect tense in the regular fashion,
except for ETRE.
FINIR- to finish ETRE- to be

je finissais j tais
tu finissais tu tais
il/elle/on finissait il/elle/on tait
nous finissions nous tions
vous finissiez vous tiez
ils/elles finissaient ils/elles taient

B. USES of the imperfect- When the imperfect tense is used, you mentally move back to
a specific point of reference in the PAST (generally) indicated by a verb in the pass
compos, as in a flashback. The imperfect is used to describe what was going on or how
things were at that given point in time. The verb in the pass compos is the primary
incident you are telling about; the imperfect helps establish the context in which this
incident occurred. You are not concerned with when the action of the verb in the
imperfect began or when it ended or even with its duration. It expresses simply how
things were at that time.

1. Habitual Actions that occurred an unspecified number of times often used with the
following adverbs:
dhabitude souvent frquemment
toujours habituellement tous les jours

_____________________ ______ __________________

prsent
imparfait

Jallais toujours au cours de maths le vendredi. I always went to math class on Fridays.

Dhabitude jarrivais lheure. Normally, I would arrive on time.

Je faisais mes devoirs tous les jours. I used to do my homework everyday.
Quand j tais jeune jallais au cimena souvent. When I was young, I used to go to the movies often
 2. Description, background, &circumstances where the reference point is in the past
(going back into time to describe)

_________________________________________________________

imperfect
prsent
30
Vendredi dernier, il faisait chaud et beau. Last Friday. It was hot and nice.
Il y avait beaucoup d tudiants dans la salle. There were a lot of students in the room.

Le prof parlait. The teacher was talking.

Il tait dj trios heures. It was already three oclock.
Je ncoutais pas le prof. I wasnt listening to the teacher.
Mon ami faisait attention et prenait des notes. My friend was paying attention and
taking notes
3. Conditions, sate of being, and feelings where the focus is on the condition, state, or
feeling itself with NO regards to the beginning or end. The following verbs often are used
to describe a physical or emotional state.
avoir desirer detester croire
penser prfrer aimer vouloir
tre

Javais mal la tte. I had a headache.

J tais trs fatigue. I was very tired.
Je ne comprenais plus le prof. I couldnt understand the teacher anymore.

Javais envie de partir. I wanted to leave.

Les tudiants attendaient la The students were waiting impatiently
fin de la leon avec impatience. for the lesson to be over.
______________________________________________________
imperfect
prsent

4. With SI when expressing a wish or desire that would happen in the present or
future. (Note that it is a wish or desire that is not probable to come true)

Si javais de largent! If I has some money!

Sil avait le temps! If he only had the time!
 31
5. An ongoing action for which no beginning or end can be visualized in the past that
is interrupted by another in the past.

______________________________________________________
imperfect
prsent
pass compose

Je regardais le film quand tout coup jai eu faim.

I was watching a movie when all of a sudden I got hungry.

INDIRECT DISCOURSE
Indirect discourse is used to report both statements and questions. The following are
examples of the kinds of verbs that may introduce reported speech:

affirmer
annoncer
declarer
dire
expliquer
jurer
promettre

A. QUE/QU links the introductory verbs such as DIRE with a reported statement
whether it is affirmative or negative. Note that the original subject pronoun in the quoted
statement will change when it is reported to the introductory verb.

Elle dit: Je ne vient pas ce soir. Elle dit QUelle ne vient pas ce soir.

Ils disent: Nous venons ce soir. Ils disent QUils viennent ce soir.

B. If the introductory verb is in the present tense, the tense of the verb(s) In the
reported statements doe NOT change.

32
Elles dissent: Nous venons la manif. Elles disent quelles viennent la manif.

present tense

Il dit: Je nai pas promis de venire. Il dit quil na pas promis de venire.

pass compos

32, cont
C. If the introductory verb is in a past tense, the tense of the verb(s) in the reported
statement changes as follows.

Ella a dit: Je viens ce soir. Elle a dit quelle venait ce soir.

present imperfect

Ella a dit: Je vais venire ce soir. Elle a dit quelle venait ce soir.

immediate future imperfect

Il a dit: Je nai pas promis de venire. Il a dit quil navait pas promis de venire.

pass compos pluperfect

Jai dit: Javais trop de travail. Jai dit que javais trop de travail.

imperfect imperfect (no change)

D. When reporting yes/no questions, si/s in place of que/qu

Elles demandent: Vous venez se soir? Elles demandent si vous venez ce soir.
Il voulait savoir: Elle arrive lheure? Il voulait savoir s elle arrivait lheure.
E. When reporting informational questions, retain only the interrogative pronouns. Do
not use est-ce que or inversion/

Il ma demand: Quand est-ce que le roi est mort? Elle ma demand quand le roi tait mort.

a. QUI-EST-CE QUI and QUI EST-CE QUE become QUI

Elle ma demand: Qui est-ce qui est denvenu roi?

Elle ma demand qui tait devenu roi.

33
b. QUEST-CE QUI becomes CE QUI

Ils ont demand: Quest-ce qui sest pass ensuite?

Ils ont demand ce qui stait pass ensuite.
c. QUEST-CE QUE becomes CE QUE

Il a demand: Quest-ce que tu as dit?

Il a demand ce que javais dit.

33, cont
 INFINITIVES PRECEDED BY PREOPPOSITIONS

+ INFINITVE

aider commener hesiter

samuser consenter s intresser
apprendre continuer inviter
sattendre encourager se mettre
autoriser enseigner russir
avoir (to have to) shabituer tenir

DE + INFINTIVE

sagir de dcider de parler de

sarrrer de se dpcher de (to hurry) refuser de
avoir besoin de empcher de (to prevent) remercier de
avoir envie de essayer de rver de
avoir lintention de finir de se souvenir de
avoir peur de oublier de tcher de (to try)
choisir regretter de venir de (to have just)

+ PERSON / DE + INFINTIVE

commander quelquun de dire quelquun de

conseiller quelquun de crire quelquun de
dfendre quelquun de permettre quelquun de
demander quelquun de promettre quelquun de
reprocher quelquun de suggrer quelquun de

NO PREPOSITION

aimer esprer sembler

aller faire souhaiter
compter falloir venir
croire penser voir
desirer pouvoir vouloir
detester prfrer
devoir savoir
couter

34
 SUBJECT + ETRE + ADJECTIVE + PREPOSITON + INFINITIVE

Most all subjects that precede ETRE will take DE

Je suis content de te voir

Il est difficile de comprendre le franais.

BUT:

Cest is followed by
Cest facile comprendre.

INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES
A. agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies

QUEL (what, which)

masculine singular feminine singular masculine plural feminine plural
quel quelle quels quelles

B. It occurs in the following positions:

1. Immediately before the noun modifies: QUEL + NOUN

Quelle glise? What (which) church?

Quel livre est-ce que tu as? What (which) book do you have?
Quels sports est-il aime? What (which) sports does he like?
Quelles bires prfrez-vous? What (which) beers do you prefer?
NOTE: When QUEL and the noun are followed by the pass compose. The past
participle must agree in gender and number with the noun.

Quels disques as-tu achets?

Quelles jeunes filles est-ce que tu as invites

2. Between the noun it modifies and the verb tre when asking for identification in (3rd
person singular & plural ONLY)
QUEL+ ETRE + NOUN

Quelle est votre adresse? What is your address?

Quels sont tes vins prfres? What are your favorite wines?

35
 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
A. QUI/ QUE

Person Thing
SUBJECT Qui Quest-ce qui
Qui est-ce qui
DIRECT OBJECT Qui Que (inversion)
Qui est-ce que Quest-ce que
OBJECT OF prep. + qui prep. + quoi
PREPOSITION

1. SUBJECT
a. PERSON
Qui va au cinma? Whos going to the movies?
Qui est-ce qui va au cinma?

Eric va au cinma. Erics going to the movies.

b. THING
Quest-ce qui se passe? Whats happening?

2. DIRECT OBJECT
a. PERSON
Qui a-t-elle vu? Who did she see?
Qui est-ce quelle a vu?

Elle a vu son prof. She saw her professor.

b. THING
Que fais-tu? What are you doing?
Quest-ce que tu fais?

Je joue au tennis. Im playing tennis.

36
3. OBJECT OF PREPOSITION
a. PERSON
De qui parles-tu? Who are you talking about?
qui pensez-vous? Who are you thinking about?
Chez qui reste-t-il? Whose house is he staying at?

b. THING
De quoi a-t-elle besoin? What does she need?
A quoi pensez-vous? What are you thinking about?
Avec quoi repares-tu la vioture? What are you repairing the car with?

B. LEQUEL- the pronoun form of quel (lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles) agree in
gender and number with the noun they replace and are the French equivalents of
which one/which ones. LEQUEL contrats with and de in the same manner as the
definite article.

