What are the tenses of French?
French has simple tenses and compound tenses. Compound tenses (like the passé composé or the plus-que-parfait ), contain two verbs: a help verb, (also known as an auxiliary), and a main verb. The French auxiliaries (les auxiliaires) are avoir and être.
What are the different types of French verbs?
We can categorise French verbs into two main categories: action verbs (les verbes d’action) and stative verbs (les verbes d’état). Les verbes d’action (action verbs) are used to talk about an act or an activity performed by the subject of the sentence. These verbs can express an ongoing action or a one-time event.
What are the indicative verb tenses in French?
French Indicative Verb Tenses 1 Présent (present) 2 Imparfait (imperfect) 3 Passé simple (simple past) 4 Passé composé (past perfect) 5 Futur simple (future simple) 6 Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) 7 Passé antérieur (past anterior) 8 Futur antérieur (future anterior) More ...
What is the verb form of the main verb in French?
In the compound tenses, the main verb takes the form of the past participle and follows the auxiliary verb. In the passé récent and the futur proche, the main verb takes the form of the infinitive and follows the conjugated forms of the verbs venir and aller. J’ ai lu un livre passionnant la semaine dernière. I read an exciting book last week.
How many French verbs are there in total?
There are about 370 verbs in this group, though a much smaller number are still in frequent use.
What are the 17 verbs in French?
allé, arrivé, venu, revenu, entré, rentré, descendu, devenu, sorti, parti, resté, retourné, monté, tombé, né et mort.
What are the 20 verbs in French?
Master French conjugation: 20 Most widely used French verbs and their conjugationÊtre (to be)Avoir (to have)Aller (to go)Parler (to speak/talk)Faire (to do)Prendre (to take)Vouloir (to want)Savoir (to know)More items...•
What are 5 verbs in French?
50 Commonly Used French Verbs to Launch You into the LanguageÊtre (to be)Avoir (to have)Aller (to go)Pouvoir (to be able to)Vouloir (to want)Faire (to do)Parler (to speak)Demander (to ask)More items...•
Is suis a verb in French?
In il/elle/on est form, the s is not pronounced. In the vous êtes form, the s is pronounced as a or z to link with the vowel ê in êtes....2.4 The Verb Être.PersonFrenchEnglish1st personJe suisI am2nd personTu esYou are3rd personIl est Elle est On estHe/it is She/it is One/we is
What are the 6 forms of avoir?
j'ai eu.tu as eu.il/elle a eu.nous avons eu.vous avez eu.ils/elles ont eu.
What are the 4 main French verbs?
Big 4 French verbsetre = to be.avoir = to have.aller = to go.faire = to do.
How can I learn French verbs fast?
French Verb Conjugation TipsAlways memorize your french verbs with the subject pronoun that goes along with them. ... Create a spreadsheet for your verbs. ... Write everything down. ... Try changing up the order of the verbs when you memorize them. ... Record yourself saying your conjugations. ... Work with a friend!More items...•
How many verbs do you need to know in French?
Therefore, to be “proficient” in French, you should have around 5,000 words in your active vocabulary.
What are the top 10 French verbs?
Top 10 VerbsÊTRE – to be.AVOIR – to have.FAIRE – to do, to make.DIRE – to say, to tell.ALLER – to go.VOIR – to see.SAVOIR – to know.POUVOIR – can, to be able to.More items...•
What are 10 French words?
Learn Some Common French WordsBonjour = Hello, Good morning.Au revoir = Goodbye.Oui = Yes.Non = No.Merci = Thank you.Merci beaucoup = Thank you very much.Fille = Girl.Garçon = Boy.More items...
What are the 3 types of verbs in French?
French verbs are conventionally divided into three conjugations (conjugaisons) with the following grouping:1st group: verbs ending in -er (except aller, envoyer, and renvoyer).2nd group: verbs ending in -ir, with the gerund ending in -issant.3rd group: verbs ending in -re (with the exception of irregular verbs).
What are the 15 verbs in French?
15 Common French VerbsÊtre – To Be. No one will argue that the verb être (to be) is the most common verb in the French language. ... Avoir – To Have. ... Faire – To Do, To Make. ... Dire – To Say, To Tell. ... Aller - To Go. ... Pouvoir - To Be Able To. ... Vouloir - To Want. ... Devoir – Must, To Have To.More items...•
What are the top 10 French verbs?
