French grammar
Attendez!!
Let us understand in detail: par exemple-
1. C’est le livre du professeur. [ livre means book in french. It is masculine in gender and begins with a consonant so in order to write<<the book>> we will write << le livre>>.]
2. . C’est la bouteille du professeur. [ bouteille means bottle in french. It is feminine in gender and begins with a consonant so in order to write<<the bottle>> we will write << la bouteille>>.]
3. . Ce sont les cles de la voiture. [cles means keys in french. It is a plural noun so in order to write<<the keys>> we will write << les cles>>.]
4. . C’est l’histoire du soldat. [ histoire means story in french. It begins with a vowel so in order to write<<the story>> we will write << l’histoire>.]
LES ARTICLES PARTITIFS
These articles can be translated in English as <<some>>. These are used for an imprecise quantity and uncountable things.
There are 4 partitive articles in French which are as follows-
<<Du>> is used before a masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant. par exemple- du sucre, du sel etc.
<<De la >>is used before a feminine singular noun beginning with a consonant. par exemple- de la pluie, de la biere etc.
<< Des>>is used before all plural nouns. par exemple- des nuages, des sandwichs etc.
<<De l’>>is used before a masculine or feminine singular noun beginning with a vowel. par exemple- de l’escargot, de l’oeuf etc.
vous comprenez??
Attendez!!
Let us understand in detail: par exemple-
1. Je mange du gateau. (means I eat some cake.)
2. Il boit de la biere.( means He drinks some beer.)
3. Nous prenons des escargots.( means We take some snails.)
4. Ils prennent de l’œuf.( means They take some egg.)
LES ARTICLES CONTRACTES
Les articles definis(the) | A(to,in,at) | De(of,from) |
| Le | Au | Du |
| La | A la | De la |
| Les | Aux | Des |
| L’ | A l’ | De l’ |
These articles can be translated in English as <<to the, in the, at the, of the and from the>>. These articles are usually formed when definite articles combine with preposition a or de.
For example-
1. Je parle a Paul.
2. Tu donnes une fleur au garcon.
3. Il offre son chocolat a la fille.
4. Nous parlons aux etudiants.
5. Il vient du parc.
6. Le professeur sort de la classe.
7. Vous venez des Antilles ?
8. Ils sont venus de l’eglise.
RECAPITULATION
TENSES ( done in class IX)
1. Le Passe recent
It is used to express an action which has taken place in the recent past. It is usually expressed with expressions like il y a un moment, il y a une minute, il y a une heure, il y a un instant, recemment etc.
FORMATION
Venir au present + de + l’infinitif du verbe
For example- 1. Je viens de lire le roman <<Le Petit Prince>>, il y a un moment.
2. Recemment , nous venons d’apprendre cette lecon.
3. Il y a un instant, vous venez de vous promener.
2. Le Futur Proche
This tense is used to express an action which is going to take place in the near future. It is usually expressed with expressions like dans un moment, dans une minute, dans un instant, bientot etc.
FORMATION
aller au present + l’infinitif du verbe
For example- 1. Dans cinq minutes, le film va commencer.
2. Il va acheter une nouvelle voiture bientôt.
3. Maman ! Nous allons nous levons dans deux minutes.
3. L’imperatif
It is used for expressing orders, instructions, commands and advices.
FORMATION
We conjugate the verb in <<tu>>,<< nous>> and<< vous>> form in present tense, remove the subject pronouns and add an exclamation mark at the end of the sentences. If the verb is an<< er>> ending verb we drop <<s>> from <<tu>> form of conjugation. We make these sentences negative by adding <<ne>> before the verb and <<pas>> after the verb.
For example- 1. Aller a l’ecole (To go to the school)
Va a l’ecole! Ne va pas a l’ecole !
Allons a l’ecole! N’allons pas a l’ecole!
Allez a l’ecole! N’allez pas a l’ecole!
2. Boire beaucoup d’eau (To drink plenty of water)
Bois beaucoup d’eau! Ne bois pas beaucoup d’eau !
Buvons beaucoup d’eau! Ne buvons pas beaucoup d’eau!
Buvez beaucoup d’eau ! Ne buvez pas beaucoup d’eau !
3. Remplir cette fiche d’identite (to fill this form)
Remplis cette fiche d’identite! Ne remplis pas cette fiche d’identite! Remplissons cette fiche d’identite! Ne remplissons pas cette fiche d’identite!
Remplissez cette fiche d’identite ! Ne remplissez pas cette fiche d’identite !
EXCEPTIONS
1. Etre courageux (Be courageous) 2. Avoir de la patience (To have patience)
Sois courageux ! Aie de la patience !
