Learning French Verbs - Don't let French Verbs Get You Down

If you happen to be learning French verbs then you have already realized that the verb system of the French grammar is considered as the most complicated. For those who do not know yet, the French grammar consists of twelve thousand verbs, each is being conjugated in a number of tenses. Additionally the verbs used in French language are also very notorious in terms of their spelling and irregular verbs. You may want to perceive that learning the French language is hard and daunting: the truth is you're right. The fact is that you have to undergo certain logic procedures and strategies in order for you to learn the verbs precisely.

There are four easy steps for everyone who has the heart and the interest to go learning French verbs.
They are easy and simple steps that will lead you to mastery and perfection when followed accordingly.

Get a French verb handbook.
The handbook is a very essential thing you need to have when you want to learn French verbs the fast and easy way. With the handbook, you will have the source on the different key verbs, the index that contains thousands of verbs such as model verbs, irregular verbs, etc. The handbook will also teach you different ways by which a particular type of verb is conjugated. So instead of browsing the internet for the French verb guide, it is still best to make use of the paper, the handbook so to speak.

Focus your attention to irregular verbs
When making use of the different tenses such as past, present, and future tenses, conjugation is highly required. Through conjugation, the form of the verb is being modified making it much easier for you to understand and memorize them. The same rule also applies to the different pronouns such as I, you, he, she, etc.

Focus on the major tenses
Based on your handbook you will see that there are sixteen tables designated for each verb. However, you will realize that some are rarely used especially when spoken. The tables can be downright confusing. It is advisable to get by at least four or five of them and that suffices. Keep in mind to learn the present tenses of French verbs because they are considered as the most flexible among all other forms of verbs in the French language.

Focus on the more commonly used verbs
You will learn from the start that French verbs consist of thousands and thousands of verbs, yet only less than a hundred are used in an everyday conversation. As a matter of fact, only nine irregular verbs account for about forty per cent of all the verbs used in an ordinary conversation. Such irregular verbs include être, faire, avoir, aller, dire, savoir, pouvoir, vouloir and devoir. In short, if you already speak a little bit of French, you would use or encounter these verbs frequently. Of course when you want to go learning French verbs, you want to make sure you're learning by heart.

Verb Posters with Pronunciation

The French Definite Article



 There are more French definite articles than English ones, and they are used more often.

Because articles determine the gender of nouns, it is important to memorize them.

In this lesson we are going to see the different ways French definite articles are used.

In French every noun has a gender, so each item is either masculine or feminine.

The definite article which precede a masculine noun is le, and the definite article which precede a feminine noun is la.

eg: le sac (bag)
eg: la fleur (flower)

" l' " is used for nouns commencing with a vowel or a mute H, regardless of gender.

eg: l'école (school)
eg: l'hotel (hotel)

There are some exceptions: le héro, le huit, le onze, le haricot, la hollande, la haine

The plural definite article is les

eg: les chaises (chairs)
eg: les outils (tools)

Some nouns have two genders

eg: un enfant, une enfant (child)
eg : un camarade, une camarade (peer)
eg: un malade, une malade (an ill person)

and also some professions

eg: un concierge, une concierge (porter)
eg: un dentiste, une dentiste (dentist)
eg: un collégue, une collégue (colleague)

Some nouns change meaning when they change gender

eg: le livre (book)
eg: la livre (money or weight)

eg: le somme (nap)
eg: la somme (sum)


The definite article is used with:

Specific nouns

eg: le verre est sur la table (the glass is on the table)

eg: la valise est lourde (the suitcase is heavy)

Nouns in the general sense

eg: le travail est bon pour la santé (Work is good for your health)
eg: l'homme est un être complexe (man is a complex being)

Abstract nouns

eg: l'amitié est inestimable (friendship is priceless)

eg: la beauté ne fait pas tout (beauty doesn't do everything)

Topics, subjects

eg: la mondialisation est un mythe (globalization is a myth)

eg: il étudie l'histoire à l'université ( he studies history at university)

tip: name of languages are all masculine

eg: le français, le russe, le chinois

Nouns of substances

eg: la bière est une boisson alcoolisée (beer is an alcoholic beverage)

eg: l'or est un métal précieux (gold id a precious metal)

Group of people, animals and thing

eg: les fleurs font un cadeau parfait (flowers make a perfect gift)

eg: les ouvriers dans cette usine travaillent 10 heures par jour (workers in this factory work 10 hours a day)

eg: les chiens sont les amis de l’homme ( dogs are men's friend)
 
