Let’s take for example the verb “JOUER” Once you “cut” away the VERB ENDING in the Infinitive form, what you are left with is the VERB STEM STEM VERB ENDING JOU ER Let’s take for example the verb “JOUER” TO PLAY What is the VERB STEM of a regular verb?

Is that always true for the 3 families of regular verbs? Yes, the stem almost never changes whatever the tense used. Well, sometimes it varies a little depending on its spelling, but we don’t need to worry ourselves for that now. What do you mean by “almost never changes”?

Well Roger, if the verb stem doesn’t change, what does then? What makes the verb ending change, Bernard? Two things, Sophie. The choice of the Personal Pronoun (who or what does the action) 2. The choice of the Tense. (When the action takes place) Well Roger, if the verb stem doesn’t change, what does then? Dear Alice! It is the verb ending of course.

What are the Personal Pronouns? The Personal Pronouns are little words which replace the name of people or things. Follow me and I will show you

Let’s go and see what difference the pronouns make to the verb ending. Français English Cymraeg je or j’ I fi tu you (familiar) ti il he fo elle she hi nous we ni vous you (formal) chi ils they (masculine) nhw elles they (feminine) nhw Oh! Here is the list of all the French Personal Pronouns and their equivalent in English and Welsh. Let’s go and see what difference the pronouns make to the verb ending.

BLUE Je jou e Rydw i yn chwarae tu jou es Rwyt ti yn chwarae il jou e = PersonalPronoun Je jou e Rydw i yn chwarae tu jou es Rwyt ti yn chwarae il jou e Mae o yn chwarae elle jou e Mae hi yn chwarae RED = Changes due to pronoun and tense nous jou ons Rydan ni yn chwarae vous jou ez Rydych chi yn chwarae ils jou ent Maen nhw yn chwarae elles jou ent Maen nhw yn chwarae Présent Presennol Just like in Welsh, then! Let’s use the present tense of the verb JOUER... ...And you will see how the ending changes when I use a different pronoun.

I am playing Je jou e I play you are playing tu jou es you play he is playing il jou e he plays she is playing elle jou e she plays we are playing nous jou ons we play you are playing vous jou ez you play they are playing ils jou ent they play they are playing elles jou ent they play Present Present Progressive Présent This is why you need to be more careful when translating What happens in English? The effect of the pronoun is not so marked in English.

When translating “you” remember to use: - “tu” if you address only one person (your family or friends) - “vous” if you address more than one person or somebody you do not know or someone you must show respect to, like your Headmaster or a teacher. When translating “they” or “nhw” remember to use: “ils” when it refers to a masculine plural noun, more than one male or a mixed group (males and females). When translating “they” or “nhw” remember to use: “elles” when it refers to a feminine plural noun, more than one female.

Let’s see what effect the Tense has on the Présent Imparfait Je joue Rydw i’n Chwarae I play / I am playing Je jouais Roeddwn i’n Chwarae I played / I was playing Conditionnel Je jouerais Mi fyddwn i’n Chwarae I would play Futur Passé composé Je jouerai Mi fydda i’n Chwarae I will play J’ai joué Rydw i wedi Chwarae I played/ I have played Plus-que-parfait J’avais joué Roeddwn i wedi Chwarae I had played We’ll show the changes only with the pronoun “je” as we will deal with each complete tenses in a next lesson. Let’s see what effect the Tense has on the Verb Ending!

Click on the big eggs for some practice Task 2 Quiz Task 1 Multiple choice