MASCULINE FEMININE

lequel laquelle
SINGULAR auquel laquelle
duquel de laquelle
lesquels lesquelles
PLURAL auxquels auxquelles
desquels desquelles

Regarde le garon! Lequelle

Watch the boy! Which one?

Lesquelles de ces patisseries est-ce que tu prfres?

Which ones of these pasteries do you prefer?

Je mintresse plusieurs clubs sociaux de luniversit.

Moi, aussi! Auxquels est-ce que tu tintersses?

Jtais en train de parler dun film que jai vu rcemment.

Ah, oui? Duquel parlais-tu?

C. OTHER INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

37
A quelle heure A quelle heure + A quelle heure est-ce que ton train arrive?
(when, at what time) Inversion/ est-ce que (What time does your train arrive?)

A quelle heure arrive-t-il ce soir?

(What time is he arriving this evening)

*A quelle heure arrive son avion?

(What time does his plane arrive?)
Combien Combien + inversion Combien coute-t-il?
(how much/ many) (How much does it cost?)

*Combien coute ta robe?

(How much does your dress cost?)
Combien de + sing. Combien de billets est-ce que Paul
Noun = how much achete?
Combien de + noun + (How much money do you have?)
Combine de + pl. Est-ce que/ inversion
Noun = how many Combien dargent as-tu?
(How much money do you have?)

Combien de billets a Paul?

(How many tickets does Paul have?)

**Combien de personnes voyagent a

Paris?
(How many people are traveling to Paris?)
Comment Comment + Comment est-ce que tu sais la reponse?
(how) Est-ce que/ inversion (How do you know the answer?)

Comment trouvez-vous la France?

(What do you think of France?)

*Comment est le voyage?)

(How is the trip?)
Ou Ou + Ou est-ce quil voyage?
(where) Est-ce que/ inversion (Where are you traveling?)

Ou allez-vous aprs Paris?

(Where are you going after Paris?)

*Ou est le guichet?

(Where is the ticket window?)
38
Pourquoi Pour quoi + Pourquoi est-ce quil va en France?
(why) Est-ce que/ inversion (Why is he going to France?)

Pourquoi va-t-elle en France?

(Why is she going to france?)

Pourquoi Paul va-t-il en France?

(Why is Paul going to France?)

Quand Quand + Quand est-ce que vous renevez de Paris?

(when) Est-ce que/ inversion (When do you come back from Paris?)

Quand reviens-tu de Paris?

(When do you come back from Paris?)

*Quand reviens ton frere?

(When is your brother coming back?)
*NOTE With all of the interrogative expression except pourquoi, a noun subject may be
inverted after the verb to form the question IF THE NOUN IS THE LAST
WORD IN THE SENTENCE. Please notice that with inversion with nouns,
no hyphen is inserted.
**NOTE When Combien de + noun is itself the subject of the sentence, est-ce que nor
inversion can be used because est-ce que is followed by the subject &
inversion inverts the subject.
JOUER A / JOUER DE
A. JOUER A is used to express the idea of playing SPORTS & GAMES
JOUER + a + definite article + Game or sport
Jouer: To play (games) (sports)

Au bridge bridge a lathletisme

Aux cartes (f. pl) cards au basket-ball
Aux dames (f. pl) checkers au cyclisme
Aux echecs (m. pl) chess au foot
Au poker poker au tennis

Veux-tu jouer au tennis avec moi? Do you want to play tennis with me?

Non merci. Je ne joue pas bien au tennis No thanks. I dont play tennis wel
Mais Joues-tu aux cartes avec moi? But do you want to play cards with me?

B. JOUER DE is used to express the idea of playing MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

FAIRE + de + definite article + musical instrument

De la clarinette du saxophone
De la guitare du trombone
Du piano de la trompette

39
Est-ce qu elle joue dun instrument de musique? Does she play a musical
instrument?
Oui, elle joue de la clarinette. Yes, she plays the clarinet.

JOURS DE LA SEMAINE

lundi (Monday) vendredi (Friday)

mardi (Tuesday) samedi (Saturday)
mercredi (Wednesday) dimanche (Sunday)
jeudi (Thursday

A. The French consider the days of the week to begin on Monday and end of Sunday.
B. The names of the week are all masculine and never capitalized except if at the
beginning of the sentence.
C. They are never accompanied by a preposition
1. vendredi- Friday/ on Friday
2. Vendredi je suis sorti en boite. On Friday, I went out to a
nightclub
D. The definite article le is only used with the days of the week when it indicates a
repeated occurrence
1. le dimanche every Sunday/ on Sundays
2. Le dimanche nous allons a leglise. On Sundays, we go to church

LANGUAGE & NATIONALITY

Feminine Countries Masculine Countries

Allemagne France Bresil Japon
Angleterre Grece Canada Luxembourg
Belgique Inde Danemark Maroc
Chine Italie Etats-Unis Portugal
Espagne Pologne Viet-nam
Russie

A. The following languages are the same in French as the masculine name of the
nationality
Un(e) Allemand(e) parle allemand
Un(e) Anglais(e) parle anglais
Un(e) Chinois(e) parle chinois
Un(e) Espagnol(e) parle espagnol
Un(e) Francais(e) parle francais
Un(e) Grec(que) parle grec
Un(e) Italien(ne) parle italien
Un(e) Russe parle russe
Un(e) Danois(e) parle danois

Un(e) Japonais(e) parle japonais

40
 Un(e) Polonais(e) parle polonais
Un(e) Portugais(e) parle portugais
Un(e) Vietnamien(ne) parle vietnamien

NOTE: The name of the nationality (the person) is capitalized, but the
name of the language is not.

B. The following languages are different from the names of their nationality

Une(e) Australien(ne) parle anglais

Un(e) Belge parle francais ou flammand
Un(e) Indien(ne) parle hindi ou anglais
Un(e) Israelien(ne) parle hebreu
Un(e) Bresilien(ne) parle portugais
Un(e) Iranien(ne) parle persan
Un(e) Canandien(ne) parle francais ou anglais
Un(e) Luxembourgeois(e) parle francais
Un(e) Marocain(e) parle arabe ou francais
Un(e) Mexicain(e) parle espagnol
Un(e) Americain(e) parle anglais

LITERARY TENSES
A. Passe Anterieur
1. FORMATION the pass anterieur is a compound tense, formed by
combining the pass simple of the auziliary verb AVOIR or ETRE with the
pas participle of the main verb.

AVOIR + past ETRE + past

participle participle
Jeus parle Nous eumes parle Je fus alle(e) Nous fumes alle(e)s

Tu eus parle Vous eutes parle Tu fus alle(e) Vous futes alle(e)(s)

Il Ils Il Ils
Elle eut parle Elles eurent parle Ellie fut alle(e) Elles furent alle(e)s
on on

2. USAGE the pass anterieur is a literary tense used to designate a past

action / event that occurred prior to another past action / even that is
usually expressed in the pass simple. It often appears the the
conjunctions QUAND, LORSQUE,
DES QUE, AUSSITOT QUE, and APRES QUE. There fore, the pass
anterieur is the literary equivalent to the pluperfect.
Des quun des souliers eut glisse, un nostalgique de lancien regime le sauva.

41
 As soon as one of the shoes slipped out, a nostalgic adherent to the Old
Regime saved.
B. PASSE SIMPLE the pass simple is used to narrate past events, replacing the
pass compose in formal, historical, or literary texts. Since it is not likely that
you will need to actively use this tense, you only need to learn to recognize and
understand the forms.

1. REGULAR VERBS use the infinitive minus the ER, -IR, or RE as the
stem, and add the following endings:
Regular ER verbs (including ALLER)
Je parlai

Tu parlas

Il/elle/on parla

Nous parlames

Vous parlates

Ile/elles parlerent
Regular IR verbs
Je finis

Tu finis

Il/elle/on finit

Nous finimes

Vous finites

Ils/elles finirent
Regular RE verbs
Je dendis

Tu rendis

Il/elle/on rendit

Nous rendimes

Vous rendites

Ils/elles rendirent
2. IRREGULAR VERBS

42
 a. Add the following endings ( the circumflex in the NOUS & VOUS forms are
placed above the last vowel of the stem).
je -s nous -mes
tu -s vous -tes
il/elle/on -t ils/elles -rent

b. The following are stems to IRREGULAR verbs :

INFININTIVE STEM INFININTIVE STEM

apercevoir aperu- mettre mi-

asseoir assi- mourir mouru-
atteindre atteign- natre naqui-
avoir eu- offrir offri-
boire bu- ouvrir ouvri-
conduire conduisi- paratre paru-
convaincre convainqui- plaire plu-
connatre connu- pleuvoir il plut
courir couru- pouvoir pu-
craindre craigni- prendre pri-
croire cru- recevoir reu-
devenir devin- rsoudre rsolu-
devoir du- rire ri-
dire di- savoir su-
crire crivi- suivre suivi-
tre fu- taire tu-
faillir failli- valoir valu-
faire fi- venir vin-
falloir il faillut virvre vcu-
fuir fui- voir vi-
lire lu- voulour voulu-

43
C. IMPREFECT SUBJUNCTIVE
1. FORMATION- The imprefect subjunctive is formed by dropping the final letter
of the JE form of the pass simple and adding the following endings

je -sse nous -ssions

tu -sses vous -ssiez
il/ elle/on -t ils -ssent

2. USAGE- the imperfect subjunctive may be used in subordinate clauses when

the verb in the main clause is in the past tense or in the condtional. It corresponds in
meaning ro to the present subjunctive.
Je ne corvais pas quil vint. I didnt think he would come.

D. PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE
1. FORMATION- The pluperfect subjunctive is formed by combining the
imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary AVOIR or ETRE with the same the past participle
of the main verb.

que jeusse que nous eussions

que tu eusses + past que vous eussiez + past

participle participle
quil quils
quelle et quelles eussent
quon

que je fusse que nous fussions

que tu fusses + past que vous fussiez

participle + past
participle
quil quils
quelle ft quelles fussents
quon

44
 2. USAGE- the pluperfect may replace the pluperfect or the past
conditonal. It maybe used in subordinate clauses for events that occurred proir ro
rime of the verb in the main clause. Like the imperfect subjunctif, it is used when
the main-clause verb is in a past tense or in the conditional. Therefore, the
pluperfect subjunctive corresponds in meaning to the past subjunctive.

Je ne crovais pas quil ft venu. I didnt believe he had come.

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

Definite articles are not used with the months of the year. To say in + the name of the
month, use either en or au mois de + the month. The months are not capitaliezed in
French.

janvier January juillet July

fvrier February aot August
mars March septembre September
avril April octobre October
mai May novembre November
juin June dcembre December

Je pars en vancances au mois d aot. Im leaving on vacation in August.

Les cours recommecent en septembre. Classes begin in September.

45
 NEGATIVE EXPRESSIONS

ne...aucun(e) no, not any, not a single (stronger than ne...pas)

*ne... gure hardly

*ne...jamais never

ne...ni...ni neither...nor

ne...nulle part nowhere

*ne...pas du tout not at all

*ne...pas encore not yet

*ne...pas non plus not either

ne...personne no noe, not anyone, nobody

*ne...plus no longer, not any longer, no more

*ne...que only

*ne...rien nothing

A. PERSONNE, RIEN, and AUCUN(E) can be used as subjects, in which case they are
placed in the normal subject psotion followed by NE. (PAS is never used with these
expressions).

Le weekend pass, personne ne ma tlphon.

Rien ne sest pass.
Mes Amis ? Aucun ne ma rendu visite.

B. PERSONNE & AUCUN follow the past participle rather than auxiliary verb when
acting as the object of the verb. The negative adverb NULLE PART also follows that past
participle in the past tense.
Je nai vu personne.
Mes amis. Tu nas vu aucun ?
Il nest all nulle part.

46
C. AUCUN(E) frequently acts as an adjective & can modify subjects or objects and thus
is placed before the noun it modifies with no articles.

Aucune letter ne mest arrive.

Je nai eu aucun visiteur.

46, cont
D. With NE...NI...NI, the partitive articles are dropped altogether. As with most negative
expressions, the definite article is retained.

Je nai vu ni ami ni trangers.

Je nai parl ni avec le factuer ni avec la concierge.

E. NE...QUE synonymous with seulement, is a restrictive expression rather than a true

negative. Thus all articles are retained after it. QUE is placed directly after word groups it
modifies.
Je navais que le chat pour me tenir compagnie et il ne fait que dormir.
F. In sentences with multiple negative expressions, NE is used just once, and the second
part of each negative expression is places in its normal position.

Personne na jamais rien fait.

Quand mon appartement a t propre., je navais plus rien faire.

G. RIEN & PRESONNE can be further quantified by combining them with de plus a
masculine singulair adjective.

Il ny avait rien de spcial la tl.

Personne dintressant na particip mon mission prfre du soir.

OBJECT PRONOUN
a. Indirect Pronoun LUI & LUER- are used to replace nouns referring to people whne
those nouns are preceded by the preposition . There is no distinction in gender, thus it is
understood by context. Indirect objects are placed before the conjugated verb or when
there is more than one verb before the verb of which it is the indirect object.

+ person (singular) = LUI + person (plural)=LEUR

LUI= to him/her LEUR= to them

-Parlez-vous votre prof? Do you talk to your teacher?

-Oui, je lui parle souvent. Yes, I talk to him/her often.

- A-t-elle envoy une carte postale son amie? Did she send a postcard to her friend?

-Quest-ce quil a donn ses copines? What did he give to his friends?
-Il leur a donn des disques. He gave them some records.

Est-ce que vous sperez parler vos amis? Do you hope to talk toy your friends?
Oui, j spre leur parle. Yes, I hope to talk to them.
47
B. Disjunctive (stressed) Pronouns- are used whenever a pronoun is needed in a stressed
positionanywhere other than directly before a verb.

MOI me NOUS us
TOI you VOUS you
LUI him (masc) EUX them
ELLE her ELLES them (fem)

1. When referring to a person as the object of any preposition EXCEPT . Use the
disjunctive pronoun.

-Est-ce que vous parlez de Marie ? Are you talking about Mary ?
-Oui, nous parlons delle. Yes, were talking about her.

-Avez-vous voyag avec les Smith ? Did you travel with the Smiths ?
-Oui, jai voyag avec eux. Yes, I traveled with them.

-Tu vas chez Marc ? Are you going to Maries house ?

-Non, je ne vais pas chez lui. No, Im going to his house.

2. after QUE in a comparison

-Tu as plus de cassettes que Paul ? Do you have more cassesttes than Paul ?
-Non, il a plus de cassettes que moi. Yes, he has more cassettes than me.

-Est-ce que vous avez les mme Do you have the same albums as us ?
albums que nous ?

-Oui, nous avons les mme albums Yes, we have the same albums as you.
que vous.

3. As a pronoun stadning alone.

-Qui a achet ce disque ? Who bought this record ?

-Lui Him.

-Alors, qui la choisi ? Well, who chose it ?

-Moi Me

4. For emphasizing the subject

-Et toi, comment as-tu trouv le concert ? And how did you like the concert ?
-Moi, je lai beaucoup aim, mais lui, il I really liked it, but he hated it.
la dtest.

48
C. Pronouns Y & EN

Y replaces
1. preposition of location (, en, sur, chez, dans, sous, devant, etc) + object
2. + noun referring to things (NOT people)
3. + verbs in infinitives referring to ideas

Je vais chez des amis. Jy vais.

Le livre se trouve sur la table. Le livre sy trouve.
Je mintresse aux sports. Je my intresse.
Il a rpondu la question. Il y a rpondu.
Nous nous intressons partir. Nous nous y intrssons.

EN replaces
1. de + noun
2. de + verb
Jai besoin dun livre. Jen ai besoin.
Il mange de la viande. Il en mange.
Tu as peur de chanter. Tu en as peur.
*Il as deux livres. Il en a deux.
*Elle n pas beaucoup dargent. Elle nen a pas beaucoup.

*nouns preceded by numbers or expression are replaced BUT NOT the

number or the expression of quanitity.

D. Direct object pronouns LE, LA, LES

The direct object pronouns le, la and les replaces a noun objec that directly
follows the verb without being preceded by a preposition. The pronoun agrees in gender
and number with the noun it replaces. The object pronoun is placed directly before the
CONJUGATED verb. However, when the verb in the present or past is followed by an
infinitive, the object pronoun must directly precede the infinitive.

-Aimez-vous le football ? Do you like soccer ?

-Oui, je laime bien. Yes, I really like it.

-Regardez-vous les matches de foot Do you watch the soccer matches on TV ?

ta tl ?
-Oui, je les regarde souvent. Yes, I watch them often.

49
 -Avez-vous vu le match dhier ? Did you see yesterday s match>
-Non, je ne lai pas vu. No, I didnt see it.

-Aimez-vous faire la lessive ? Do you like to do the wash ?

-Non, je naime pas la faire. No, I dont like to do it.

When the object pronouns le, la and les precede the auxiliary verb AVOIR in the pass
compos, the past participle agrees in gender and in number with this preceding direct
object.
-Avez-vous vu la femme dans l quipe de foot ? Did you see the women on the soccer team ?
-Oui, je lai vue. Yes, I saw her

-Vous avez regard les matches la tl ? Did you watch the games on TV ?
-Oui, je les ai regards et je les ai beaucoup aims. Yes, I watched them & I really liked them.