Days of the week when it expresses a habitual occurrence.

eg: le lundi je joue au football (on  mondays I play football)

eg: je vais chez ma Grand-Mère le dimanche après-midi ( I go to my Grandmother on sunday afternoons)

But

eg: je travaille mardi (it is not habitual so there is no article)
                                                  I am working Tuesday

eg: je pars en voyage samedi (it is not habitual so there is no article)
                                             I am going on holiday Saturday

Dates

eg: je pars le 18 avril (I am leaving on the 18th of april)

eg: elle retourne le 20 juin (she is coming back on the 20th of juin)

Numbers
 
eg: mon numéro de téléphone est le 37 97 60 (My telephone number is 37 97 60)

eg: le numéro gagnant est le 44 (the winning number is 44)

Titles

eg: Monsieur le Directeur (Mr the Director)

eg: madame le Maire (Mrs the Mairess)

However, where kings and queens are concerned, the French leave the article out

eg: François I ( François the First)
François Premier

eg: Henry IIIV (Henry the Eighth)
Henry Huit
 
With "Monsieur"

eg: le monsieur du premier revient demain ( the man on the 1st floor comes back tomorrow)

but the article is never used with "madame" and "mademoiselle"

Quantity associated with price

eg:  les pommes sont à 3 euros le kilo ( the apples are 3 euros for a kilo)

eg: l'essence vaut 2 euros 20 le litre (petrol cost 2 euros 20 per litre)
 
Body parts

eg: elle baisse la tête (she lows her head)

eg: je me lave les mains ( I wash my hands)

Countries, regions, islands, mountains and rivers

eg: la France est un joli pays
(france is a beautiful country)

 eg: la Cornouaille se situe dans le sud-est de l'Angleterre
(Cornwall is situated in the north-east of England)

 eg: la Corse est une destination touristique
(Corsica is a tourist place)

eg: le mont Blanc est le plus haut sommet d'Europe occidentale
eg: Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe

Possessive pronouns

eg: ce n'est pas ton livre, c'est le mien (it is not your book, it is mine)

eg: il est de retour parmi les siens (he is back among his love ones)

Superlatives

eg: c'est l'endroit le plus dangereux de la région( it is the most dangerous place in the area)
eg: le Mont Blanc est le plus haut sommet d'Europe Occidentale (Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe)

Repetition
 
In French, the article usually has to be repeated before each noun
eg: il faut que tu redonnes le cahier, les stylos et la trousse
eg: mets l'assiette, le verre et le bol sur la table

Tips: - While pronouncing the " l' " with a noun, we must link the two, to make it sound as if it is just one word
eg: l'étoile sounds like (létoile)

- The final consonant of “ les “ is pronounced " z " in front of nouns starting with a vowel or a mute " h ".

eg: les " z" artistes
eg: les " z " enfants

but
les héros
les haricots

 

The French Indefinite Article

 

 



 There are three indefinite articles in French.

Un is used in front of masculine nouns, and une is used in front of feminine nouns.

Everything in French is either masculine or feminine, so it is important to learn the article which goes in front of every noun in order to memorize them until eventually it become natural.

eg: un bateau (a boat)

eg: une ville(a town)

The French Indefinite Article for plural nouns is des. It refers to an unspecified quantity of people or things.

eg: des personnes (people)

eg: des fleurs (flowers) in French

Some nouns have two genders

eg: un adulte, une adulte (adult)
eg : un enfant, une enfant (child)
eg: un partenaire, une partenaire (partner)

professions

eg: un fonctionnaire, une fonctionnaire (civil-servant)
eg: un pianiste, une pianiste (pianist) eg: un chimiste, une chimiste (chimist)

Some nouns change meaning when they change gender

eg: un tour (a turn, trick)
eg: une tour (tower)

eg: un voile (veil)
eg: une voile (sail)

The French Indefinite articles are used to introduce

New concrete nouns

eg: il y a un couteau dans le tiroir

eg: je porte une robe noire et blanche

Abstract nouns

eg: elle a une énergie incroyable (she has an unbelievable energy)

eg: il a une peur incontrôlable de l’orage (he has an uncontrollable fear of thunder)

