Introduction to Verbs

Verbs are words that tell us about existence (to be), action (to run), or occurrence (to think).

The Subject Who or What is doing that action. Some Examples: “Alain finishes his spaghetti.” “The dog barks all day.” 

A Subject Pronoun = a generic substitute for the subject A few examples are: Alex -> He Jean and I -> We Emilie -> She

The subject pronouns are: I = je we = nous You = tu you = vous (sing/inform) (plural/formal) he/she = il/elle they = ils/elles

The infinitive =original form of verb English -> the verb with the word “to” in front Ex: to go, to see, to wonder

The infinitive =original form of verb French -> all infinitives end with one of three possible 2-letter combinations –er, -ir, or –re. Ex: parler, finir, vendre Note: Other French words (non verbs) may end with the letters –er, -ir, or –re.

Conjugation To use the verb, you must often conjugate it ~ For example, with the verb “to sing” when we conjugate it, we say:   I sing We sing You sing You sing S/he sings They sing

Je chante Nous chantons Tu chantes Vous chantez In French -> change ending 2-letters to match subject The verb “to sing” is “chanter” in French. So, the French version of the conjugation of “chanter” (en –er verb) is as follows: chanter  Je chante Nous chantons Tu chantes Vous chantez Il/Elle chante Ils/Elles chantent

Present tense conjugation: English -> we often use three different forms in present tense:   I eat -> I eat fries. I do eat -> I do eat breakfast every day! I am eating-> I am eating a sandwich now. The present tense tells what someone or something is doing right this minute or currently does at times.

All three English forms are translated to French using the SAME form: Je mange -> Je mange les frites. Je mange le petit déjeuner chaque jour! Je mange un sandwich maintenant.

Conjugations for regular verbs: -ER (by far the most common ending) parler (to speak) je parle nous parlons tu parles vous parlez il/elle parle ils/elles parlent

Conjugations for regular verbs: vendre (to sell) je vends nous vendons tu vends vous vendez Il/elle vend_ ils/elles vendent

Conjugations for regular verbs: -IR (careful here, there are two different endings) courir (to run) finir (to finish) je cours je finis tu cours tu finis Il/elle court il/elle finit nous courons nous finissons vous courez vous finissez Ils/elles courent ils/elles finissent