Verbs and Tenses Flashcards
To express what people have been DOING SINCE or FOR a certain time, what is the structure of the sentence?
PRESENT + depuis + duration of activity or starting point in time.
Nous habitons à Genève depuis mai. We have been living in Geneva since May.
J’étudie le français depuis deux ans. I have been studying French for 2 years.
Which interrogative expressions are associated with depuis?
Depuis quand? Since when?
Depuis combien de temps? How long?
What is the sentence structure for futur proche?
Subject + aller + infinitif. Remember - aller must always be conjugated, and the verb after must stay infinitive
What is the imperative form?
To make suggestions or to give advice or orders, use the imperative form.
What do imperative verb forms look like?
In general, the same as french verbs in the present tense, but without the subject (je, tu, etc. are not present)
What are the exceptions to the general rule of the imperative form?
être – sois, soyez, soyons
avoir – aie, ayez, ayons
vouloir – veuille, veuillez, veuillons
*These are exceptions because they don’t maintain their regular spelling when in the imperative form. *Remember that the tu form of -er verbs drops the ‘s’ when conjugated: (tu) mange!
What is the sentence structure for passé récent?
To express what someone/they have just done: subject + venir de + infinitive
In the passé composé, what tense are you trying to express? Which verb is most commonly used as the helper verb?
You are trying to express the past. In other words, you are trying to describe something that HAS happened, therefore, the verb most commonly used is avoir. Ex. I HAVE eaten cake. J’ai mangé le gateau
What is the sentence structure for P.C when the helper verb is avoir?
Subject + (ne) + avoir + (pas) + past participle.
What are the general past participle structures of -er, -ir, and -re verbs?
- er –> -é
- ir –> -i
- re –> -u