-Avez-vous vu Sophie & Anne au Match de tennis ? Did you see Sophie or Anne at the tennis
-Oui, je les ai viues. game ?
Yes, I saw them.
Subject Reflexive Direct Indirect Disjunctive
Object Object (stressed)

je me me me moi

tu te te te toi

il se le lui lui
elle se la lui elle
on se le lui soi

nous nous nous nous nous

vous vous vous vous vous

ils se les leur eux

elles se les leur elles

THE ORDER OF OBJECT PRONOUN

me le lui y en
te la leur
se les
nous
vous

50
 ORDINAL NUMBERS

Ordinal numbers are used to order and to rank items in a series.

1st le premier/la premire 11th le/la onzime

2nd le/la deuxime 12th le/la douzime

3rd le/la troisime 13th le/la treizime

4th le/la quatrime 14th le/la quatorime

5th le/la cinquime 15th le/la quatorzieme

6th le/la sixime 16th le/la seizime

7th le/la septime 17th le/la dix-septime

8th le/la huitime 18th le/la dix-huitime

9th le/la neuvime 19th le/la dix-neuvime

10th le/la dixime 20th le/la vingtime

The following are special cases:

To express the first, use le premier or la premire. For the last, use le dernier or
la dernire. All other ordinals are formed by adding -ime to the cardinal
number.
When the cardinal number ends in -e. drop the e before adding -ime:
quatre/quatrime
Add u to cinq before adding the ordinal ending: cinquime
Change the f of neuf to v before adding the ordinal ending: neuvime

PASSE COMPOSE

D. Formation
Verbs conjugate with AVOIR- mose verbs whose auxiliary is AVOIR in the pass
compos are transitive verbs (verbs that are capable of having direct objects). Direct
objects can NOT be separated from the verb by a preposition.

51
parler parl
Jai
finir fini
Tu as
attendre attendu
Il/ Elle/ On
avoir eu

tre t

Nous avons
faire fait

Vous avez
pouvoir pu
Ils/ Elles ont
prendre pris

vouloir voulu

AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENT = subject + auxiliary verb + past participle

NEGATIVE STATEMENT :
jamais
Subject + ne + auxiliary verb + pas + past participle + personne
plus
rien

INVERTED QUESTION :
jamais
noun subject + auxiliary verb + sunjecy pronoun + pas + past participle + personne
plus
rien

52
2. Verbs Conjugated with ETRE- most French verbs that cannot take direct objects use
etre as their auxiliary verb in the pass compose. If there is a noun that follows an ETRE
verb, it must be preceded by a preposition because D.O.s The past participles of the etre
verbs function as adjectives and agree in gender and number with the subject.

Devenir (devenu)

Revenir (revenue)

Monter (monte)

Rentrer (rentre)

Sortir (sorti)

Venir (venu)

Arriver (arrive)

Naitre (ne)

Descendre (descendu)

Entrer (entre)

Retourner (retourne)

Tomber (tombe)

Rester (reste)

Aller (alle)

Mourir (mort)

Partir (parti)

53
Je suis _____(e) Nous sommes _________(e)s
Tu es ______(e) Vous etes ___________(e) (s)
Il est _______ Ils sont ___________s
Elle est _______e Elles sont ___________es

B. Reflexive Verbs in the Passe Compose

SAMUSER to have fun / a good time

Je me suis amuse(e) Nous nous sommes amuse(e)s

Tu tes amuse(e) Vous vous etes amuse(e)(s)
Il / on sest amuse Ils se sont amuses
Elle sest amuse Elles se sont amuses

1. All reflexive verbs are conjugated with etre in the pass compose and its past
participle agrees in gender and in number with the reflexive pronoun / subject.

-Monique sest couchee tres tard hier soir.

Monique went to bed very late last night.

2. The past participle of SE FAIRE + infinitive constructions and those reflexive

verbs followed by direct objects will NOT agree with its reflexive pronoun /
subject in the pass compose.

-Sophie sest fait couper les cheveux.

Sophie had her hair cut.

-Elles se sont brosse les dents avant de se coucher.

They brush their teeth before going to bed.

54
3. In the negative, ne precedes the reflexive pronoun, as in the simple tense. Pas or other
negative words normally follow the auxiliary ver.

-Pierre ne sest pas endormi devant la tele.

Pierre didnt fall asleep in front of the TV.

4. When forming questions by inversion, the subject pronoun is inverted directly behind
the auxiliary verb.

-Se sont ils baignes a la plage?

Did they go swimming at the beach?

-Non, ils ne se sont pas baignes a la plage.

Mais ils se sont fait bronzer.
No, they didnt. They got a tan.

C. Uses of Pass Compos

1. Onset of the action is clearly seen, although the specific beginning point may not
necessarily be stated.

3h

pass compos present

Je suis alle au cinema cet aprs-midi a 3h.

I went to the movies this afternoon (at 3 oclock).

2. The end of the action is clearly seen, although the specific time may not necessarily be
stated. 5h

pass compos present

(A 5h) jai quitte le cinema a la fin du film pour aller diner.

(At 5:00) I left the movies at the end of the film to go have dinner.

55
3. The duration of the action is clearly stated, even with the use of indefinite times
expressions such as pendant quelques heures (for a few hours), plusieurs (several).
2:30

pass compos
present

Le flim a dure deux heures et demie.

The movie lasted two and a half hours.

4. An action that is repeated a SPECIFIED number of times.

pass compos
present
La semaine passee, je suis alle au cinema quatre fois.
Last week, I went to the movies four times.

5. A past action is viewed in its entirety, although the beginning and end points and the
duration are implied but not specifically stated.

pass compos present

Viviane est allee au cinema aussi.

Viviane went to the movies too.

6. A reaction to or a sudden action may cause a change in an existing state or condition

meaning to become or get and the following adverb may indicated that an action is
completed within a given mount of time frame.

Enfin tout a coup a ce moment

Finalement immediatement une fois
Soudain tout de suite vite

Quand jai vu lexamen, jai eu peur.

When I saw the exam, I got scared.

Apres avoir mange la mauvaise viande, il a ete malade.

After eating the spoiled meat, he got sick.

56
 PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice is useful in a number of context, including reporting the facts and
summarizing what went on. The passive voice reverses the roles and positions of the
subject and the direct object of a normal sentence (in the active voice). The direct object
of an active sentence becomes the subject of a passive sentence. This new subject does
NOT carry out the action of the verb (as it does in an active sentence), but is acted upon
by an agent.

A. FORMATION
Active Voice: subject + verb + direct object
Le meurtrier a tue les temoins.
La neige couvre les montagnes.
Les scientifiques vont discuter leconomie.

Passive Voice: subject + ETRE (conjugated) +past participle + par / de+agent

(subject and past participle agree in gender and number)

Les temoins ont ete tues par le meurtrier.

Les montagnes sont couvertes de neige.
Leconomie vont etre discutee.

NOTE:
1) When transforming a sentence from the active to passive voice, ETRE must
be in the same tense as the main verb in the active voice.

2) In French, only verbs that are followed by direct objects can be put into the
passive voice.

3) An agent is not always mentioned because it is either implied, unknown, or

unimportant. However, when it is present it is usually introduced by PAR.
However, DE is used when the passive voice denotes a abstract sate or
condition and is NOT followed by an article.

B. AVOIDING THE PASSIVE

1. If an agent is expressed, transform the sentence to the active voice by: 1)

making the agent the subject of the sentence, 2) making the passive
subject the direct object, and 3) deleting ETRE and the past participle of
the main verb and replacing them with a conjugated form of the main
verb.
PASSIVE: Une rage fatale a ete ecrite par un romancier clbre.
ACTIVE: Unromancier clbre a ecrit une rage fatale.
57
 2. If an agent is NOT expressed and is a person, use the indefinite pronoun ON
as the subject, followed by the active verb in the 3rd person singular form.

PASSIVE: Ce roman est connu dans de nombreux pays.

ACTIVE: On connait ce roman dans de nombreux pays.

3. Certain, common, habitual actions in English expressed in the passive voice

can be rendered in French by pronominal verbs, assuming that the subject is
inanimate. Common pronominal verbs used in this situation are SE
MANGER, SE BOIRE, SE PARLER, SE VENDRE, SOUVRIR, SE
FERMER, SE DIRE, SE FAIRE, SEXPLIGUER, SE TROUVER, and SE
VOIR.

Ce roman ne se vend pas bien en ce moment.

This novel is not selling very well right now.
Mais cela sexpligue facilement, puisquil vient seulement de sortir en
librairie.
But that is easily explained, since it just came out in the bookstores.

