Tenses, moods, aspect, voice, person Flashcards
article
the/a/an
a word that is used with a noun (as a standalone word or a prefix or suffix) to specify grammatical definiteness of the noun
types: Definite Indefinite Proper Partitive Negative Zero
Article, definite
used to refer to a particular member of a group or class.
“THE children (specific) know the fast way home,” as opposed to “Children (general) know the fast way home.”
le, la, les
group or class
article, Indefinite
indicates that the article’s noun is not a particular one identifiable to the listener
un, une, des
article, negative
specifies none of its noun, and can thus be regarded as neither definite nor indefinite.
un, une become de, d’ in negative sentences after “ne… pas…”
«Il a une voiture.» - «Non, il n’a pas de voiture!»
ATTENTION:
This rule does NOT apply to sentences using the verb être, with which the indefinite article doesn’t change:
«Mon chien n’est pas un labrador.»
EXCEPTION:
When you want to emphasise the meaning of ONE (un/une) - not just a/an - as in He doesn’t have ONE car, but TWO, you will keep un/une in the negative sentence - but here it doesn’t mean no/any:
«Ils n’ont pas une maison, mais deux !»
—————————— partitive articles (du, de la, de l', des) in affirmative sentence become simply de or d’ in negative sentences.
Je mange des pommes. - Je ne mange pas de pommes.
I eat apples. - I don’t eat any apples.
Je bois du lait. - Je ne bois pas de lait.
I drink milk. - I don’t drink any milk.
J’ai des animaux. - Je n’ai pas d’animaux.
I’ve got (some) animals. -Me, I don’t have any animals.
Nous avons bu de la bière. - Nous n’avons pas bu de bière.
We drank beer. - We didn’t drink any beer.
Vous mangez de la viande ? - Non, nous ne mangeons jamais de viande.
Do you eat meat? - No, we never eat meat.
Tu fais encore de la natation ? - Non, je ne fais plus de natation.
Do you still go swimming? - No, I don’t go swimming anymore.
Notice that du, de la, de l’, & des all become de or d’ (in front of a vowel or mute h) in negative sentences using ne…pas, ne…jamais, ne…plus
article, Parative
used to indicate an indefinite portion of something uncountable, or an indefinite number of something countable
Often translated as ‘some,’ but frequently simply omitted in English.
du, de la, de l’, des
Like the indefinite article, the partitive article becomes de (or d’ if before a vowel) after a negative verb other than être and before a plural noun preceded by an adjective: « Il prend de l’eau » (“He takes some water”)
Aspect
Describes HOW and action, event, or state, denoted by a verbs, extends over time.
Examples: perfect/preterite, imperfect, continuous/progressive, habitual
Clause
a unit of grammatical organization said to consist of a subject and predicate.
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition.
“Mike (subject) went home (predicate)”
Conditional (mood)
Conditionnel
would/could/uncertainty/
Demonstratives
Demonstratives show where an object, event, or person is in relation to the speaker.
Demonstrative ADJECTIVES
Demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate a specific noun or nouns.
M B4Vowel Fem this, that ce cet cette these,those ces ces ces
To clarify proximity, you can add an ending
- ci = “this” or “these”
- là = “that” or “those”
Demonstrative PRONOUNS
Replace a specific noun that was mentioned previously.
M F this/that one celui celle these/those/the ones ceux celles
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F: C’est une bonne idée, et j’aime celle de Paul aussi.
E: That’s a good idea, and I like Paul’s too (literally, “the one of Paul”)
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F: Pour ceux qui sont dans le besoin
E: For the needy (literally, “for those who are in need”)
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Determiner
a word, phrase, or affix that occurs together with a noun or noun phrase and serves to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. That is, a determiner may indicate whether the noun is referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class, to a closer or more distant element, to an element belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc.
This, that My, their Many, few each, any which
determiner, demonstrative
This or that.
ce, cette, ces
To be MORE precise (or to avoid ambiguity), -ci or -là can be inserted after the noun:
cet homme-ci “this man”
cet homme-là “that man”
determiner, interrogative
Which or what
quel, quelle
quels, quelles
NOTE:
Quel can be used as an exclamation.