Top 10 VerbsÊTRE – to be.AVOIR – to have.FAIRE – to do, to make.DIRE – to say, to tell.ALLER – to go.VOIR – to see.SAVOIR – to know.POUVOIR – can, to be able to.More items...•
What are the 4 main French verbs?
Big 4 French verbsetre = to be.avoir = to have.aller = to go.faire = to do.
What are the types of verbs in French?
French verbs are conventionally divided into three conjugations (conjugaisons) with the following grouping:1st group: verbs ending in -er (except aller, envoyer, and renvoyer).2nd group: verbs ending in -ir, with the gerund ending in -issant.3rd group: verbs ending in -re (with the exception of irregular verbs).
Conjugation
French verbs are conjugated by isolating the stem of the verb and adding an ending. In the first and second conjugation, the stem is easily identifiable from the infinitive, and remains essentially constant throughout the paradigm. For example, the stem of parler ("speak") is parl- and the stem of finir ("finish") is fin-.
Moods
As with English verbs, French verbs have both non-finite moods ( les modes impersonnels ), also called verbals, and finite ones ( les modes personnels ).
Tenses and aspects
The indicative mood has five "simple" ( synthetic) tense-aspect forms, conveying four tenses (times of action) (future, present, past, and future-of-past) and two aspects (fabrics of time) ( perfective, conveying an action viewed in its entirety without its time frame being considered in more detail, and imperfective, conveying an action that occurs repeatedly or continuously).
Voice
Like English, French has two voices, the unmarked active voice and the marked passive voice. As in English, the passive voice is formed by using the appropriate form of "to be" ( être) and the past participle of the main verb.
Temporal auxiliary verbs
In French, all compound tense-aspect forms are formed with an auxiliary verb (either être "to be" or avoir "to have"). Most verbs use avoir as their auxiliary verb. The exceptions are all reflexive verbs and a number of verbs of motion or change of state, including some of the most frequently used intransitive verbs of the language:
Past participle agreement
The past participle is used in three ways in French: as an adjective, in the passive construction, and in the compound tense-aspect constructions. When it is used as an adjective, it follows all the regular adjective agreement rules. In passive constructions, it always agrees with the passive subject.
External links
For a list of words relating to French verbs, see the French verbs category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Verb Tense vs. Verb Mood vs. Verb Voice
Before we really get started, I want to clear up a few grammar definitions because these French explanations aren’t going to be helpful if you don’t understand what the English vocabulary even means. A verb tense shows the time period of the verb.
French Verb Moods
In French, just like in English, l’indicatif is the most commonly used mood. This mood is used to discuss facts and to ask questions. This is your most basic mood, so if you’re going to focus on mastering anything today it should be this one.
French Indicative Verb Tenses
The present tense in the indicative form is used to talk about something happening in the current moment.
French Subjunctive Verb Tenses
As you know, the subjunctive mood is used to talk about uncertain actions, hopes, dreams, etc. In French, there are many phrases that must be followed by the subjunctive mood, so I wanted to share a few of those here first.
French Conditional Verb Tenses
The conditional tense, along with the futur simple, is one of the most uncomplicated French tenses to get the hang of (besides the imperative). The conjugation is constructed with the verb’s infinitive form with – ais, – ais, – ait, – ions, – iez, – aient.
What are the two main categories of verbs in French?
We can categorise French verbs into two main categories: action verbs (les verbes d’action) and stative verbs (les verbes d’état).
What are the auxiliaries in French?
The French auxiliaries (les auxiliaires) are avoir and être. When forming the compound tenses, these verbs are the ones that are conjugated according to the tense and subject. The auxiliary verbs are also negated when forming negative sentences. In a sentence, the auxiliary verb comes first, followed by the past participle of the main verb. Learn how to use these auxiliary verbs correctly on our page dedicated to avoir and être.
What is a verb in French?
What is a verb? Les verbes (verbs) are doing words: they express an action performed by the subject of the sentence (a noun or a pronoun ). In addition to physical actions, verbs can also describe processes, concepts, states and thoughts. Some typical French action verbs include courir. to run.
What are stative verbs in French?
The stative verbs in French are: être. to be.
What is the main verb?
