Essential French Grammar

by Seymour Resnick

  I used to see him every day.

  Je le voyais tous les jours. (imperfect)

  I saw him yesterday.

  Je l’ai vu hier. (passé composé)

  What were you doing when he called you?

  Que faisiez-vous (imperfect) quand il vous a téléphoné? (passé composé)

  What did you do when he called you?

  Qu‘avez-vous fait (passé composé) quand il vous a téléphoné? (passé composé)

  I did not have a lot of money when I was young.

  Je n‘avais pas (imperfect) beaucoup d’argent quand j’étais (imperfect) jeune.

  Certain verbs which by their very nature express an attitude or a condition rather than an action, use the imperfect more frequently than the passé composé. The following are the most important:

  avoir

  (to have)

  croire

  (to believe)

  désirer

  (to desire, want)

  espérer

  (to hope)

  être

  (to be)

  penser

  (to think)

  pouvoir

  (to be able)

  savoir

  (to know)

  vouloir

  (to want, wish)

  Il croyait que nous n‘avions pas I’argent.

  He thought we did not have the money.

  Je voulais la voir.

  I wanted to see her.

  Je ne savais pas s‘ils pouvaient venir.

  I didn’t know if they could come.

  The Pluperfect Tense

  The pluperfect tense (in English, had plus the past participle) in French is formed with the imperfect of avoir (or être for the verbs which are conjugated with être [see p. 39]) and the past participle. The French pluperfect corresponds in usage to English. It is not extremely important for a beginner since the passé composé will convey the meaning adequately.

  Study the following models:

  (prendre—to take)

  j‘avais pris

  I had taken

  tu avais pris

  you had taken

  il (elle) avait pris

  he (she) had taken

  nous avions pris

  we had taken

  vous aviez pris

  you had taken

  ils (elles) avaient pris

  they had taken

  (tomber—to fall)

  j’étais tombé (tombée7)

  I had fallen

  tu étais tombé (tombée)

  you had fallen

  il était tombé

  he had fallen

  elle était tombée

  she had fallen

  nous étions tombés (tombées)

  we had fallen

  vous étiez tombé (tombée) (tombés) (tombées)

  you had fallen

  ils étaient tombés

  they had fallen

  elles étaient tombées

  they had fallen

  Here are some examples of the usage of the pluperfect tense.

  Je n‘avais jamais été en Europe.

  I had never been to Europe.

  Elle était partie avant leur arrivée.

  She had left before their arrival.

  The Future Tense

  The Future Tense of Regular Verbs

  The future tense (in English, will or shall plus the infinitive) is formed in French by adding the following endings to the infinitive form of the verb:

  Study the following models, and notice that 3rd conjugation verbs drop the final -e of the infinitive before the future endings are attached.

  IST CONJ. VERBS

  (donner—to give)

  je donnerai

  I shall give

  tu donneras

  you will give

  il (elle) donnera

  he (she) will give

  nous donnerons

  we shall give

  vous donnerez

  you will give

  ils (elles) donneront

  they will give

  2ND CONJ. VERBS

  (bâtir—to build)

  je bâtirai

  I shall build

  tu bâtiras

  you will build

  il (elle) bâtira

  he (she) will build

  nous bâtirons

  we shall build

  vous bâtirez

  you will build

  ils (elles) bâtiront

  they will build

  3RD CONJ. VERBS

  (rendre—to give back)

  je rendrai

  I shall give back

  tu rendras

  you will give back

  il (elle) rendra

  he (she) will give back

  nous rendrons

  we shall give back

  vous rendrez

  you will give back

  ils (elles) rendront

  they will give back

  The Future Tense of Irregular Verbs

  All verbs, both regular and irregular, use the endings given above to form the furture tense, but with the following important verbs these ending are added to irregular stems, insted of to the infinitive. You should become familiar with these irregular futures.

  How to Use the Future Tense

  Study the following sentences illustrating the use of the future, which corresponds in general to English:

  Qu‘est-ce que vous ferez demain?

  What will you do tomorrow?

  Nous reviendrons de bonne heure parce que nous irons au théâtre le soir.

  We shall return early because we shall go to the theater in the evening.

