1.1: Grammaire - présentation
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There are three prepositions in French, depuis, pendant and pour, that are translated as 'for' and are used to indicate the duration of an event.
If an event began in the past and is continuing into the present, use depuis with the present tense.
For example: J'étudie le français depuis deux ans.
Pendant literally means 'during', but it is usually best expressed in English as 'for' plus a certain amount of time. It can be used with all tenses.
For example: Ma copine et moi, nous bavardons pendant deux heures tous les soirs. On s'aime et on sera inséparables pendant toute la vie!
Pendant is used with the passé composé to indicate how long a completed activity lasted. Be careful not to use depuis with the passé composé in this context.
For example: Mon ami a travaillé chez Macdo pendant dix longues années.
The preposition pour is used in a variety of contexts. When translated as 'for' in English, it may designate the duration of a future event with the verbs partir and aller. Note that the verb may be conjugated in either the present or future tense.
For example: On partira en Belgique pour trois semaines en été.
1. J'ai attendu le bus ..... une heure ce matin. 2. Le weekend prochain, on part en voyage .... une semaine. 3. Je parle l'anglais ..... ma petite enfance.
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1. pendant 2. pour 3. depuis
In French as in English, an adverb describes the action of a verb. It answers such questions as 'where', 'when,' 'how,' 'how long,' or 'how often.' Adverbs are invariable and may be used with almost all verbs. Words like beaucoup, longtemps, tard, vite, dedans, maintenent, d'abord are adverbs.
A large number of French adverbs are derived from adjectives. They are usually formed by adding -ment to the feminine singular form of the adjective.
For example: lent(e) -> lentement ; heureux(heureuse) -> heureusement ; doux(douce) -> doucement
However, -ment is added to the masculine singular form of adjectives that end with a vowel.
For example: poli(e) -> poliment ; vrai(e) -> vraiment
Add -emment to the stem of adjectives that end in -ent; add -amment to the stem of adjectives ending in -ant. The stem is what remains of the adjective when -ent or -ant have been removed. Note that the one-syllable adjective 'lent' does not form its adverb, 'lentement', on this model.
For example: méchant -> méchamment ; patient ->patiemment
There are a few exceptions to the above rules, such as: genitil (gentille) -> gentiment ; gai(e) -> gaiement ; précis(e) -> précisément, profond(e) -> profondément ; énorme -> énormément.
Shasta joue au foot 1...... (fréquent). Shasta est un grand chat, 2...... (absolu) magnifique.
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1. fréquemment 2. absolument
Use the following guidelines for placement of adverbs.
adverbs that modify an adjective or another adverb
Adverbs are placed directly before the adjective or adverb that they modify.
For example: Shasta travaille à UH depuis très longtemps. Shasta est vraiment fort!
adverbs that modify a verb
Adverbs are usually placed immediately after the conjugated verb. If the verb is negative, the adverb is placed after the negation.
Note that most common adverbs are placed directly after the verb before the objects.
For example: Mon ami apprend vite. Ma mère cuisine bien. Je mange souvent des pommes. Je ne parle pas sufisamment le français.
adverbs that modify a whole sentence
If an adverb is a comment on the entire sentence (malheureusement, en plus), it may be placed at the beginning or end of the sentence.
For example: Malheureusement, je ne peux pas venir à votre fête.
1. Mon ami étudie. 2. Il est anxieux pour ses notes.
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1. Mon ami étudie trop. 2. Il est trop anxieux pour ses notes.
Plus + adverb + que conveys the idea of 'more ... than', moins + adverb + que the idea of 'less ... than'. Aussi + adverb + que conveys the idea of 'as ... as.'
For example: Je parle plus vite que mon grand-pere. Mon ami étudie aussi consienceusement que moi. Nos voisins font du jardinage moins souvent que nous.
Mieux (better) is the irregular comparative form of the adverb bien (well). The other comparative forms of bien are regular (moins bien que, aussi bien que).
For example : Ma copine parle français mieux que moi. Mais je parle l'anglais aussi bien que ma copine. Mon camarade de classe parle français moins bien que moi et ma copine.
1. My friend speaks slower than me. 2. I dress less elegantly than my friend. 3. My mother speaks as politely as my father. 4. Shasta plays better than all other mascots.
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1. Mon ami parle plus lentement que moi. 2. Je m'habille moins élégamment que mon ami. 3. Ma mère parle aussi poliment que mon père. 4. Shasta joue mieux que toutes les autres mascottes.
In French as in English, the superlative is a way to express a maximum or minimum quality or capacity: 'the fastest', 'the least fast'. To form the superlative of an adverb, the masculine definite article is always used: le, followed by plus (more) or moins (less) before the adverb. Note that the superlative of an adverb has only one form, unlike the superlative of an adjective which has multiple forms (masculine, feminine, plural). Le mieux (the best) and le moins bien (the least well) are the superlative forms of the adverb bien (well).
For example: Mon professeur de français parle le mieux et le plus correctement de tous les professeurs !
1. Shasta runs the fastest. 2. My brother swims the best. 3. My friend sings the least well in our class.
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1. Shasta court le plus vite. 2. Mon frère nage le mieux. 3. Mon ami chante le moins bien dans notre classe.
Bon (good) is an adjective. Bien (well, really, very) is an adverb. The adjective bon modifies a noun, whereas the adverb bien modifies verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Comparisons with bon and bien are not formed regularly using 'plus ... que' (more ... than). Instead use meilleur(e)(s) que, and mieux que respectively.
For example: Ton français est bon, mais mon français est meilleur. Tu parles bien, mais moi, je parle mieux.
1. Ariana Grande chante .... que Miley Cyrus. 2. Le salaire d'un avocat est .... que le salaire d'un professeur.
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1. mieux 2. meilleur
This page is an adoptation of Francais Interactif. For more information, see the following links:
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/prep1.html
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/adv2.html