« Quel film ! » (What a movie!)
« Quelle gentillesse ! » (What kindness!)
“interrogative” has same root as interrogate, which means to ask a question.
determiner, possessive
used to indicate the possessor of the noun they determine.
Mon, ma, mes notre, nos ton, ta, tes votre, vos Son, sa, ses leur, leurs
determiner, quantifier
a determiner that quantifies its noun, like English “some” and “many”.
In French, most quantifiers are formed using a noun or adverb of quantity and the preposition de (d’ when before a vowel).
Quantifiers formed with a noun of quantity and the preposition de include the following:
- des tas de (“lots of”, lit: “piles of”)
- trois kilogrammes de (“three kilograms of”)
- une bouchée de (“a mouthful of”)
- une douzaine de (“a dozen (of)”)
Quantifiers formed with an adverb of quantity and the preposition de include the following:
- beaucoup de (“a lot of”)
- un peu de (“a little,” “a few”)
- peu de (“little,” “few”)
- assez de, suffisamment de (“enough of”)
- pas de (“no,” “not any”)
Other quantifiers include:
- bien + the partitive article (“much” or “many”)
- quelque(s) (“some”)
Future perfect
le futur antérieur
“I/you/he/she/we WILL have…”
future simple
le futur simple
“I/he/she/you/they WILL…”
I will….
Imparative (mood)
L’impératif
Commands or orders.
Indicative (mood)
L’indicatif
Basically ‘no mood,’ or the standard conjugation of the verb (past, present, and future)
Infinitive
Infinitif
Unconjugated verb form
From latin ‘infinitus’ meaning ‘infinite’ or ‘unlimited’
Mood vs Tense
Grammatical mood reflects a speaker’s attitude toward a statement.
Mood describes HOW and action takes place, not when.
statement.
Object
The entity acted upon by the subject
(actor) of the verb.
Participle
-ING verbs.
A word having aspects of both a
verb and an adjective.
eg) working (i am working, i am a working man)
From latin ‘participium’ meaning ‘sharing’
verb and an a
Past imperfect
l’imparfait
Past actions which occurred regularly or which where ongoing.
From latin “not ‘perfectum’ “ or ‘not completed’
Past participle
Participe passé
Verb conjugation used in compound verbs, passive voice, and adjectives.
Broken, completed, etc.
Past perfect
Plus-que-parfait. Pluperfect.
HAD +
AVOIR or ÊTRE +
(perfect from latin ‘perfectum’ meaning ‘completed’)
Predicate
the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject
(e.g., ‘WENT HONE’ in “John went home” ).
Preposition
Prepositions indicate relationships between other words in a sentence.
ORIGIN: ‘of’
INTENT: ‘for’ ‘into’
Many prepositions tell you where something is or when something happened.
TIME: ‘since’
LOCATION: ‘at’
SPACE: ‘under’
at, in: à, à+le = au, à+les = aux
after: après
before: avant
with: avec
against: contre
in(side): dans
of/from: de, de+le=du, de+les=des
since/from: depuis
behind: derrière
in front of: devant
in: en
between/among: entre
towards: envers (as in nice toward someone) vers is for movement
approximately/roughly: environ
by/through: par
during: pendant
for: pour
without: sans
except: sauf
depending on/according to: selon
under(neath): sous
on: sur
toward: vers
past preterite
Passé simple. Simple past tense.
From latin PRAETER, meaning past or beyond
Fr
Reflexive verb
a verb whose direct object (the enitiy acted upon) is the same as its subject (the word/thing which controls the verb).
Subject
The word/thing controling the verb.
Subjunctive (mood)
Describes a wish, possibility, judgement, opinion, obligation, or uncertainty.
Subjective situations/opinions, not
for objective facts.
In contrasts with the indicative mood, which is the standard mood (he walks, they run, etc.)
From larin ‘subiunctivus’ meaning ‘serving to join’ or ‘connection’ the hypothetical with the real.
for objective facts.
Voice
Grammatical voice describes the relationship between the action (or state) that the verb expresses and the participants identified by its arguments (subject, object, etc.)
Examples: passive voice, active voice
