Section 6 Brief grammar notes

Section 6                                 Grammar notes

Below, you will find brief explanations and examples of the grammar point mentioned – scroll down to find what you are looking for. This is not a comprehensive list, though it should cover most of the points you would need up to National 5 and beyond. If you require further explanation or clarification, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

You can contact me at stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk

Please scroll down to find the desired area of study.

Basic Definitions

Present Tense

Perfect Tense

Imperfect Tense

Future Tense

Conditional Tense

Adjectives

Some and To the

The Negative

Verb plus Infinitive

Reflexive Verbs

Questions

Relative Pronouns

While doing something

After doing something

Before doing something

What and Which

This and That

Since

To have just done something

Possessives

Pronoun Objects

Subjunctive and Exercise

Common Irregular Verbs

Grammar

Definitions

It is best not to make assumptions about what pupils know, so we will start with some very basic concepts. Feel free to ignore this if you are quite sure of these ideas!

A noun is a naming word and will be either masculine or feminine in French. Masculine nouns will have "un" or "le" before them, while feminine nouns will have "une" or "la" before them.

A verb is a "doing" word and it may be regular or irregular. A regular verb is a verb which follows a pattern or a set of rules, while an irregular verb is one which goes its own way and has to be learned separately.

An adjective is a "describing" word. It will give you information about a noun – whether something is big, small, lovely or lousy! In French, adjectives “agree” with the noun – you have to make them singular or plural, masculine or feminine.

An adverb is also a "describing" word, but it describes verbs and tells you how something is done – whether it is done slowly, well or brilliantly (these words often end in "ly" in English). An adverb will usually be recognisable in French by having “ment” at the end of the word.

The PRESENT TENSE

The present tense may be expressed in three ways in English:

I work

I am working

I do work

It is expressed in only one way in French, in this case "je travaille".

The present tense is expressed by using the person, followed by the verb with the correct ending. You should NOT attempt to put in a word for "am", "is", "are" or "do" when using the present in French.

FORMING THE PRESENT TENSE (REGULAR VERBS)

Take the infinitive form of the verb, remove the infinitive ending ("er", "re" or "ir") and add an ending to go with the person you are using.

                                        ER VERBS            RE VERBS             IR VERBS

JE (I)                               e                                s                                 is

TU (YOU)                       es                              s                                 is

IL (HE)                            e                                -                                it

ELLE (SHE)                     e                               -                                it

NOUS (WE)                    ons                          ons                               issons

VOUS (you)                     ez                            ez                                 issez

ILS (THEY)                      ent                          ent                                issent

ELLES (THEY)                ent                           ent                               issent

examples: (for regular verbs only – irregular verbs must be learned separately)

                                    je travaille            je vends            je finis

                                    nous travaillons    nous vendons    nous finissons

                                    elles travaillent      elles vendent    elles finissent

                                   

Exercise

Translate the following phrases. Scroll down to find solutions.

1)      I’m looking for my pen

2)      They are selling the car

3)      We finish at 3.30

4)      She is wearing a hat!

5)      You(t) are waiting for the teacher

6)      You(v) choose a book

7)      He is watching the film

8)      We are waiting for the teacher

9)      She blushes easily

1) Je cherche mon stylo

2) Ils vendent la voiture

3) Nous finissons à trois heures et demie

4) Elle porte un chapeau

5) Tu attends le professeur

6) Vous choisissez un livre

7) Il regarde le film

8) Nous attendons le professeur

9) Elle rougit facilement

Perfect Tense and Imperfect Tense (scroll down)

The perfect tense may be expressed in three ways in English, but only one way in French.

English                                         French

I worked

I have worked                             J’ai travaillé

I did work

In French you must follow the formula:

Person/Subject + present tense of "avoir"/"être" + past participle

Most verbs use "avoir" in the perfect tense

j’ai                               nous avons

tu as                             vous avez

il/elle a                         ils/elles ont

Past Participles

In English the past participle is that part of the verb which follows "I have ….". For regular verbs the past participle will normally end in "ed",

e.g. "I have listened", but irregular verbs have to be learned separately, e.g. "I have forgotten".

In French the past participle of regular verbs is formed by altering the infinitive.

Infinitives ending in "er" – remove the "er" and add "é", e.g. regardé, écouté

Infinitives ending in "re" – remove the "re" and add "u", e.g. vendu, attendu

Infinitives ending in "ir" – remove the "ir" and add "i", e.g. fini, choisi

Don’t forget you need the correct part of "avoir" before the past participle!

