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1.3: Grammaire - présentation

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    219874
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    Le pluriel régulier des substantifs

    As in English, the plural is formed by adding an -s to the singular form of the noun. Note, however, that the -s is not pronounced. In spoken language, the determiner is often the only indication that a noun is singular or plural.

    Example : Shasta est un grand chat. Shasta et Sasha sont de grands chats.

    Nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z do not change in the plural.

    Examples : Shasta, regarde, une souris ! Est-ce que tu aimes les souris comme tous les chats ?

    Le prix de cette voiture est cher. Les prix des voitures sont chers en général.

    Obélix a un grand nez. Obélix et Astérix tous les deux ont de grands nez.

    Mettez les mots entre parenthèses au pluriel

    1. Astérix aime (le campus) américains. 2. (L'étudiant) doivent faire (leur choix) et s'inscrire (sign up) (au cours).

    Answer

    1. Astérix aime les campus américains. 2. Les étudiants doivent faire leurs choix et s'inscrire aux cours.

    Les cas spécieux du pluriel des substantifs

    1. Nouns ending in -al, -ail, or -au in the singular end in -aux in the plural.

    Examples: Shasta est un animal. Tous les chats sont des animaux.

    => There are a few exceptions: un bal (ball, dance), des bals; un carnaval (carnival), des carnavals; un festival (festival), des festivals; un récital (recital), des récitals.

    2. Nouns ending in -eu or -eau in the singular add -x in the plural.

    Examples: Voici un beau taureau. Voici deux beaux taureaux.

    3. Nouns ending in -ou end in -oux in the plural:

    Examples: un hibou (owl) - des hiboux ; un bijou (jewel) - des bijoux

    => Exceptions include: un clou (nail), des clous; un sou (money), des sous; un trou (hole), des trous.

    4. Some nouns have an alternate form in the plural:

    un oeil (eye), des yeux

    Madame (Madam), Mesdames

    Monsieur (Sir), Messieurs

    Mademoiselle (Miss), Mesdemoiselles

    transdot.gifNote that some nouns follow the regular rule of plural formation but are pronounced differently in the plural. For example, the -f is pronounced in the singular, but not in the plural.

    un œuf (egg), des œufs

    un bœuf (steer), des bœufs

    Mettez les mots entre parenthèses au pluriel

    1. Les chats aiment manger (un souris) et (un oiseau). 2. Astérix aime manger (un œuf) mais il n'aime pas trop (le végétal). 3. Sasha adore porter (un bijou).

    Answer

    1. Les chats aiment manger des souris et des oiseaux. 2. Astérix aime manger des œufs mais il n'aime pas trop les végétaux. 3. Sasha adore porter des bijoux.

    Verbes en ER avec changement d'orthographe

    Spelling changes occur in the stems of several groups of -er verbs in the present tense. These spelling changes reflect the pronunciation of the present tense forms.

    You may have already noticed the spelling change in the verb s'appeler (Je m'appelle ..., My name is ...). For verbs like appeler (to call), rappeler (to call back) and jeter (to throw), the consonant -l or -t in the the stem doubles in all forms of the present tense, except in the first and second person plural (nous and vous). This follows the traditional boot pattern of er-verb conjugations in the present tense.

    appeler 'to call'
    j'appelle nous appelons
    tu appelles vous appelez
    il/elle/on appelle ils/elles appellent
    Comment dit-on en français ?

    My name is Astérix, and what is your name ? (use vous-form)

    Answer

    Je m'appelle Astérix, et vous, comment vous appelez-vous ?

    This same "boot" pattern is repeated in spelling change verbs like préférer (to prefer). In these verbs the é in the last syllable of the stem changes to an è, except in the first and second person plural (nous and vous). Listen carefully to the different pronunciations of é and è in the conjugations below.

    préférer 'to prefer'
    je préfère nous préférons
    tu préfères vous préférez
    il/elle/on préfère ils/elles préfèrent

    Verbs conjugated like préférer include:

    considérer, to consider
    espérer, to hope
    régler, to regulate, pay, settle, adjust
    répéter,to repeat
    sécher, to dry, skip (a class)
    Comment dit-on en français ?

    Astérix prefers French, and you, what class do you prefer ? (use vous-form)

    Answer

    Astérix préfère le français, et vous, quel cours préférez-vous ?

    In verbs which are conjugated like acheter (to buy), the e in the last syllable of the stem also changes to an è, again with the exception of the first and second person plural forms.

    acheter 'to buy'
    j'achète nous achetons
    tu achètes vous achetez
    il/elle/on achète ils/elles achètent

    Verbs conjugated like acheter include:

    amener, to bring somebody (along)
    emmener, to take somebody (along)
    lever, to lift, raise
    mener, to take, lead
    peser, to weigh
    Comment dit-on en français ?

    I get up at 7, and you what time do you get up? (use vous-form)

    Answer

    Je me lève à 7 heures, et vous, à quelle heure vous levez-vous ?

    Another group of stem-changing verbs include those ending in -ayer, including essayer (to try) and payer (to pay). In these verbs the y changes to i in all persons except the first and second person plural (nous and vous). Note that this change is not mandatory, but verbs that end in -uyer and -oyer (nettoyer, ennuyer) do have a mandatory change of y into i.

    essayer 'to try'
    j'essaie / essaye nous essayons
    tu essaies / essayes vous essayez
    il/elle/on essaie / essaye ils/elles essaient / essayent
    Comment dit-on en français ?

    1. I am paying now, and you, when do you pay ? (use vous-form). 2. I am cleaning my apartment now, and you, when do you clean? (use vous-form).

    Answer

    1. Je paie /paye maintenant, et vous, quand payez-vous ? 2. Je nettoie mon appartement maintenant, et vous, quand nettoyez-vous?

    Finally, verbs ending in -ger like voyager (to travel) add an e after the g in the nous form of the present tense, so that the g is pronounced as a soft sound before the -ons ending (i.e. nous voyageons). Similarly, in verbs ending in -cer, commencer (to start), for example, the c in the nous form changes to ç to keep the soft c sound (nous commençons).

    voyager 'to travel
    je voyage nous voyageons
    tu voyages vous voyagez
    il/elle/on voyage ils/elles voyagent

    Other verbs in this category include:

    corriger, to correct
    exiger, to demand, require
    manger, to eat
    nager, to swim
    partager, to share
    ranger, to tidy up, arrange
    rédiger, to write, compose
    songer, to dream, reflect
    Comment dit-on en français ?

    We are eating some soup, and you what are you eating ? (use vous-form)

    Answer

    Nous mangeons de la soupe, et vous, qu'est-ce que vous mangez ?

    Aknowledgment: some parts of this page are partially adopted from Francais Interactif.


    1.3: Grammaire - présentation is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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