Verb conjugation: rules

Question 1

The participe passé of verbs ending in -er is always…

Answer 1

• é.
• J’ai mangé
• Tu as mangé
• Il/elle/on mangé
• Nous avons mangé
• Vous avez mangé
  -Ils/elles ont mangé

Question 2

In verbs ending with -ir, the participe passé is usually…

Answer 2

-i.

Finir - fini
Grandir - grandi
Choisir - choisi
Dormir - dormi

Question 3

In verbs ending with -dre, the participe passé is usually…

Answer 3

-u.

Repondre - repondu
Entendre - entendu
Attendre - attendu

Question 4

How are reflexive verbs always conjugated?

Answer 4

With être

Question 5

What are the 5 opposed verb pairs and 4 orphans always conjugated with être?

Answer 5

aller / venir
entrer / sortir
arriver / partir
montre / descentre
nâitre / mourir
rester
tomber
retourner
passer

and their derivatives (e.g., devenir, revenir, etc). These 14 verbs all involve a change in state, direction, or location. They are conjugated with avoir when they have a direct object.

Question 6

In regular verbs ending in -er, adverbs and negatives go…

Answer 6

Between the auxiliary verb and the participé passe.

• J’ai jamais étudié l’espagnol.
• Jai beaucoup regardé la télé ce weekend

Question 7

When is “avoir” used to conjugate a verb?

Answer 7

1. When there is no preposition after the verb (du is a preposition)
2. When the verb has a direct object (“J’ai passé des bonnes vacances” vs “je suis passê par Union Square”)
3. When the verb is followed immediately by a noun.

Question 8

When is “être” used to conjugate a verb?

Answer 8

1. When the verb has no direct object (“Je suis sorti du travaille” vs “J’ai sorti la poubelle”) so nothing is being acted on.
2. When the verb is reciprocal or reflexive
3. When the verb is followed by a preposition (“nous sommes passé devant la poste”)

Question 9

What verbs are reflexive?

Answer 9

1. Daily routine (je me suis couché)
2. Things you do to yourself (tu t’es douches)
3. “Get” verbs like get married, get ready, etc. (Ils se sont mariés, Nous nous préparons)
4. Reciprocal verbs (We had a conversation; Nous avons eu une conversation)

Question 10

When is the imparfait used?

Answer 10

1. “Continuous past” - I was reading, I was living, etc.
2. “Used to”
3. “Would” + infitif (When we were young, we would go to France every summer)

Question 11

How is the imparfait constructed?

Answer 11

By taking the root of “we” in the present tense and adding endings:
nous marchons -> je marchais

Question 12

What are the endings of the imparfait?

Answer 12

Je -ais
Tu -ais
Il/elle/on -ait
Nous -ions
Vous -ie
Ils/elles -aient

Question 13

When must the auxiliary verb agree with the gender and number of the subject?

Answer 13

When the auxiliary verb is être.