The main verb (le verbe principal) is the one that carries meaning in the sentence. This is in contrast to the auxiliary, which only conveys grammatical information such as tense and person. The main verb can express a state, action, change, event etc. It appears alone when conjugated in the simple tenses (présent, l’imparfait, passé simple, futur simple, conditionnel présent and subjonctif présent).
What is a les verbes d'état?
Les verbes d’état (stative verbs) show that the subject has a particular characteristic; they express a state or manner of being, a change of state or the transformation of one thing or person into something else. They do not express actions nor do they give information about duration.
How to conjugate verbs?
To conjugate verbs, we add different endings to the stem to create conjugated forms as well as the impersonal forms such as the infinitive or the participles. verb stem + ending = conjugated form. To find the stem of a verb, we simply take off the ending from the infinitive (-er, -ir, -re, -oir).
What are the tenses in French?
French tenses include the present, past, and future tenses. They indicate when an action occurs. However, French grammar also uses moods, les modes, to indicate how the speaker feels about the action.
What is an example of a pomme?
Example: J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
What is a good example of a "demain"?
Example: Demain, j’aurai fini mon travail. (Tomorrow, I will have finished my work.)
How many ways to conjugate a verb according to mood and tense?
Each of these moods has different tenses, but some of them aren’t really used anymore. So, although there are over 20 different ways to conjugate a verb according to mood and tense, you don’t need to know all of them to get by.
How long is the French language free trial?
If you’d like to practise your French skills with native speaking teachers, visit our website and sign up for your free 7-day trial. You can experience online group classes with people from across the globe!
When to use subjunctive?
When to use it: The subjunctive is used when you express feelings of doubt or desire. It can also be used to express necessity and judgment.
Is the past imperative or indicative?
Imperative: Past. This tense is very rarely used as you can usually get by with the present imperative. It might seem like a lot to learn, but remember that the indicative present, compound past, and imperfect tenses will actually get you pretty far in a conversation.
Overview
French verbs are a part of speech in French grammar. Each verb lexeme has a collection of finite and non-finite forms in its conjugation scheme.
Finite forms depend on grammatical tense and person/number. There are eight simple tense–aspect–mood forms, categorized into the indicative, subjunctive and imperative moods, with the conditional mood sometimes viewed as an additional category. The eight simple forms can al…
Conjugation
French verbs are conjugated by isolating the stem of the verb and adding an ending. In the first and second conjugation, the stem is easily identifiable from the infinitive, and remains essentially constant throughout the paradigm. For example, the stem of parler ("speak") is parl- and the stem of finir ("finish") is fin-. In the third group, the relationship between the infinitive form and the stem is less consistent, and several distinct stems are needed to produce all the forms in the paradig…
Moods
As with English verbs, French verbs have both non-finite moods (les modes impersonnels), also called verbals, and finite ones (les modes personnels).
The finite moods are the indicative (l'indicatif), the imperative (l'impératif), and the subjunctive (le subjonctif). As discussed below, sometimes the conditional is recognized as a fourth mood. While the rules that determine the correct mood are quite complex, they are simplified and summarize…
Tenses and aspects
The indicative mood has five "simple" (synthetic) tense-aspect forms, conveying four tenses (times of action) (future, present, past, and future-of-past) and two aspects (fabrics of time) (perfective, conveying an action viewed in its entirety without its time frame being considered in more detail, and imperfective, conveying an action that occurs repeatedly or continuously). The tense-aspect forms of the indicative mood in French are called the present (le présent: present t…
Voice
Like English, French has two voices, the unmarked active voice and the marked passive voice. As in English, the passive voice is formed by using the appropriate form of "to be" (être) and the past participle of the main verb.
Temporal auxiliary verbs
In French, all compound tense-aspect forms are formed with an auxiliary verb (either être "to be" or avoir "to have"). Most verbs use avoir as their auxiliary verb. The exceptions are all reflexive verbs and a number of verbs of motion or change of state, including some of the most frequently used intransitive verbs of the language:
• aller — to go
Past participle agreement
The past participle is used in three ways in French: as an adjective, in the passive construction, and in the compound tense-aspect constructions. When it is used as an adjective, it follows all the regular adjective agreement rules. In passive constructions, it always agrees with the passive subject.
In compound tense-aspect forms, more complicated agreement rules apply, reflecting the subtl…
See also
• Romance verbs – shows the development of French verbs from Latin
• English verbs