How To Conjugate French Verbs ( Avoir-to have) | Your
How To Conjugate French Verbs ( Avoir-to have) | Your
French Verb Avoir (to have) Present Tense Conjugation
French Conjugation of Etre and Avoir (Present Tense
Conjugate avoir in Le Présent (present tense) : French
Present: Verb Avoir-French
French verb 'avoir': Conjugation and pronunciation
Avoir Conjugation In The Present Tense [+10 Examples
Conjugation avoir | Conjugate verb avoir French | Reverso
Avoir Conjugation in French, Translation, and Examples
French verb avoir in the present tense - SlideShare
conjugate french verb avoir present tense
conjugate french verb avoir present tense - win
The french conjugation part 2: how to conjugate?
In my last post, I exposed the very basics of the french conjugation, but today, I'll write about something more specific and problematic: how french conjugation really works? In my last post, I already said that french conjugation is simply made like that: subject + verb + termination, so if you want to say "I'll eat", you take "Je" + mange" (radical of "manger") + rai (termination for "Je" in the "futur de l'indicatif" tense) which makes "je mangerai". I also explained that verbs are divided in 3 groups (1er groupe -> -er group + 2ème groupe -> -ir group + 3° groupe -> irregular group) and each group can be divided in many sub groups (the group of the verbs that are conjugated like "manger", the group of verb that are conjugated like "venir",...) A comment in my previous post also mentionned the Bescherelle which is a book for french conjugation. You should definitively check it (online version of it) as it will help you find how to conjugate a verb properly. So with that in mind, you should be able to conjugate the regular verbs in french with the simple tenses. But, if there are "regular" verbs, there are also irregular verbs. Here is a good list of the irregular verbs for you all. Also, if there are "simple" tenses, there are tenses that are not simple. But dont worry, they are easy if you master the conjugation of "être" and "avoir". Let me explain: Composed tense are tenses where the verbal group is like that: "subject + auxiliary + verb (in its participe passé form)". You are probably familiar with that syntax as it is also how the english verbs are conjugated in their composed tenses, and the similarities don't stop there. In french, the auxiliaries are "être" (to be) and "avoir" (to have). The verbs are always in their participe passé form which is made of the radical of the verb and with the termination "é" (-er verbs, not only of the 1rst group), "u" (-ir and -ire verbs) or are irregular (like "être" which becomes "été" or "avoir" which becomes "eu"). In the composed tenses, the auxiliary is the only verb that is conjugated, and in order to master the composed tenses, you will need to master the conjugations of "être" and "avoir" in the following tenses: présent, imparfait, passé simple and futur simple of the indicatif mode; présent and imparfait of the subjonctif mode and présent of the conditionel mode. There are no thumb rule to know if a verb have "avoir" or "être" as an auxiliary, except for that one "it's almost always "avoir" except for some verbs (that you should know by heart) and even then, it's "avoir" if the verb is followed by a complément d'objet direct". finaly, the verb in its participe passé form is accorded in gender and in number of the subject if the auxiliary is "être" but not if it's "avoir". For example: "Elles ont mangé du pain" (mangé is still "mangé" even though the subject is feminine and plural) and "Elles étaient parties au restaurant" ("parti" have an "être" auxiliary, so it take the "e" because the subject is feminine and an "s" because the subject is plural) And while we're at it, let's talk a bit about when to use the composed tenses, because if you remember from my last post, I said that french aimed for precision when it comes to conjugation, hence the numerous tenses and the importance of knowing when to use them. So here we go: Passé composé (auxiliary in its present conjugation) is the most commonly used composed tense in french. It is used as a way to talk about a past action that has ended. ex: j'ai été malade toute la semaine. tu as vu le dernier Avenger? Nous sommes allés ("allé" takes the "s" because the auxiliary is "être" and the subject is plural) en Norvège cet été. The conditionnel passé (auxiliary in its conditionel présent conjugation) is also oftenly used, so you should know it aswell. It is used to talk about an action that would have happened if a condition was checked (usually a regret or a charge). ex: si j'avais eu un peu plus de jugeotte, je n'aurais pas fait ça. Elle était abrutie ("abruti" takes an "e" because the auxiliary is "être" and the subject is feminine) par le vin hier soir! The plus que parfait (auxiliary in its imparfait conjugation) is to refer to an action that happen before the narrative time if the narrative tense is already in the past (it's the past of the past). ex: J'étais aux courses et je ne me suis pas rendu compte que j'avais oublié ma liste! Tu avais perdu ton portable. The futur antérieur (auxiliary in its futur simple conjugation) is as used as the plus que parfait. It is used for an action that happened before the narative time if the narative time is in the future. For example: Tu seras déjà couchée quand je sortirai du travail. (the narrative time is given by "when I'll be out of work"). The futur antérieur can also be used to talk about an action that will happen at a given time (so the time must be given). ex: les travaux seront finis en Janvier. The subjonctif passé (auxiliary in its subjonctif présent conjugation) is used to talk about an action that might (or might not) have happened. ex: Il faut que tu aies passé ton bac pour aller à l'université. And now, we get on the rarely used tenses of french. The passé antérieur (auxiliary in its passé simple conjugation) is like the plus que parfait, but only used when you use the "passé simple" tense (which is not commonly used). example: "Quand il eut fini, elle hurla" The subjonctif plus que parfait (auxiliary in its subjonctif imparfait conjugation) is to talk about an action that might (or might not) have happened in the time of the naration if the time is the past. It is almost only used in litterature. example: Quand je les ai lu, je doutais qu'il eût écris ces lettres. And here you have it! One of the most boring part of french conjugation, but a part that you should know. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts or ask for a question :) EDIT: L'ironie de faire un post sur la conjugaison sans penser à la vérifier. J'ai corrigé ça grâce aux commentaires de lackaisicalquokka et de Deathletterblues et un peu de relecture.
