Robert J. LaRocque CEP 811 The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an opportunity to learn, practice, or review French verb conjugation in the affirmative. Click on a unit below to focus on a specific topic or begin with ‘The Basics of French Verb Conjugation’ and work your way through all four units. There are some quizzes along the way to help monitor your progress.
Why do we conjugate verbs in French? Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb in a conventional order. The forms of a verb differ in order to show person and number The three persons are: o The speaker or 1 st person (I) o The person spoken too or 2 nd person (you) o The person or thing referred to or 3 rd person (he, she, it) The two number in English and French are: o Singular o Plural
French Subject Pronouns The subject pronouns in French do not correspond exactly to the English system. The French verb forms designated by person and number are summarized in the chart below with their English equivalent in parentheses. SINGULARPLURAL FIRST PERSONje (I)nous (we) SECOND PERSONtu (you)vous (you) THIRD PERSONil (he)ils (they (m.)) elle (she)elles (they (f.))
Some Things to Remember About French Subject Pronouns o French has two subject pronouns meaning you, tu and vous. o Tu is used when addressing one person to show an informal relationship. Use this pronoun with relatives, friends, classmates, etc. o Vous is used when addressing one person to show a formal relationship. Use this pronoun with strangers, neighbors, adult colleagues, persons of authority, etc. o Vous can also be used to address more than one person in informal and formal relationships. o The third-person plural pronouns in French distinguish gender: ils v. elles o The masculine form, ils, is used for groups of males or groups of males and females. o The feminine from, elles, is used for groups consisting of only females.
French Verb Classes French verbs have more endings than English verbs. The endings in French reflect the subject and show tense and mood. There are 3 major classes, called conjugations. Each conjugation has its own set of endings. The conjugation to which a verb belongs is shown by the infinitive, the form ending in –er, -ir, or –re. For Example: parler (to speak)-er verb or first-conjugation verb finir (to finish)-ir verb or second-conjugation verb vendre (to sell)-re verb or third-conjugation verb
The Basics of Conjugation Question # 1 Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb in a conventional order. The forms of a verb differ in order to show: Day & Time Person and Feelings Person and Number I’m not sure, I need to review the basics again.
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
The Basics of Conjugation Question # 2 Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular and plural first person forms.
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
The Basics of Conjugation Question # 3 Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular third person forms.
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
The Basics of Conjugation Question # 4 There are two subject pronouns, tu and vous that can be used for ‘you’. What is the difference between these to forms or when is it appropriate to use each form? Tu is used for informal relationships. Vous is used for formal relationships. Vous is used with referring to strangers, adults, persons of authority. Tu is used for people you know well, friends, and family. All of the above
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
The Basics of Conjugation Question # 5 Ils is the third person plural subject pronoun. It can be used to identify a group of males or a group of males & females.
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
What is an –er verb?What is an –er verb? o -er verbs are considered first conjugation verbs o -er verbs are the most numerous among French verbs o The infinitive of the verb ends in –er.
Examples of –er VerbsExamples of –er Verbs nager- to swim étudier- to study parler- to talk penser- to think manger- to eat danser- to dance écouter- to listen regarder- to watch aimer- to like adorer- to love
-ER Verb Conjugation Most –er verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –er verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb aimer. Remember, the –er verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –er verb will be conjugated using this process.
– ER Verb Conjugation– ER Verb Conjugation Step 1 The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –er off of the infinitive. aimer aim ✕
– ER Verb Conjugation– ER Verb Conjugation Step 2 Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –er verbs, the endings we add are: je (j’)-enous-ons tu-esvous-ez il-eils-ent elle-eelles-ent
– ER Verb Conjugation– ER Verb Conjugation Using the stem, aim-, and the endings for regular –er verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb aimer will look like. je (j’) aimenousaimons tuaimesvousaimez ilaimeilsaiment elleaimeellesaiment Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.
