verbs Flashcards
What is an impersonal verb ?
These are verbs that only exist in the ‘il’ form.
Il neige (It is snowing)
It is raining.
Il pleut.
It is necessary.
Il faut.
What happens when a verb is immediately followed by a 2nd verb ?
The 2nd verb is in the infinitive.
J’aimerais aller au théâtre
Verbs that are used in this way, fall into 3 categories, what are they ?
- Those which are followed directly by the infinitive.
- Those which are joined by an ‘à’.
- Those which are joined by ‘de’
aider (to help)
joined by an ‘à’
tu m’aide à peindre ma chambre
(you help me to paint my room)
aimer (to like)
followed directly by the infinitive
j’aime jouer au foot
(I like to play football)
aller (to go)
followed directly by the infinitive
je vais nager
(I go swimming)
apprendre (to learn)
joined by an ‘à’
tu apprends à nager
(you learn to swim)
arrêter (to stop)
joined by ‘de’
il arrête de fumer
(he stops smoking)
arriver (to manage)
joined by an ‘à’
j’arrive à faire mes devoirs
(I managed to do my homework)
avoir besoin (to need)
joined by ‘de’
j’ai besoin d’argent
(I need money)
avoir envie (to want)
joined by ‘de’
j’ai envie d’un bouteille de vin
(I want a bottle of wine)
avoir l’intention (to intend)
joined by ‘de’
j’ai l’intention de manger un petit pain
(I intend to eat a bun)
avoir peur (to be afraid)
joined by ‘de’
tu as peur du lion
(you afraid of the lion)
cesser (to cease)
joined by ‘de’
Il cesse de chanter
(He stops singing)
choisir (to choose)
joined by ‘de’
il choisit de jouer au foot
(he chose to play football)
commencer (to start)
joined by an ‘à’
nous commençons à manger le déjeuner
(we start eating lunch)
continuer (to carry on)
joined by an ‘à’
je continue à chanter
(I continue to sing)
craindre (to fear)
joined by ‘de’
il craint de voler
(he is afraid of flying)
decider (to decide)
joined by ‘de’
je decide de faire les courses
(I decided to do the shopping)
désirer (to desire)
followed directly by the infinitive
je désire manger
(I want to eat)
détester (to hate)
followed directly by the infinitive
je déteste faire la queue
(I hate to queue)
devoir (to have to)
followed directly by the infinitive
je dois apprendre français
(I have to learn French)
empêcher (to prevent)
joined by ‘de’
je t’empêche de chanter
(I stop you from singing)
encourager (to encourage)
joined by an ‘à’
je t’encourage à jouer au basket
(I encourage you to play basketball)
espérer (to hope)
followed directly by the infinitive
j’espére voir Paris
(I hope to see Paris)
essayer (to try)
joined by ‘de’
j’essaie d’être bon
(I try to be good)
éviter (to avoid)
joined by ‘de’
j’évite de manger la viande
(I avoid eating meat)
faillir (to fail)
followed directly by the infinitive
falloir (to be necessary to)
followed directly by the infinitive
il faut se laver les mains
(It is necessary to wash the hands)
finir (to finish)
joined by ‘de’
nous finissons de manger
(we finish eating)
hésiter (to hesitate)
joined by an ‘à’
j’hésite à travailler
(I hesitate to work)
inviter (to invite)
joined by an ‘à’
il m’invite à jouer au echecs
(he invited me to play chess)
menacer (to threaten)
joined by ‘de’
ils menacent d’arrêter de travailler
(they threaten to stop work)
meriter (to merit)
joined by ‘de’
je merite d’obtenir un travail
(I deserve to get a job)
offrir (to offer)
joined by ‘de’
J’offris de vous aider à nager
(I offer to help you swim)
oser (to dare)
followed directly by the infinitive
tu oses voler
(you dare steal)
oublier (to forget)
joined by ‘de’
j’oublie de manger
(I forgot to eat)
pouvoir (to be able to)
followed directly by the infinitive
je peux nager (I can swim)
What phrase means ‘in the process of’
être en train de
je suis en train de manger une pomme
What phrase can be used to mean ‘to have something done’ ?
faire + infinitive.
Je ferai repeindre ma maison.
faire attendre
to make someone wait
faire entrer
to bring in
faire faire
to have something done
faire monter
to carry up
faire remarquer
to remark
faire savoir
to let know
faire venir
to fetch
faire voir
to show
Ne … point
not (formal/literary equivalent of ne … pas)
Il ne fut point blessé. (He wasn’t wounded)
Ne … guère
Hardly.
Vous n’avez guère mangé (You hardly ate anything)
Ne … ni … ni
neither nor
Ne … aucun(e)
Not any
Ne … aucun can be used with any kind of noun.
Ne …nulle
not any
Ne … nul can be used only with collective and uncountable nouns, like water and happiness.
Explain how to form a question without changing the word order.
Add a question mark to the end of the sentence and raise the voice at the end if spoken.
Tu as faim … Tu as Faim ?
How can a question be formed using est-ce que ?
Add est-ce que to the statement.
Tu as faim … Est-ce que tu as faim ?
How can a question be formed by changing the word order ?
Invert the subject and verb.
Tu es content … Es-tu content ?
This is the formal method of forming questions.
If the subject is a noun, what must happen when inverting the subject and verb ?
A pronoun must be added.
Suzanne est triste … Suzanne, est-elle triste?
What happens, when the verb ends in a vowel, and the pronoun begins with a vowel during verb/noun inversion?
A ‘t’ is added to aid pronounciation. Elle a une pomme … A-t-elle une pomme
If pronoun and subject are inverted, how are they treated in negative constructions ?
They are treated as one word, so in negative sentences they are sandwiched between the 2 negative elements.
N’est elle pas content.
Most verbs use avoir as their auxiliary verb to form compound tenses. The verb’s past participle will normally remains unchanged.
Under what circumstances would that past participle need agreement?
- If the verb has a direct object and that direct object precedes the verb, the past participle must agree with the direct object.
Tu as vu ta mère - Oui je l’ai vue hier
- With the relative pronoun que.
Les articles que nous avons commandés…
- In questions after quel? and combien?
Combien d’affiches a-t-il achetées
What is the fourth way in which a question may be formed ?
By using a specific question word, such as pourquoi ?, qui ?, quand ?
What is an intransitive verb?
Intransitive verbs are verbs that do not have an object.
Je suis arrivèe (I have arrived)
Which auxiliary verb do intransitive verbs use to form their compound tenses?
être
Je suis arrivée (I have arrived)
Descendre, monter, entrer & sortir differ from other intransitive verbs in which way?
These 4 verbs may optionally take an object, in which case their meaning is slightly altered and they take avoir as their auxilliary verb.
Il a monté les valises
(He brought up the cases)
When should the subject & verb be inverted in a French sentence?
- After direct speech
“Je ne peux pas supporter cette situation,”” ai-je dit.
- After question words
De quelle façon t’a-t-on accueilli?
- After expressions such as à peine, aussi, en vain, peut-être and sans doute
Sans doute devrons-nous utiliser d’autres sources d’énergie