PAST INFINITIVE
Like the pass compos, the past infinitive is composed of an auxiliary verb (AVOIR or
ETRE) and a past participle. The auxiliary is not conjugated, but stays in the infinitive.
The equivalent English expression is after having past participle or quite frequently just
after ing.

Aprs + auxiliary verb + past participle

A. The past infinitive can ONLY be used when the subject in each clause is the
same. However, when the subjects are different, <Aprs que + subj. +
conjugated verb must be used.

Aprs tre arriv laroport, il a tlphon sa mere pour venir le

chercher.After having arrived at the airport, he called his mother to come pick
him up.
Aprs quil est arriv laroport, sa mre est venue le chercher.
After he arrived at the airport, his mother came to pick him up.

B. When the past infinitive appears more than once in the same sentence, for the
sake of redundancy, all elements that would be repeated are deleted.

Aprs avoir bien cir ses chaussures et (aprs avoir) ajust sa cravate, il est
sorti.
After having shined his shoes and adjusted his tie, he left.

C. When the auxiliary ETRE, the past participle agrees in gender and in number
with its subject.

58
Aprs avoir pris une douche et stre habille, elle a mange le petit djener.
After having taken a shower and gotten dressed, she ate breakfast.

58, cont
D. In the negative, place nepas / jamais / plus, etc. before the auxiliary verb.

Aprs ne pas avoir fait ses devoirs, llve a eu une mauvaise note.
After not having done his homework, the student got a bad grade.

PAST SUBJUNTIVE
A. FORMATION the past subjunctive is formed from the present subjunctive
of the auxiliary AVOIR or ETRE plus the past participle of the main verb.

ETRE / AVOIR +
past
(present subjunctive) participle
. . . que jaie regard
. . . que nous soyons parti(e)s
. . . que tu te sois rveill(e)

B. USAGE The past subjunctive is a compound tense used to refer to actions or

conditions that took place at any time prior to the verb in the main clause.

Il est content que je sois parti tt.

He is happy that I left early.

Je doute quil ait achet la moto hier.

I doubt he bought the motorcycle yesterday.

Il est peu probable quil soit devenu anti-cologique.

Its very unlikely that he became anti-environmental.

NOTE: There is no future subjunctive in French. Future actions are

expressed in the present subjunctive.

59
 PLUPERFECT
A. FORMATION imperfect form of the auxiliary AVOIR or ETRE + Past Participle

tudier arriver se coucher

javais tudi nous avions j tais nous tions je mtais nous nous
tudi arriv(e) couch(e) tions
arriv(e)s couch(e)s
tu avais vous aviez tu tais vous tiez tu ttais vous vous
tudi tudi arriv(e)(s) arriv(e)(s) couch(e) tiez
couch(e)
il ils il ils il ils
elle elles avaient elle tait elles elle stait elles
on avait tudi on taient on staient
tudi arriv couch
arrive arrives couche couchs
B. USAGE The pluperfect reflects arriv
a past action that happens beforecouch
another action
in the past. Therefore, it is sometimes known as the past past tense. It is equivalent
to the English had + past participle.

Il sest aver que javais dj fait sa connaissance il y a trois semaines.

It turned out that I had already met him three years ago.
Quand elle est arriv la gare, le train tait dj parti.
When she arrived at the train station, the train had already left.

1. Sometimes in English the pluperfect is translated as a simple past tense, as

in the examples below. However, whenever it is clear that an action had
been completed prior to another past action in the same time period, the
pluperfect MUST be used.

Jai vu lemission que vous maviez recommande.

I saw the show that you (had) recommended to me.

Le film tait aussi bon que vous me laviez dit.

The movie was as good as you (had) recommended to me.

2. The pluperfect, when used with SI, expresses a wish or regret about past
events.

Si seulement javais gagn la loterie!

If only I had won the lottery!

Si seulement je navais pas perdu60tout mom argent!

If only I hadnt lost all my money
 60, cont

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
Subject Possessive Adjective English Equivalent Example
Je mon + (masculine singular noun) my mon livre
*mon + (feminine singular noun mon amie
beginning with a vowel) ma chambre
ma + (feminine singular noun) mes cls
mes + (masc. / fem. plural noun)
Tu ton + (masculine singular noun) your ton livre
*ton + (feminine singular noun ton amie
beginning with a vowel) ta chamber
ta + (feminine singular noun) tes cls
tes + (msc. / fem. plular noun)
Il/ Elle/ On son + (masculine singular noun) his/her/ones son livre
*son + (feminine singular noun son amie
beginning with a vowel) sa chambre
sa + (feminine singular noun) ses cls
ses + (masc. / fem. plural noun)
Nous notre + (masculine singular noun) our notre livre
+ (feminine singular noun) notre chambre
nos + (masc. / fem. plural noun) nos cls

Vous votre + (masculine singular noun) your votre livre

+ (feminine singular noun) votre chambre
vos + (msc. / fem. plural noun)
vos cls
Ils/Elles leur + (msculine singular noun) their leur livre
+ (feminine singular noun) leur chambres
leurs + (masc. / fem. plural noun) leurs cls

*With a feminine noun beginning with a vowel or a vowel sound, the masculine form
mon, ton, and son is used instead of the feminine form in order to maintain liaison.

mon omelette ton amie

NOTE:Possessive adjectives agree in number (singular or plural) & gender (masc. or
fem.) with the nouns they modify which may not necessarily be the subject!!!!

Marc a ses livres. (Marc has his books.)

(sees agrees in gender & number with livres not Marc!)

61
PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
 loid de prs de en face de ct de de
(far from) (near) (across from) (next to) (from)
au bout de au coin de devant derrire
(at the end of) (at the cornerof) (in front of) (behind) (in)
entre dans sous sur
(in between) (in) (under) (on)

The above prepositions always precede:

1. indefinite/definite articles
2. possessive pronouns
3. the noun when there is no article

Le maison se trouve au coin de la rue.

The house is located at the corner of the street.
Le vlo est en face du magasin.
The bike is in front of the store.

La voiture se trouve prs de votre maison. Il est loin de lhtel.

The car is located near your house. He is far from the hotel

La poste est devant la gare

The post office is in front of the train station.
Il est entre ma maison et la banque.
It is between my house & the bank.

NOTE: For those prepositions that are followed by de, remember that de + le
contracts to du & de + les contracts to des.

PREPOSITIONS WITH GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Most locations whose names end in e are feminine. Normally, names ending in any
other letter are masculine (exception: le Mexique)

A. Countries, continents & states

1. En is used to express the ideas of to, at, or in with the names of feminine
countries, continents, and states.

Je vais en France. Im going to France.

Sont-ils en Asie. Are they in Asia?
1habite en Virginie. I live in Virginia.

2. + definite article (to, at, or in) is used for masculine geographical locations.

Il va au Portugal. Hes going to Portugal.

62
Vont-ils aux Etats-Unis? Are they going to the USA?
Vous allez au Texas? Youre going to Texas.

62, cont
3. en is used with names of masculine singular georgraphical locations beginning with a
vowel.
Isreal (m) en Isreal lIran (m) en Iran

NOTE No article is ever used with Isreal.

de is used without an article to express the idea of from wirh feminine countries,
continents, and states; whereas de + definite article is used with masculine countries,
continents, and states.

Venez-vous dEurope? Do you come from Europe?

Ils arrivent du Canada? They are arriving from Canada?
Nous arriovons de France. Were arriving from France.
Ils sont des Etas-Unis. They are from the United States.
Cities
1. is always used with cities to express the isea of to, at, & in. Almost all cities are
neither masculine or feminine, and thus, will never be preceded by an article.

Il est New York? Is he in NewYork?

Non, il est Paris/ No, hes in Paris.
BUT

*Le Mardi gras est The Mardi Gras is in New Orleans.

la Nouvelle Orlans.

*Je vais au Havre. Im going to Le Havre.

( = + le)

*NOTE- There are a few cities that contain the definite article as part of its name; and
thus, it must be retained.

2. de is used with cities to express the idea of from

Il est de Paris. Hes from Paris.
Elle arrive de Chicago. Shes arriving from Chicago.
BUT
**Il est du Havre. Hes from Le Havre.
**Elle arrive de La Nouvelle Shes arriving from New Orleans.
Orlans.

**NOTE- Cities that contain a definite article as past of its name, must be retained.

63
 PRESENT PARTICIPLE
A. FORMATION The present participle of both regular & irregular verbs is formed by
dropping the ONS ending from the present tense NOUS form and adding ANT. It is
the equivalent of the verbal ING form in English.

utilisons utilisant
finissons finissant

battons battant
faisons faisant

EXCEPTIONS

tre tant
avoir ayant
savoir sachant

B. USAGE The present participle functions either as a verb or an adjective

1. When it functions as an adjective, agreement is made with the noun it

modifies.

