attention! other negatives!

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The Present Tense
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Reflexive Verbs and the Present Tense
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The Near Future Tense
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The Simple Future Tense
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The Conditional Tense
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The Perfect Tense: Avoir
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The Perfect Tense: Etre (MRS VAN DE TRAMP)
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The Perfect Tense: Reflexive Verbs
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The Imperfect Tense
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Negatives and verbs
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Glossary
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The present tense is used to describe what’s happening now or what usually happens.
e.g.
Mon frère regarde la télé
My brother is watching TV.
D’habitude, je fais mes devoirs après le collège.
Usually, I do my homework after school.
Regular Verbs
Most verbs fall into 3 groups – ER, RE, IR. We know which verb they are by the last 2 letters of the
infinitive (whole verb). To conjugate (change) them, we must chop of the ER, RE or IR and add the correct
ending.
Je
Tu
Il/Elle/On
Nous
Vous
Ils/Elles
e.g.
ER verbs
e
es
e
ons
ez
ont
Je mange une poire.
I am eating a pear.
RE verbs
s
s
ons
ez
ent
IR verbs
is
is
it
issons
issez
issent
Je vends ma voiture.
I am selling my car.
Je finis mes devoirs.
I am doing my homework.
Irregular Verbs
Je
Tu
Il/Elle/On
Nous
Vous
Ils/Elles
AVOIR
to have
’ai
as
a
avons
avez
ont
ETRE
to be
suis
es
est
sommes
êtes
sont
ALLER
to go
vais
vas
va
allons
allez
vont
FAIRE
to do/make
fais
fais
fait
faisons
faîtes
font
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Some verbs don’t follow the pattern above. We must learn them separately. These are some of the most
important verbs you need to know for your GCSE (the super four)
ATTENTION ! Before a vowel, we use j’ instead of je. E.g. J’ai (I have) or J’aime (I like).
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Reflexive verbs are verbs whose actions are something that we do something to ourselves.
e.g.
Je me douche.
I am (myself) showering.
D’habitude, je me réveille à sept heures et demie.
Usually, I get (myself) up at half past seven.
We know that a verb is reflexive because it has se before it its infinitive (or s’ before a vowel). Se is called
a reflexive pronoun.
e.g.
se doucher
to shower (oneself)
se laver
to wash (oneself)
s’habiller
to dress (oneself)
Reflexive verbs conjugate the same as other regular verbs in the present tense, but we must change the
se (reflexive pronoun) depending on who we are talking about:
Je
Tu
Il/Elle/On
Nous
Vous
Ils/Elles
Reflexive pronoun
me / m’
te / t’
se / s’
nous
vous
se / s’
Example
Je me douche
Tu te douches
Il se douche
Nous nous douchons
Vous vous douchez
Ils se douchent
se réveiller
se lever
se raser
se maquiller
se coucher
s’endormir
se brosser les dents
se brosser les cheveux
to get oneself up
to get oneself up
to shave oneself
to put makeup on oneself
to go to bed
to fall asleep
to brush one’s teeth
to brush one’s hair
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Some more useful reflexive verbs :
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There are two types of future tense that you need to know. The Near Future and The Simple Future.
The near future tense is used to describe what’s going to happen.
e.g.
Mon frère va regarder la télé
My brother is going to watch TV.
Je vais faire mes devoirs après le collège.
I’m going to do my homework after school.
To form the near future, we need:
Present tense of aller + infinitive of the verb going to be done.
e.g.
Je vais manger une poire.
I am going to eat a pear.
Remember ALLER:
Je vais
Tu vas
Il/elle/on va
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils/elles vont
Je vais vendre ma voiture.
I am going to sell my car.
Je vais finir mes devoirs.
I am going to finish my HK.
I am going
You are going
He/she/one is going
We are going
You are going
They are going
ATTENTION: Reflexive verbs follow the same pattern. Just put the reflexive pronoun before the
infinitive: Je vais me doucher (I’m going to shower myself)
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 The good news is that all verbs follow the same pattern for this tense 
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The simple future tense is used to describe what will happen.
e.g.
Mon frère regardera la télé
My brother will watch TV.
Je ferai mes devoirs après le collège
I will do my homework after school.
Regular Verbs
To form the simple future, we must add the following endings to the infinitive.
ATTENTION! For RE verbs, you need to chop off the e before adding the ending.
ENDING
ai
as
a
ons
ez
ont
je
tu
il/elle/on
nous
vous
ils/elles
e.g.
Je mangerai une poire.
I will eat a pear.
Je vendrai ma voiture.
I will sell my car.
Je finirai mes devoirs.
I will finish my homework.
These endings are an awful lot like the present tense of avoir which is a good way to remember them.
Irregular Verbs
VERB
Avoir
to have
Etre
to be
Aller
to go
Faire
to do/make
STEM
aur
EXAMPLE
j'aurai
ser
je serai
ir
j'irai
fer
je ferai
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Some verbs don’t follow the pattern above. Instead of using the infinitive, we must use a different stem.
