Tag Archives: French Verbs

Adverbs in French language (A2)

Adverbs ending with “-ment” in French language

Adverbs are used to give a precision on the action that is performed. They usually answer the question “how?” and are placed behind the verb.

Example:

Il parle lentement.
Elle travaille efficacement.
Nous étudions régulièrement.

Adverbs are invariable, i.e. their spelling does not change.

How to form an adverb?

Take the adjective in the masculine form (doux), put it in the feminine form (douce) then add “-ment” . That’s it! 🙂

Doux —> Douce —> Doucement : Ils jouent doucement avec le chien.
Franc —> Franche —> Franchement : Je peux te parler franchement?
Naturel —> Naturelle —> Naturellement : Elle a réagi naturellement.
Fou —> Folle —> Follement : Ils sont follement amoureux.

Of course, as you can imagine, there are different types of adverbs which do not comply with this rule…

1. Some adverbs are formed from the masculine of the adjective; this adjective is ended by a vowel:

Passionné + ment —> Passionnément (avec passion)
Spontané + ment —> Spontanément (de manière spontanée)
Poli + ment —> Poliment (de manière polie)
Vrai + ment —> Vraiment

2. Other adverbs end with -amment or -emment when the adjective ends with -ant or -ent.

Bruyant —> Bruyamment : Il mange bruyamment.
Méchant —> Méchamment : Il lui a répondu méchamment.
Intelligent —> Intelligemment : Il suffit de travailler intelligemment.
Patient —> Patiemment : Il a attendu patiemment.

Here is a poster that can summarize today’s lesson.

Adverbs in French language

Indirect Verbs in French

Which pronouns for which verbs (2)?

A few weeks ago, we introduced « les pronoms compléments directs » in French language.

Today, we will be talking about the “pronoms compléments indirects” : me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur .

INDIRECT PRONOUNS ARE :
* used to replace a person (or an animal) only introduced by a definite article (le, la, les, l’) or a possessive adjective (mon, ton, son …).

* used with “indirect verbs”, i.e. between these verbs and the person, you will find the letter “à”(téléphoner à quelqu’un, offrir à quelqu’un, dire à quelqu’un…)

* always before the verb.

Example:

Tu téléphones souvent à tes parents? —> Oui, je LEUR téléphone assez souvent.

Elle a déjà annoncé à son petit ami qu’elle allait partir faire le tour du monde ? —> Oui, elle LUI a annoncé hier soir.

Ils ont prêté leur voiture à Jeanne ? —> Non, ils ne LUI ont pas prêté leur voiture.

! « LUI » peut remplacer un homme ou une femme.

When there are two verbs, indirect pronouns are placed between these two verbs:

Vous allez proposer À VOS VOISINS de vous accompagner? —> Oui, nous allons LEUR proposer de nous accompagner.

Je peux LUI offrir une bière? —> Oui, vas-y. Il aime bien la bière blonde.

Their use is simple when you know if the verb is used with “à + quelqu’un” or not.

That’s why we made this list of 15 verbs !

Which pronouns for which verbs?

The “pronoms compléments directs” (me, te, le/la/les/l’/nous, vous) are easier than they seem!

* They are used to replace a person or a thing introduced by a definite article (le, la, les, l’) or a possessive adjective (mon, ton, son…).

* They are used with “direct verbs”, i.e. between these verbs and the person (or thing), there is no “à” (regarder à quelqu’un, refuser à quelque chose, reconnaître à quelqu’un…)

* They are always before the verb.
Example:

Tu vois LA MER depuis ta fenêtre? —> Oui, je LA vois.

Il aide SA SŒUR qui rénove son appartement? —> Oui, il L’aide presque tous les jours (LE/LA + a / e /i / o / u —> L’)

Ils ont retrouvé LEUR CHIEN? —> Non, ils ne L’ont pas encore retrouvé.

When there are two verbs, they are placed between the two verbs:

Vous allez inviter VOS VOISINS? —> Oui, nous allons LES inviter.

Je peux poser MON SAC sur cette chaise? —> Oui, oui, vous pouvez LE poser là sans problème.

