Irregular Verbs and Négation

This is the powerpoint from last week that never got posted.... until now...

Irregular Verbs and Negation 2011

Passé Composé and Négation powerpoint

We didn't get to all of these activities, so we'll revisit the poème and the nécrologies next week.


Pass� Compos� and N�gation Powerpoint

Some Regular -ir and -re Verbs

The same sort of math applies to -ir and -re verbs, but their endings are different.

Subject endings for regular -ir verbs:

je -is
tu -is
il/elle/on -it
nous -issons
vous -issez
ils/elles -issent

So choisir conjugated for nous looks like this:

choisir - ir = chois + issons = choisissons

Nous choisissons.

Subject endings for regular -re verbs:

je -e
tu -es
il/elle/on ---
nous -ons
vous -ez
ils/elles -ent

Notice that there is no addition for the 3rd person singular form.

So rendre conjugated for il looks like this:

rendre - re = rend + --- = rend

Il rend.


Here are some regular verbs that you can use to practice:


Regular -ir and -re verbs -

Some Regular -er Verbs

Conjugation in French is a lot like basic math. We start with the infinitive, subtract the ending and then add new endings according to the subject.

Subject endings for regular -er verbs:

je -e
tu -es
il/elle/on -e
nous -ons
vous -ez
ils/elles -ent

So parler conjugated for tu looks like this:

parler - er = parl + es = parles

Tu parles.

Here are some regular -er verbs that you can use to practice conjugations.


Regular -er Verbs -

How to form questions

One way not mentioned on the handout below but talked about in class was the question tag, "n'est-ce pas?" which you can use at the end of a sentence to turn it into a question. The assumption is that the person you're talking to will agree with you, so use this for yes or no questions for which you expect a "yes" answer. The question ends up looking like an intonation formation.

Ex. Il est malade. Il est malade, n'est-ce pas? Oui, il est malade.

Some other questions you can practice asking in different forms:

1. What is your name?
2. How are you doing?
3. Where do you work?
4. With whom do you speak French?
5. What time is French class?
6. What do you do on weekends?
7. When do you eat dinner?
8. What do you eat for breakfast?
9. Do you like coffee?
10. How many brothers and sisters do you have?



How To Form Questions -

Online Resources: Dictionary and Grammar Guide

Wordreference.com is an excellent online dictionary with a forum for more complicated questions.

Tex's French Grammar is a great resource for English explanations of French grammar points as well as for self-correcting online exercises.