Author: Jean-Michel Serres

VERBS

Verbs groups

GROUP 1: infinitife ending in -er.
GROUP 2: infinitife ending in -ir, with present participle in -issant.
GROUP 3: infinitife ending in -ir, with present participle in -ant, and infinitive ending in -re.

Six moods

INDICATIVE is the mood of verbs used to ‘indicate’ facts, actions, events, etc.
SUBJUNCTIVE is the mood of verbs having an ‘underlying’ (sub) ‘connection’ (junctive) with something previously stated, particularly a feeling or an emotion.
CONDITIONAL is the mood of verbs tied to a condition.
IMPERATIVE is the mood of verbs expressing commands, wishes, and the like.
PARTICIPLE is the mood of verbs that take part in two natures, at times verbs, at times adjectives.
INFINITIVE is the mood of verbs whose form has a fixed, incariable ending.

Eight tenses of the indicative mood

(4 SIMPLE TENSES one word – 4 COMPOUND TENSES auxiliary + past participle)
présent (present) – passé composé (compound past)
imparfait (imperfect) – plus-que-parfait (past perfect)
futur (future) – futur antérieur (future perfect)
passé simple (simple past) – passé antérieur (past perfect)

Means of 4 simple tense of the indicative mood

THE PRESENT TENSE is used to talk about what is true at the moment, what happens regularly and what happens now.
THE IMPERFECT TENSE is one of the verb tenses used to talk about the past, especially in descriptions, and to say what used to happen.
THE FUTURE TENSE is a verb tense used to talk about something that will happen or will be true.
THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE is used only in literary or formal style equivalent of the passé composé.

The perfect tense (Passé composé or past indefinite tense)

THE PERFECT is one of the verb tenses used in French talk about the past, especially about actions that took place and were completed in the past.
THE PERFECT TENSE is the tense you will need most to talk about things that have happened or were true in the past. It is used to talk about actions that took place and completed in the past.
The tense has two parts to it. The present tense of the verb avoir or être. + A part of the main verb called THE PAST PARTICIPLE.
Below is the verbs which form their perfect tense with être instead of avoir.
(a group of verbs that are mainly used to talk about movement or a change of some kind, including these ones.)
aller – to go
venir – to come
arriver – to arrive, to happen
partir – to leave, to go
descendre – to go down, to come down, to get off
monter – to go up, to come up
entrer – to go in, to come in
sortir – to go out, to come out
mourir – to die
naître – to be born
devenir – to become
rester – to stay
tomber – to fall

The subjunctive mood

The subjunctive is a verb form that is used in certain circumstances to express some sort of feeling, or to show there is doubt about whether something will happen or whether something is true.
In French the subjunctive is used after certain verbs and conjunctions when two parts of a sentence have different subject.
PRERENT SUBJUNCTIVE TENSE
Present subjunctive tense is to express actions or ideas which are subjective or otherwise uncertain: will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgement.
PAST SUBJUNCTIVE TENSE
(subjunctive of avoir or être + past participle)
Past subjunctive tense is used when the verb in the subordinate clause – the verb that follows que – happened before the verb in the main clause.
IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE TENSE
The imperfect subjunctive is literary verb. Used in a subordinate clause when the main clause is in the past. Its non-literary equivalent is the present subjective.
PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE TENSE
(imperfect subjunctive of avoir or être + past participle)
Pluperfect subjunctive tense is a literary equivalent of the past subjective. It has an identical twin, the second form of the conditional perfect, which is used in literary si clauses.

The conditional mood

The conditional is a verb form used to talk about the things that would happen pr that would be true under certain conditions. (would) It is also used to say what you would like or need. (could, should)
This mood mentions the conditions below.
Asking for something formally and politely, especially in shops.
Saying what you would like.
Making a suggestion.
Giving advice.
PRESENT CONDITIONAL TENSE
(stem of future tense + endings of imperfect tense)
Present conditional tense is to talk about things that would happen or that would be true under conditions. (would)
It to say what you would like or need. (could, should)
PAST CONDITIONAL TENSE
(conditional of avoir or être + past participle)
Past conditional tense is to express action that would have occurred if in the past circumstances had been different.
The result clause in si clause with the unmet condition in the past perfect.
Be used in a sentence where the unmet condition only implied. Express an unrealized desire in the past.

