2.3: Grammaire - présentation
Verbs with infinitives ending in -re form a third group of regular verbs, often called 'third conjugation' verbs. To form the present tense conjugations of these verbs, drop the -re from the infinitive and add the third conjugation endings ( -s , -s , - , -ons , -ez , -ent ) to the resulting stem. As you listen, note especially that the final -d and - ds in the singular forms are silent. In the third person plural the ' d ' consonant sound of the stem is pronounced because of the - ent ending. Can you hear the difference in the pronunciation of the singular and plural forms of the third person? (il vs. ils)
| descend re 'to go down' | |
| je descend s | nous descend ons |
| tu descend s | vous descend ez |
| il/elle/on descend | ils/elles descend ent |
| past participle: descendu |
Here is a list of common regular -re verbs:
| attendre , to wait for | rendre , to hand in, give back |
| dépendre de , to depend (on) | rendre visite à quelqu'un , to visit someone |
| entendre , to hear | répondre , to answer, respond |
| pendre , to hang | vendre , to sell |
| perdre , to lose |
Not all verbs ending in - re follow this pattern, however. Irregular - re verbs include : mettre, prendre, suivre, vivre , etc.
1. Les chats sont autonomes. Ils ne ... (répondre / dépendre) de personne. 2. Tous les matins je/j'... (attendre / vendre) le bus. 3. Quand nous sommes paresseux, nous ... (entendre / perdre) beaucoup de temps sur Instagram.
- Answer
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1. dépendent 2. attends 3. perdons
The prepositions à or de contract with the definite articles le and les to give the following forms:
de + le = du
de + les = des
à + le = au
à + les = aux
La and l' on the other hand do not contract after à and de . Note that these contractions also occur with two- and three-word prepositions ending with à or de ( jusqu'à, près de, loin de, à côté de , etc.).
Exemples:
Shasta joue souvent au stade. Astérix habite près du campus.
1. A gauche ... musée il y a un café très sympa. 2. Le prof explique la grammaire ... étudiants.
- Answer
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1. du 2. aux
Demonstrative determiners ('this', 'these', 'that' or 'those') are used to point out things or people. They are also sometimes called demonstrative adjectives (in French 'adjectifs démonstratifs'); they agree in number and gender with the noun they introduce.
Note that liaison is compulsory between ces and words starting with a vowel or a silent h.
|
Masculine singular:
ce
Masculine singular before a vowel sound: cet |
ce
quartier
cet immeuble |
this neighborhood
this apartment building |
| Feminine singular: cette | cette rue | this street |
| Plural (masculine or feminine): ces |
ces
quartiers
ces immeubles |
these neighborhoods
these apartment buildings |
In general, demonstrative determiners designate something one can see or show:
Demonstrative determiners can designate something close or far away: in order to distinguish between two or more elements, you can add the suffixes -ci or -là to the demonstrative determiner. The suffix -ci indicates that the item is relatively near to the speaker; -là suggests that something is farther away. In English, they are generally translated by 'this' and 'that':
Exemple :
Shasta joue avec ce ballon-ci , et il ne joue jamais avec cette raquette-là .
1. ... hôtel est très beau. 2. ... pont est vieux. 3. Nous aimons ... banlieue. 4. Je vais souvent à ... magasins.
- Answer
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1. cet 2. ce 3. cette 4. ces
The passé composé is the most commonly used tense to refer to actions completed in the past. The passé composé may be translated into English in three different ways depending on the context.
This tense is called the passé composé because it is composed of two elements: the present tense of an auxiliary verb (either
avoir
or
être
), followed by a past participle:
passé composé = present tense of auxiliary + past participle
Note that in most instances the auxiliary verb is
avoir
, but some verbs require
être
as the auxiliary.
Examples: - Tu as passé un bon weekend, Shasta ?
- Oui, je suis allé au centre commercial et j' ai acheté un nouveau T-shirt.
For regular verbs with an infinitive ending in -er , the past participle is formed by replacing the final -er of the infinitive with -é . Listen carefully to the pronunciation of the passé composé of the verb 'parler'. The past participle ( parlé ) is pronounced the same as the infinitive ( parler ), even though they are spelled differently.