Examples of regular verbs

j’ai regardé                              j’ai vendu                                j’ai fini

tu as regardé                            tu as vendu                              tu as fini

il a regardé                              il a vendu                                il a fini

nous avons regardé                 nous avons vendu                   nous avons fini

vous avez regardé                   vous avez vendu                     vous avez fini

elles ont regardé                      elles ont vendu                        elles ont fini

Past participles of irregular verbs must be learned separately – see verb sheets.

About 18 verbs (listed below) use "être" instead of "avoir". The structure remains the same, apart from the use of "être" instead of "avoir"

e.g.     je suis allé(e)             N.B. If the verb takes "être", the past

            tu es allé(e)                    participle must agree with the

            il est allé                        gender and number of the subject

            elle est allée                   i.e. add an "e" if the person is feminine,

            nous sommes allé(e)s        and an "s" if the person is plural.

            vous êtes allé(e)(s)(es)

            ils sont allés

            elles sont allées

Verbs taking etre

aller (allé)                                to go

arriver (arrivé)                         to arrive/happen/manage

descendre (descendu)*           to go down/take down

devenir (devenu)                    to become

entrer (entré)                           to enter

monter (monté)*                     to go up/take up

mourir (mort)                           to die

naître (né)                                to be born

partir (parti)                             to leave

parvenir (parvenu)                  to succeed/manage

passer (passé)*                       to pass/go/sit (exam)

rentrer (rentré)*                       to return (home)/to take in

rester (resté)                            to stay

retourner (retourné)*               to return

revenir (revenu)                       to return/go back

sortir (sorti)                             to go out

tomber (tombé)                       to fall

venir (venu)                            to come

Remember the past participles of these verbs (and all their derivatives) must agree with the subject in the perfect tense.

Verbs marked * will take "avoir" instead of "être" if they are followed by a direct object, e.g. "Je suis descendu à sept heures." but "J’ai descendu l’escalier.".

Reflexive verbs in the perfect tense

All reflexives follow this pattern:

Person/Subject + reflexive + part of "être" + past participle

e.g. je me suis lavé(e)                          nous nous sommes lavé(e)s

        tu t’es lavé(e)                              vous vous êtes lavé(e)(s)(es)

        il s’est lavé                                  elles se sont lavées

Exercises

Translate the following phrases. Scroll down to find solutions.

1)                  We listened to the CD                 

2)                  They finished at three       (à)       

3)                  I chose the DVD                                      

4)                  She watched “Eastenders”          

5)                  You waited for the train              

6)                  He worked hard                dur      

7)                  I sold my car         (ma voiture)    

8)                  We blushed                                              

9)                  She defended the pupil (l’élève)

10)              You loved French!                                   

1)      Nous avons écouté le CD

2)      Ils ont fini à trois heures

3)      J’ai choisi le DVD

4)      Elle a regardé “E”

5)      Tu as attendu le train

6)      Il a travaillé dur

7)      J’ai vendu ma voiture

8)      Nous avons rougi

9)      Elle a défendu l’élève

10)  Vous avez adoré le français

1)                  I went to the school at 8.30

2)                  We went to the cinema

3)                  He went to the swimming pool  (la piscine)

4)                  I arrived at 9.00                (arriver)

5)                  She arrived at my friend’s house  (chez)

6)                  They arrived late               (en retard)

7)                  She became a teacher

8)                  They fell into the swimming pool

9)                  I was born in 1958

10)              She came back last night

1)      Je suis allé au collège à huit heures et demie

2)      Nous sommes allés au cinéma

3)      Il est allé à la piscine

4)      Je suis arrivé à neuf heures

5)      Elle est arrivée chez ma copine

6)      Elles sont arrivées en retard

7)      Elle est devenue professeur

8)      Ils sont tombés dans la piscine

9)      Je suis né en mille neuf cent cinquante-huit

10)  Elle est revenue hier soir

Imperfect Tense

I was watching

I used to watch

(I would watch)

Person + imperfect root (with imperfect ending)

Root

Take the “nous” form of the present tense, remove the “ons”, and add the correct imperfect ending.

Je         ais                    nous                 ions

Tu        ais                    vous                 iez

Il/elle    ait                    ils/elles          aient

e.g.      je travaillais entre huit heures et quatre heures.