The imperative mood

An IMPERATIVE is a form of the verb used when giving orders and instructions.
(PRONOUN – GROUP 1 VERBS / GROUP 2 VERBS / GROUP 3 VERBS)
tu – donne / finis / attends
nous – donnons / finissons / attendons
vous – donnez / finissez / attendez

Imperative forms of irregular verbs

(PRONOUN – avoir / être / savoir / vouloir)
tu – aie / sois / sache / veuille
nous – ayons / soyons / sachons / veuillons
vous – ayez / soyez / sachez / veuillez

The participle mood

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE is a verb form engine in -ing used in English to form verb tense, and which may be used as an adjective or a noun.
To form the present participle of regular -er, -ir and -re verbs, you use the nous form of the present sense and replace the -ons ending with -ant.
donnons – donnant
finissons – finissant
descendons – descendant
Three verbs below have an irregular present participle.
avoir – ayant
être – étant
savoir – sachant
THE PAST PARTICIPLE
(INFINITIVE – TAKE OFF A SUFFIX + ADD A SUFFIX = PAST PARTICIPLE)
donner – donn- + -é = donné
finir – fin- + -i = fini
attendre – attend- + -u = attendu

The infinitive mood

The mood of verbs used to ‘indicate’ facts, actions, events, etc.

Reflexive verbs

s’amuser – to play, to enjoy oneself
s’appeler – be called
s’arrêter – to stop
s’asseoir – to sit down
se baigner – to go swimming
se coucher – to go to bed
se dépêcher – hurry
s’habiller – to get dressed
s’intéresser à – to be interested in
se laver – to wash, to have, to wish
se lever – to get up, to rise, to stand up
se passer – to take place, to happen, to go
se promener – to go for a walk
se rappeler – to remember
se réveiller – to wake up
se trouver – to be (situated)
(SUBJECT PRONOUN – REFLEXIVE PRONOUN = MEANING)
je – me (m’) = myself
tu – te (t’) = yourself
ill, elle, on – se (s’) = himself, herself, itself, oneself
nous – nous = ourselves
vous – vous = yourself, yourselves
ils, elles – se (s’) = themselves

Passive voice

The passive in English is usually similarly in French with the auxiliary verb être plus the past particle. This construction occurs most frequently in the compound past (use compound past of être + past participle) and future (use future of être + past participle).
There is a very important difference between French and English in sentences containing an indirect object. In English we can quite easily turn a normal (active) sentence with an indirect object into a passive sentence.
IMPERFECT: j’étais aimé(e) – I was loved
FUTURE: tu seras aimé(e) – you will be loved
PERFECT: il a été aimé – he was loved
The passive voice are not as common in French. There are two ways that express the same idea.
1. By using the pronoun on (someone or they) with a normal active verb.
2. By using a reflexive verb.

NEGATIVES

Negative word order

To make a sentence negative, place ne before the verb and pas after it.
ne… pas – not
ne… rien – nothing, not… anything
ne… personne – nobody, no one, not… anybody, not… anyone
ne… jamais – never, not… ever
ne… plus – no longer, no more, not… any longer, not… any more
non plus – neither

QUESTIONS

4 ways of asking questions

1. By making your voice go up at the end of the sentence.
2. By using the phrase est-ce-que.
3. By changing round the order of words in a sentence. (Inversion)
4. By using question word.