French regular -RE verbs are a small group of French verbs which share a conjugation pattern. Here are the most common regular -RE verbs: attendre to wait (for) défendre to defend descendre to descend entendre to to hear étendre to stretch fondre to melt pendre to hang, suspend perdre to lose prétendre to claim rendre to give back, return répandre to spread, scatter répondre to answer vendre to sell Irregular verbs are so named because they do not follow any of the regular conjugation patterns. But that doesn't mean that every irregular French verb is unique; many of them share a conjugation pattern with at least one other verb. By learning how to conjugate one verb in a group and memorizing the list of similar verbs, you'll be able to conjugate all the verbs in that group. French has five irregular -RE verb patterns - see examples at the bottom of the page: 1.The first group includes prendre and all of its derivations (comprendre, etc). These verbsdrop the din all three plural forms and alsodouble the nin the third person plural. 2.The second group includes battre and all of its derivations (débattre, etc). These verbsdrop the stem's final tin the singular forms. 3.The third group includes mettre and all of its derivations (promettre, etc). These verbs are conjugated just like battre verbs in the present tense, but I consider them a separate group because they are conjugated differently in the passé simple, imperfect subjunctive, and past participle. (As you can see in the table below, the first three groups take the same present tense verb endings.) 4.The fourth group of irregular -RE verbs includes rompre and its derivations (corrompre, etc). These verbs are conjugated exactly like regular -RE verbs with the single exception of the third person singular present tense, which adds atafter the stem. 5.The fifth group of irregular -RE verbs includes all verbs that end in -aindre (e.g., craindre), -eindre(like peindre), and -oindre (such as joindre). These verbsdrop the din the root in all forms, andadd a g in front of the nin the plural forms. The rest of the irregular -RE verbs have unique or unwieldy conjugations, so you have to memorize each one separately. Try working on one verb a day until you've mastered them all: absoudre, boire, clore, conclure, conduire, confire, connaître, coudre, croire, dire, écrire, faire,inscrire, lire, moudre, naître, plaire, rire, suivre, vivre. 📷 French imperfect conjugations are very easy, as the imperfect of virtually all verbs—regular and irregular—is formed the same way: drop the -ons ending from the present indicative nous form of the verb and adding the imperfect endings. Être is the only irregular verb in the imperfect, because the present tense nous sommeshas no -ons to drop. So it has the irregular stem ét- and uses the same endings as all other verbs. As in many other tenses, spelling change verbs, that is, verb which end in -cer and -ger, have minor spelling changes in the imperfect. Verbs that end in -ier have an imperfect root that ends in i, so end with double i in thenous and vous form of the imperfect. This isn't irregular, but it looks kind of weird. 📷 There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and irregular. Once you've learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The majority of French verbs are regular -ER verbs - see the next page for a list of some common -ER verbs. The verb form that ends in -ER is called the infinitive (in English, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word "to"), and -ER is the infinitive ending. The verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -ER verbs, remove the infinitive ending to find the stem and add the endings in the table below. 📷 French regular -ER verbs, by far the largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern. Here are just a few of the most common regular -ER verbs: aimer to like, to love arriver to arrive, to happen chanter to sing chercher to look for commencer* to begin danser to dance demander to ask for dépenser to spend (money) détester to hate donner to give écouter to listen to étudier** to study fermer to close goûter to taste jouer to play laver to wash manger* to eat nager* to swim parler to talk, to speak passer to pass, spend (time) penser to think porter to wear, to carry regarder to watch, to look at rêver to dream sembler to seem skier* to ski travailler to work trouver to find visiter to visit (a place) voler to fly, to steal There are a lot of French verbs that end in -ER and there are a lot of irregular French verbs, but there is only one irregular -ER verb. However, there are three groups of -ER verbs that have some irregularities. AllerAller (to go) is the only truly irregular -er verb in French - its conjugations are unique and, according to some, very odd. Spelling change verbs Spelling change verbs are verbs that end in -cer or -ger. Their stem formation and verb endings are the same as for regular -er verbs, but there is a slight spelling change for pronunciation purposes in certain conjugations. Stem-changing verbs Stem-changing verbs are -er verbs that take the regular endings but have two different radicals. There are five categories of French stem-changing verbs: -yer, -eler, -eter, -e_er, and -é_er. -IER verbs There is nothing actually irregular about the conjugation of -ier verbs - they are conjugated like regular -er verbs, but some of their forms look strange. 📷 French regular -IR verbs, the second largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern. Here are just a few of the most common regular -IR verbs: abolir to abolish agir to act avertir to warn bâtir to build bénir to bless choisir to choose établir to establish étourdir to stun, deafen, make dizzy finir to finish grossir to gain weight, get fat guérir to cure, heal, recover maigrir to lose weight, get thin nourrir to feed, nourish obéir to obey punir to punish réfléchir to reflect, think remplir to to fill réussir to succeed rougir to blush, turn red vieillir to grow old Irregular verbs are the bane of every French student's existence, but there is some good news. There are some patterns in the irregularities - once you learn the conjugations for one verb in a group, you shouldn't have any trouble with the other verbs in that group. There are two groups of irregular -IR verbs: 1.The first group of irregular verbs includes dormir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir, sortir, and all of their derivatives (repartir, etc). These verbs drop the last letter of the radical in the singular conjugations - see example in table below. 2.The second group of verbs includes couvrir, cueillir, découvrir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrir, and their derivatives (recouvrir, etc). These verbs are conjugated like regular -ER verbs - see example in table below. The rest of the irregular -IR verbs don't follow a pattern - you have to memorize the conjugations for each one separately: asseoir, courir, devoir, falloir, mourir, pleuvoir, pouvoir, recevoir, savoir,tenir, valoir, venir, voir, vouloir 📷 Thepassé composéis the most common French past tense, often used in conjunction with the imperfect. The passé composé can express any of the following: I. An action completed in the past As-tu étudié ce weekend ? Did you study this weekend? Ils ont déjà mangé. They have already eaten. II. An action repeated a number of times in the past Oui, j'ai mangé cinq fois hier. Yes, I did eat five times yesterday. Nous avons visité Paris plusieurs fois. We've visited Paris several times. III. A series of actions completed in the past Quand je suis arrivé, j'ai vu les fleurs. When I arrived, I saw the flowers. Samedi, il a vu sa mère, a parlé au médicin et a trouvé un chat. Saturday he saw his mother, talked to the doctor, and found a cat. The passé composé is a compound conjugation, which means it has two parts:
