Explanatory Notes Flashcards
What are les verbes d’état?
- “Stative verbs”
Instead of describing an action, they show that a subject has a characteristic.
(They express a state or manner of being, a change of state, or a transformation.)
List the 8 verbes d’état
avoir l’air (to seem)
demeurer (to reside)
devenir (to become)
être (to be)
paraître (to appear)
passer pour (to pretend)
rester (to stay)
sembler (to seem)
What is a grammatical mood (or mode) in French?
They indicate the tone of the sentence and the speaker’s intention.
(They show whether the sentence is a request, a wish, a hypothesis, a doubt, a command etc.)
What is a verb tense in French grammar?
It expresses the time in which an action takes place.
What does the indicative mood express?
An action, event, or state that occurs in reality.
What does the subjunctive mood express?
A possibility, a hypothesis, a feeling, a thought, a wish, a doubt, uncertainty or advice.
(Emphasises the subjectivity of a sentence).
What does the conditional mood express?
Possible outcomes in relation to a condition.
What does the imperative mood express?
Orders and advice to one or more people.
Name the three impersonal moods.
L’infinitif, le gerondif, and le participe
What do the three impersonal moods have in common?
They’re not conjugated in any tense.
They do not provide information about when the action takes place or who performs it.
What are compound verb tenses?
Verb tenses that are made up of an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) plus the main verb.
In compound tenses, is it the auxiliary verb or the main verb that is conjugated according to time and person?
The auxiliary.
In compound tenses, is it the auxiliary verb or the main verb that is negated?
The auxiliary.
What form does the main verb take in compound tenses?
The past participle.
For which verbs is être the auxiliary in compound tenses?
- All reflexive verbs.
- DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs when they are used without a direct object.
(devenir, rester, apparaître, (re)monter, revenir, sortir, venir, aller, naître, descendre, (r)entrer, rester**, tomber, retourner, arriver, mourir, partir)
State main verb endings of the participe passé for the following regular verb groups in past compound tenses:
* -er
* -ir
* -re
- -er ends in é
- -ir ends in i
- -re ends in u
In negative sentences, where does the main verb of a compound tense come?
After the second part of the negation (pas).
In negative sentences, where does the pronoun of a reflexive verb come?
After the first part of the negation (ne) and before the auxiliary verb (avoir/être).
Is there a pattern for constructing le participe passé for irregular verbs?
No. You have to learn each one individually.
When does the main verb in a compound tense have to agree in gender and number with the subject?
When the verb takes être as its auxiliary.
Under what conditions does the main verb in a compound tense need to agree in gender and number with a direct object?
I. the main verb must have avoir as its auxiliary.
II. The direct object must come before the verb in one of these cases:
a) a personal pronoun
b) the relative pronoun que
c) a noun placed before the verb (usually in questions and exclamations)