            Nous travaillons > travaill > +ais = je travaillais

Attendre > nous attendons > attend > il attendait le bus

Finir > nous finissons > finiss > elles finissaient

Faire > nous faisons > fais > je faisais

Boire > nous buvons > buv > je buvais

Voir > nous voyons > elle voyait

Être     - the exception

ét – imperfect root

J’étais               nous étions

Tu étais            vous étiez

Il était               elles étaient

  

Exercise

1)                  I was listening to the teacher!

2)                  She was working hard

3)                  They used to sell books

4)                  We used to finish at 4 o’clock

5)                  You used to do your homework after dinner

1)      J’écoutais le professeur

2)      Elle travaillait dur

3)      Elles vendaient des livres

4)      Nous finissions à quatre heures

5)      Tu faisais tes devoirs après le dîner

Future Tense

The future tense is expressed very simply in English – "I will ….". In French it is a little more complicated – the formula is as follows:

                                           Person/Subject + future root with future ending

Endings

je             ai                         For regular verbs the future root is the infinitive, to

tu             as                        which you add the future ending to go with the person

il/elle       a

nous         ons                     For irregular verbs the future root must be learned

vous         ez                       separately and may not look at all like the infinitive,

ils/elles    ont                      though you add the same endings.

e.g. Regular

je travaillerai

tu vendras (drop the "e" from the infinitive vendre)

il finira

nous écouterons

vous attendrez (drop the "e" from the infinitive attendre)

elles choisiront

Irregular

verb                       future root                             example

avoir                       aur                                         j’aurai

être                          ser                                        tu seras

aller                         ir                                          il ira

faire                        fer                                         nous ferons

vouloir                    voudr                                    vous voudrez

venir                       viendr                                    elles viendront

For other irregular future roots, see the list of common irregular verbs.

Grammar links

Exercise

Translate the following phrases. Scroll down to find solutions.

Decide what verb is being used, whether it’s regular or irregular, go to the root, and add the correct ending.

1)                  We will listen

2)                  They(m) will go to the school

3)                  She will sell the house

4)                  You(v) will choose a subject (une matière)

5)                  You(t) will be in Paris

6)                  I will see “Taxi”

7)                  She will send a letter

8)                  We will wait for the teacher

9)                  They will go swimming tonight

10)              You(v) will be able to go to London

1)      Nous écouterons

2)      Ils iront au collège

3)      Elle vendra la maison

4)      Vous choisirez une matière

5)      Tu seras à Paris

6)      Je verrai “T”

7)      Elle enverra une lettre

8)      Nous attendrons le professeur

9)      Elles feront de la natation ce soir

10)  Vous pourrez aller à Londres

The Conditional Tense

In English this is expressed by "I would (listen)". In French it is expressed through the following formula:

Person/Subject + future root with imperfect ending (both of which are already familiar to you).

e.g.     Je travaillerais (I would work)                     Tu vendrais (you would sell)

            Il finirait (he would finish)                        Nous aurions (we would have)

            Vous voudriez (you would like)                 Elles viendraient (they would come)

Adjectives

Common adjectives such as big, small, new or old will go before the noun, but usually adjectives will go after the noun in French.

e.g.     C’est un grand bâtiment

            C’est un train rapide

All adjectives must "agree" with the noun they describe – if the noun is feminine and singular, the adjective must also be feminine and singular, or if the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural.

In a dictionary you will find the masculine singular form. Regular adjectives are made feminine by adding an "e", and plural by adding an "s".

e.g.      masc/sing             fem/sing             masc/pl             fem/pl

            grand                  grande                 grands               grandes

            petit                    petite                 petits                petites

Irregular adjectives must be learned separately

e.g. masc/sing     masc/sing(vowel/h)      fem/sing     masc/pl          fem/pl

      nouveau         nouvel                         nouvelle      nouveaux         nouvelles

          vieux          vieil                             vieille         vieux               vieilles

          beau           bel                              belle            beaux              belles

          gentil                     -                      gentille       gentils             gentilles

Some

There are four ways of saying "some" or "of the" in French. Each expression is dependent on the gender and number of the noun that follows it.

du + masc/sing noun             e.g.     je bois du vin

de la + fem/sing noun                      il mange de la salade

de l’ + sing/vowel/h                        elle prend de l’eau

des + plural noun                            nous prenons des frites

Remember that these expressions are often used with the verb "faire" where we would say "to go swimming, skating, skiing", etc..