The past participle of regular verbs with an infinitive ending in -ir is formed by dropping the final -r from the infinitive. For example, the past participle of finir is fini .
The past participle of regular verbs with an infinitive ending in -re is formed by replacing the final -re of the infinitive with -u . For example, the past participle of perdre is perdu .
Note that many verbs, however, have irregular past participles. The past participles of many common irregular verbs which have avoir as an auxiliary are listed below.
| parler 'to talk' | |
| j' ai parlé , I (have) talked | nous avons parlé , we (have) talked |
| tu as parlé , you (have) talked | vous avez parlé , you (have) talked |
| il, elle / on a parlé , he, she (it) / one (has) talked | ils / elles ont parlé , they (have) talked |
| finir 'to finish' | |
| j' ai fini , I (have) finished | nous avons fini , we (have) finished |
| tu as fini , you (have) finished | vous avez fini , you (have) finished |
| il, elle / on a fini , he, she (it) / one (has) finished | ils / elles ont fini , they (have) finished |
| perdre 'to lose' | |
| j' ai perdu , I (have) lost | nous avons perdu , we (have) lost |
| tu as perdu , you (have) lost | vous avez perdu , you (have) lost |
| il,elle / on a perdu , he, she (it) / one (has) lost | ils / elles ont perdu , they (have) lost |
|
Negation of the passé composé is formed by placing ne ... pas around the conjugated verb, which, in this case, is the auxiliary avoir .
1. Je parle à mon ami. 2. Shasta prends la navette. 3. Astérix et Obélix boivent de la potion magique. 4. Nous finissons les devoirs. 5. Tu ne perds pas ton temps.
- Answer
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1. J'ai parlé à mon ami. 2. Shasta a pris la navette. 3. Astérix et Obélix ont bu de la potion magique. 4. Nous avons fini les devoirs. 5. Tu n'as pas perdu ton temps.
The verb être is used as an auxilliary verb in passé composé for two categories of verbs: 1. pronominal verbs 2. several very common intransitive verbs, listed below.
Aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, tomber, rester, passer, revenir, rentrer, retourner, devenir.
Examples: Je me suis réveillé à sept heures ce matin.
Shasta et Sasha sont allés au théâtre. Ils sont revenus tard, très contents.
A few of these verbs of movement ( monter , descendre , sortir , passer , retourner ) may sometimes take a direct object, thus becoming transitive. When they do, the auxiliary used is avoir , instead of être .
Examples: Nous avons monté l'escalier (direct object) au sixième étage.
Le criminel a sorti un revolver (direct object) de sa poche.
Tu as passé un bon weekend (direct object), Shasta ?
It is important to note that many intransitive verbs of movement, like courir and marcher , do not use être but avoir .
| aller 'to go' | |
| je suis allé(e) , I went (have gone) | nous sommes allé(e)s , we went (have gone) |
| tu es allé(e) , you went (have gone) | vous êtes allé(e)(s) , you went (have gone) |
| il / on est allé , he / one went (has gone) | ils sont allés , they went, (have gone) |
| elle est allée , she went (has gone) | elles sont allées , they went, (have gone) |
The past participles of the verbs that use être as an auxiliary are regular except for the following:
| infinitive | translation | past participle |
| venir | to come | venu |
| devenir | to become | devenu |
| revenir | to come back | revenu |
| naître | to be born | né |
| mourir | to die | mort |
The past participle of a verb which takes être agrees in gender and number with the subject; that means an -e is added to the past participle to agree with a feminine subject and an -s is added for a plural subject. If the subject is feminine plural, -es is added.
1. Sasha va au cinéma. 2. Tous les étudiants arrivent en classe. 3. Astérix tombe de sa chaise.
- Answer
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1. Sasha est allée au cinéma. 2. Tous les étudiants sont arrivés en classe. 3. Astérix est tombé de sa chaise.
Aknowledgment: some parts of this page are partially adopted from Francais Interactif .