Test Your Skills -ER Verbs For each question, the –er verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank. Example Question Il __________ les escargots. (aimer) a. aimesb. aimentc. aimed. aimons
Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 1 Elles _______________ la télévision. (regarder) regarde regardent regardezregardes
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 2 Je _______________ la pizza. (manger) mange mangentmangeons mangez
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 3 Nous _______________ au téléphone. (parler) parle parlent parlez parlons
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 4 Vous _______________ la musique française. (écouter) écoutezécoutentécoutes écoutons
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 5 J’ _______________ le français! aime aimentaimesaimez
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
– ER Verb Conjugation– ER Verb Conjugation Video in ReviewVideo in Review Click Here to open video in youtube
What is an –ir verb?What is an –ir verb? o -er verbs are considered second conjugation verbs o The infinitive of the verb ends in –ir.
Examples of –ir VerbsExamples of –ir Verbs
-IR Verb Conjugation Most –ir verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –ir verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb finir. Remember, the –ir verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –ir verb will be conjugated using this process.
– IR Verb Conjugation– IR Verb Conjugation Step 1 The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –ir off of the infinitive. finir fin ✕
– IR Verb Conjugation– IR Verb Conjugation Step 2 Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –ir verbs, the endings we add are: je (j’)-isnous-issons tu-isvous-issez il-itils-issent elle-itelles-issent
– IR Verb Conjugation– IR Verb Conjugation Using the stem, fin-, and the endings for regular –ir verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb finir will look like. je (j’) finisnousfinissons tufinisvousfinissez ilfinitilsfinissent ellefinitellesfinissent Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.
Test Your Skills -IR Verbs For each question, the –ir verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank. Example Question Il __________ les escargots. (choisir) a. choisisb. choisissons c. choisit d. choisissent
Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 1 Il _______________ ses devoirs. (finir) finit finissent finissonsfinis
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 2 Je _______________ un bon restaurant pour le dèjeuner. (chosir) choisit choisischoisissez choisissent
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 3 Ils _______________. (réfléchir) réfléchit réfléchis réfléchissons réfléchissent
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 4 Il_______________ après il mange le gâteau. (grossir) grossitgrossisgrossissez grossissons
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 5 Tu _______________ à tout ce que fait. (réussir) réussissent réussisréussitréussissons
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
– IR Verb Conjugation– IR Verb Conjugation Video in ReviewVideo in Review Click Here to open video in youtube
What is an –re verb?What is an –re verb? o -re verbs are considered third conjugation verbs o The infinitive of the verb ends in –re.
Examples of –re VerbsExamples of –re Verbs
-RE Verb Conjugation Most –re verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –re verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb vendre. Remember, the –re verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –re verb will be conjugated using this process.
– RE Verb Conjugation– RE Verb Conjugation Step 1 The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –re off of the infinitive. vendre vend ✕
– RE Verb Conjugation– RE Verb Conjugation Step 2 Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –re verbs, the endings we add are: je (j’) -snous-ons tu-svous-ez il-ils-ent elle-elles-ent
– RE Verb Conjugation– RE Verb Conjugation Using the stem, vend, and the endings for regular –re verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb vendre will look like. je (j’) vendsnousvendons tuvendsvousvendez ilvendilsvendent ellevendellesvendent Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.
Test Your Skills -RE Verbs For each question, the –re verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank. Example Question Il __________ les escargots. (perdre) a. perdb. perdsc. perdonsd. perdez
Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 1 Nous _______________ une lettre à nos amis. (écrire) écrit écrivez écrivonsécrivent
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 2 Je _______________ les escargots. (vendre) vendons vendvends vendent
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 3 Elle_______________ l’autobus. (attendre) attends attendent attendons attend
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 4 Ils_______________ l’escalier. (descendre) descends descendentdescenddescendons
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 5 Je _______________ être le français! (prétendre) prétends prétendprétendonsprétendez
Bien Fait! You are correct!
Désolé You are incorrect!
– RE Verb Conjugation– RE Verb Conjugation Video in ReviewVideo in Review Click Here to open video in youtube