Le chalet o nous tions hbergs navait pas leau courante.

The chalet where we were staying had no running water.

2. When it functions as a verb, no agreement is made. In this instance, the

present participle is usually preceded by EN to express a condition or to
show what two actions are going on simultaneously & is equivalent to the
English while ING

En sautant la corde, la jeune fille sest bless au pied.

While jumping rope, the little girl hurt her foot.

Jaime couter la radio en faisant mon footing.

I like to listen to the radio while jogging.

Les jours de comptition, je commence me concentrer en me levant.

On competition days, I begin concentrating as soon as I get up.

NOTE- TOUT can be used before EN+ present participle to accentuate the simultaneity
or opposition of two actions. In this case, TOUT does not change form.

Tout en paraissant dtendu, je me prpare la course.

While looking relaxed, I prepare myself for the race.

64
 3. While functioning as a verb, the present participle can also express by what
means something can be done & in this instance, is equivalent to the English by ING.

Comme me le dit mon entraneur, cest en travaillant son proper rythme

russit.

As my coach tells me, its by working at your own pace that you succeed.

C. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FRENCH AND ENGLISH

1. After all prepositions except EN, the French infinitive form is used to
express the equivalent of the English present participle.

Jai pass mon temps libre me preparer pour le triathlon.

I spent my free time preparing for the triathlon.

Jai fini par me placer deuxime.

I ended up placing second.
2. The preposition APRES must be followed by the past infinitive, even
though is may translate as after +verb-ING.

Aprs avoir pris une douche et stre habille, elle a mang le petit
djeuner.
After taking a shower and getting dressed, she ate breakfast.

3. An infinitive in French is also used when the English present participle

functions as the subject or object of a verb.

Faire du sport est bon pour la sant.

Practicing sports is good for your health.

PRESENT TENSE
A. Regular ER Verbs-are the largest groups of verbs that follow a similar conjugation
pattern

1. The ER ending denotes that the verb is in the infinitive form (to + verb).
The infinitive is an unmodified form because it has not yet been
conjugated.

2. To arrive at the appropriate conjugated verb forms that correspond with

each subject pronoun, the ER ending of the infinitive is dropped
to form the stem to produce the following conjugated forms:
 65
REGULAR ER VERBS PARLER (to speak), STEM- PARL-
Singular Forms
Subj. Pronoun Verb Ending Conj. Form
je (I) -e je parle
tu (you) -es tu parles
il (he/it) -e il parle
elle (she/it) elle parle

Plural Forms
Subj. Pronoun Verb Ending Conj. Form
nous (we) -ons nous parlons
vous (you) -ez vous parlez
ils (they) -ent il parlent
elles elle parlent

Other ER verbs:
bavarder to chat marcher to walk
chanter to sing parler to speak/talk
danser to dance travailler to work
tudier to study voyager to travel
fumer to smoke __aux
habiter to live (in) tats-Unis to the USA
manger to eat __en France to France

Regular RE verbs- like regular er verbs, all regular re verbs follow a similar pattern of
conjugation. Remove the re infinitive ending and add the following endings to the stem.

Attendre- to wait for Vendre- to sell Descendre- to go fown, to stop, to stay

Attendre- to wait for

Jattends Nous attendons
Tu attends Vous attendez
Il/Elle/On attend Ils/Elles attendent

-Est-ce que tu descends en ville? Are you going downtown?

-Non, je ne descends pas en ville maintenant. No, Im not going downtown now.

Jattends Paul. Im waiting for Paul.

-Mais, on vend des disques et des cassettes un But, therre selling records and cassettes at a special
prix spcial Dicso-Rama. price at Dico-Rama.

Est-ce que vous descendez lhtel? Are you staying at a hotel?

66
-Oui, nous desendons lhtel Univers. Yes, were staying at the Universe Hotel.

66, cont
 NOTE- When the verb attendre + person/thing means to wait for, the
preoposition foris incorporated into the meaning of the verb; and thus, not repeated.
However, attendre followed by the preposition means to wait at/in & requires the
presence of his preposition.

Jattends mon ami au parc. Im waiting for my friend at the park.

Il attend le train depuis une heure. Hes been waiting for the train for an hour.

Vous attendez la gare longtemps? Have you been waiting at the train station long?
Ils attendent au Parc. Theyre waiting in the park.

C. IR VERBS
OBEIRE - to obey
FINIR- to finish
Je finis Nous finissons Jobis Nous obissons
Tu finis Vous finissez Tu obis Vous obissez
Il Ils Il Ils
Elle finit Elles finissent Elle obit Elles obissent
On On

choisir to choose rflchir to reflect on; think about

punir to punish russir to success; to pass

1. Note that a preposition follows these verbs when they are followed by an infinitive:

finir de + infinitive Je finis de travailler. Im finished working.

choisir de + infinitive Il choisit de partir. He chooses to leave.

2.
rflchir + noun / infinitive Tu rflchis lire un livre
Youre thinking about reading a book.

Paul rflchit ses projects.

Paul is thinking about his plans.

russir + noun / infinitive Ils russissent trouver un hotel.

They succees in finding a hotel.

Monique russit son examen.

Monique passes her test.

67
Note: When a noun follows FINIR, CHOISIR, & PUNIR a preposition is not
used.

3. The infinitive ending IR can be added to certain adjectives, including

the names of certain colors. Such verbs mean to become / to turn .

blanc blanchir to turn white; to bleach

noir noireir to turn black; to blacken
rouge rougir to turn red; to blush
grand grandir to get big; to grow up
gros grossir to become / get fat
maigre maigrir to become / get skinny, thin

D. Irregular ER verbs

e l ll
achter (to buy); se lever (to prfrer (to prefer); esprer sappeler to be named
get up); amener (take along) (to hope); rpter (to repeat)
j achte nous achetons j espre nous esprons je mappelle nous nous
appelons
tu achtes vous achetez tu espres vous esprez tu tappelles vous vous
appelez
il ils il ils il il
elle achte elles achtent elle espre elles esprent elle sappelle elle sappellent
on on on on

t tt y i c
jeter to throw payer (to pay); envoyer (to comener to begin
send); ennuyer (to
bore/annoy); nettoyer (to
clean); essayer (to try);
employer (to use)
je jette nous jetons je paie nous payons je commence nous
commenons
tu jettes vous jetez tu paies vous payez tu vous
commences commenez
il ils il ils il il
elle jette elles jettent elle paie elles paient elle comence elle
on on on commenent
on

68
 Manger to eat; Nager to swim;
Plonger to dive
je mange nous mangeons
tu manges vous mangez
il ils
elle mange elles mangent
on

Aller to go Avoir to have Devoir to owe, must, have to

je vais nous allons j ai nous avons je dois nous devons
tu vas vous allez tu as vous avez tu dois vous devez
il ils il ils il il
elle va elles vont elle a elles ont elle doit elle doivent
on on on on
Past Part: all Past Part: eu Past Part: d

Dire to tell/say Etre to be Faire to make/do

je dis nous disons je suis nous somes je fais nous faisons
tu dis vous dites tu es vous tes tu fais vous faites
il ils il ils il il
elle dit elles disent elle est elles sont elle fait elle font
on on on on
Past Part: dit Past Part: t Past Part: fait

Mettre to put/place Pouvoir to be able to Prendre to take

je mets nous mettons je peux nous pouvons je prends nous prenons
tu mets vous mettez tu peux vous pouvez tu prends vous prenez
il ils il ils il il
elle met elles mettent elle peut elles peuvent elle prend elle prennent
on on on on
Past Part: mis Past Part: pu Past Part: pris

69
 Sortir to go out Venir to come Vouloir to want
je sors nous sortons je viens nous venons je veux nous voulons
tu sors vous sortez tu viens vous venez tu veux vous voulez
il ils il ils il il
elle sort elles sortent elle vient elles viennent elle veut elle veulent
on on on on
Past Part: sorti Past Part: venu Past Part: voulu

QUANTITIVE EXPRESSIONS

A. To ask how much/many of something, use: COMBIEN DE/D

Combien de disques compacts est-ce que tu as? How many CDs do you have?
Combien de jambon est-ce que tu as achete? How many ham did you buy?
Combien dargent avez-vous? How much money do you have?