e.g.     Je fais du ski

            Il fait de la natation

            Nous faisons de l’équitation

            Tu fais des promenades

"To the" or "at the"

Very similar to "some" above, there are four ways of saying "to the" or "at the" in French, each dependent on the gender and number of the noun following the expression.

au + masc/sing noun         e.g.     Je vais au collège

à la + fem/sing noun                    Elle va à la poste

à l’ + sing/vowel/h                       Ils vont à l’église

aux + plural noun                         Vous allez aux magasins

Negative

In English we express the negative by saying "don’t" or "not", e.g. "I don’t work hard" or "She is not listening".

The basic negative form in French is obtained by placing "ne" before the verb, and "pas" after it.

i.e.       Je ne travaille pas                    I don’t/am not working

Elle n’écoute pas                    She doesn’t/is not listening

In the perfect tense the same rule applies, but the "ne" and "pas" go around the part of "avoir" or "être".

i.e.       Je n’ai pas travaillé                  I didn’t work/haven’t worked

Elle n’a pas écouté                  She didn’t listen/hasn’t listened

There are several other negative forms which work in the same way.

ne verb rien             nothing                je ne fais rien

                                                         je n’ai rien fait

ne verb jamais         never                    il ne travaille jamais

                                                           il n’a jamais travaillé

ne verb nulle part        nowhere                          nous n’allons nulle part

ne verb plus                no more/no longer            il n’y a plus de livres

ne verb que                only                                 elle n’a que deux livres

ne verb ni ..ni ..           neither .. nor ..                 je n’aime ni les pommes ni les poires

ne verb personne        nobody                            il n’y a personne

Verb + infinitive

As a general rule, if one verb is followed by another, the second verb will be the infinitive.

e.g.     Je vais écouter le professeur

            Elle va travailler à l’école

            Nous allons faire nos devoirs

            Ils veulent visiter Paris

This applies to regular and irregular verbs.

Exercise

Translate the following phrases. Scroll down to find solutions.

1)                  I like watching the TV

2)                  I like listening to music

3)                  I like going to the cinema

4)                  I like playing on the computer

5)                  I like reading books

6)                  I like going cycling

1)      J’aime regarder la télé

2)      J’aime écouter la musique

3)      J’aime aller au cinéma

4)      J’aime jouer à l’ordinateur

5)      J’aime lire les livres

6)      J’aime faire du vélo/cyclisme

Reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs are verbs which require an object, usually a pronoun object (myself, yourself, himself etc.).

In French there is no verb "to get", therefore you can’t say "I get washed". Instead you must think about who is being washed and so you must say "I wash myself". The words for "myself", "yourself" etc. are pronoun objects and as such must go before the verb in French.

e.g.     Je me lave                 I get washed                 (I wash myself)

            Tu te laves               You get washed            (you wash yourself)

            Il/elle se lave            He/She gets washed      (he washes himself)

            Nous nous lavons       We get washed             (we wash ourselves)

            Vous vous lavez          You get washed            (you wash yourself)

            Ils/elles se lavent       They get washed           (they wash themselves)

You must remember to add the correct ending to go with the person as usual, but you must also remember to put the correct reflexive or pronoun object before the verb (this must also agree with the person).

In the infinitive form (to be found in the dictionary) there will be a "se" before the infinitive form of the verb. Here this means "oneself".

Common reflexive verbs

se lever         to get up                 s’ennuyer       to be bored

se réveiller     to wake up             se coucher       to go to bed

se détendre   to relax                  s’habiller          to get dressed

se fâcher        to get angry           s’endormir        to fall asleep

Exercise

Translate the following phrases. Scroll down to find solutions.

1)                  I wake up             

2)                  I get up                             

3)                  I have a shower                

4)                  I get dressed                    

5)                  I go to bed                       

6)                  We get up             

7)                  She gets dressed  

8)        You(v) get annoyed          

9)        They have a shower          

10) You (t) go to bed       

1)      Je me réveille

2)      Je me lève

3)      Je me douche

4)      Je m’habille

5)      Je me couche

6)      Nous nous levons

7)      Elle s’habille

8)      Vous vous fâchez

9)      Ils se douchent

10)  Tu te couches

Asking questions

There are three ways of asking questions in French:

1.     Raise your voice

2.     Put "Est-ce que" before a statement

3.     Inversion – reversing the person and the verb

e.g.                   1) Tu aimes les frites?