📷 Imperfect Quand j'avais 15 ans, je voulais être psychiatre. Je m'intéressais à la psychologie parce que je connaissais beaucoup de gens très bizarres. Le week-end, j'allais à la bibliothèque et j'étudiais pendant toute la journée. When I was 15, I wanted to be a psychiatrist. I was interested in psychology because I knew a lot of really weird people. On the weekends, I used to go to the library and study all day. Passé composé Un jour, je suis tombé malade et j'ai découvert les miracles de la médecine. J'ai fait la connaissance d'un médecin et j'ai commencé à étudier avec lui. Quand la faculté de médecine m'a accepté, je n'ai plus pensé à la psychologie. One day, I got sick and discovered the wonders of medicine. I met a doctor and started studying with him. After the medical school accepted me, I didn't think about psychology any more. Indicators The following key words and phrases tend to be used with either the imperfect or the passé composé, so when you see any of them, you know which tense you need: The imperative, called l'impératif in French, is a verb mood which is used to · give an order · express a desire · make a request · offer advice · recommend something Unlike all other French verb tenses and personal moods, the subject pronoun is not used with the imperative: Fermez la porte. Close the door. Mangeons maintenant. Let's eat now. Ayez la bonté de m'attendre. Please wait for me. Veuillez m'excuser. Please excuse me. The above are called "affirmative commands," because they are telling someone to do something. "Negative commands," which tell someonenotto do something, are made by placing ne in front of the verb and the appropriate negative adverb after the verb: Ne parle pas ! Don't speak! N'oublions pas les livres. Let's not forget the books. N'ayez jamais peur. Never be afraid. -ER verbs (regular, stem-changing, spelling change, and irregular) The imperative conjugations for nous and vous are the same as the present indicative, and the tu form of the imperative is the indicative minus the final s (but see item 4 on this page): parler (tu) parle (nous) parlons (vous) parlez lever (tu) lève (nous) levons (vous) levez aller (tu) va (nous) allons (vous) allez Verbs which are conjugated like -ER verbs (meaning that in the indicative the tu form ends in -es), such as ouvrir and souffrir, follow the same rules as -ER verbs. ouvrir (tu) ouvre (nous) ouvrons (vous) ouvrez -IR verbsand-RE verbs The imperative conjugations for all regular and most* irregular -IR and -RE verbs are the same as the present indicative conjugations. finir (tu) finis (nous) finissons (vous) finissez attendre (tu) attends (nous) attendons (vous) attendez faire (tu) fais (nous) faisons (vous) faites *Except for verbs conjugated like -ER verbs and the following four irregular imperative verbs: avoir (tu) aie (nous) ayons (vous) ayez être (tu) sois (nous) soyons (vous) soyez savoir (tu) sache (nous) sachons (vous) sachez vouloir (tu) veuille (nous) n/a (vous) veuillez The order of words in a French sentence can be very confusing due to affirmative and negative imperative constructions and object and adverbial pronouns. This lesson will teach you exactly how to order your sentences when using the imperative. Remember that there are two kinds of imperatives, affirmative and negative, and the word order is different for each of them. Negative imperatives are easier, because their word order is the same as that of all other simple verb conjugations: any object, reflexive, and/or adverbial pronouns precede the verb and the negative structure surrounds the pronoun(s) + verb: Finis ! - Finish! Ne finis pas ! - Don't finish! Ne le finis pas ! - Don't finish it! Lisez ! - Read! Ne lisez pas ! - Don't read! Ne le lisez pas ! - Don't read it! Ne me le lisez pas ! - Don't read it to me! Affirmative commands are more complicated, for several reasons. 1.The word order is for affirmative commands is different from that of all other verb tenses/moods: any pronouns follow the verb and are connected to it and to each other with hyphens. Finis-le ! - Finish it! Allons-y ! - Let's go! Mangez-les ! - Eat them! Donne-lui-en ! - Give him some! 2.The order of the pronouns in affirmative commands is slightly different from all other verb tenses/moods (see table at the bottom of the page): Envoie-le-nous ! - Send it to us! Expliquons-la-leur ! - Let's explain it to them! Donnez-nous-en ! - Give us some! Donne-le-moi ! - Give it to me! 3.The pronouns me and te change to the stressed pronounsmoi and toi... Lève-toi ! - Get up! Parlez-moi ! - Talk to me! Dis-moi ! - Tell me! ...unless they are followed by y or en, in which case they contract to m' and t' Va-t'en ! - Go away! Faites-m'y penser. - Remind me about it. 4.When a tu command is followed by the pronouns y or en, the final s is not dropped from the verb conjugation: Vas-y ! - Go away! Parles-en. - Talk about it. 📷
The 10 most common mistakes my students make in French
If you are a French learner with an A2-B2 level, this post will be very useful to you. I’ve been working as a French tutor for 5 years and I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common speaking mistakes I hear my students make. These are SO common that I truly believe that if a learner stops making all 10 of them, their French would already improve by like 50%. If you have any questions or if you don't understand some of the mistakes, feel free to comment and I will gladly give a more detailed explanation. ** Also, please note: Almost every single grammar rule in French has exceptions. But the rules listed below work 95%+ of the time. ........................................................................................... #1: When saying “to the” or “at the”, you cannot say “à le”. The preposition “À” + the masculine article “le” merge and become “au”. CORRECT: Je veux aller au cinéma WRONG: Je veux aller à le cinéma. ALSO WRONG: Je veux aller au le cinéma. (I hear “au le” a lot but that literally means “to the the”) Same thing for “de” + “le” and “de” + “les”. “De” + “le” merge and become “du”, and “de” + “les” become “des”. CORRECT: Le nom du chanteur du groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité des pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol. WRONG: Le nom de le chanteur de le groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité de les pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol. ......................................................................................... #2: To say “A lot of…” you have to say “Beaucoup de” or “Beaucoup d’” (if the next word starts with a vowel). “Beaucoup” can NEVER be followed by des or du or de la. CORRECT: Il y a beaucoup de personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup d’amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup de chocolat. WRONG: Il y a beaucoup des personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup des amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup du chocolat. ......................................................................................... #3: Sometimes, people don’t know where to place the negation “ne” in the sentence. But it’s actually very simple. “Ne” comes right after the subject or the subject pronoun. CORRECT: Je ne suis pas fatigué / Je n’ai pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants ne veulent pas aller à l’école. WRONG: Je suis ne pas fatigué / J’ai ne pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants veulent ne pas aller à l’école. Another important thing to remember is that when the sentence has another negation word like “rien” or “jamais” or “personne”, these words will replace the “pas”. CORRECT: Je ne suis jamais allé en France / Il n’y a rien à manger / Personne n’aime faire des devoirs. WRONG: Je ne suis pas jamais allé en France / Il n’y a pas rien à manger / Personne n’aime pas faire des devoirs. .......................................................................................... #4: This one is extremely common. Learners often use the conjugated form of the verb when it should be the infinitive or they use the infinitive form when it should be the conjugated form. When to use the infinitive?: When the verb is used with what I call a “connector verb” (vouloir, aimer, aller, pouvoir, devoir…) or right after prepositions like “à”, “de”, and “pour”. CORRECT: Je veux manger une pomme / J’aime prendre l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demander quelque chose? / Tu dois faire tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménager au Canada. / Pour apprendre une langue, il faut étudier souvent. WRONG: Je veux mange une pomme / J’aime prend l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demande quelque chose? / Tu dois fais tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménage au Canada. / Pour apprend une langue, il faut étudie souvent. Now, when to use the conjugated form of a verb?: When it comes after a subject or a subject pronoun, or after “qui”. CORRECT: Ça prend beaucoup de temps / Mes parents ont une grande maison / C’est un film qui parle de l’Égypte / Je te vois. WRONG: Ça prendre beaucoup de temps / Mes parents avoir une grande maison / C’est un film qui parler de l’Égypte / Je te voir You can understand why it’s wrong by comparing it to English. You wouldn’t say “It to take a lot of time”. You would say “It takes a lot of time”. ........................................................................................... #5: In French, the verb "connaître" and "savoir" both mean "to know", but they are used differently. “Connaître” means “to know” with the idea to be personally familiar with, to have experienced it yourself. It is used with books, movies, cities, people... CORRECT: Je ne connais pas le film Titanic / Connais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu les connais? WRONG: Je ne sais pas le film Titanic / Sais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu les sais? "Savoir" has to do with acquired knowledge. It is followed by interrogative expressions (où, pourquoi, qui, avec qui, quand, etc…), or by verbs. CORRECT: Sais-tu où il habite? / Je ne sais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je sais parler français. WRONG: Connais-tu où il habite? / Je ne connais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je connais parler français. .................................................................................... #6: This mistake is fairly easy to fix. Pronouns “je”, “te”, “me”, “le”, “la”, and "se" have to be attached to words that start with a vowel or with an “h”. CORRECT: J’habite à Montréal / J'apprends le français / Je ne t’entends pas / Il m’a demandé si j’étais célibataire / Je l’ai vu au restaurant. / Il s'est réveillé tôt. WRONG: Je habite à Montréal / Je apprends le français / Je ne te entends pas / Il me a demandé si je étais célibataire / Je le ai vu au restaurant. / Il se est réveillé tôt. ........................................................................................... #7: Most French verbs in the past tense (passé composé) use the auxiliary verb “avoir”. But some use the auxiliary verb “être”. Here are the most important ones to remember: CORRECT: Je suis allé au casino / Il est devenu pilote / Je suis revenu à la maison / Nous sommes retournés dans notre ville natale / Chantal est venue à mon anniversaire / Ils sont arrivés à Montréal ce matin / Je suis resté chez moi toute la journée. WRONG: J'ai allé au casino / Il a devenu pilote / J’ai revenu à la maison / Nous avons retourné dans notre ville natale / Chantal a venu à mon anniversaire / Ils ont arrivé à Montréal ce matin / J’ai resté chez moi toute la journée. Also, useful tip: Every single reflexive verbs (se + verb) use the auxiliary “être” in the passé composé. For example: Je me suis réveillé / Nous nous sommes promenés / etc... ................................................................................................ #8: In English, words like “sometimes, never, always, often, already…”, usually come right after the subject or subject pronoun. But in French, it isn’t so. They must come after the verb. CORRECT: François va souvent au parc / Je ne mange jamais de viande / J’ai déjà fini mon projet / Nous passons toujours du temps ensemble. WRONG: François souvent va au parc / Je ne jamais mange de viande / Je déjà ai fini mon projet / Nous toujours passons du temps ensemble. ............................................................................................. #9: In French, “que” and “qui” can both mean “that”, but they are used differently. “Que” is used before subjects or subject pronouns whereas “qui” is used before verbs. CORRECT: La robe que tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens qui n’aiment pas voyager. / Aimes-tu le plat que j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film qui a gagné un oscar. WRONG: La robe qui tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens que n’aiment pas voyager / Aimes-tu le plat qui j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film que a gagné un oscar. ............................................................................................. #10: In English, you can express the present tense by saying for example “I eat” or “I am eating”. But in French, the “I am eating” tense does not exist. We only use 1 present tense. You can NEVER say “I am + infinitive verb” to express the present tense in French. CORRECT: Je mange une pomme / Marie fait ses devoirs / Je cuisine / Il prend une douche WRONG: Je suis manger une pomme / Marie est faire ses devoirs / Je suis cuisiner / Il est prendre une douche. Saying “Je suis manger une pomme” would literally mean “I am to eat an apple”. It does not make sense in French. However, there is one thing that we sometimes say. It’s “Je suis en train de + infinitive verb”. It means “I am in the process of…”. So, you could actually say “Je suis en train de manger”, which technically means I’m eating / I’m in the process of eating. ...................................................................................................
The 10 most common mistakes my students make in French
If you are a French learner with an A2-B2 level, this post will be very useful to you. I’ve been working as a French tutor for 5 years and I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common speaking mistakes I hear my students make. These are SO common that I truly believe that if a learner stops making all 10 of them, their French would already improve by like 50%. If you have any questions or if you don't understand some of the mistakes below, feel free to comment and I will gladly give a more detailed explanation. ** Also, please note: Almost every single grammar rule in French has exceptions. But the rules listed below work 95%+ of the time. ........................................................................................... #1: When saying “to the” or “at the”, you cannot say “à le”. The preposition “À” + the masculine article “le” merge and become “au”. CORRECT: Je veux aller au cinéma WRONG: Je veux aller à le cinéma. ALSO WRONG: Je veux aller au le cinéma. (I hear “au le” a lot but that literally means “to the the”) Same thing for “de” + “le” and “de” + “les”. “De” + “le” merge and become “du”, and “de” + “les” become “des”. CORRECT: Le nom du chanteur du groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité des pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol. WRONG: Le nom de le chanteur de le groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité de les pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol. ......................................................................................... #2: To say “A lot of…” you have to say “Beaucoup de” or “Beaucoup d’” (if the next word starts with a vowel). “Beaucoup” can NEVER be followed by des or du or de la. CORRECT: Il y a beaucoup de personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup d’amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup de chocolat. WRONG: Il y a beaucoup des personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup des amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup du chocolat. ......................................................................................... #3: Sometimes, people don’t know where to place the negation “ne” in the sentence. But it’s actually very simple. “Ne” always comes right after the subject or the subject pronoun. CORRECT: Je ne suis pas fatigué / Je n’ai pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants ne veulent pas aller à l’école. WRONG: Je suis ne pas fatigué / J’ai ne pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants veulent ne pas aller à l’école. Another important thing to remember is that when the sentence has another negation word like “rien” or “jamais” or “personne”, these words will replace the “pas”. CORRECT: Je ne suis jamais allé en France / Il n’y a rien à manger / Personne n’aime faire des devoirs. WRONG: Je ne suis pas jamais allé en France / Il n’y a pas rien à manger / Personne n’aime pas faire des devoirs. .......................................................................................... #4: This one is extremely common. Learners often use the conjugated form of the verb when it should be the infinitive or they use the infinitive form when it should be the conjugated form. When to use the infinitive?: When the verb is used with what I call a “connector verb” (vouloir, aimer, aller, pouvoir, devoir…) or right after prepositions like “à”, “de”, and “pour”. CORRECT: Je veux manger une pomme / J’aime prendre l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demander quelque chose? / Tu dois faire tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménager au Canada. / Pour apprendre une langue, il faut étudier souvent. WRONG: Je veux mange une pomme / J’aime prend l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demande quelque chose? / Tu dois fais tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménage au Canada. / Pour apprend une langue, il faut étudie souvent. Now, when to use the conjugated form of a verb?: When it comes after a subject or a subject pronoun, or after “qui”. CORRECT: Ça prend beaucoup de temps / Mes parents ont une grande maison / C’est un film qui parle de l’Égypte / Je te vois. WRONG: Ça prendre beaucoup de temps / Mes parents avoir une grande maison / C’est un film qui parler de l’Égypte / Je te voir You can understand why it’s wrong by comparing it to English. You wouldn’t say “It to take a lot of time”. You would say “It takes a lot of time”. ........................................................................................... #5: In French, the verb "connaître" and "savoir" both mean "to know", but they are used differently. “Connaître” means “to know” with the idea to be personally familiar with, to have experienced it yourself. It is used with books, movies, cities, people... CORRECT: Je ne connais pas le film Titanic / Connais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu connais? WRONG: Je ne sais pas le film Titanic / Sais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu sais? "Savoir" has to do with acquired knowledge. It is followed by interrogative expressions (où, pourquoi, qui, avec qui, quand, etc…), or by verbs. CORRECT: Sais-tu où il habite? / Je ne sais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je sais parler français. WRONG: Connais-tu où il habite? / Je ne connais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je connais parler français. .................................................................................... #6: This mistake is fairly easy to fix. Pronouns “je”, “te”, “me”, “le” and “la” have to be attached to words that start with a vowel or with an “h”. CORRECT: J’habite à Montréal / J'apprends le français / Je ne t’entends pas / Il m’a demandé si j’étais célibataire / Je l’ai vu au restaurant. WRONG: Je habite à Montréal / Je apprends le français / Je ne te entends pas / Il me a demandé si je étais célibataire / Je le ai vu au restaurant. ........................................................................................... #7: Most French verbs in the past tense (passé composé) use the auxiliary verb “avoir”. But some use the auxiliary verb “être”. Here are the most important ones to remember: CORRECT: Je suis allé au casino / Il est devenu pilote / Je suis revenu à la maison / Nous sommes retournés dans notre ville natale / Chantal est venue à mon anniversaire / Ils sont arrivés à Montréal ce matin / Je suis resté chez moi toute la journée. WRONG: J'ai allé au casino / Il a devenu pilote / J’ai revenu à la maison / Nous avons retourné dans notre ville natale / Chantal a venu à mon anniversaire / Ils ont arrivé à Montréal ce matin / J’ai resté chez moi toute la journée. ................................................................................................ #8: In English, words like “sometimes, never, always, often, already…”, usually come right after the subject or subject pronoun. But in French, it isn’t so. They must come after the verb. CORRECT: François va souvent au parc / Je ne mange jamais de viande / J’ai déjà fini mon projet / Nous passons toujours du temps ensemble. WRONG: François souvent va au parc / Je ne jamais mange de viande / Je déjà ai fini mon projet / Nous toujours passons du temps ensemble. ............................................................................................. #9: In French, “que” and “qui” can both mean “that”, but they are used differently. “Que” is used before subjects or subject pronouns whereas “qui” is used before verbs. CORRECT: La robe que tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens qui n’aiment pas voyager. / Aimes-tu le plat que j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film qui a gagné un oscar. WRONG: La robe qui tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens que n’aiment pas voyager / Aimes-tu le plat qui j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film que a gagné un oscar. ............................................................................................. #10: In English, you can express the present tense by saying for example “I eat” or “I am eating”. But in French, the “I am eating” tense does not exist. We only use 1 present tense. You can NEVER say “I am + infinitive verb” to express the present tense in French. CORRECT: Je mange une pomme / Marie fait ses devoirs / Je cuisine / Il prend une douche WRONG: Je suis manger une pomme / Marie est faire ses devoirs / Je suis cuisiner / Il est prendre une douche. Saying “Je suis manger une pomme” would literally mean “I am to eat an apple”. It does not make sense in French. However, there is one thing that we sometimes say. It’s “Je suis en train de + infinitive verb”. It means “I am in the process of…”. So, you could actually say “Je suis en train de manger”, which technically means I’m eating / I’m in the process of eating. ...................................................................................................