Soyons courageux ! Ayons de la patience !
Soyez courageux ! Ayez de la patience !
3. Savoir la verite (To know the truth) 4. Vouloir ( To want)
Sache la verite ! Veuille !
Sachons la verite ! Veuillons !
Sachez la verite ! Veuillez !
4. Le Futur Simple
It is used for expressing an action which will take place sometime later in future. It is usually expressed with expressions like demain, le lendemain, la semaine prochaine, le mois prochain, l’annee prochaine etc.
FORMATION
In case of regular verbs :
L’infinitif du verbe + endings of le futur simple(ai,as,a,a,ons,ez,ont,ont)
In case of irregular verbs (exceptions):
Instead of the infinitive of the verb, we take a different radical(stem) and add the (same) endings to it. Verbs having different radicals are as follows:
1. Avoir- aur
2. Etre- ser
3. Aller- ir
4. Savoir- saur
5. Vouloir- voudr
6. Pouvoir- pourr
7. Venir- viendr
8. Voir- verr
9. envoyer- enverr
10. Tenir-tiendr
11. Courir- courr
12. Mourir- mourr
13. Faire- fer
14. Devoir- devr
15. Se promener- se promener
16. se lever- se lever
17. se mener-se mener
18. Acheter- acheter
19. Falloir- faudra
20. Pleuvoir- pleuvra
21. Neiger- neigera etc.
Par exemple- 1. Je visiterai ma tante demain. ( means I will visit my aunt tomorrow)
2. La semaine prochaine, tu commenceras a preparer pour ton examen. (means the next week, you will commence to prepare for your exam.)
3. Dans deux jours, nous finirons notre lecon.(means In two days, we will finish our lecon.)
4. Jacques saura toute la realite demain.( merans Jaques will know all the reality tomorrow.)
5. Le mois prochain, vous irez aux etats-unis pour ta reunion? (means The next month, will you go to the United states for your meeting?) etc.
5. Le Passe Compose
This tense is called simple past tense in english. We have two group of verbs , one which are conjugated with verb etre and other which are conjugated with verb avoir. Those verbs which belong to the group DR MRS VANDER TRAMP are conjugated with verb etre, which are as follows-
D- descendre ; participe passé-descendu
R- rentrer; participe passé-rentré
M- monter; participe passé-monté
R- rester; participe passé-resté
S- sortir; participe passé-sorti
V- venir; participe passe-venu
A- aller; participe passé-allé
N- naitre; participe passé-né
D- devenir; participe passé-devenu
E- entrer; participe passé-entré
R- revenir; participe passé-revenu
T- tomber; participe passé-tombé
R- retourner; participe passé-retourné
A-arriver; participe passé-arrivé
M- mourir; participe passé-mort
P- partir, passer; participe passé-parti, passé
FORMATION
Etre au present + le participe passé du verbe
Those verbs which do not belong to the above group are conjugated with verb avoir.
FORMATION
Avoir au present + le participe passé du verbe
Note:- Some verbs can take both <<avoir>> or <<etre>> as auxiliary verb depending on the fact that they are transitive or intransitive. When they are transitive they will use auxiliary verb <<avoir>> that means the verb acts directly on its object.
Par exemple: 1. J’ai sorti la clé de ma poche. (I took the key out of my pocket.)
mais, Je suis sorti(e) de ma maison a 7 heures du matin. (I went out of my house at 7 o’clock in the morning.)
2. J’ai monte la valise.(I lifted the suitcase.)
mais, Je suis monte(e) dans ma chambre. (I went up in my room.)
3.J’ai descendu le sac.(I brought the bag downstairs.)
mais, Je suis descendu(e) de la montagne.(I came down from the mountain.)
4. J’ai passe mon examen.(I appeared for my exam or i wrote an exam.)
mais, je suis passe(e) par ta maison.( I passed by your house.)etc
CTM:-We add accords to the past participle form of the verb according to the gender and number of the subject when it is being conjugated with verb <<etre>> .
6. L’Imparfait
This tense is used for expressing a repeated action of the past or for describing a scene or scenerio of the past. It is described as the past continuous tense in english.
FORMATION
We take <<nous>> form of conjugation of the verb in present tense, remove <<ons>> and add the endings of l’imparfait which are –
ais, ais, ait, ait, ions, iez, aient, aient. Par exemple-
manger (to eat)- we take nous form of conjugation of this verb in present tense which is <<mangeons>>, remove <<ons>>, we get <<mange>> and add the endings of l’imparfait to it
Je mangeais
Tu mangeais
Il/Elle mangeait
Nous mangeions
Vous mangiez
Ils/Elles mangeaient
but there is an exception which is verb etre(to be). In this case we take <<et>> as the radical straight away and add the endings of l’imparfait to it.