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CONJUNCTIONS

Coordinating conjuctions

et – and
mais – but
ou – or
parce que – because
si – if
car – for
comme – as
donc – so, therefore
lorsque – when
quand – when
ne…ni…ni… – neither…nor…
ou…ou, ou bien…out bien… – either…or
que – that, as, than
pendant – while

ADVERBS

How to form adverbs in French

Adverbs are formed in French in much the same way, except that the ending added to the adjective is -ment. This is added to the masculine singular form of the adjective, provided that that form ends in a vowel. If it does not end in a vowel, the -ment is added to the feminine singular adjective.
MASCULINE SINGULAR / FEMININE SINGULAR – ADVERB IN -MENT
désespéré / désespérée – désespérément
facil / facile – facilement
fin / fine – finement
gai / gaie – gaiement
général / générale – généralement
gentil / (gentille) – gentiment
joli / (jolie) – joliment
vrai / vraie – vraiment
commun / commune – communément
obscur / obscure – obscurément
précis / précise – précisément

Irregular adverbs

bon / bonne – bien
mauvais / mauvaise – mal
meilleur / meilleure – mieux
petit / petite – peu
pire / (pire) – pis

Interrogative adverbs

combien – how much, how many
comment – how
où – where
pourquoi – why
quand – when
combien de temps – how long
depuis combien – how long
dans combien de temps – how long before, how long until
après combien de temps – how long (it will be) until, before how long (was it) until, before how long (would it be) until, before (other tenses as needed)
en combien de temps – how long… take (any tense)
pour combien de temps – for how long, how long… intend to…
combien de – how much, how many (with noun)
comment se fait-il que (+ subjunctive) – how come, how does it happen that
d’où – from where, where
jusqu’où – how far
par où – which way, in what direction
(mais) pourquoi donc – (but) why on the earth
de quand (date) – what is the date of origin
jusqu’à quand – how long (with future), until when
après quand – after what date, at what time
à partir de quand – starting when, at what time
depuis quand – how long (with past tense), since when

Comparative adverbs

plus… (que) – more… (than)
mois… (que) – less… (than)
aussi.. (que) – as… as

Superlative adverbs

le plus… (que) – the most… (that)
le mois… (que) – the least… (that)

Adverbs with irregular comparatives and superlatives

(ADVERB / COMPARATIVE / SUPERLATIVE)
beaucoup / plus / le plus
bien / mieux / le mieux
mal / pis, plus mal / le pis, le plus mal
peu / mois / le mois

ci and là

Ci indicates proximity, là indicates distance. Both are used in the formation of adverbial expressions as well.
ci-après – hereafter
ci-contre – opposite
ci-dessous – hereafter, below
ci-dessus – aphorisme, above
ci-devant – formerly
là-bas – over there
là-haut – up there
là-dedans – in there, therein
là-dessous – under there, thereunder
là-dessus – on there, thereon, thereupon
par-ci par-là, de-ci de-là, ici et là, ça et là
Comme ci, comme ça. – SO-so.
par là – that way, in that direction, by that, by those words
de là – from there, thence
ici is the opposite of là.

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DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

Forms

(SINGULAR MASCULINE / SINGULAR FEMININE – PLURAL MASCULINE / PLURAL FEMININE)
celui-ci / celle-ci – ceux-ci / celles-ci
celui-là / celle-là – ceux-là / celles-là

Neuter forms

this – ceci
that – cela
that (informal) – ça
this, that, it – ce

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

Forms

(SINGULAR MASCULINE / SINGULAR FEMININE – PLURAL MASCULINE / PLURAL FEMININE)
aucun / aucune – (aucuns) / (aucunes)
autre / autre – autres / autres
autrui / NO – NO / NO
NO / NO – certains / certaines
chacun / chacune – NO / NO
nul / nulle – (nuls) / (nulles)
on / NO – NO / NO
personne / personne – NO/NO
NO / NO – plusieurs / plusieurs
quelque chose / NO – NO / NO
quelqu’un / quelqu’une – quelques-uns / quelques-unes
qui / qui – NO / NO
quoi / NO – NO / NO
quiconque / quiconque – NO / NO
rien / NO – NO / NO
tel / telle – NO / NO
tout / NO – tous / toutes

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Short forms

(ANTECEDENT – SUBJECT / DIRECT OBJECT / AFTER PREPOSITIONS)
for persons – qui / qui / …qui
for things – (quoi) / que / …quoi

Long forms

m. lequel – lesquels
f. laquelle – lesquelles
WITH THE PREPOSITION à
m. auquel – auxquels
f. à laquelle – auxquelles
WITH THE PREPOSITION de
m. duquel – desquels
f. de laquelle – desquelles