The 10 most common mistakes my students make in French
If you are a French learner with an A2-B2 level, this post will be very useful to you. I’ve been working as a French tutor for 5 years and I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common speaking mistakes I hear my students make. These are SO common that I truly believe that if a learner stops making all 10 of them, their French would already improve by like 50%. If you have any questions or if you don't understand some of the mistakes below, feel free to comment and I will gladly give a more detailed explanation. ** Also, please note: Almost every single grammar rule in French has exceptions. But the rules listed below work 95%+ of the time. ........................................................................................... #1: When saying “to the” or “at the”, you cannot say “à le”. The preposition “À” + the masculine article “le” merge and become “au”. CORRECT: Je veux aller au cinéma WRONG: Je veux aller à le cinéma. ALSO WRONG: Je veux aller au le cinéma. (I hear “au le” a lot but that literally means “to the the”) Same thing for “de” + “le” and “de” + “les”. “De” + “le” merge and become “du”, and “de” + “les” become “des”. CORRECT: Le nom du chanteur du groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité des pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol. WRONG: Le nom de le chanteur de le groupe Queen est Freddie Mercury. / La majorité de les pays d'Amérique du Sud parlent espagnol. ......................................................................................... #2: To say “A lot of…” you have to say “Beaucoup de” or “Beaucoup d’” (if the next word starts with a vowel). “Beaucoup” can NEVER be followed by des or du or de la. CORRECT: Il y a beaucoup de personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup d’amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup de chocolat. WRONG: Il y a beaucoup des personnes au supermarché / Marc a beaucoup des amis / J’ai mangé beaucoup du chocolat. ......................................................................................... #3: Sometimes, people don’t know where to place the negation “ne” in the sentence. But it’s actually very simple. “Ne” comes right after the subject or the subject pronoun. (There are exceptions, but this rule works 95% of the time) CORRECT: Je ne suis pas fatigué / Je n’ai pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants ne veulent pas aller à l’école. WRONG: Je suis ne pas fatigué / J’ai ne pas étudié pour mon examen / Les enfants veulent ne pas aller à l’école. Another important thing to remember is that when the sentence has another negation word like “rien” or “jamais” or “personne”, these words will replace the “pas”. CORRECT: Je ne suis jamais allé en France / Il n’y a rien à manger / Personne n’aime faire des devoirs. WRONG: Je ne suis pas jamais allé en France / Il n’y a pas rien à manger / Personne n’aime pas faire des devoirs. .......................................................................................... #4: This one is extremely common. Learners often use the conjugated form of the verb when it should be the infinitive or they use the infinitive form when it should be the conjugated form. When to use the infinitive?: When the verb is used with what I call a “connector verb” (vouloir, aimer, aller, pouvoir, devoir…) or right after prepositions like “à”, “de”, and “pour”. CORRECT: Je veux manger une pomme / J’aime prendre l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demander quelque chose? / Tu dois faire tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménager au Canada. / Pour apprendre une langue, il faut étudier souvent. WRONG: Je veux mange une pomme / J’aime prend l’avion / Est-ce que je peux te demande quelque chose? / Tu dois fais tes devoirs. / J’ai décidé de déménage au Canada. / Pour apprend une langue, il faut étudie souvent. Now, when to use the conjugated form of a verb?: When it comes after a subject or a subject pronoun, or after “qui”. CORRECT: Ça prend beaucoup de temps / Mes parents ont une grande maison / C’est un film qui parle de l’Égypte / Je te vois. WRONG: Ça prendre beaucoup de temps / Mes parents avoir une grande maison / C’est un film qui parler de l’Égypte / Je te voir You can understand why it’s wrong by comparing it to English. You wouldn’t say “It to take a lot of time”. You would say “It takes a lot of time”. ........................................................................................... #5: In French, the verb "connaître" and "savoir" both mean "to know", but they are used differently. “Connaître” means “to know” with the idea to be personally familiar with, to have experienced it yourself. It is used with books, movies, cities, people... CORRECT: Je ne connais pas le film Titanic / Connais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu connais? WRONG: Je ne sais pas le film Titanic / Sais-tu mon amie Vanessa? / Mon groupe favori est Twenty One Pilots, tu sais? "Savoir" has to do with acquired knowledge. It is followed by interrogative expressions (où, pourquoi, qui, avec qui, quand, etc…), or by verbs. CORRECT: Sais-tu où il habite? / Je ne sais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je sais parler français. WRONG: Connais-tu où il habite? / Je ne connais pas à quelle heure le bus arrive / Je connais parler français. .................................................................................... #6: This mistake is fairly easy to fix. Pronouns “je”, “te”, “me”, “le”, “la”, and "se" have to be attached to words that start with a vowel or with an “h”. CORRECT: J’habite à Montréal / J'apprends le français / Je ne t’entends pas / Il m’a demandé si j’étais célibataire / Je l’ai vu au restaurant. / Il s'est réveillé tôt. WRONG: Je habite à Montréal / Je apprends le français / Je ne te entends pas / Il me a demandé si je étais célibataire / Je le ai vu au restaurant. / Il se est réveillé tôt. ........................................................................................... #7: Most French verbs in the past tense (passé composé) use the auxiliary verb “avoir”. But some use the auxiliary verb “être”. Here are the most important ones to remember: CORRECT: Je suis allé au casino / Il est devenu pilote / Je suis revenu à la maison / Nous sommes retournés dans notre ville natale / Chantal est venue à mon anniversaire / Ils sont arrivés à Montréal ce matin / Je suis resté chez moi toute la journée. WRONG: J'ai allé au casino / Il a devenu pilote / J’ai revenu à la maison / Nous avons retourné dans notre ville natale / Chantal a venu à mon anniversaire / Ils ont arrivé à Montréal ce matin / J’ai resté chez moi toute la journée. Also, useful tip: Every single reflexive verbs (se + verb) use the auxiliary “être” in the passé composé. For example: Je me suis réveillé / Nous nous sommes promenés / etc... ................................................................................................ #8: In English, words like “sometimes, never, always, often, already…”, usually come right after the subject or subject pronoun. But in French, it isn’t so. They must come after the verb. CORRECT: François va souvent au parc / Je ne mange jamais de viande / J’ai déjà fini mon projet / Nous passons toujours du temps ensemble. WRONG: François souvent va au parc / Je ne jamais mange de viande / Je déjà ai fini mon projet / Nous toujours passons du temps ensemble. ............................................................................................. #9: In French, “que” and “qui” can both mean “that”, but they are used differently. “Que” is used before subjects or subject pronouns whereas “qui” is used before verbs. CORRECT: La robe que tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens qui n’aiment pas voyager. / Aimes-tu le plat que j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film qui a gagné un oscar. WRONG: La robe qui tu portes est très belle / Il y a des gens que n’aiment pas voyager / Aimes-tu le plat qui j’ai cuisiné? / C’est un film que a gagné un oscar. ............................................................................................. #10: In English, you can express the present tense by saying for example “I eat” or “I am eating”. But in French, the “I am eating” tense does not exist. We only use 1 present tense. You can NEVER say “I am + infinitive verb” to express the present tense in French. CORRECT: Je mange une pomme / Marie fait ses devoirs / Je cuisine / Il prend une douche WRONG: Je suis manger une pomme / Marie est faire ses devoirs / Je suis cuisiner / Il est prendre une douche. Saying “Je suis manger une pomme” would literally mean “I am to eat an apple”. It does not make sense in French. However, there is one thing that we sometimes say. It’s “Je suis en train de + infinitive verb”. It means “I am in the process of…”. So, you could actually say “Je suis en train de manger”, which technically means I’m eating / I’m in the process of eating. ...................................................................................................
My first language is English, and there's not much conjugation to be done with the verbs. My second language is Irish, you have to conjugate the verbs a good bit in different tenses, especially because of the fact that there's no direct yes or no, you have to respond with the positive or negative of the verb. I've always found that difficult. I've been learning French for the past 6 years, and I'm currently studying it in my first year of college and I'm completely lost when it comes to verbs. I can manage the present and passé composé, but I have problems distinguishing between the être and avoir ones. I can usually stumble through the futur simple. We're currently doing the conditionnel, imparfait, futur anterieur and the plus que parfait, and I am really struggling. I don't really have problems in other areas of French, I get full marks in reading comprehensions and aural work, it's just the verbs that are ruining my speech and writing composition. Why is learning the different tenses so difficult?
Canadians with Basic French Background- What did you use to improve beyond what you learned in class?