  Quand partirez-vous pour Nice?

  When will you leave for Nice?

  How to Avoid the Future Tense

  It is often correct to use the present tense instead of the future tense, sometimes indicating the idea of future action by such words as “next week,” “tomorrow,” etc.

  Qu’est-ce que vous faites demain?

  What are you doing (will you do) tomorrow?

  Je pars pour Nice lundi.

  I leave (shall leave) for Nice on Monday.

  In English we often say “I am going to go,” instead of “I shall go.” Similarly, in French, one may use the present tense of the verb aller (to go) plus the infinitive of the other verb.

  Qu’est-ce que vous allez faire?

  What are you going to do?

  Je vais étudier, et après je vais me reposer un peu.

  I am going to study, and afterwards I am going to rest a little.

  The Conditional Tenses

  How to Form the Conditional Tense

  The conditional tense is expressed in English by the word “would” plus the infinitive (e.g. I would go, they would come). The past conditional is expressed by the words “would have” plus the past participle (e.g. She would have answered, we would have seen).

  To form the conditional in French, we add the endings of the imperfect tense (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient) to the entire infinitive of first and second conjugation verbs, but to the infinitive minus the final -e of third conjugation verbs.

  (manger—to eat)

  je mangerais

  I would eat

  tu mangerais

  you would eat

  il (elle) mangerait

  he (she) would eat

  nous mangerions

  we would eat

  vous mangeriez

  you would eat

  ils (elles) mangeraient

  they would eat

  Irregalar Verbs

  Verbs that have an irregular stem in the future (see p. 47) have the same stem for the conditional:

  INFINITIVE

  CONDITIONAL

  aller (to go)

  j‘irais (I would go)

  avoir (to have)

  j’aurais (I would have)

  devoir (must, ought)

  je devrais (I ought)

  envoyer (to send)

 
j‘enverrais (I would send)

  être (to be)

  je serais (I would be)

  faire (to do, make)

  je ferais (I would make, would do)

  pouvoir (to be able)

  je pourrais (I would be able)

  recevoir (to receive)

  je recevrais (I would receive)

  savoir (to know)

  je saurais (I would know)

  venir (to come)

  je viendrais (I would come)

  voir (to see)

  je verrais (I would see)

  vouloir (to want, wish)

  je voudrais (I would want, would like)

  How to Form the Past Conditional Tense

  To form the past conditional, use the conditional of avoir (or être with the special être verbs, listed on page 39), plus the past participle. Remember that the past participle of verbs conjugated with être agrees in gender and number with the subject (see p. 40).

  (acheter—to buy)

  j‘aurais acheté

  I would have bought

  tu aurais acheté

  you would have bought

  il (elle) aurait acheté

  he (she) would have bought

  nous aurions acheté

  we would have bought

  vous auriez acheté

  you would have bought

  ils (elles) auraient acheté

  they would have bought

  (revenir—to return, come back)

  je serais revenu (fem. revenue)

  I would have returned

  tu serais revenu (fem. revenue)

  you would have returned

  il serait revenu

  he would have returned

  elle serait revenue

  she would have returned

  nous serions revenus (fem. revenues)

  we would have returned

  vous seriez revenue (fem. sing.

  revenue) (masc. pl. revenus)

  (fem. pl. revenues)

  you would have returned

  ils seraient revenus

  they would have returned

  elles seraient revenues

  they would have returned

  How to Use the Conditional Tenses

  Here are some sentences containing conditionals and past conditionals:

  Je voudrais parler avec le gérant.

  I would like to speak with the manager.

  Si j‘avais assez d’argent, j’irais en Italie.

  If I had enough money, I would go to Italy.

  Je n’aurais jamais fait cela.

  I would never have done that.

  Nous serions arrivés à temps si elle n’était pas venue en retard.

  We would have arrived on time if she had not come late.

  In the second sentence, note that when we use the conditional (j‘irais) in the main clause, the imperfect (j’avais) is used in the si or “if” clause. In the last sentence, we use the past conditional (nous serions arrivés) in the main clause and the pluperfect (elle était venue) in the si (“if”) clause.