Their use is simple when you know if the verb is used with “à” or not. But then, what are these verbs?

Here is a list of 20 verbs you can get familiar with!

French direct verbs

Il faut … Il ne faut pas…

How to express an obligation in French

Daily life, work, family, sport, travel… Everywhere and most of the time, we must face obligations.

To express them in French, there is of course the verb “devoir” but also the expression “il faut” followed by the infinitive. This structure is very easy to use!

You will never read or hear “~~je faut~~” ou “~~vous fallez~~“. This structure is always the same and is only used with “il”.

Take a verb with an infinitive, place it behind “il faut” and… voilà! 🙂

For example: “A la plage, il faut mettre de la crème solaire / Il faut jeter ses déchets à la poubelle / Il faut prendre un parasol / Il faut emporter une serviette de plage”

In the negative form: “Il ne faut pas oublier son pique-nique!”

Below are more examples to practice.

Have fun!

French words for Wintertime !

It is true, we are only on November 20th but it feels a bit like winter already.

It is time to practice your French vocabulary. That is why we decided to make two posters you can use to learn vocabulary relating to winter.

Our first poster will be giving you words associated with icons.

Our second one will help you reuse these words with ideas and sentences.

Exercise: First, associate the beginning of sentences with icons; then, finish the sentences before matching them again with icons.

French vocabulary for winter

Practice your French with vocabulary for winter

Which one should you choose?

You may know that in French some verbs are used with other verbs without any preposition between them such as “aimer, adorer, préférer, détester, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, aller…”.

In those cases, the second verb is never conjugated:

“Il peut PARLER français sans aucun accent.”

“Nous voulons RÉVISER ensemble.”

“J’aime de FAIRE du surf toute l’année.”

“Nous allons à DÎNER au restaurant ce soir.”

That’s the easy part! 🙂

For other verbs, you may have to choose between “de” and “à”. They are usually followed by another verb which is ALWAYS in the infinitive form.

Below are two posters we made with the most common French verbs used either with “de” or “à”.

—–> First one is a list with verbs.

—–> Second one is to practice those verbs.

French verbs with "de" and "à"

Exercice to practice French verbs

To summarize, when two verbs are used together the second one is always at the infinitive form! When it is followed by a preposition, you just need to pick the right one. 🙂

See you next week to check your answers for the exercise above!

Bonne semaine à tous! 🙂

A guide to 6 French verbs … parler / dire / connaître / savoir / faire / jouer !

This week, let’s see how to use six French verbs usually mixed up… No need to worry, it is easier than what it looks like! 🙂

1. Dire ou Parler

These two verbs are used in different situations.

With the verb “dire”, you can say “dire quelque chose”. For example, it is possible to say “dire merci, dire bonjour, dire au revoir…” :

“Les serveurs disent bonjour aux clients.”

“La petite fille a dit merci à ses grands-parents.”

“La cliente dit au revoir au vendeur”.

You can also repeat what someone said with the structure ‘dire que‘:

“Laura m’a dit que les cours étaient très animés et intéressants.”

“Le serveur m’a dit qu‘il n’y avait plus de crème brulée comme dessert.”

With the verb “parler”, you cannot say “je parle ~~merci~~” but it is possible to say:

—> je parle vite, tu parles beaucoup, il parle trop, nous parlons tout le temps, vous parlez bien, ils parlent clairement…

—> parler avec quelqu’un, parler de quelque chose, parler à quelqu’un, parler pendant des heures…

You can also say:

—> parler anglais, français, basque, espagnol, allemand…

Attention: You cannot ~~parler bonjour!~~

2. Connaître ou Savoir

The verb “connaître” is used with nouns. You can say for example:

“Je connais ses qualités.”

“Je ne connais pas les raisons de son comportement.”

“Il connaît bien ses voisins.”

The verb “savoir” is used with verbs. For example:

“Je sais qu’elle est honnête.”

“Elle ne sait pas pourquoi il a agi comme ça.”

“Ils savent qu’ils peuvent compter sur leurs voisins.”

