Key Verbs & Tenses

1. Time phrases • normalement • d’habitude • de temps en temps • l’année dernière • il y a … ans • le mois dernier • la semaine dernière • l’année prochaine • à l’avenir Key Verbs & Tenses Who are we talking about? je – I il – he elle – she on – we nous – we ils – they (all male/mixed) elles – they (all female) ma mère – my Mum mon frère – my brother Remember if you are aiming for a C grade or above: *If you can use a variety of tenses, you stand a better chance of increasing your marks. *Add in the past (perfect and imperfect), present and the future to help you gain those marks. *If you’re feeling confident, you could add in the conditional. *You need to aim for accuracy: CHECK your tenses in your preparation time – DON’T take a random guess! • The Present Tense – REGULAR VERBS • This is used to talk about what you generally do or what you are doing • right now. If you look up a verb in the dictionary, it ends in one of the • following: -er, -ir or –re. This is known as the infinitive. To form the • regular present tense, follow these rules: • -er verbs-ir verbs-re verbs • je chanteje finisje vends • tu chantestu finistu vends • il/elle/on chanteil/elle/on finitil/elle/on vend • nous chantonsnous finissonsnous vendons • vous chantezvous finissezvous vendez • ils/elles chantentils/elles finissentils/elles vendent • When you look up the verb in the dictionary, e.g. choisir. Follow these instructions: • Remove the ir from the end: chois • Add the correct ending from above, depending on who you are talking about: je choisis • EASY! The Present Tense – IRREGULAR VERBS However, some verbs are irregular and need checking and learning. Here are some common ones: j’ai/il a/nous avons – I have/he has/we have je suis/il est/nous sommes – I am/he is/we are je vais/il va/nous allons – I go/he goes/we go je fais/il fait/nous faisons – I do/he does/we do je lis/il lit/nous lisons – I read/he reads/we read je peux/il peut/nous pouvons – I can/he can/we can je bois/il boit/nous buvons – I drink/he drinks/we drink je mange/il mange/nous mangeons – I eat/he eats/we eat j’achète/il achète/nous achetons – I buy/he buys/we buy je sors/il sort/nous sortons – I go out/he goes out/we go out REMEMBER: The il form is the same for elle and on too!

2. Past tenses • There are two types of past tense in French: • The perfect tense • The imperfect tense • The perfect tense is the one you need the • most. It is used to describe something you • did in the past, e.g. Hier j’ai regardé un film. • The imperfect tense is used to describe • something which happened regularly. It is • also used to describe what something was • like in the past, e.g. weather or feelings, e.g. • Il faisait beau. • Just a reminder of the most important • people: • je – I • il – he • elle – she • nous – we • ils/elles - they The perfect tense DR & MRS. VANDERTRAMP The following verbs are all formed with être. For this you need: je suis – tu es – il/elle est – nous sommes – vous êtes – ils/elles sont Devenir – to become (devenu) Revenir – to come back (revenu) Monter – to climb (monté) Rester – to stay (resté) Sortir – to go out (sorti) Venir – to come (venu) Aller – to go (allé) Naître – to be born (né) Descendre – to go down (descendu) Entrer – to enter (entré) Rentrer – to come back (rentré) Tomber – to fall (tombé) Retourner – to return (retourné) Arriver – to arrive (arrivé) Mourir – to die (mouru) Partir – to leave (parti) e.g. Je suis parti. Il est tombé. Je suis né. See the box next to this for more advice on how to form the perfect tense in French! Key Verbs & Tenses • The perfect tense – how to form it: • The perfect tense has three parts: • The person you are writing about, e.g. je • The auxiliary verb, either avoir or être • The past participle, e.g. fait • Most verbs are made up with avoir. For this • you need: • j’ai – tu as – il a – nous avons – vous avez – ils ont • This is how to form REGULAR past • participles: • acheter – achet – acheté • finir – fin – fini • vendre – vend – vendu • Here are some examples: • J’ai acheté un stylo. • Il a fini ses devoirs. • Ils ont vendu des glaces. The perfect tense! An extra rule to remember! When you are using the Dr & Mrs Vandertramp verbs, you have to add agreements depending on the person you are talking about. e.g. For a female, add an extra e. For a male, add nothing. For more than one female, add an extra e and an s. For more than one male, add an extra s. For a group of males and females, add an extra s. Examples: Elle est allée à la plage. Nous sommes allés aux musées.

3. The Imperfect Tense For your essays, the imperfect tense will be mainly usedto describe, e.g. the weather. If you then describe what you did in the past in certain weather types, you will need to use the imperfect tense. If you are using the imperfect with je, the verb will end in –ais and if you’re talking about he/she/it, the verb will end in –ait. Some key verbs: Je faisais Je jouais J’allais Je mangeais Il pleuvait Il faisait Il y avait Remember to use these with the weather in the past, e.g. Quand il faisait beau, j’allais à la plage. Key Verbs & Tenses • The future tense! • The future tense is used to talk about something you will do in the future, i.e. tomorrow, next • week, next month, next year, in ten years! • There are two ways to form the future tense. • Use the present tense of aller + an infinitive, e.g. je vais manger = I’m going to eat. • je vais • il/elle va • nous allons • ils/elles vont • This is used generally for things which are happening in the near future. • 2. Take the infinitive (remember all infinitives end in –ER, -IR or –RE) and add the endings below. *Make sure you take the –e off the end of any –RE verbs!* • je – ai • il/elle – a • nous – ons • ils/elles – ont • e.g. Je regarderai. Il finira. Ils vendront. Irregular Future Tense Verbs There are some irregular verbs which you need to learn: j’irai – I will go je ferai – I will do j’aurai – I will have je serai – I will be il y aura – there will be ce sera – it will be e.g. L’année prochaine, j’irai en Australie. The conditional tense This is used to describe a ‘what if’ situation: So far, you have learnt: si je gagnais à la loterie – if I won the lottery je voudrais – I would like

4. What makes a C grade (or above!) essay? • You must: • Write 150 words or more. • Include opinions: adjectives – positive & negative and good opinion phrases. • Use connectives, e.g. and, but, however. • Include a range of tenses: past, present & future, and if you can, the conditional. • Use time phrases. • Structure your essay: planning is key! • Talk about other people.