2) Est-ce que tu aimes les frites?

3) Aimes-tu les frites?

This rule applies to every tense.

Perfect                                                              Imperfect

Tu as regardé le film?                                           Tu regardais le film?

Est-ce que tu as regardé le film?                            Est-ce que tu regardais le film?

As-tu regardé le film?                                           Regardais-tu le film?

Other more complex questions may be produced by placing other question words before the "est-ce que" or inverted form.

Qu(e)                             what                         Qu’est-ce que tu fais?

Pourquoi                        why                           Pourquoi aimes-tu le golf?

Comment                        how                          Comment est-ce que tu as voyagé?

Où                                where                        Où est-ce qu’ils sont allés?

Avec qui                        with whom                  Avec qui es-tu sorti?

Exercise

Translate the following phrases. Scroll down to find solutions.

1)      Where is she going?   

2)      What does he want to do?

3)      Why are you staying at home tonight?

4)      When are you going to visit Paris?

5)      With whom are you going to France?

1)      Où est-ce qu’elle va?

2)      Qu’est-ce qu’il veut faire?

3)      Pourquoi est-ce que tu restes à la maison ce soir?

4)      Quand est-ce que vous allez visiter Paris?

5)      Avec qui est-ce que tu vas en France?

Relative pronouns – "qui" and "que"

"Qui" and "que" are used to join two related parts of sentences. In English you may use "that" or "which", or "who" or "whom" in the same way.

e.g.     That’s the teacher who listens to his pupils

            There’s the woman who lost her book

            Here is a car which goes fast

            That’s the pen that I lost

            There’s the car that you would like to buy

            Here is the rubber that I found

The subject of a verb is the thing or person doing the action of the verb.

e.g.         She is washing the car – "she" is the subject

The object is the thing or person who is on the receiving end of the action of the verb.

e.g.         She is washing the car – "car" is the object

In French, "qui" is used to join the subject to its verb, and "que" is used to join the object to its verb phrase.

e.g. C’est le prof qui écoute ses élèves               

(the teacher is doing the listening, therefore "qui" must be used to join the subject to the verb)

        Voilà la femme qui a perdu son livre            

(the woman did the losing, therefore "qui" must be used to join the subject to the verb)

        Voici une voiture qui roule vite                    

(the car is doing the moving, so "qui" must be used to join subject and verb)

        C’est le stylo que j’ai perdu                        

(the pen is what I have lost, so "que" is used to join object and verb phrase)

        Voilà la voiture que tu voudrais acheter        

(the car is the thing that you would like to buy, so "que" is used to join object to verb phrase)

        Voici la gomme que j’ai trouvée                   

(the rubber is the thing that I have found, so "que" is used to join object to verb phrase)

While/by/in doing something


In French this is achieved through the following formula:

en + present participle (in English the part of the verb ending in "ing")


To find the present participle in French (for regular verbs), take the "nous" form of the present tense, remove the "ons", and
add "ant".

e.g.         er verbs regardant, entrant, travaillant

              re verbs vendant, rendant, attendant

              ir verbs finissant, choisissant, punissant


This rule applies to many irregular verbs as well, although there are several notable exceptions:

e.g.             avoir ayant

                  être étant

                  savoir sachant

After doing something

In French you would say "after having done something".

Follow this formula: après avoir/être + past participle (see note on the perfect tense for details on which verbs take avoir
or être).

e.g.         après avoir regardé     after watching

               après avoir vendu         after selling

               après avoir fini             after finishing

               après avoir vu              after seeing (see notes on irregular verbs for details of past participles)

      BUT après être parti(e)         after leaving

               après être sorti(e)         after going out

               après être arrivé(e)       after arriving

N.B. Reflexive verbs all take "être" in the perfect tense, but the reflexive itself must still agree with the person when used in
this construction.

e.g.         après m’être levé, je ….         after getting up, I ….

               après nous être lavés, nous … after getting washed, we …

Before doing something

This is relatively straightforward in French:

avant de + infinitive

avant d’écouter             before listening

avant de partir               before leaving

avant d’aller                   before going

N.B. Reflexives follow the same rule, but the correct reflexive must go before the infinitive.

avant de me lever, je …         before getting up, I …

avant de nous laver, nous … before getting washed, we …

What/which + noun

In French, the word for what or which must agree with the number and gender of the noun to which it refers, i.e. the
spelling will change as the noun varies between masculine and feminine, singular and plural.

e.g.         Quel livre veux-tu acheter?         Quel – masculine/singular noun

               Quelle voiture préfères-tu?         Quelle – feminine/singular noun

               Quels stylos vas-tu prendre?      Quels – masculine/plural noun

               Quelles lunettes voudrais-tu?     Quelles – feminine/plural noun


What/which ones?