Attention: You cannot say “~~Je connais que…~~“!

3. Faire ou Jouer

When you play sports and want to talk about your sports activities, you have two possibilities, use the verb “faire” or the verb “jouer”.
The verb “faire” can be used for all sports! It is possible to say:
“Je fais du tennis, il fait du surf, nous faisons du golf, tu fais du rugby, elles font de l’équitation…”.

The verb “jouer” is only used with ball sports… So it is possible to say “Je joue au tennis, au golf, au rugby, au frisbee, au badminton, au hockey…” but it is not possible to say “~~Je joue au surf…~~“.

Et voilà!

Today, we have chosen 5 very common and useful French expressions which will help you broaden your vocabulary and speak like a French person!

The verb Faire with 5 French expressions

1. FAIRE LA GRASSE MATINÉE ou FAIRE LA GRASSE MAT’

If you got up (very) late this weekend, enjoyed spending time in bed and couldn’t get out, you “slept in”. In general, we practice “la grasse matinée” during the weekend! 🙂

2. FAIRE LA QUEUE

At the supermarket, the post office, the bakery (…) you often have to wait for your turn to pay. One behind the other, in a more or less straight line, customers wait to pay. Ils “font la queue“!

3. FAIRE LA TÊTE

Your girlfriend forgot you were supposed to have dinner together. She had too much work to do and didn’t see the time pass by. You can tell her you’re angry with her, but that’s no reason to “pout” at her. Don’t stay angry, forgive her! Ne “faites pas la tête“! 🙂

4. FAIRE UN TOUR

You just got out of work? The weather is nice and you don’t want to go home? You decide to go for a walk. Vous allez “faire un tour” to the park to enjoy the sun!

5. FAIRE À MANGER

It’s summer, it the end of a sunny day. It’s nice and warm, the beach is just a few steps away… You are hungry but you don’t want to “faire à manger“. So you choose to have dinner on the beach. A fresh salad to take away from your favorite restaurant and here you are facing the sea and a memorable sunset! Bon appétit!

BONUS – La conjugaison du verbe *faire* au présent:

–> Je fais / Tu fais / Il fait / Nous faisons / Vous faites / Ils font

French verbs and conjugation, a great challenge 🙂

Did you ever struggle with the French conjugation? Did you ever think that it makes no sense at all?

Is it “J’ai devu” or “J’ai dû”? (Devoir) —

Is it “Je voirrai” or “Je verrai”? (Voir) —

Or is it “J’achète” or “J’achete”? (Acheter) —

Fortunately, we have found 3 websites for you and your conjugation of verbs in French. The first one even offers an app you can add to your mobile phone!

Va Te faire Conjuguer – Easy to use. Just write the verb you want to conjugate and voilà! All tenses for any verb only one click away.

How to conjugate French verbs

2. Conjugue Ta Mère – A website with more information about French verbs such as conjugation of course but also rules about tenses and how to use them.

3. Le Bescherelle – A classic. Every French family owns at least one Bescherelle book!

Conjugate a verb in French

Bonne conjugaison! 🙂

Amazing websites to practice and improve your French skills

Bescherelle

Bescherelle books to learn French

Need to check a conjugation? This little red book will be your new best friend! Wait. You don’t want to carry it everywhere you go? Facile! You can now look for a verb’s conjugation for all tenses and modes online! Also try their games, quizzes and dictations to keep improving your French!

Larousse

Larousse Dictionnary Logo

The absolute guide to look over and learn new words and sayings!

Larousse has put its entire content online for free. Just type in the word you are looking for and the results are displayed at a glympse. You can also check the encyclopedia and the numerous recipes available from just one click!

TV5 Monde

French website for adult learners

You want to practice French outside the classroom? Parlons français (TV5 Monde) offers various great resources for all students, ranging from beginner to advanced level.

You can start by taking a quick test to determine your level. Then, you can improve your French language skills with all the learning modules from Parlons Français‘ website: multimedia content, articles, documentaries, games, memos and workshops. You will also find an online dictionnary, a translator and a microphone to record yourself while speaking French!