As with all irregular verbs, we must learn the stems separately.
The most common (including the super four) are below:
ATTENTION: Reflexive verbs follow the same pattern. Put the reflexive pronoun before the infinitive
and add the correct ending: Je me doucherai (I will shower myself)
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The present tense is used to describe possibility in the future. That’s to say what might happen, should
happen or could happen.
e.g.
Mon frère regarderait la télé
My brother could watch TV.
Je ferais mes devoirs après le collège.
I might do my homework after school.
If we know the simple future tense, forming the conditional tense is really easy. If we’re talking about
ourselves, we just add an ‘s’ to the end of the simple future form.
Regular Verbs
To form the conditional tense, we add the following endings to the infinitive.
Attention! Remember to take off the e from RE verbs before adding the ending.
ENDING
ais
ais
ait
ions
iez
aient
je
tu
il/elle/on
nous
vous
ils/elles
VERB
Avoir
to have
Etre
to be
Aller
to go
Faire
to do/make
STEM
aur
EXAMPLE
j'aurais
ser
je serais
ir
j'irais
fer
je ferais
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Irregular Verbs
These verbs use the same stem as for the simple future tense but with the conditional ending. Some
examples (including the super four) are below:
ATTENTION: Reflexive verbs follow the same pattern. Put the reflexive pronoun before the infinitive
and add the correct ending: Je me doucherais (I might shower myself)
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The perfect tense is used to describe what has happened. It describes a completed action or a one off
event.
e.g.
Mon frère a regardé la télé
My brother has watched TV/ My brother watched TV.
J’ai fait mes devoirs après le collège
I have done my homework after school/ I did my homework after school.
Regular Verbs (AVOIR)
For most verbs, the perfect tense is formed using the present tense of avoir (auxiliary verb) and the past
participle.
The past participles are really easy to form.
For ER verbs, chop off the er and add é
e.g. j’ai mangé une poire.
I have eaten a pear.
For RE verbs, chop off the re and add u
e.g. j’ai vendu ma voiture
I have sold my car.
For IR verbs, chop off the ir and add i
e.g. j’ai fini mes devoirs.
I have finished my HK.
Irregular Verbs (AVOIR)
Infinitive
Past Participle
English
Example
faire
fait
to do/make
j‘ai fait
boire
bu
to drink
j‘ai bu
lire
lu
to read
j‘ai lu
être
été
to be
j‘ai été
dire
dit
to say
j‘ai dit
écrire
écrit
to write
j‘ai écrit
prendre
pris
to take
j‘ai pris
devoir
dû
to have to
j‘ai dû
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For some irregular verbs, we can’t chop off the ER, RE or IR and add the ending. These verbs have a
different past participle which we must learn separately. Below are some useful irregular past participles.
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Regular Verbs (ETRE)
For 13 special verbs, the perfect tense is formed using the present tense of être (instead of avoir) and the
past participle. For all but three of these verbs, we form the past participle the same way as before (ER
becomes é, RE becomes U and IR becomes i).
This doesn’t really make sense in English but it makes perfect French.
e.g.
Je suis allé au cinéma
I am gone to the cinema / I went to the cinema.
Je suis tombé
I am fallen / I fell.
We can remember these 13 verbs as MRS VAN DE TRAMP.
Monter
Rester
Sortir
to climb/go up
to stay
to go out
Venir
Arriver
Naître
to come
to arrive
to be born
Descendre
Entrer
to descend/go down
to enter
Tomber
Retourner
Arriver
Mourir
Partir
to fall
to return
to arrive
to die
to leave
THREE OF THESE VERBS HAVE
IRREGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES:
VENIR – venu
NAITRE – né
MOURIR - mort
If you’re talking about something feminine, add an e to the past participle – je suis allée
If you’re talking about more than one person/thing, add an s to the past participle – ils sont allés
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ATTENTION! These 13 verbs have got 3 extra rules!
If you’re talking about more than one feminine thing, add an es to the past participle – elles sont allées
ATTENTION! THIS ONLY HAPPENS TO MRS VAN DE TRAMP VERBS. DON’T ADD THEM TO THE OTHER
VERBS!
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To use reflexive verbs in the perfect tense, we do the same thing as MRS VAN DE TRAMP verbs. That is to
say, we use the present tense of être and the past participle. The past participle is formed as normal (ER
becomes é, RE becomes u, IR becomes i).
The only difference is that the reflexive pronoun (se) goes in front of être.
e.g.
Je me suis douché.
I myself am showered / I showered myself
Je me suis réveillé à sept heures et demie.
I myself am woken at half past seven / I woke myself up at half past seven.
Attention! Because these verbs use être, we need to think about the three extra rules!
If you’re talking about something feminine, add an e to the past participle – je me suis habillée
If you’re talking about more than one person/thing, add an s to the past participle – ils se sont levés
If you’re talking about more than one feminine thing, add an es to the past participle – elles se sont
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maquillées
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The imperfect tense is a past tense used for many reasons. You can use it to...