Once again, the expression must agree with the number and gender of the noun to which it refers.

e.g.     Voici deux livres – lequel prends-tu?                           Lequel – masc/sing noun

           Voilà deux tables – laquelle préfères-tu?                     Laquelle – fem/sing noun

           Voici quelques bonbons – lesquels prends-tu?             Lesquels – masc/pl noun

           Voilà des cassettes – lesquelles préfères-tu?                Lesquelles – fem/pl noun

These terms are also useful in expressions such as:

C’est la voiture dans laquelle je suis allé en France
That’s the car in which I went to France (referring to fem/sing noun)

C’est le coussin sous lequel j’ai caché mon cahier
That’s the cushion under which I hid my jotter (referring to masc/sing noun)

This/that + noun

The word for "this" or "that" will change according to the number and gender of the noun that follows it.

e.g.             ce stylo                 masc/sing noun

                   cet hôtel               masc/sing noun, beginning with vowel or "h"

                   cette femme          fem/sing noun

                   ces élèves             plural noun


This one/that one

The expressions used to express "this one" and "that one" must agree with the number and gender of the nouns to which
they refer.

This one                                                     That one

celui-ci             masc/sing noun                 celui-là

celle-ci             fem/sing noun                    celle-là

ceux-ci             masc/plural noun               ceux-là

celles-ci           fem/plural noun                  celles-là

Since

To say "I’ve been working here for five years", the French leave the verb in the present tense as it is something that
continues in the present – it suggests you still work here. This is followed by "depuis" (since) before the time phrase.

e.g.      Je travaille ici depuis dix ans                     I’ve been working here for ten years

            Il habite à Paris depuis cinq mois             He has lived in Paris for five months

            Nous attendons depuis quinze minutes   We’ve been waiting for 15 minutes

To have just done something

The structure used to say you have just done something works in a similar way to the one used with "depuis". Use the
present tense of the verb "venir" (see irregular verb list), followed by "de", followed by the infinitive of whatever verb you
wish to use.

e.g.             Je viens de finir mes devoirs                 I’ve just finished my homework

                   Il vient d’arriver                                    He has just arrived

                   Elles viennent de partir                         They have just left

Possessive adjectives – my, your, his/her, our, your, their

The words for my, your etc. change according to the number and gender of the noun which follows it.

MY                 YOUR (friend)                     HIS/HER/ITS
mon                 ton                                       son                         + masc/sing noun

ma                   ta                                         sa                           + fem/sing noun

mes                 tes                                        ses                         + plural noun

OUR             YOUR (formal)                     THEIR
notre             votre                                       leur                         + singular noun

nos                vos                                         leurs                       + plural noun

e.g.         C’est mon cartable                           This is my schoolbag (masc/sing)

               Voilà ta voiture                                There is your car (fem/sing)

               Ce sont ses frères                             These are his/her brothers (plural)

               C’est notre maison                           This is our house (singular noun)

               Où sont vos affaires?                         Where are your things? (plural noun)

               C’est leur père                                  That’s their father (singular noun)

Exercise

Translate the following phrases. Scroll down to find solutions.

1)                  My bag      (un sac)                       

2)                  His house (une maison)    

3)                  Your(v) books                              

4)                  Their friends                                 

5)                  Her brother                                   

6)                  Our homework (devoirs)  

7)                  Your(t) friend                              

8)                  My teachers (professeur)  

9)                  Our school (collège)                     

10)              Her pens (stylo)                

1)      mon sac

2)      sa maison

3)      vos livres

4)      leurs copains

5)      son frère

6)      nos devoirs

7)      ton ami/copain

8)      mes professeurs

9)      notre collège

10)  ses stylos

Pronoun objects             me, you, him, her, it, us, them (direct)
                                          to me, to you, to him, to her, to us, to them (indirect)

In English we put the pronoun object after the verb

e.g.     I see her
           She’s watching them
           We are speaking to you

In French, all pronoun objects go before the verb, but after the person/subject.
e.g.     Je la vois
           Elle les regarde
           Nous vous parlons

All the pronoun objects you will need appear in the table below, with their translation in English. If you have to use more
than one pronoun object in a phrase, they follow a certain order in French – the order of the columns in which they appear.

