verbs (intro) Flashcards
What is a verb?
A verb describes an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand).
What is an ‘infinitive’?
The infinitive is the ‘to ….’ form of the verb. This is the form found in the dictionary.
e.g.
parler (to speak)
What is meant by the term ‘conjugation’?
French verbs have different endings depending upon who is doing the action, and whether the action is taking place in the past, present or future. Conjugation is the process of determining those endings.
Je parle (I speak)
Tu parles (You speak)
Je parlais (I was speaking)
What is a ‘modal’ verb
They express modality – that is, likelihood, ability, permission such as can, may, want, must etc. and are usually followed by infinitive
e.g.
Je veux manger (I want to eat)
The 3 main modal verbs are:-
Vouloir (to want to)
Pouvoir (to be able to)
Devoir (to have to)
What is a reflexive verb?
A verb in which the subject acts on itself as the object
e.g
Je me lave (I wash myself)
What are the two auxiliary verbs used to form compound tenses?
être and avoir
What is a past participle ?
Past participles are used with an auxiliary verb to form compound tenses such as the perfect/pluperfect tenses
eg J’ai fini (I have finished)
What is a present participle ?
The present participle is the ‘-ing’ form in English, and the ‘-ant’ form in French
e.g.
Il faire ses devoirs en chantant
(He does his homework whilst singing)
What are group I verbs?
Group I verbs are regular -er verbs. Their infinitives always ends in ‘er’, also their conjugations follow a regular pattern.
e.g. parler (to speak)
je parle, tu parles, il parle
nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent
What are group II verbs?
Group II verbs are regular -ir verbs. Their infinitives always ends in ‘ir’ also their conjugations follow a regular pattern.
e.g. finir (to finish)
je finis, tu finis, il finit
nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent
What are group III verbs?
Group III verbs are
(1) -re verbs
(2) irregular -ir verbs
e. g.
attendre (to wait)
j’attends, tu attends, il attend
nous attendons, vous attendez, ils attendent
What is the imperfect tense ?
Describes an ongoing event that happened in the past
Je mangais (I was eating)
What are group IV verbs?
Group IV verbs are the spell changers and irregular verbs whose conjugations do not follow a regular pattern.
e.g.
faire (to do)
je fais, tu fais, il fait
nous faisons, vous faîtes, ils faissons
What is the present tense ?
The present tense describes an event that is happening now.
e.g.
Je mange (I eat)
What is the recent past tense ?
The immediate past tense describes an event that has just happened. It is created by conjugating venir in the present tense and combining with ‘de’ + the appropriate infinitive.
e.g.
Je viens de manger (I just ate)
