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Grammar review · Regular verbs
Most verbs in French are regular -er verbs. Others are regular -ir or -re verbs or are irregular.
Formation
Grammar | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -er verbs | -ir verbs | -re verbs | ||||
| Stem: | parl… | fin… | vend… | |||
| Subject | Ending | Example | Ending | Example | Ending | Example |
| Je | -e | parle | -is | finis | -s | vends |
| Tu | -es | parles | -is | finis | -s | vends |
| Il | -e | parle | -it | finit | - | vend |
| Nous | -ons | parlons | -issons | finissons | -ons | vendons |
| Vous | -ez | parlez | -issez | finissez | -ez | vendez |
| Ils | -ent | parlent | -issent | finissent | -ent | vendent |
Common regular verbs
| -er verbs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aimer |  | to like | J’aime beaucoup ce tableau. | I love this painting. | |
| arriver | | to arrive, to happen | On va arriver à Paris vers 9 heures. | We will arrive in Paris around 9 o'clock. | |
| chercher | | to look for | Je cherche du boulot. | I'm looking for some work. | |
| demander | | to ask (for) | Je vous demande votre amitié. | I ask for your friendship. | |
| donner | | to give | J'ai donné le paquet au voiturier. | I gave the package to the carrier. | |
| écouter | | to listen to | J’écoute la radio. | I listen to the radio. | |
| entrer | | to enter | Il entre dans la salle. | He's entering the room. | |
| parler | | to speak, to talk | Zoé parle couramment le français. | Zoé speaks French fluently. | |
| passer | | to pass, to spend (time) | On va passer la loi. | We're going to pass the law. | |
| porter | | to carry, to wear | Quentin porte un sac de blé. | Quentin is carrying a bag of wheat. | |
| regarder | | to watch | |||
| sembler | | to seem, to resemble | Voilà ce qui me semble le plus probable. | That is what seems most likely. | |
| trouver | | to find, to surprise | Je l’ai cherché, et enfin je l’ai trouvé. | I searched for it and finally I found it. | |
| -ir verbs | |||||
| finir | | to finish | |||
| -re verbs | |||||
| attendre | | to wait | J’attends mon cousin à la gare. | I am waiting for my cousin at the station. | |
| entendre | | to hear | Elle entend des voix. | She hears voices. | |
| rendre | | to make, to pay (a visit) | Tu me rends malade. | You make me ill. | |
| répondre | | to answer | Je vais répondre aux questions que tu m'as posé. | I'm going to answer the questions that you asked me. | |
Dialogue
Culture · National holidays and events in France
| Date | English name | Local name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day | Premier de l'an / Jour de l' an | |
| moveable | Good Friday | Vendredi Saint | Friday Before Easter (observed only in Alsace and Moselle) |
| moveable | Easter Monday | Lundi de Pâques | Monday after Easter (1 day after Easter) |
| 1 May | May Day/Labour Day | Fête du Travail | |
| 8 May | Victory in Europe Day | Victoire 1945 | End of hostilities in Europe in World War II |
| moveable | Ascension Day | Ascension | Thursday, 39 days after Easter |
| moveable | Whit Monday | Lundi de Pentecôte | Monday after Pentecost (49 days after Easter) |
| 14 July | Bastille Day | Fête Nationale | National Day |
| 15 August | Assumption of Mary to Heaven | Assomption | |
| 1 November | All Saints' Day | Toussaint | |
| 11 November | Veterans Day Armistice Day Remembrance Day | Armistice 1918 | End of World War I |
| 25 December | Christmas Day | Noël | |
| 26 December | St. Stephen's Day | Saint Etienne | Observed only in Alsace and Moselle |
Please take a look here, to have all the dates (French Overseas Departments (DOM) added).
Culture · Popular myths and stories in France
Grammar · To believe and to see · Croire et voir
Croire
Croire is an irregularly conjugated -re verb.
croire  | to believe |
|---|---|
| je crois /kʁwa/ (krwah) | I believe |
| tu crois /kʁwa/ (krwah) | you believe |
| il croit /kʁwa/ (krwah) | he believes |
| nous croyons /kʁwa.jɔ̃/ (kro-yuhoh(n)) | we believe |
| vous croyez /kʁwa.je/ (kro-yuhay) | you believe |
| ils croient /kʁwa/ (krwah) | they believe |
| cru | believed |
The verb recroireto re-believe /ʁə.kʁwaʁ/ is conjugated in the same way as croire.
Voir
Voir is an irregularly conjugated -re verb.
| voire | to see |
|---|---|
| je vois /vwɑ/ (vwah) | I see |
| tu vois /vwɑ/ (vwah) | you see |
| il voit /vwɑ/ (vwah) | he sees |
| nous voyons /vo.jɔ̃/, /vwa.jɔ̃/ (voh-yuhoh(n), vwah-yuhoh(n)) | we see |
| vous voyez /vo.je/, /vwa.je/ (voh-yuhay, vwah-yuhay) | you see |
| ils voient /vwɑ/ (vwah) | they see |
| vu /vy/ (vew) | seen |
The verbs prévoir /pʁevwaʁ/, meaning to anticipate or to forecast, and revoir /ʁǝ.vwaʁ/, meaning to see again or to re-examine, are conjugated the same way as voir.