  Reflexive Verbs

  Comparison of Reflexive Verbs in English and French

  In English we say: I get up, I wash, I shave, I dress. The action of each of these verbs refers back to the subject, and these phrases might also be expressed: I get myself up, I wash myself, I shave myself, I dress myself. In French these verbs are reflexive verbs and must be used with special reflexive pronouns:

  me8 (myself, to or for myself)

  te8 (yourself, to or for yourself)

  se8 (himself, herself, itself, themselves, to or for himself, herself, itself, themselves)

  nous (ourselves, to or for ourselves)

  vous (yourself, yourselves, to or for yourself, yourselves)

  In French, the phrases given in the first paragraph of this section would be: Je me lève, je me lave, je me rase, je m‘habille.

  The infinitive of reflexive verbs is preceded by the reflexive pronoun se (or, if the verb begins with a vowel or silent h, by s‘): se lever (to get up), se laver (to wash), s’habiller (to dress), etc.

  Conjugation of Reflexive Verbs

  All reflexive verbs form their compound tenses using être as the auxiliary verb. The reflexive pronoun is placed immediately in front of the verb itself, except in affirmative commands, when it follows the verb to which it is attached by a hyphen.

  The typical reflexive verb se dépêcher (to hurry) will serve to illustrate the conjugation of a reflexive verb in its most important tenses.

  PRESENT TENSE

  (se dépêcher—to hurry)

  je me dépêche

  I hurry

  tu te dépêches

  you hurry

  il (elle) se dépêche

  he (she) hurries

  nous nous dépêchons

  we hurry

  vous vous dépêchez

  you hurry

  ils (elles) se dépêchent

  they hurry

  PASSÉ COMPOSÉ TENSE

  je me suis dépêché (fem. dépêchée)

  I hurried

  tu t‘es dépêché (fem. dépêchée)

  you hurried

  il s’est dépêché

  he hurried

  elle s‘est dépêchée

  she hurried

  nous nous sommes dépêchés (fem. dépêchées)

  we hurried

  vous vous êtes dépêché (fem. sing. dépêchée)

  (masc. pl. dépêchés) (fem. pl. dépêchées)

  you hurried

  ils se sont dépêchés

  they hurried

  elles se sont dépêchées

  they hurried

  FUTURE TENSE

  je me dépêcherai

  I shall hurry

  tu te dépêcheras

  you will hurry

  il (elle) se dépêchera

  he (she) will hurry

  nous nous dépêcherons

  we shall hurry

  vous vous dépêcherez

  you will hurry

  ils (elles) se dépêcheront

  they will hurry

  COMMAND FORM

  Dépêchez-vous!

  Hurry!

  Ne vous dépêchez pas!

  Don’t hurry!

  Dépêchons-nous!

  Let’s hurry!

  Ne nous dépêchons pas!

  Let’s not hurry!

  Important Reflexive Verbs

  Reflexive verbs are far more popular in French than in English. Here is a list of the practically indispensable ones:

  s’amuser (to have a good time)

  s‘appeler (to be called, named)

  s’asseoir (to sit down)

  se coucher (to go to bed)

  se dépêcher (to hurry)

  s‘habiller (to get dressed)

  se laver (to wash)

  se lever (to get up)

  se porter (to be, feel [health])

  se raser (to shave)

  se taire (to be quiet)

  se trouver (to be located)

  Most reflexive verbs may also be used without reflexive pronouns. For example, laver means “to wash (someone or something),” appeler means “to call (someone or something),” raser means “to shave (someone),” etc.

  How to Use Reflexive Verbs

  Study the following sentences, which further illustrate the use of reflexive verbs:

  Le coiffeur ne m‘a pas bien rasé. (not refl.)

  The barber did not shave me well.

  Je me rase tous les jours. (refl.)

  I shave every day.

  Je vais appeler Henri. (not refl.)

  I am going to call Henry.

  Je m’appelle Georges. (refl.)

  My name is George.

  Asseyez-vous ici, s’il vous plaît. (refl.)

  Sit down here, please.

  Je me lave les mains et la figure avant de m’habiller.

  (refl)

  I wash my hands and face before dressing.

  The P
assive Voice