1. describe something that happened regularly in the past
e.g. J’allais chez mes grand-parents tous les week-ends.
I went to my grand-parents’ every weekend.
2. give a description of the past.
e.g. Il faisait beau.
It was sunny.
3. describe how things ‘used to’ be
e.g. Quand j’étais jeune.
When I was young.
4. to translate ‘was/were ...ing’
e.g. Je parlais avec mon ami.
I was talking to my friend.
5. describe something that happened over a long time
e.g. J’habitais en France.
I lived in France.
6. describe something you wanted to do but didn’t.
e.g. Je voulais regarder la télé.
I wanted to watch the TV.
7. give an opinion.
e.g. C’était époustouflant!
It was mind boggling!
To form it, we take the nous form of the verb in the present tense.
e.g.
nous avons
nous faisons
nous regardons
nous finissons
je
tu
il/elle/on
nous
vous
ils/elles
ENDING
ais
ais
ait
ions
iez
aient
ATTENTION ! ETRE has an irregular stem. We use
EXAMPLE
Je avais
Tu faisais
Il/elle/on regardait
Nous finissions
Vous attendiez
Ils/Elles choisissaient
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Chop of the ‘ons’ and add the following endings.
ét. E.g. C’était (it was)
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To make a sentence negative, you always need two parts, usually ne and pas. Like Ant and Dec, ne always
goes on the left and pas is always on the right.
Attention! Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. e.g. J’aime – je n’aime pas.
Present Tense
Ne and pas surround the verb like bullies, making the sentence negative...
Je regarde la télévision
Je ne regarde pas la télévision
I watch TV / I am watching TV
I don’t watch TV / I am not watching TV
For reflexive verbs, ne goes before the reflexive pronoun (me, se etc) and pas goes after the verb as
usual...
Je me lave
Je ne me lave pas
I wash myself
I don’t wash myself
Near Future Tense
Ne and pas surround the present tense of aller – never the infinitive.
Je vais jouer au foot
Je ne vais pas jouer au foot
I am going to play football
I am not going to play football
Simple Future Tense
Ne and pas surround the whole verb.
Je mangerai une pomme.
Je ne mangerai pas de pomme.
I will eat an apple.
I will not eat an apple.
Conditional Tense
Ne and pas surround the whole verb.
Je voudrais un gâteau.
Je ne voudrais pas de gâteau.
I would like a cake.
I wouldn’t like a cake.
Perfect Tense
J’ai regardé la télévision
Je n’ai pas regardé la télévision
I have watched TV
I have not watched TV
Je suis allé au cinéma
Je ne suis pas allé au cinéma
I went to the cinema
I didn’t go to the cinema
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Ne and pas surround the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) – never the past participle.
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For reflexive verbs, ne goes before the reflexive pronoun (me¸se etc) and pas goes after avoir or être as
usual…
Je me suis lavé
Je ne me suis pas lavé
I have washed
I have not washed
Imperfect Tense
Ne and pas surround the whole verb.
Le film était effrayant.
Le film n’était pas effrayant.
The film was scary
The film wasn’t scary
ATTENTION! OTHER NEGATIVES!
Ne… pas
Not
je ne mange pas
I am not eating
Ne… jamais
Never
Il ne fait jamais ses
devoirs
He never does his
homework
Ne… personne
No one
Il n’y personne à la
maison
There is no one at
home
Ne… plus
No more, no longer
Je n’ai plus d’argent
I have no more
money
Ne… rien
Nothing, nor
anything
Elle n’aime rien
She doesn’t like
anything
Ne… ni… ni
Neither nor
Il n’a ni frères ni
sœurs
He has neither
brothers nor sisters
Ne… que
Only
Je n’ai dépensé que
10€ hier
I only spent 10€
yesterday
Ne… aucun(e)
No
Je n’ai aucune idée
I have no idea
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There are other forms of negative listed below. They usually follow the same pattern as ne... pas.
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The tense used to describe possibility in the future.
Conjugation
The changing of a verb from the infinitive.
Imperfect Tense
The tense used to describe the past (see page 11).
Infinitive
The whole form of the verb that you find in the dictionary.
Irregular Verbs
Verbs which don’t follow a pattern. These need to be learnt separately.
Near Future
The tense used to describe what is going to happen.
Perfect Tense
The tense used to describe what has happened in a completed action or a one off
event.
Present Tense
The tense used to describe what’s happening now or what usually happens.
Pronoun
A word used to replace the name of an object (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, etc).
Reflexive Pronoun
The ‘extra’ bit between the pronoun and the verb that’s used to mean ‘oneself’
(me, te, se, nous, vous).
Reflexive Verb
A verb whose action is done to ourselves (e.g. I wash myself).
Regular Verbs
Verbs which follow a pattern.
Simple Future
The tense used to describe what will happen.
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Conditional Tense
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