The following nouns, adjectives, and phrases are derived from voir:
| la voyance | /la vwa.jɑ̃s/ (lah vwah-yuhah(n)s) | mind reading |
| le voyeur | /lə vwa.jœʁ/ (luh vwah-yuhewr) | observer, watcher |
| n'y voir que du feu | to be totally hoodwinked to not spot a thing to be taken in | |
| prévu(e)(s) | | planned, expected |
| prévisible(s) | | foreseeable, predictable |
| la revue | | magazine |
| Voyons ! | /vo.jɔ̃/, /vwa.jɔ̃/ (voh-yuhoh(n), vwah-yuhoh(n)) | Really!, Yeah right!, Come on! |
Examples
| Je vois ma mère là. | I see my mother over there. | |
| Nous voyons la mer pour la première fois. | We’re seeing the sea for the first time. | |
| J’ai vu ce film. | I’ve seen this film. | |
| Au revoir. | Until [we] see [each other] again. |
Vocabulary · Religions
| la religion | | religion |
| le christianisme | /lə kʁis.tja.nism/ (luh krees-tyuhah-neesm) | Christianity |
| l'islam | | Islam |
| le judaïsme | /lə ʒy.da.ism/ (luh zhew-dah-eesm) | Judaism |
| le chrétien la chrétienne | /la kʁe.tjɛn/ (lah kray-tyuhehn) | Christian |
| le musulman la musulmane | /lə my.zyl.mɑ̃/ (luh mew-zewl-mah(n)) /la my.zyl.man/ (lah mew-zewl-mahn) | Muslim |
| le juif la juive | /lə ʒɥif/ (luh zheweef) /la ʒɥiv/ (lah zheweev) | Jew |
| l'athée (m) | | atheist |
Vocabulary · Birthdays · Anniversaires
| l'anniversaire (m) | | birthday, anniversary | C'est mon onzième anniversaire. Le deuxième anniversaire de notre mariage. | It's my eleventh birthday. Our second wedding anniversary. | |
| Quel âge as-tu ? Quel âge avez-vous ? | How old are you? | ||||
| J'ai ____ ans. | I am ____ years old. | lit: I have ___ years. | |||
| le gâteau (au chocolat) | | (chocolate) cake | |||
| le cadeau | | gift | |||
| la bougie | | candle | |||
| la fête | | party | |||
| inviter | | to invite | Le beau temps nous invite à la promenade. | The good weather invites us to take a walk. | |
| donner une fête | to throw a party |
Grammar
Vocabulary · Relationships
| le mari | | husband | |||
| la femme | | wife | |||
| le/la fiancé(e) | | fiancee | |||
| le/la partenaire | | partner | |||
| un amant | | lover |
Supplementary vocabulary · Popular mythical and fictional characters
| le père Noël | | Santa Claus | |||
| Marianne | | the personification of the republic | |||
| Cendrillion | Cinderella | ||||
| La Belle au bois dormant | | Sleeping Beauty | La version de La Belle au bois dormant que Jacob et Wilhelm Grimm ont publié est postérieure à celle de Charles Perrault. | The version of The Sleeping Beauty that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published is after that of Charles Perrault. | |
| Blanche-Neige | | Snow White | |||
| Le Petit Chaperon rouge | | Little Red Riding Hood | |||
| Le Petit Poucet | Hop-o'-My-Thumb | ||||
| Le Chat botté | Puss in Boots |
Supplementary vocabulary · Holidays
| le Nouvel An | | New Year's Day | 1 janvier |
| la Fête du Travail | Labor Day | 1 mai | |
| jour de l'Armistice | Memorial Day, Armistice Day | ||
| la fête nationale | | Bastille Day | 14 juillet |
| le Réveillon | Christmas Eve | 24 décembre | |
| Noël | | Christmas, Yule | 25 décembre |
Supplementary usage notes · To give · Donner
Donner /dɔ.ne/ is a common verb which usually means to give:
- J'ai donné le paquet au voiturier. - I gave the package to the carrier.
Similarly to English, it can also have other meanings, such as to produce, to cause, to present, to pay, to establish, to attribute, to publish, or to administer:
- Cette grande fatigue lui a donné la fièvre. - This great weariness gave him a fever.
- Le professeur donne une conférence. - The professor is lecturing. (The professor is giving a lecture.)
- Il me donne de la joie. - It gives me joy.
Examples
| Donnez-nous à manger. | Give us something to eat. | ||
| Donnez-moi le loisir d’y penser. | Give me time to think. | lit: Give me the leisure of thinking. | |
| Vous êtes bien aimable de nous donner votre soirée. | You are very kind to give us your evening. | ||
| Elle lui a donné beaucoup d’enfants. | She gave him many children. | ||
| Cette école a donné des peintres célèbres. | This school produced famous painters. | ||
| Donnez-nous-en la preuve. | Give us proof (of it) . | ||
| Olivier a donné une relation de son voyage. | Olivier gave an account of his journey. | ||
| Il donne un ouvrage au public. | He publishes a work. | ||
| On lui donne tout le blâme. | We give him all the blame. | ||
| Quel âge donnez-vous à cette personne ? | What age do you give (attribute to) this person? | ||
| Combien donnez-vous à vos domestiques par mois ? | How much do you give your servants per month? | ||
| On lui donne mille francs. | We give (pay) him a thousand francs. | ||
| Donnez-en un exemple. | Give an example (of it) . | ||
| Robert va donner une réponse. | Robert is going to give a response. | ||
| Il donne des avis et des conseils. | He gives guidance and advice. | ||
| Elle va vous donner une tâche. | She's going to give you a task. |
Text
Exercises
Supplementary exercises
ExerciseDonner translations
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate each sentence into English.
| Je vais donner une soirée. | I'm going to give a formal party. |
| On lui a donné les remèdes. | We gave him the remedies. |
| Il va donner les papiers à un notaire. | He's going to give the papers to a notary. |
| Sa femme lui a donné un fils. | His wife gave him a son. |
| Je lui ai donné une leçon à étudier. | I gave him a lesson to study. |
| Donnez-moi du temps. | Give me some time. |
| Le prêtre donne un sermon. | The priest is giving a sermon. |
French : Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts
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