B. GENERAL QUANTITIES

Beaucoup de a lot (of) / many / much

Nepas beaucoup de not many, much
**un peu de a little
tres peu de very little

C. EXPRESSIONS OF SUFFICIENCY

Assez de enough
Trop de too much / too many
Nepas assez de not enough

D. SPECIFIC QUANTITIES

Une bouteille de a bottle of

Une carafe de a pitcher of
Un morceau de a piece of
Un bout de a piece of
Une tasse de a cup of
Une trance de a slice of
Un verre de a glass of
Un kilo de a kilogram of
Une livre de a pound of
Une demi-kilo de a half-kilogram of
Une douzaine de a dozen
 70
These expressions of quantity are followed directly by a noun without
definite/indefinite /partitive article:

Il y a assez de vin? Is there enough wine?

Non, il ny a pas beaucoup de vin. Yes, theres a lot of wine.

Que penez-vous Monsieur? What are you having, sir?

*Je prends un peu deau. Ill have a little water.

Vous avez une carafe de vin rouge? Do you have a carafe of red wine?
Non, jai un verre de vin. No, I have a glass of wine.

E. When expressing the idea of per, use the definite article when used before
unites of measure.
Ca coute 5F . le kilo (per kilo)
Le litre (per liter)
La livre (per pound)
La bouteille (per bottle)

*NOTE: When an expression of quantity is followed by a noun beginning

with a vowel or mute h, de changes to d.

**NOTE: un peu de can only be used with noncountable nouns (nouns that
are always in the singular). To express a few with a plural noun,
you must use QUELQUES + noun.

QUESTION FORMATION

A. INTONATION The simplist way to form a question in French is to take a

statement and raise your voice at the end. This type of formation is the most
common in everyday conversation when a yes or no answer is expected.

Vous travaillez maintenant? Are you working now?

Oui, je travaille maintenant. Yes, I am working now.

Vous habitez en France? Do you live in France?

Oui, jhabite en France. Yes, I live in France.

B. EST-CE QUE Another way of asking yes/no questions in French is to place

the construction est-ce que directly before the statement.

Est-ce que tu parles franais? Do you speak French?

Est-ce que vous coutez un disque? Are you listening to a
record?

71
C. INVERSION

1. Formation conjugated verb + - + subject pronoun

- Travaillez-vous dans un restaurant?

- Oui, je travaille dans un restaurant.

- tudient-ils luniversit?
- Oui, ils etudient luniversit.

- As-tu trois soeurs?

- Non, jai deux soeurs.

- Na pas-il dargent?
- Si, il a beaucoup dargent.

2. When the verb form ends in a vowel, a-t- must be added before the il, elle, on
forms.

Parle-t-elle bien le franais?

A-t-il un animal domestique?
Lassie-t-il un pouboire pour le garon?

3. With noun subjects, est-ce que or intonation is preferred.

Est-ce que ton frre tudie le franais?

Ton frre etudie le franais?

4. Questions involving je are usually formed using either intonation or est-ce que.
The je formed is normally not inverted.

Est-ce que jai raison?

D. Complex Inversion allows nouns and proper nouns to be inverted by placed a subject
pronoun copy that agrees in gender and number with the subject after the conjugated
verb.

Formation: Subject (noun/proper noun) + conjugated verb + - + subject

pronoun copy

Ton frre tudie-t-il le franais?

Vos cls sont-elles sur la table?

Note: Nouns and proper nouns can only be inverted when there are NO other
elements that follow the inverted NOUN / PROPER NOUN.

72
 Que fait Paul?

C. NEST-CE PAS affirms / verifies what has been stated.

Tu es bien all lcole hier, nest-ce pas?

You went to school yesterday, didnt you?

72, cont
 REFLEXIVE / REXIRPOCAL VERBS
A. REFLEXIVE VERBS- Action of the verb reflex back on the subject. These
verbs are always accompanied by a reflexive pronoun indicating that the subject is
performing an action upon or for itself. This pronoun follows the subject and
immediately precedes the verb form.

1.
je me nous nous
tu te vous vous
il se ils se
elle elles

-Tendors-tu quand tu voyages en Do you go to sleep when you travel

avion? by plan?

-Oui, je mendors toujours. Yes, I always go to sleep.

2. To form the negative of a reflexive verb, ne follows the subject and precededs
the reflexive pronoun. As in the normal negative construction, pas follows the
verb form.

-Est-ce que tu te lves sept Do you get up at 7:00 AM?

heures du matin?

-Non, je ne me lve pas sept No, I dont get up at 7:00AM

heures du matin.
3. Only the subject pronoun is inverted when forming questions by inversion with
reflexive verbs. Such questions will begins with the reflexive pronoun. Negative
interveted questions will begin with ne.

-Vous rasez-vous souvent? Do you dshave often?

-Oui, je me rase souvent. Yes, I shave often.

-Ne vous couchez-vous pas tard? Dont you go to bed late?

-Si, he me couche trs tard. Yes, I go to bed very late.

73
 4. When a reflexive verb is used in the infinitive form, the reflexive pronoun always
agrees with the subject of the conjugated verb.

-Est-ce que tu vas thabiller pour aller au restaurant?

Are you going to get dressed to go to the restaurant?

-Bien sur, je vais mhabiller dune maniere elegante.

Of course. Im going to dress elegantly.

-Vous esperez vous coucher tot.

You hope to go to bed early.

B. VERBS WITH REFLEXIVE AND NON-REFLEXIVE FORMS

NON REFLEXIVE REFLEXIVE

amuser to amuse samuser to have a good time
arreter to arrest; to stop sarreter to stop (oneself)
depecher to send se depecher to hurry up
disputer to fight se disputer to argue
ennuyer to bore; to bother sennuyer to get bored
entendre to hear sentendre (avec) to get along with
f cher to get angry se marier (avec) to get married
marier to marry soccuper (de) to take care of
occuper to occupy

Certain verbs exist only in reflexive forms:

se souvenir de to remember
se moquer de to make fun of

C. RECIPROCAL VERBS - Some verbs can be used in the reflexive form to give them a
reciprocal sense of people doing something to or for each other. They are used only in the
plural.

saimer to love/like each other

se parler to talk to each other
se poser to ask each other (questions)
se regarder to look at each other
se rencontrer to meet each other
se telephoner to telephone/call each other

74
 WORD ORDER FOR REFLEXIVE VERBS
PRESENT TENSE

1. Affirmative Statement
Subject + reflexive pronoun + reflexive verb (conjugated)
Elle se couchent tard.

2. Negative Statement
Subject + NE +reflexive pronoun + reflexive verb + PAS
Elles ne se couchent pas tard.

3a. Inverted Questions - Affirmative

reflexive pronoun + reflexive verb (conjugated) + subject pronoun
Ce couchent-elle tard?

3b. Inverted Questions- Negative

NE + reflexive pronoun + reflexive verb + subject pronoun + PAS
Ne se couchent-elle pas tard?
 75
B. PASSE COMPOSE

1. Affirmative Statement
Subject + reflexive pronoun + ETRE (conjugated) + Past Participle (agreement)
Elles ne se sont pas couchees tard.

2. Negative Statement
Reflexive pronoun + ETRE (conjugated) + PAS + Past Participle (agreement)
Elles ne se sont pas couchees tard.

3a. Inverted Question - Affirmative

Reflexive pronoun + ETRE (conjugated) + subject pronoun + Past Participle
(agreement)
Ce sont-elles couchees tard?

3b. Inverted Question - Negative

Ne + reflexive pronoun + ETRE (conjugated) + subject + pronoun + PAS + Past
Participle (agreement)
Ne se sont-elles pas couchees?

C. IMMEDIATE FUTURE

1. Affirmative Statement
Subject + ALLER (conjugated) + reflexive pronoun + Reflexive verb (infinitive)
Je vais me choucher.
 76

2. Negative Statement
Subject + NE + ALLER (conjugated) + PAS + reflexive pronoun + reflexive verb
(infinitive)
Je ne vais pas me coucher.

3a. Inverted Questions - Affirmative

ALLER (conjugated) + subject pronoun + reflexive + pronoun + reflexive verb
(infinitive)
Vas-tu te coucher?

3b. Inverted Questions - Negative

NE + ALLER (conjugated) + subject pronoun + PAS + reflexive pronoun +
reflexive verb (infinitive)
Ne vas-tu pas te coucher?

RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Relative pronouns join two clauses into a single sentence. A relative pronoun refers back
to a word in the main clause and introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause. The form
of the relative pronoun is determined by the grammatical function on the subordinate
clause.
 77
A. QUI functions as the subject of the second clause and is always followed by a
verb. It is equivalent to the English who, which, or that and can be refer back to
either persons or things.

-Connais-tu M. Penaud?
-Cest un prof qui enseigner langlais.

-Est-ce que tu amies crire de dissertations?

-Oui. Mais je naime pas les dissertations qui prennent trop de temps.

B. Que is always the object of the second clause and is followed by a subject and a
verb. It is equivalent to whom, which, or that and can also refer to both persons
and things. The final e of QUE drops when followed by a vowel or vowel sound
(qu).