Forms with est-ce que

(SUBJECT / DIRECT OBJECT / AFTER PREPOSITION)
for person – qui est-ce qui, lequel est-ce qui / qui est-ce que, lequel est-ce que / …qui est-ce que, lequel est-ce que
for things – qu’est-ce qui, lequel est-ce qui / qu’est-ce que, lequel est-ce que / …quoi est-ce que, …lequel est-ce que

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

(PERSON – SUBJECT / DIRECT OBJECT / INDIRECT OBJECT / REFLEXIVE RECIPROCAL // DISJUNCTIVE)

1ST SINGULAR – je / me / me / me // moi
2ND SINGULAR – tu / te / te / te // toi
3RD SINGULAR – il (elle) / le (la) / lui / se // lui (elle, soi)
1ST PLURAL – nous / nous / nous / nous // vous
2ND PLURAL – vous / vous / vous / vous // vous
3RD PLURAL – ils (elles) / les / leur / se // eux (elles, soi)

ADBERBIAL PRONOUNS

en and y

en is used with verbs and phrases normally followed by de to avoid repeating same word.
en can also replace the partitive article (du, de la, de l’, des)
en is also used as a preposition, and with the present participle verbs.
y is used with verbs and phrases normally followed à to avoid repeating the same word.
y can also mean ‘there’. It can be used to replace phrases that would use prepositions such as dans and sur.
In orders and instructions telling someone to do something, en or y come after the verb and are attached to it with a hyphen.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

(ENGLISH = SINGULAR MASCULINE / SINGULAR FEMININE – PLURAL MASCULINE / PLURAL FEMININE)
mine = le mien / le mienne – les miens / les miennes
yours = le tien / la tienne – les tiens / les tiennes
his, hers, its = le sien / la sienne – les siens / les siennes
ours = le nôtre / la nôtre – les nôtres / les nôtres
yours = le vôtre / la vôtre – les vôtres / les vôtres
theirs = le leur / la leur – les leurs / les leurs
RELATIVE PRONOUNS

(ANTECEDENT – SUBJECT / DIRECT OBJECT / OBJECT OF PREPOSITION / OBJECT OF de)
person – qui / que / qui, lequel / dont
not a person – qui / que / lequel / dont
indefinite or ce – qui / que / quoi / dont

Means and kinds of indirect question interrogatives

comment – how
combien – how much, now many
si – if
quel – what (adjective)
ce qui, ce que, ce dont, quoi – what (pronoun)
quand – when
où – where
si – whether
quel – which (adjective)
lequel – which (pronoun)
qui – who
qui – whom (direct object)
qui – whom (with preposition)
de qui, à qui – whose
pourquoi – why

PREPOSITIONS

Means and kinds of prepositions

à – at, in, to , from…to (de…à), on, with (by, ~’s, for, about, See you)
de – from, from…to… (de…à…), of, (in the, to, on, about)
en – in, to, by, of, on, while…-ing, (en…ant)
après – after
avant – before
avec – with
chez – at, to, near
contre – against
dans – in, into
depuis – since, for
derrière – in front of
entre…et – between…and
jusque – as for as, until
par – by, with, per
pendant – during, for
pour – for, in order to
sans – without
saut – except
sous – except
sur – on
vers – towards (a place), at about
voici – this is, here is
voilà – there is, that is

Prepositions with geographical name

WITH FEMININE NAMES – En (En France. En Angleterre. En Floride.)
WITH MASCULINE NAMES – au (Au Japon. Au Canada. Au Texas.)
WITH PLURAL NAMES – aux (Aux États-Unis. Aux Philippines.)

in, to, from, with geographical names

(NAME – IN, TO / FROM – EXAMPLES)
masculine singular, masculine plural – au, aux / du, des – Canada, Japon, Pérou, États-Unis
feminine singular, feminine plural – en, aux / de, des – France, Italie, Floride, Philippines, Açores, Baléares
cities, some islands – à / de – Rome, Cuba

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