Plural nouns

eg: la ville des jardins fleuris (the city of the gardens bloom)

eg: j’ai acheté des chocolates (I bought some chocolates)
 
The french indefinite article is omitted

 with nouns following the verbs

 (être) to be, (demeurer) to stay, (devenir) to become, (élire) to elect, (nommer) to appoint, (rester) to stay when designating a profession, nationality or religion.

eg: elle est anglaise (she is English)

eg: il est devenu médecin (he became doctor)

eg: il a été élu Maire (he has been elected maire)

eg: il a été nommé inspecteur (he has been nominated inspector)


but

 when “c’est” is used, the article is not omitted

eg: c’est une vendeuse

eg: c’est un catholique


however

when the noun is modified by an adjective for example, the indefinite article is used

eg: il est un Maître sévère (he is a strict teacher)

eg: elle est une étudiante consciencieuse (she is a conscientious student)

after “ quel ” or “ quelle”

eg: quel désastre (what a distaster)

eg: quelle chaleur (how hot)


Before nouns in apposition

eg: la Bouillabaisse, plat Provençal (Bouillabaisse, provencal dish)

but

when the noun is modified, for example by an adjective, the article is not omitted

eg: la Bouillabaisse, un célèbre plat Provençal (Bouillabaisse, famous provencal dish)

with the following words

(sans, sur, sous, en, par, avec, ni…ni)

eg: sans lait

eg: sur commande

eg: sous verre

eg: en porcelaine

eg: par erreur

eg: ni crayon…..ni papier

in lists

With a list of nouns, the article is often omitted

eg: j’ai acheté pommes, poires, abricots et bananes

eg: j’ai vu chats, chiens, lapins et souris

eg: ramasser crayons, livres et papiers

Tips:

The liaison is made between un, une and words beginning with a vowel or a mute H

eg: un "n" oeuf
eg: une "n" erreur

and also between des where the last consonant is pronounced "z" and words beginning with a
vowel or a mute H'

eg: des "z" amis
eg: des "z" hommes

The Partitive Article

 



 French partitive articles are usually used with nouns which cannot be counted to indicate a part of the designated item.

The forms of the partitive article are:

Masculine singular

du, de l’

Feminine singular

de la, de l’

plural

des

The form “ de l’ “ is used in front of a vowel or a mute “ h ”.
“ des ” is used in front of plural nouns regardless of gender.

eg: du beurre (some butter)

eg: de la glace (some ice)

eg: de l’eau (some water)

eg: des fruits (some fruits)

Use of the French partitive articles

With mass nouns in front of which “some” or “any” would be used

eg: pourriez-vous me donner du chocolat? (could you give me some chocolate?)

eg: je préfèrerais de la confiture (I would rather have some jam)

eg: elle a de l’argent (she has some money)

With items used in plural

eg: je voudrais des légumes (I would like some vegetables)

eg: achète des allumettes, s’il te plait (buy some matches, please)


Where in English there would be no partitive articles

eg: il mange du raisin et des oranges (he eats grapes and oranges)
eg: j’ai des amis en Italie (I have friends in Italy)

With abstract nouns

eg: Ils ont du courage (they are courageous)

eg: il faut de la patience pour y arriver ( you must be patient to achieve it)

Before the verb  “ faire “

eg: je fais du sport (I do sport)

eg: je fais de la musique (I play musique)

The partitive articles “ du ” is used in front of names of musician, painter and author

eg: je lis souvent du Baudelaire (I read Baudelaire)

eg: nous écoutons du Chopin (I listen to Chopin)

The partitive articles “ du “  “ de la ”  and “ des “ are replaced by “ de “ or “ d’ “

In a negative sentence

eg: il ne porte pas de cravate

eg: il ne veut pas d’ananas

However, sometimes a negative sentence can suggest an affirmative idea, and in this case partitive articles are used.

eg: n’avez-vous pas des collègues dans la region (don’t you have any colleagues in the area?)

eg: elle ne prend pas de la glace, mais du gateau (she does not take any ice cream, but cake)


“ des “ is replaced by  “ de “  when the noun is preceded by an adjective

eg: nous avons recontré des amis (we met some friends)

eg : nous avons recontré de vieux amis (we met some old friends)

 “ du “, “ de la ”, “ des ” become “ de ” and “ de l ” becomes “ d’ ” with an expression of quantity
eg:  Je voudrais du fromage (I would like some cheese)
je voudrais un morceau de fromage (I would like a piece of cheese)

eg: je voudrais des tomates (I would like some tomatoes)
je voudrais un kilo de tomates (I would like a kilo of tomatoes)
 

tips:

