Study Sheet

Page 1 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
Describing the Present: Verbs in the Present Tense
First Step (Première étape)
Dans 12 pays européens, on change le système monétaire au système euro. Les français
parlent euro mais ils ne pensent pas euro. La vie quotidienne continue comme avant le
changement. On dort et on mange. Les adultes lisent chaque jour le journal et les enfants
vont à l'école. Les commerçants veulent aider les français, donc ils affichent les prix en
francs et en euro mais vendent tout en euro. Le gouvernement fait beaucoup de publicité.
Certaines personnes apprennent vite mais pour d'autres le changement est difficile. On
finit par accepter l'euro ! Et vous, comprenez-vous la situatio n? Connaissez-vous des
gens qui achètent des choses en Europe et qui paient en euros ? Avez-vous des pièces ou
des billets en euro ?
Write the infinitive (un-conjugated form of the verb) under the right group based on the last
two letters of the infinitive. If you are not sure how to spell the infinitive, check in the
French section of your dictionary. Circle the regular verbs – the ones that are conjugated
according to a regular pattern.
–er verbs like étudier
1. changer
–ir verbs like obéir
2.
–re verbs like descendre
3.
Based on the words you circled, which group has the most regular verbs?
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Page 2 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
Examples and Explanations (Exemples et explications)
Regular Verbs
Verbs that end in –er are the most common in French. They are almost all regular except
aller. Most verbs ending in –re are irregular and many verbs that end in –ir are irregular.
Note the way these regular verbs are conjugated.
–er verbs like étudier
To form the present tense,
drop the –er and add the
ending that corresponds to
the subject.
e
j'étudie
es
tu étudies
e
il/elle/on étudie
ons
nous étudions
ez
vous étudiez
ent
ils/elles étudient
–ir verbs like obéir
To form the present tense,
drop the –ir and add the
ending that corresponds to
the subject.
is
j'obéis
is
tu obéis
it
il/elle/on obéit
issons
nous obéissons
issez
vous obéissez
issent
ils/elles obéissent
–re verbs like descendre
To form the present tense, drop
the –re and add the ending that
corresponds to the subject.
s
s
(no ending)
ons
ez
ent
je descends
tu descends
il/elle/on descend
nous descendons
vous descendez
ils/elles
descendent
Irregular Verbs
The following verbs in the paragraph are irregular. Locate them and write their conjugated
form in the space provided, like the example.
Dormir
Aller
Apprendre
Faire
Lire
Comprendre
Connaître
Vouloir
on
dort
les enfants
certaines personnes
le gouvernement
les adultes
vous
vous
les commerçants
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Page 3 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
Many verbs are irregular because they do not follow the pattern of regular verbs in the
present tense even though they end in –er, –ir, or –re. Here is a list of common irregular
verbs that you must know how to conjugate. It is easier to learn them in groups. The first
group contains four of the most common verbs in French and you probably already know
them. Make sure you know the meaning of all of these verbs. If you do not know the
complete conjugation of these irregular verbs in the present tense, look them up in your
verb conjugation book or in the verb conjugation section of one of your old textbooks.
avoir
être
aller
faire
dormir
partir
sortir (mentir, sentir, servir)
devoir
pouvoir
vouloir
dire
écrire
lire
mettre (permettre, promettre)
prendre (comprendre, apprendre)
conduire
connaître
envoyer
recevoir
voir
rire (sourire)
mourir
venir
tenir
ouvrir (couvrir, offrir, souffrir)
(These verbs are conjugated like regular
–er verbs)
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Page 4 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
Regular Verbs that Change Spelling
Lastly, there are several –er verbs that are regular in every way except for some changes in
spelling.
1. Verbs ending in –ger, like manger, are spelled mangeons in the nous form.
2. Verbs ending in –cer, like commencer, are spelled commençons in the nous form.
3. Verbs ending in –eter, like acheter (to buy), are spelled as shown below. Other verbs
ending in –eter, like jeter (to throw), are spelled as shown below. Note the changes
occur in all the conjugations except the nous and vous forms.
Acheter – note the è.
j'achète
tu achètes
il/elle/on achète
nous achetons
vous achetez
ils/elles achètent
Jeter – note the tt.
je jette
tu jettes
il/elle/on jette
nous jetons
vous jetez
ils/elles jettent
4. Verbs ending in –eler, like appeler (to call), are spelled like jeter – there are two "l"s
in the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms. For example: j'appelle, but vous appelez.
5. Verbs ending like espérer (to hope), and lever (to lift or to raise) are conjugated as
shown below.
Espérer – note the change from é to
è.
j'espère
tu espères
il/elle/on espère
nous espérons
vous espérez
ils/elles espèrent
Lever – note the è, like with the verb
acheter.
je lève
tu lève
il/elle/on lève
nous levons
vous levez
ils/elles lèvent
6. Finally, verbs that end in –yer, like nettoyer (to clean), and in –ayer, like payer, are
conjugated as shown below. Again, the spelling change does not take place in the
nous and vous forms.