N.B. This rule applies to every tense, but remember that in the perfect tense it is the part of "avoir" that is the active verb,
so the pronoun object goes before the part of "avoir".

1                                         2                             3                                 4
DIRECT/INDIRECT         DIRECT                 INDIRECT
me       me/to me
te         you/to you
se         himself/herself         le     him/it(m)            lui     to him/her         y      there/to it
            to himself/herself     la     her/it (f)             leur   to them             en   of it/some
nous     us/to us                   les   them                                                                      
vous     you/to you
se         themselves
            to themselves

examples:

Je te les donne                     I give them to you

Elle me la vend                     She is selling it(f) to me

Nous leur en parlons             We speak to them about it

Tu le lui expliques                  You explain it to her

Vous leur en parlez                You speak to them about it

N.B. The pronoun objects follow the order of the columns. This applies to the perfect tense as well, but there they must go
before the part of "avoir". If the pronoun object is direct, then the past participle must agree with its number and gender.
(Add an "e" to make it feminine, "s" to make it (plural). This is called the PDO (preceding direct object).

e.g.     Je te les ai donnés                 I gave them to you

           Elle me l’a vendue                 She sold it(f) to me

           Nous leur en avons parlé     We spoke to them about it

           Tu le lui as expliqué               You explained it to her

           Vous leur en avez parlé         You spoke to them about it

Subjunctive

The subjunctive poses a number of problems to English speakers, principally because it is a tense we use very little in
English. In French the problem lies not so much with its structure, but when to use it.

Formation

To form the subjunctive, just take the “ils” form of the present tense of the verb (unfortunately there are numerous
irregular verbs for the subjunctive as well, and this rule does not necessarily apply to them), remove the “ent” and add
the appropriate ending to match the person.

Je        e                Nous        ions

Tu       es               Vous         iez

Il/elle    e                Ils/elles  ent

e.g.        regarder
       ils regard(ent)
       nous regardions = the present subjunctive for regarder with “nous”

       vendre
       ils vend(ent)
       je vende = the present subjunctive for vendre with “je”

       finir
       ils finiss(ent)
       elle finisse = the present subjunctive for finir with “elle”

This rule applies to a number of irregular verbs, e.g. prendre, écrire, conduire etc., but there are several irregular verbs
whose subjunctive roots must be learned individually, although the endings remain the same.

Aller        (j’aille, tu ailles, il aille, nous allions, vous alliez, ils aillent)

Faire        (fass)

Avoir        (j’aie, tu aies, il ait, nous ayons, vous ayez, ils aient)

Être           (je sois, tu sois, il soit, nous soyons, vous soyez, ils soient)

Vouloir      (veuill, *nous voulions, *vous vouliez)

Voir           (je voie, tu voies, il voie, nous voyions, vous voyiez, ils voient)

Savoir        (sach)

Pouvoir      (puiss)

When to use the subjunctive

After certain phrases such as:

Il faut que
Il est nécessaire que
Avant que
Bien que
Quoique
Quoi que
Jusqu’à ce que
À moins que

After expressions of feeling:

Je préfère que
Je voudrais que
J’aimerais que
Je veux que
Je suis content que
Je suis triste que
J’ai peur que

In general the subjunctive is used if there is a suggestion of doubt or fear.

e.g.        J’ai peur qu’il arrive en retard = I’m afraid he’ll (may) arrive late.

              J’attends que = to wait for/expect something to happen

These expressions should be followed by a change of subject, i.e. a different person, and the verb will be in the
subjunctive.

e.g.        Je veux que tu partes.

              Je suis content que tu sois là.

N.B.        If you wish to suggest that someone else should do something, you must change subjects mid-sentence, i.e.
you cannot simply say “I want you to do something”, you must say “I want that you should do something”, so –

Je veux que tu fasses quelque chose.

When using the subjunctive there will always be a “que” involved.