I hope the title gives a bit of context regarding my scenario. I've taken the minimum amount of French I needed for school (I'm from Ontario, so I had up until grade 9 French). So I know the absolute basics of French (i.e. Masculine/Feminine nouns exist, conjugation of the important irregular verbs such as AvoiÊtre/VouloiPouvoiDevoir, basic 5 word sentences, introducing myself/where I work/where I grew up etc, Past tense+future proche). However what I struggle a lot on is "connecter" words, future simple etc. I'm currently in Montreal on a co-op work term and I definitely have improved my understanding of French by quite a large margin. At the beginning whenever my coworkers spoke to each other in French I couldn't distinguish between the words but now I can hear the words and understand about 75% of what is being said. If things are written I can understand most of what is being presented in front of me as well. However, despite all of this, I find that often times when I try to speak I'll say maybe around 7-8 words before blanking out and switching to English. I'm hoping to improve my French to a level that I would be proficient enough to work in an academic lab in France that speaks English. (Which would be in about a year from now). So i.e. I would like to improve it so that it is useful in the every-day context and that I can speak to my coworkers (current ones) before the end of my term. If there are any apps/methods/etc that you found useful to gain speaking proficiency it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!
So, I thought I'd make this little guide to help people doing French/Spanish. For reference, I did my Spanish exam last year and got an 8 (got 9s on all my components except listening, lol). I'm doing French right now (and I'd be doing Japanese too if it were a viable option, haha). I've gotten 9s in my French mocks, so I guess I'm qualified to give advice. (Note: I'm not native in any of these languages. I learnt them all from scratch.) So, I'll start with French (alphabétique, right? :D ) When it comes to French, pronunciation is of the utmost importance. I'll offer an example: In a revision session, I was saying "il peut faire des choses fantastiques /he can do fantastic things" to my teacher and "peut" is meant to be pronounced "puh". However, I pronounced it as "peut" and my teacher started laughing. I was confused, so after she stopped laughing, she told me that if I pronounce it like that, I'm actually saying "pute" (which means bitch). So, yeah! Learn your alphabet. If you know the French alphabet, it will make pronunciation miles easier as you can put the sounds together. It doesn't always work but it's a good starting point. There's no excuse not to do it. Go online and find a song, learn the alphabet and you're set. Next, speaking. Circumlocution is a really good skill. That word basically means being able to communicate an idea in more than one way. So for example:
I'm hungry
My stomach's empty
I'm starving
I need food
All of those sentences communicate the same idea but in different ways. If you can do the same thing in French you'll never get stuck in a speaking. For example in my official speaking exam, I tried to say "i'm in love with languages" but I forgot the verb "entiché" so I said "je suis amoreuse avec les langues". Honestly I don't know if that's correct, but even if there's a grammatical error there, I still communicated that general idea to the listener. So, circumlocution. You can't teach yourself new words in the exam--so learn what you've got already!!!! (This also applies to writing tbh) Carrying on from my point above, LEARN SYNONYMS. The reason why so many people fuck up on listening is because they often use synonyms and expect you to know them. For example: Option on the exam says "John says he is stupid". So, you'd think that he would say "je suis stupide". Listening exam: "je suis barbant" (also means stupid) Because you only prepared for one word, you get thrown off. So, get into the habit of learning synonyms. You don't have to learn many. You can still get good marks without knowing synonyms. But if you have a good memory... it's worth a try. LEARN YOUR "I" AND "HE/SHE/IT" CONJUGATIONS in PAST PRESENT AND NEAR FUTURE I'll use a similar example from above. Option on the exam says "John thought he was stupid". So, you'd think that he would say "je pense que je suis stupide". Listening/reading exam: "la mere de John pensait qu'il était stupide" (John's mom thought he was stupid) If you don't notice the "ma mere", you'll think he's saying he's stupid. So, in reading, if you know that "pensait" is imperfect 3rd person "thought", you'll know instantly that John isn't thinking that about himself. In listening, "I thought" and "she thought" sound the same so you HAVE to know what "mere" means. You can't know every piece of vocab, but usually the verb will give you a clue, so: know your conjugations. 'I' and 'he/she' are the most common. Also, cheat code: if you don't want to learn "nous", say "on". They both mean we but with "on", it uses the same endings as he/she/it. CORRECT YOURSELF Examiners love it when you correct yourself in a speaking exam. It shows self awareness and you get higher marks for it. Now I'm not saying make mistakes on purpose, but you are NOT expected to be perfect otherwise it would only be the native speakers getting 9s on their speaking exams. ORIGINALITY So, crafting a good answer. The classic "je vais au cinéma avec mes amis?" Dump it. Don't. Don't even mention the cinema. Say something that will stand out. If you interest the examiners they'll be more lenient with your mistakes as you're entertaining them. So, I'll offer another example. In my speaking exam I was asked if I like the market. Rather than saying "yes, I like the market because they sell food" or a one sentence answer, I said "yes, I really like the market because you can find foreign things like babushka dolls from Russia"/"oui, j'aime bien le marché parce qu'on y trouve des choses étrangères comme babushka dolls de Russe". My teacher started laughing but I didn't stop there. I said "it can be dangerous sometimes. One time, my money was stolen. It was horrible."/"de temps en temps, il peut être dangereuse. Une fois, mon argent était volé. C'était affreuse." So, there, I included the following techniques:
different conjugation (J'aime, il peut)
direct pronoun (on y trouve--that's considered high level if I remember correctly)
opinion (parce que)
time phrase (de temps en temps)
more than one tense (imperfect and present)
intensifiers (j'aime bien rather than just j'aime)
more than 1 word for the same thing/synonyms (fois and temps)
The extra tense could be something as simple as "c'était fantastique". Literally, right at the end of your speaking, just say c'était _____ and boom, you just moved your marks up even higher. It's another cheat code. don't put yourself in a corner If you mess up on speaking and don't know what to say (so maybe you're trying to say something really complex and you run into an irregular verb like "avoir" and freeze.). Here's what you do. You stop. Then, in French, you say something like: "sorry, I'm going to start again"/"désolé, je voulais dire.../je veux dire.../je veux répéter" and dig yourself back out of the hole. HOWEVER don't do this if it's a minor mistake. I'd say only do this during the general conversation if it's absolutely necessary. It gives you time to recollect your words and start again. So, use it as a last ditch resort. Reading: you don't need to understand everything. In English, we often don't understand every single word we encounter. If I begin to expound into magniloquent language then you may not comprehend the meaning of my lexicon (lmao) but based on the context and your knowledge of other words, you might be able to figure it out. The same idea applies to French. So, you can guess, but make sure it's an educated guess. Same goes for listening. Honestly, I don't understand listening a lot of the time. But I look at the sheet and think "okay what's likely?" If it's telling me about a guy's daily routine, it's unlikely to say "he puts make up on" (not impossible, but unlikely) so I can rule that option out. That way I can make an educated guess if I really don't understand. So, to summarise: educated guesses are IT. Finally: believe in yourself. I know it's cheesy but honestly, self belief goes a long way when it comes to languages. I'm gonna make a separate post about how to prepare more specifically for language exams (So, actual websites and apps). Anyway, I hope this was helpful!