Nettoyer
je nettoie
tu nettoies
il/elle/on nettoie
nous nettoyons
vous nettoyez
ils/elles nettoient
Payer (This change is not mandatory for verbs
ending in –ayer, so you will see it both ways.)
je paie
je paye
tu paies
tu payes
il/elle/on paie
il/elle/on paye
nous payons
nous payons
vous payez
vous payez
ils/elles payent
ils/elles payent
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Page 5 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
Quick Check (Vérification rapide)
Before you go to the practice questions, do this Quick Check to see if you have understood
the conjugations you have seen up to this point. Complete the table with the missing
conjugations. The correct answers are on the Answer Sheet.
Tu ris (rire, to
laugh)
Elle ment (mentir,
to lie)
Il va
Vous allez
Elles__________
Tu_______________
Nous préférons
J'________________
Vous essuyez
(essuyer, to wipe)
Je veux
Elles__________
Elle exagère
Nous ____________
Tu _____________
Nous pouvons
On ______________
Ils envoient
On dit
Vous__________
Je _______________
Vous souffrez
Je connais
Ils ___________
Elle change
Nous ____________
Il ______________
Elles conduisent
(conduire, to
drive)
Je commence
Nous ____________
On _____________
Vous lisez
On oublie (oublier, to
forget)
Vous ___________
Tu _____________
Nous partons
Je choisis
Ils ______________
J'apprends
Ils ____________
Ils____________
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Page 6 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
Practice Questions
A. Une histoire triste
Complete this paragraph with the present tense of one of the verbs below. Make sure the
paragraph makes sense when you put in the verbs. Use each verb only once.
Conduire
Connaître
Devoir
Dire
Écrire
Envoyer
Essuyer
Faire
Mentir
Mettre
Mourir
Souffrir
Tenir
Vouloir
Bonjour Paul,
J'(1) _____________ cet email pour vous raconter une histoire triste. Cette histoire est
tellement triste que j'(2) _____________ déjà une larme de ma joue. Vous me
(3)____________ toujours la vérité ; et moi, je ne (4) _____________ pas, non plus !
Vous (5) _____________ mon amie Christine, n'est-ce pas ? Cet après-midi (c'est
aujourd'hui samedi) elle me (6) _____________ dans sa BMW chez une autre amie, Nicole,
qui est très malade. Elle (7) _____________ d'une rare maladie. (Le médecin m'a dit
qu'elle (8)_____________ lentement.) Chaque mercredi elle m'(9) _____________ un
email pour avoir de mes nouvelles. Cet après-midi ses sœurs (10) _____________ me
parler. Le samedi, je vais chez elle. Je (11) _____________ des fleurs sur sa table de nuit
et je lui (12) _____________ la main et nous parlons. Elle est vraiment gentille. Mais, à
vrai dire, c'est elle qui (13) _____________ du bien pour moi ! Alors, je vous invite à
m'accompagner la semaine prochaine. Vous (14) _____________ faire sa connaissance.
À bientôt,
Maire Dumont
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Page 7 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
B. Maintenant à vous
Use the verbs that follow to write a letter of your own. Here are a few subjects you might
want to consider. But you can write about anything you want. Make sure your verbs are in
the present tense, so don't write about the past or the future. Write about something you
usually do or something you are doing today. Be creative!
Sujets possibles :
Verbes :
mon week-end, mes amis
acheter
lire
dormir
partir
espérer
pouvoir
recevoir
rire
voir
Bonjour _____________,
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Bien à vous,
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Page 8 of 8
French 3 – Unit 1, Lesson 3
Patterns
Study Sheet
Oral Exercises (Exercices oraux)
C. La phonétique
The linking of words in speech is called "liaison". In particular, when the second word begins
with a vowel or vowel sound (like êtes or hôtels) and the word that comes before it ends
with the letter "s" (like vous or les), then the two words are often linked with no noticeable
break between the two words. When this happens the "s" is pronounced as a "z" (as in vous
êtes or les hôtels). You always make a liaison when the first word is one of the plural
subject pronouns nous, vous, ils, or elles and the second word is a vowel, as in nous
aimons.
You will hear verbs conjugated in the present tense with singular subjects. Your task is to
change the verbs from singular to plural subjects and pronounce the new conjugation aloud.
See the model below and then start the audio.
Modèles :
elle / nous
il / vous
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Il espère visiter Québec. (Singulier – pas de liaison)
Nous espérons visiter Québec. (Pluriel – liaison)
Nous ouvrons la porte. (Pluriel – liaison)
Il ouvre la porte. (Singulier – pas de liaison)
il / nous . . . .
je / elles . . . .
tu / vous . . . .
elle / ils . . . .
on / elles . . . .
Stop the audio.
D. Le pluriel des verbes
All of the verbs in the sentences you will hear are conjugated in the present tense and have
singular subjects. Change the plural subjects to a singular subject and make the appropriate
change in the way you pronounce the new verb conjugation.
Je changes to Nous
Tu changes to Vous
Il changes to Ils
Elle changes to Elles
1.
2.
3.
4.
Modèle : Je dors bien.
Nous dormons bien.
....
....
....
....
5.
6.
7.
8.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Stop the audio.
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.