J’etais
Tu etais
Il/Elle etait
Nous etions
Vous etiez
Ils/Elles etaient
7. Le Conditionel Present
This tense is used for expressing politeness and in the condition with <<si>> i.e. si +l’imparfait +le conditionel present
Formation
We take the radical of simple future tense and add the endings of imparfait to it. Par exemple-
1.Prendre(to take)- prendr
Je prendrais
Tu prendrais
Il/Elle prendrait
Nous prendrions
Vous prendriez
Ils/Elles prendraient
2.Savoir(to know)- saur
Je saurais
Tu saurais
Il/Elle saurait
Nous saurions
Vous sauriez
Ils/Elles sauraient etc.
Le Futur Anterieur
We use this tense in two cases-
- when two actions take place in future one after the other, the action which will happen first chronologically will be conjugated in le futur anterieur and the following action will be conjugated in le futur simple.
- It represents an action which will be completed in a particular time frame. Par exemple- dans deux jours, dans un mois etc.
Note- These sentences usually begin with expressions like Des que, Aussitot que, Quand and Lorsque.
Formation
Avoir/etre au futur simple + le participe passe du verbe
Avoir au futur simple
J’aurai
Tu auras
Il/Elle aura
Nous aurons
Vous aurez
Ils/Elles auront
Etre au futur simple
Je serai
Tu seras
Il/Elle sera
Nous serons
Vous serez
Ils/Elles seront
Au FUTUR ANTERIEUR verbs will take their auxillary verb <<avoir>> or <<etre>> according to the rule of DR MRS VANDER TRAMP. Accords will be added according to the subject of the sentence when the verb takes <<etre>> as its auxillary verb.
1.Donner (to give)
J’ aurai donne
Tu auras donne
Il/Elle aura donne
Nous aurons donne
Vous aurez donne
Ils/Elles auront donne
2. Aller(to go)
Je serai alle(e)
Tu seras alle(e)
Il/Elle sera alle(e)
Nous serons alle(s)(es)
Vous serez alle(e)(s)
Ils/Elles seront alles(es)
Quelques exemples pour comprendre bien:
- Quand j’aurai fini les mathematiques, je commencerai la science.
- J’irai a l’universite, lorsque j’aurai eu mon bac,
- Aussitot que j’aurai complete mes etudes, je partirai a l’etranger.
- Elle te telephonera, des qu’elle sera arrivee chez elle.
D’accord, maintenant on va apprendre quelques formes verbales et leurs formes nominales correspondantes.
One must learn verb forms and their corresponding noun forms, their meanings in english and their genders as it may help you to firstly enhance your vocabulary and also to crack la comprehention ecrite i.e. section -A of board examination paper. Par exemples-
- encourager- l’encouragement
- decourager- le decouragement
- conserver- la conservation
- entrer- l’entree
- arriver- l’arrivee
- aimer- l’amour
- augmenter- l’augmentation
- boire- la boisson
- courir- la course
- comprendre- la comprehention
- donner- le don
- echouer- l’echec
- former- la formation
- gouter- le gout
- reussir- la reussite
- reduire- la reduction
- voyager- le voyage
- lutter- la lutte
- parler- la parole
- ecrire- l’ecriture
- lire- la lecture, le lecteur
- sortir- la sortie
- partir- le depart
- diminuer- la diminution
- imprimer- l’imprimante
- decouvrir- la decouverte
- marcher-la marche
- demarcher- la demarche
- se promener- la promenade
- attendre- l’attente
- arreter- l’arret
- pleuvoir- la pluie
- vendre- la vente
- plaire- le plaisir
- terdre- la perte
- ameliorere- l’amelioration
- autoriser- l’autorisation
- baisser- la baisse
- acheter- l’achat
- enseigner- l’enseignement
- vouloir- la volonte
- penser- la pensee
- voir- la vue
- conseiller- le conseil
- feter- la fete
- preparer- la preparation
- poluer- la pollution
- voler- le vol, le voleur
- repondre- la reponse
- connaitre- la connaissance
- pouvoir- le pouvoir, la puissance
- revoir- la prevision
- recolter- la recolte
- ramasser- le ramassage
- tromper- le trompeur
- planifier- le plan
- sueveiller- la surveillance
- diffuse- la diffusion
- commencer- le commencement
- finir- la fin
- s’inscrire- l’inscription
- employer- l’emploi
- favoriser- le faveur
- etablir- l’etablissement
- suivre- la suite
- differencier- la difference
- garder- le garde
- servir- le service, le serveur, la serveuse
- ressembler- la ressemblance
- obliger- l’obligation
- proteger- la protection etc.