-Est-ce que vous avez aime ce cous? Do you like this course?
-Oui. Mais je naime pas aime Yes, but I didnt like
Les dissertations que nous avons the compostions that we
faites en classe. did in class.

-Comment trouve t-elle ce prof? What does she think of that

teacher?
-Cest un prof quelle aime. He/Shes a teacher whom she likes.

Specified Antecedent Unspecified Antecedent

PERSON THING PERSON or THING
Subject Qui Qui Ce Qui
Direct Object Que Que Ce Que
Object of Preposition Prep + Qui Prep + Que Prep. + Quoi
Object of DE Dont Dont Ce Dont

SAVOIR & CONNAITRE

Connaitre-To Know
Je Connais Savoir-To Know Nous Connaissons
TuJeConnais
Sais VousSavons
Nous Connaissez Past Participle-Su
Il/Elle/On Connait Ils/Elles Connaissent
Tu Sais Vous Savez
Il/Elle/On Sait Ils/Elles Savent
Past Participle-Connu
A. SAVOIR means to know with respect to facts, numbers, and other specific
information.
78
-Sais-tu la date du concert? Do you know the date of the concert?
-Savaient-ils le nom du group? Did they know the name of the group?
-Savez-vous quand ils vont arriver? Do you know when theyre going to arrive?

1. SAVOIR followed by an infinitive means to be able to or to know

how to do something.

-Vous savez faire du ski? Do you know how to ski?

-Oui. Je sais faire du ski. Yes, I know how to ski.

-Est-ce quil savait danser la polka? Did he know how to dance the polka?
-Pas du tout. Il ne savait rien faire! Not at all! He didnt know how to do
anything!

2. In the pass compose, SAVOIR means learned or found out.

Jai su que Jacqueline tait malade. I found out/learned that Jacqueline was sick.

B. CONNAITRE means to know in the sense to be familiar with people or things, to

have knowledge of something.

-Tu connais ce restaurant? Are you familiar with this restaurant?

-Oui je le connais assez bien. Yes I know it rather well.

-Il connait Sophie longtemps. Hes known Sophie for a long time.

Vous connaissez bien la France? Do you know France well?

1. In the pass compose CONNAITRE is equivalent to met

Elle a connu son petit ami aure boum. She met her boyfriend at a party.

2. A more commonly used expression meaning to meet (for the first time) is
FAIRE LA CONNAISSANCE DE

Jai fait la connaissance de Marie une boum. I met Marie at a party.

 79
SEASONS
Le Printemps (m)-Spring Lautomne (m)-fall/autumn
Past Participle-Connu Lt (m)-Summer Lhiver (m)-Winter

To say in the use:

Au printemps Au printemps il faut du ski.

En t En t il fait trs chaud.
En automne En automne il fait frais.
En hiver En hiver il neige.

SUJECT PRONOUS
Each conjugated form of a verb is accomplished by its appropriate subject pronoun.

A. Je (I)-When followed by a word that begins with a vowel or a mute h, je becomes

j

B. Tu (You) -SINGULAR form used when expressing familiarity or informality.

Thus it is used to address family members, small children, close friends, co-
workers, classmates, and pets.

C. Il/Elle/On -SINGULAR forms used:

1. Il equivalent to the English He or It (masculine object)

2. Elle equivalent to the English She or It (feminine object)

3. On equivalent to the English forms one, you, we, they, people in general
(although ON frequently stands for a plural concept [people, we, they] it always
takes a 3rd person singular verb form)

D. Nous (WE)-PLURAL form

E. Vous (YOU)

1. SINGULAR when it is used to address an individual on a formal basis such as

a stranger, an acquaintance, a superior, etc.

2. PLURAL when addressing more then one person whether on a formal or

informal basis
 80
F. Ils/Elles (THEY)-PLURAL forms used:

1. Ils-equivalent to the english they referring to a group of feminine

people or objects

NOTE: The rules governing the choice of Tu vs. Vous when

Addressing an individual is a part of an unwritten cultural code.
If you are un sure, use the vous form until your friend says. On peut
se tutoyer!

G. Vous vs. Tu- there are formal and informal levels of language that vary according
to the person(s) being addressed and how well you know the person and his/her
social position. Part of this distinction is found in the tu/vous distinction just
introduced as well as other variation in vocabulary and form.

Style Formel (Vous) Formal Style (Vous)

Bonjour! Hello/Good Morning/Good afternoon
Comment allez-vous? How are you?
Bien merci. Fine, thank you.
Et vous? And you?
Au revoir. Good bye.

NOTE: In the style formel, a person is never addressed by first name but by an
appropriate title

Bonjour Madame. Bonjour Monsieur. Bonjour Mademoiselle.

NOTE: The term Mademoiselle is used for very young women, a woman appearing to be
over twenty-one is addressed as Madame.

Style Familier (Tu) Familiar style (Tu)

Salut! Hi!
Bonjour! Hello/good morning/good afternoon
Ca va? Hows it going?
Ca va bien. Okay.
Pas mal. Not bad.
Comme ci comme ca. So-so.
Et toi? And you?
Ciao. Bye.
A bientt. See you soon.
A tout a lheure See you later.

If someone asks you your name the following would be an appropriate response:

Je mappelle Paul. Mon nom est Annick. Georges.

 80
SUBJUNCTIVE
A. Formation

1. ENDINGS-To form the subjunctive of regular verbs drop the ENT ending of the
3rd person plural form of the present tense and add the following endings:

Je -e Nous -ions
Tu -es Vous -iez
Il Ils
Elle -e Elles -ent
On

2. IRREGULAR STEMS

a. The following verbs have two subjunctive stems: one for the
nous and vous form and one for the remaining forms.

NOUS/VOUS ALL OTHER FORMS

aller all- aill-
appeler appel- appell-
croire croy- croi-
devoir dev- doiv-
mourir mour- meur-
prendre pren- prenn-
recevoir recev- recoiv-
valoir vai- vaill-
venire ven- vienn-
voir voy- voi-
vouloir voul- veuill-

b. The following verbs have only one stem:

faire fass-
pouvoir puiss-
savoir sach-
 82

c. The following verbs have irregular stems and endings:

AVOIR- to have
jaie nous ayons
tu aies vous ayez
il ils
elle ait elles aient
on

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

B. USAGE of the Sunjunctive

Emotion/ Opinion/ Judgement

ETRE + heureux(-euse) + QUE + Sujbect + Verb in Subjuctive

content(e)
triste
dsol(e)
f ch(e)
furieux(-euse)
tonn(e)
ravi(e)
surprise(e)
du(e)

AVOIR + peur + QUE + Sujbect + Verb in Subjuctive

Craindre
Regretter
Stonner + QUE + Subject + Verb in Subjuctive
 83
IMPERSONAL EXPRESSIONS
Il est bon
triste
tonnant
(in)utile
curieux
bizarre
trange
honteux
surprenant
important + QUE + Subject + Verb in Subjunctive
mauvais
merveilleux
pnible
(in)juste
naturel
regrettable
rare
normal

Cest + dommage + QUE +Subject + Verb in Subjunctive

Ce nest pas + la peine

Il suffit
Il vaut mieux +QUE + Subject + Verb in Subjunctive
Il convient

DOUBT/ POSSIBILITIES/ UNCERTAINTY

Douter + QUE +Subject + Verb in Subjunctive

Ne pas tre sr
Ne pas tre certain
Ne pas penser +QUE +Subject + Verb in Subjunctive
Ne pas croire
Ne pas esprer

Penser
Croire (Interrogative) +QUE +Subject + Verb in Subjunctive
Esprer
 84
IMPERSONAL EXPRESSIONS

Il est + douteux
possible
+ QUE + Subject +Verb in Subjuntive
Il se peut
Il semble

Wishes/ Desires

aimer (bien)
dsirer
exiger
prfrer + QUE + Subject + Verb in Subjunctive
souhaiter
vouloir (bien)

Necessity/ Obligation
Demander
Insister pour +QUE +Subject + Verb in Subjunctive
Empcher
 85
IMPERSONAL EXPRESSIONS
Il est + ncessaire
essential
+QUE + Subject + Verb in Subjunctive
Il faut absolument
CNJUCTIONS THAT TAKE THE SUBJUNCTIVE

CONJUNCTION (+ subjunctive) PREPOSITION (+infinitive)

moins que (+ne) unless moins de

sans que without sains

condition que on the condition condition de

afin que so that afin de

pour que in order that pour

de peur que (+ne) for fear that de peur de

de crante que (+ne) fir fear that
de crainte de
avant que (+ne) before
avant de
en attendant que waiting fore
en attendant de
jusqu ce que until --

bien que although --

quelque although --

pourvu que provided that --