3.3: Grammaire - présentation
- Page ID
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The verb avoir means "to have". This verb is extremely useful and its conjugation is irregular in the present tense. Listen carefully to the pronunciation of the s in the plural pronouns nous, vous, and ils/elles. This -s is pronounced as a /z/ to link with the vowel sound in the plural forms of avoir. This liaison, or linking, is especially important in distinguishing ils ont (they have) from the third person plural of être ils sont (they are).
Besides ownership, the verb avoir expresses age in French, unlike the English equivalent, which uses the verb 'to be.'
Example: Shasta et Sasha ont beaucoup d'amis. - Shasta and Sasha have many friends.
Idéfix a cinq ans. - Idefix is 5 years old.
| avoir 'to have' | |
| j'ai | nous avons |
| tu as | vous avez |
| il/elle/on a | ils/elles ont |
1. Les étudiants de UH ... beaucoup de devoirs. 2. Shasta, quel âge ...-tu ? 3. Je/j' ... un examen demain.
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1. ont 2. as 3. ai
There are three major groups of regular verbs in French: verbs with infinitives ending in -er, verbs with infinitives ending in -ir, and verbs with infinitives ending in -re. Since -er verbs are the most numerous, they are considered the first conjugation. To conjugate these verbs in present, drop the -er from the infinitive to form the stem. Next, add the following endings to the stem: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent
The endings (-e, -es, -e, and -ent) are all silent. The only endings that are pronounced are the nous (-ons) and the vous (-ez) endings. The four silent endings form a boot shape in the verb conjugation.
| parler 'to speak' | |
| je parle | nous parlons |
| tu parles | vous parlez |
| il/elle/on parle | ils/elles parlent |
1. Shasta ... (dessiner, jouer) au foot. 2. Je ... (manger / chanter) une pizza. 3. Vous (préférer/ habiter) à Houston. 4. Les étudiants (parler / dancer) français.
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1. joue 2. mange 3. habitez 4. parlent
Basic negation is formed by placing ne ... pas around the conjugated verb. Ne becomes n' in front of a verb starting with a vowel or a mute h.
Example: Aujourd'hui Shasta ne travaille pas. - Today Shasta is not working.
Note that in spoken French, the ne / n' is sometimes dropped. In familiar speech, tu is often pronounced as t' before a vowel.
Example: T'es (=tu es) pas très grand, Idéfix. - You are not very big, Idefix.
1. Shasta est petit. 2. Idéfix aime la pizza. 3. Shasta et Sasha voyagent en France. 4. Tu habites à Austin.
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1. Shasta n'est pas petit. 2. Idéfix n'aime pas la pizza. 3. Shasta et Sasha ne voyagent pas en France. 4. Tu n'habites pas à Austin.
The possessive determiners serve to express ownership or possession (hence the name). They are also often called possessive adjectives because they agree in gender and number with the noun they introduce.
| Masculine singular |
Feminine singular |
Plural | Translation |
| mon | ma | mes | my |
| ton | ta | tes | your (familiar) |
| son | sa | ses | his or her or its |
| notre | notre | nos | our |
| votre | votre | vos | your (formal or plural) |
| leur | leur | leurs | their |
Example: Shasta parle de sa famille: son père et sa mère. - Shasta talks about his family : his father and mother.
Note that sa has three potential translations in English: 'his,' 'her,' or 'its.' So, how do you know which meaning is intended? Context!
Do not forget to make the liaison between the plural forms of the possessive determiners and words that begin with a vowel sound. Ma, ta, sa become mon, ton, son in front of feminine nouns beginning with a vowel sound.
Example: Sasha est mon amie. - Shasta is my friend.
UH c'est mon université. - UH is my university.
1. Shasta et ... amis jouent au foot. 2. Astérix et Obélix cherchent ... amis. 3. Sasha adore ... copain. 4. Moi, je parle à ... mère.
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1. ses 2. leurs 3. son 4. ma
One of the easiest ways to ask a question that may be answered by yes/no is to raise the pitch of your voice at the end of a statement. In a declarative statement, the pitch normally falls.
Example: Tu habites à Houston ? - Do you live in Houston?
Another way to ask a yes/no question is to place est-ce que before a statement. Note that que becomes qu' before a vowel.
Example: Est-ce que tu habites à Houston ? - Do you live in Houston?
N'est-ce pas? is added to the end of a yes/no question when the speaker expects an affirmative response.
Example: Tu habites à Houston, n'est-ce pas ? - You live in Houston, don't you?
1. Tu cherches ta salle de classe ? 2. Tu détestes les maths ? 3. Vous avez un cousin ?
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1. Est-ce que tu cherches ta salle de classe ? / Tu cherches ta salle de classe, n'est-ce pas ? 2. Est-ce que tu détestes les maths ? / Tu détestes les maths, n'est-ce pas ? 3. Est-ce que vous avez un cousin ? / Vous avez un cousin, n'est-ce pas ?
Quel is an adjective. Like any other adjective, it agrees in number and gender with the noun it modifies. Remember to make the liaison between quels / quelles and a following word beginning with a vowel (quels animaux).
| masculine singular | masculine plural | feminine singular | feminine plural |
| quel | quels | quelle | quelles |
1. ... âge as-tu ? 2. ... sont tes passe-temps préférés? 3. ... heure est-il ?
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1. Quel 2. Quels 3. Quelle
Quel is generally translated into English by 'what' or 'which'. It is always followed by a noun or by the verb 'être' + noun.
Example: Quels sont tes passe-temps préférés ? - What are you favorite pastimes?
Quel may also be used for emphasis. In this instance, quel is followed either by an adjective or a noun, and it means 'what' or 'what a'. Note that there is an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence.
Example: Quel beau chat, notre Shasta ! - What a beautiful cat, our Shasta!
This page is an adoptation of Francais Interactif. For more information, see the following links:
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/virr2.html
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/ver1.html
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/int2.html