How to differentiate

de la  as a partitive article and de la as a preposition with a definite article

eg: j’ai mangé de la confiture (I eat some jam)

eg: je me suis servi de la confiture pour faire le gateau (I use jam to make the cake)

put it  as a negative sentence

eg: je n’ai pas mangé de confiture  (de la becomes de – it is a partitive article)

eg: je ne me suis pas servi de la confiture pour faire le gâteau (de la does not change – it is a preposition with the définite article la)

du as a partitive article and du a definite article

eg: il boit de l’eau

eg: il boit l’eau de la rivière

negative

eg: il ne boit pas d’eau (de l’ becomes d’ – it is a partitive article)

eg: il ne boit pas l’eau de la rivière (de la does not change – it is a définite article)

French Verbs 

 

French verbs may seem difficult at first to English speaking people who try to learn French, but it is not as complicated as it appears.


The verb is the most important word in a sentence. It indicates that an action is taking place, has taken place or will take place.

The most fundamental difference between French and English verbs is that French verbs have more endings.

Many French verbs are regular and conform to a particular pattern, however there are also a great number of common irregular verbs which have to be learned separately because they do not comply to any typical verb patterns.
Below are the names given in the French grammar for each of the tenses.


Verb (trouver- to find)





  Indicative                                      Indicatif          3rd Person Singular 

Present                                                               Présent                                            il trouve


Perfect                                                         Passé composé                                    il a trouvé


Imperfect                                                          Imparfait                                             il trouvait


Future                                                                   futur                                                 il trouvera


Pluperfect                                                    Plus-que-parfait                                     il avait trouvé


Future perfect                                              Futur antérieur                                       il aura trouvé




Conditional                                             Conditionnel


Present                                                             Présent                     il trouverait
                                                                                                                                                                                              


Subject Pronouns


                                       Singular                                     Plural                         

First                                    Je (I)                                        Nous (we)
Second                              Tu (you)                                    Vous (you)
Third (masculine)             Il (he)                                         Ils (they)
           (feminine)           elle (she)                                       elles (they)
                                         on (one)


Note: The pronoun “tu” is used to address a child, a friend, a relative or a close associate.
The pronoun “vous” is used to address someone you do not know well or someone who is older than you.
“Vous” is also used to address friends or acquaintances if there are two or more of them.



The pronoun “on” means (one, they, we or people)

eg: on prend nos repas à la cantine
                                                                                                                                                  
eg: en France, on parle Français

“ils” means “they” and refers to male or male/female people, animals or things.

eg: Où sont Paul et Marie?  ils jouent dans le jardin.


Tenses


Simple tenses are made of stems to which endings are attached

Compound tenses are made of the auxiliary verbs (avoir) or (être) plus a past participle




 Moods
 
The indicative mood expresses a statement

The conditional mood indicates a wish or a possibility



The conjugation

The conjugation indicates the tense, the mood and the person of the verb.

French verbs are categorized into 4 groups

1) The first group include verbs whose infinitive ends in (er) except (aller – to go).

eg: donner (to give)
eg: regarder (to watch)
eg:  parler (to speak)

2) The second group is for verbs whose infinitive ends in (ir) and present participle in (issant) 

eg: finir – finissant (to finish – finishing)
    eg: choisir – choisissant (to choose – choosing)
eg: remplir - remplissant (to fill – filling)

3) The second group is for verbs whose infinitive ends in (er)
eg: vendre (to sell)
eg: attendre (to wait)
eg: descendre (to go down)

a) In this group there are also the stem-changing verbs. Their root changes depending of   the subject pronoun, but the endings are the same as regular verbs.

eg: prendre (to take)
eg: apprendre (to learn)

4) The third group concerns all other verbs

eg: partir (to leave )
eg: ouvrir (to open)
eg; conduire (to drive)

Even irregular verbs have some recognizable patterns

eg: devoir (to have to), recevoir (to receive), apercevoir (to perceive)
eg: craindre (to fear), plaindre (to pity), joindre (to join)
eg: naître (to be born), paraître (to seem), connaître (to know)

But some are completely irregular and have to be memorized

eg: être (to be)
eg: avoir (to have)
eg: allez (to go)