Hi, I am currently a Dutch engineering student and I've applied to do an internship in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I was assured that on the work floor most staff would be fluent in English, as the institute where I'll be working for six months is very international in nature, and that there is Dutch speaking support staff that can help me out with complexities that may arise in getting settled. Regardless, since I will be living and working in a French speaking part of the world, I think it is worth the effort to learn French. During middle school I've had three years of French class, and I always got decent grades for the subject. Since the Dutch education system groups certain subjects together, those willing to go further in to science and engineering have to drop some foreign languages -- sadly French was a victim to this. The last time I got French lessons was in 2015, and I've never really used French after that. I still remember the basics, and I still know the conjugations of regular verbs (-er) and irregular verbs like être, avoir, aller and faire. Basic stuff like how to order something in a restaurant, how to greet someone and how to introduce myself have also stuck, along with a some vocabulary. While I wouldn't call myself a beginner necessarily, I wouldn't want to call myself anywhere near advanced either. I basically forgot everything about past tense, future tense and I guess I lack a lot of vocabulary to properly hold a conversation. (I think) I know basic word order and how to form a sentence, it's just that the problem of always being stuck in the present tense and not knowing a lot of words without looking them up which is holding me back. To the point: My question is if you could give me some tips and maybe link me to some resources that would at least get me to the point where I can hold a conversation. I downloaded Duolingo, but to be perfectly honest, it's way under my skill level as I already know very well the difference between chat, chien, femme, fille, homme, garçon and cheval. Not only that, I would also very much appreciate if you guys could maybe highlight some key differences between Swiss French and standard French, which I was taught in schools. And a more specific question: what's the deal with tu and vous? When am I allowed to refer to someone as a tu? In Dutch we also have an informal and formal way of addressing someone, although I know from experience that we're much looser in it than countries surrounding us. There's plenty of faculty members at my uni who are fine with being called 'jij' (=tu) after you've known them for a while. More importantly, how is this in Switzerland?
Conjugate AVOIR in the simple present tense. Twitter Share French exercise "Present: End of the free exercise to learn French: Present: Verb Avoir A free French exercise to learn French. Other French exercises on the same topic : BE, HAVE, DO, DID, WAS The Verb Avoir is one of the most used verbs in the French language. You need to learn it to speak French with confidence! In today’s episode, you will learn how to conjugate the French Verb Avoir in the present tense and when use it in a fun and easy way! French verb avoir in the present tense 1. LES OBJECTIFS ….THE OBJECTIVES By the end of this lesson you will be able to: Learn the subject pronouns. Conjugate the verb AVOIR in the present tense. Form the negation with the verb avoir in the present tense Formulate questions using the verb avoir Identify idiomatic expressions that use the verb avoir The present progressive in French can be expressed with the simple present tense, or with the expression être en train de, formed with the present tense conjugation of the verb être (to be) + en train de + the infinitive verb (avoir). However, this verb form is not very commonly used with the verb avoir in the sense of possessing something, although it might be used to say one is currently having a discussion, having a baby, having a revelation or feeling. Conjugate avoir in Le Présent (present tense) The verb avoir (to have) is irregular (it doesn't follow the same conjugation rules as other verbs ending in -oir ). J'ai un chien. I have a dog. Tu as une sœur. You have a sister. Il a les yeux bleus. He has blue eyes. Nous avons deux chats. Various forms of the verb avoir are among the most commonly occurring French verb forms.. The verb avoir is also one of a few common but highly irregular French verbs:. It has more present tense forms than other verbs; It is one of only four in the language to have a 3rd person plural form ending in -ont; ; It is one of few to have irregular subjunctive forms; Conjugate the French verb avoir in all tenses: future, participle, present, indicative, subjunctive. Irregular verbs, auxiliary verbs, conjugation rules and conjugation models in French verb conjugation. Translate avoir in context, with examples of use and definition. Table of Contents1. French Verbs: Etre / Avoir2. Conjugation of Etre and Avoir:3. Famous quotations or proverbs with etre and avoir4. Exercises5. Homework: write a poem or a text of a song. It this lesson you will learn or consolidate, if you have gone through the 1st and 2nd part of my French Lessons for … Continue reading "French Conjugation of Etre and Avoir (Present Tense)" How To Conjugate the French Verb Avoir-to have in the 8 most Used French tenses Présent Simple. Reminder =>The présent simple corresponds to the present tense in English. It is often used to speak about a fact in the present and the near future ( an event that is already planned or agreed upon). Usage of Avoir. This section on avoir conjugation in the present tense will show you how avoir is used in French.. Avoir means “to have” and is an irregular verb.. There are 4 general usages for the verb avoir in French:
Learn french verb avoir (to have) present tense. Learn how to conjugate avoir in the present indicative tense. In this French lesson, Cindy, a native French ... Learn the verb 'avoir' (to have) to the tune of The Pink Panther (Thanks to Rachel Hawkes for this great idea!) Thomas from https://www.francaisimmersion.com teaches you how to conjugate the French Verb Avoir in the present tense and its meaning in a fun and easy way. ... Verb Avoir (to have)-Present Tense French Verb Conjugation Essential French Lesson for Beginners French basic lesson: 15 Conjugaison du verbe avoir au prés... This lesson teaches the conjugation of verb AVOIR in present indicative . Further ,the important use and expressions relating to this verb are taught. This... Learn French and know how to use one of the most important French verbs: Avoir (to have) in the present tense. Knowing this important French verb will allow ... Alexa teaches you how to conjugate Avoir (to have) in 5 main French tenses. SUPPORT GUIDE and EXCLUSIVE VIDS at https://learnfrenchwithalexa.com. Test Your... The verb to have - avoir - in French. Present tense conjugation in French of the verb avoir, to have. This verb also means to get, and as an auxiliary verb i... Key French verbs: Avoir- Être - Aller - Faire conjugated in the present tense with a song for each to help memorise them This video will show you how to conjugate and pronounce the French irregular verb "avoir" in the present tense. Avoir, meaning "to have," is one of the most ...