Les Pronoms Relatifs
Les Pronoms Relatifs are the pronouns used to join two simple sentences and making a complex sentence while replacing the repeating noun.
These can be divided in two categories-
- Simples
- Composes
1. Simples- There are four pronouns in this category, which are qui,que,ou and dont.
Let us now elaborate on these pronouns:
- Qui- It replaces the repeating noun which is used as a subject in the sentence. A subject is the doer in the sentence or a noun according to which verb is conjugated. In English it means who, which, what.
Par exemple- C’est une fille. La fille est belle.
Note: In this sentence << La fille>> is the repeating noun and it is the subject in the second sentence. So we will replace it with <<qui>>.
Answer will be
C’est une fille qui est belle. Means This is a girl who is beautiful.
Note: when << qui >> is followed by a verb beginning with a vowel, it is not reduced to <<qu’>>.
2. Que- It replaces the repeating noun which is used as an object in the sentence. An object is the noun on which the action takes place.In English it means who, which, what.
Par exemple: C’est un travail. J’aime ce travail.
Note: In this sentence << ce travail >> is the repeating noun and it is the object in the second sentence. So we will replace it with << que >.
Answer will be
C’est un travail que j’aime. Means This is a job which I like.
Note: when << que >> is followed by a verb beginning with a vowel, it is reduced to <<qu’>>.
3. Ou- It replaces a repeating object which is a place and for expressions of time in the sentence. In English it means where and when.
Par exemple- C’est une ville. J’habite dans cette ville depuis ma naissance.
Note: In this sentence << dans cette ville >> represents a place whichis an object in the second sentence. So, we will replace it with <<ou>>.
Answer will be
C’est une ville ou j’habite depuis ma naissance. Means This is a city where I live since my childhood.
Note: when << ou>> is followed by a verb beginning with a vowel, it is not reduced to <<o’>>.
4. Dont- It replaces the repeating noun which is preceeded by preposition <<de>> or forms of <<de>>. In English it means of which, whose, of whom.
Par exemple: 1. C’est un travail. Je suis content de ce travail.
Note: In this sentence << ce travail >> is the repeating noun and it is preceeded by preposition <<de>>. So we will replace it with << dont >>.
Answer will be
C’est un travail dont je suis content. Means This is a job of which I am happy.
Similarly,
- C’est l’etudiant. Nous sommes fiers de cet etudiant.
C’est l’etudiant dont nous sommes fiers. ( This is the student of whom we are proud.)
2. Composes- These pronouns are used when repeating noun is preceeded by a preposition.
FORMATION
Preposition + lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles ( depending upon the gender and number of the repeating noun )
Par exemple:
- J’ai un ami. Je travail pour lui.
J’ai un ami pour lequel je travail. (I have a friend for whom I work.)
- C’est la photo. Je suis assis a cote de cette photo.
C’est la photo a cote de laquelle je suis assis. ( This is the photograph next to which I am sitting. )
- Le train etait bonde. Ali est monte dans le train.
Le train etait bonde dans lequel Ali est monte. ( The train was crowded in which Ali boarded.)
Le Plus-que-parfait
Le Plus-que-parfait is used to express an action which takes place in the past before another action could take place. It is also used to express an cation which took place long time ago in the past. In English this tense is translated as past perfect tense .
FORMATION
Avoir/etre a l’imparfait + le participle passe du verbe
Avoir (a l’imparfait) Etre ( a l’imparfait)
J’avais J’etais
Tu avais Tu etais
Il/Elle avait Il/Elle etait
Nous avions Nous etions
Vous aviez Vous etiez
Ils/Elles avaient. Ils/Elles etaient
Au Plus-que-pafait verbs will take their auxillary verb <<avoir>> or <<etre>> according to the rule of DR MRS VANDER TRAMP. Accords will be added according to the subject of the sentence when the verb takes <<etre>> as its auxillary verb.
Let us now conjugate few verbs in plus-que-parfait. Par exemple:
Emprunter ( to borrow ) Partir ( to leave a place)
J’avais emprunte J’etais parti (e)
Tu avais emprunte Tu etais parti (e)
Il/Elle avait emprunte Il/Elle etait parti (e)
Nous avions emprunte Nous etions partis (es)
Vous aviez emprunte Vous etiez parti (e)(s)
Ils/Elles avaient emprunte Ils/Elles etaient partis (es)
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