Exercise

1)                  We have to sell the house


2)                  Although they finish work at 4.00, they will arrive on time


3)                  Unless you listen, you will learn nothing


4)                  Before she goes out, she must do her homework


5)                  I would like her to leave


6)                  She is afraid that you will tell the teacher


7)                  We want them to go to Edinburgh


8)                  They are happy that I’m doing my studies in France


9)                  I’m sad you’re not here


10)                He expects us to make the coffee!

1)      Il faut que nous vendions la maison

2)      Bien qu’ils finissent le travail à quatre heures, ils arriveront à l’heure

3)      À moins que tu n’écoutes, tu n’apprendras rien

4)      Avant qu’elle parte, il faut qu’elle fasse ses devoirs

5)      Je voudrais qu’elle parte

6)      Elle a peur que tu (ne) le dises au professeur

7)      Nous voulons qu’ils aillent à Edimbourg

8)      Ils sont contents que je fasse mes études en France

9)      Je suis triste que tu ne sois pas là

10)  Il s’attend à ce que nous fassions le café

Common French Irregular Verbs 

aller (allé) to go                             avoir (eu) to have
je vais             nous allons              j’ai           nous avons
tu vas             vous allez                 tu as        vous avez
il va                elles vont                 il a           elles ont
future ir                                            future aur

boire (bu) to drink                     connaître (connu) to know
je bois         nous buvons              je connais         nous connaissons      
tu bois         vous buvez                tu connais         vous connaissez
il boit           elles boivent              il connaît           elles connaissent
future boir                                     future connaîtr

courir (couru) to run                     croire (cru) to believe
je cours         nous courons         je crois             nous croyons
tu cours         vous courez           tu crois             vous croyez
il court           elles courent          il croit               elles croient
future courr                                     future croir

devoir (dû) to have to                     dire (dit) to say/tell
je dois            nous devons            je dis            nous disons
tu dois            vous devez              tu dis            vous dites
il doit              elles doivent            il dit              elles disent
future devr                                         future dir

dormir (dormi) to sleep                 écrire (écrit) to write
je dors             nous dormons         j’écris             nous écrivons
tu dors             vous dormez           tu écris           vous écrivez
il dort               elles dorment          il écrit             elles écrivent
future dormir                                     future écrir

envoyer (envoyé) to send                 etre (été) to be
j’envoie             nous envoyons         je suis             nous sommes
tu envoies          vous envoyez           tu es               vous êtes
il envoie             elles envoient           il est               elles sont
future enverr                                         future ser

faire (fait) to do/make                         falloir (fallu) to be necessary
je fais                 nous faisons
tu fais                 vous faites                 il faut
il fait                   elles font
future fer                                                 future il faudra

lire (lu) to read                                     mettre (mis) to put (on)
je lis                     nous lisons              je mets            nous mettons  
tu lis                     vous lisez                tu mets            vous mettez
il lit                       elles lisent               il mets             elles mettent
future lir                                                 future mettr

mourir (mort) to die                              naître (né) to be born
je meurs             nous mourons           je nais             nous naissons
tu meurs             vous mourez             tu nais             vous naissez
il meurt               elles meurent             il naît              elles naissent
future mourr                                             future naîtr

ouvrir (ouvert) to open                          pouvoir (pu) to be able to
j’ouvre                nous ouvrons             je peux             nous pouvons
tu ouvres             vous ouvrez               tu peux             vous pouvez
il ouvre                elles ouvrent              il peut               elles peuvent
future ouvrir                                             future pourr

prendre (pris) to take                             recevoir (reçu) to receive
je prends             nous prenons             je reçois             nous recevons
tu prends             vous prenez               tu reçois             vous recevez
il prend                elles prennent             il reçoit              elles reçoivent
future prendr                                             future recevr

savoir (su) to know                                 venir (venu) to come
je sais                 nous savons                 je viens             nous venons
tu sais                 vous savez                    tu viens            vous venez
il sait                   elles savent                   il vient              elles viennent
future saur                                                 future viendr

voir (vu) to see                                             vouloir (voulu) to want
je vois                 nous voyons                     je veux             nous voulons
tu vois                 vous voyez                        tu veux            vous voulez
il voit                   elles voient                        il veut              elles veulent
future verr                                                     future voudr

partir (parti) to leave                                     sortir (sorti) to go out
je pars                 nous partons                     je sors             nous sortons
tu pars                 vous partez                        tu sors            vous sortez
il part                   elles partent                       il sort              elles sortent
future partir                                                     future sortir