Why do grammar?
To be able to understand any language and use it confidently, you have to understand
the way the language is made up. This is called grammar.
In this booklet you will be looking at Verbs in the Present tense.
What is a verb ?
In a sentence, the verb is the word which tells you what is happening or what action is
taking place.
For example
I play football - the verb is « play »
Before we look at the French verb in more detail, let’s see if you know what the verb
is in English.
In pairs underline the verb in each of the sentence.
 I live in Scotland.
 My mum is watching the TV.
 I have 3 dogs and a cat.
 My little brother does his homework every night.
 We are going to Spain on holiday.
 She is my best friend.
 I love chocolate ice-cream.
 My brother doesn’t eat fish because he is vegetarian. (there are two verbs here)
1
Now we are happy with verbs in English, we can begin to look at the French verb.
Remember ! !
In this booklet we will just be looking at the Present tense of verbs.
So our next question!
What is the present tense?
The present tense is used to describe what you ate doing now, or what you do on a
regular basis or for factual information
E.g
I am sitting in my French class (right now)
I play football twice a week (regular event)
London is the capital (fact)
As you will see, in English we have two forms of the present tense “ I am doing, I
do”.
You will be happy to know that in French there is only one way of saying the present
tense, so good
news!
You only have to learn one form.
Next question – How do we form the present tense in French?
When you learn any verb, or look up any verb in the dictionary you will learn what is
called the INFINTIVE of the verb.
In English the infinitive begins with “to”
e;g to do, to play, to be, to have etc;
in French infinitives end in ;
“er, ir, re” – these are the three groups of verbs.
2
To form the present tense in English, we remove the “to” and put the verb after the
different people;
E.g. I play, you play, he plays, she plays, we play , they play
WE NEVER SAY “I TO PLAY”
You will notice that for “he and she” we add the letter “s” to the verb. This changing
of the verb is called conjugation of verbs.
In French they do the same thing i.e. there are certain changes in the verb depending
on the person the verb refers to. Before we can look at the changes that take place, we
must all be sure we know the different persons (pronouns).
With a partner try to fill in the French pronouns.
Singular
Plural
I
=
We
=
You
=
You
=
He
=
They
=
She
=
They
=
One/we
=
We can now look at forming the Present tense in French. As previously said, there are
three different endings for the infinitive of French verbs, er, ir, re. We shall begin by
looking at the “er” verbs, the largest group.
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To form the Present tense of REGULAR “er” verbs you complete the following
steps.
1. Remove the “er”
2. Add the following endings “e, es, e, e, e, ons, ez, ent, ent”
Try to complete the English meanings of the verb “habiter”
Habiter – to live
Singular
J’habite
=
Tu habites
=
Il habite
=
Elle habite
=
On habite
=
Plural
Nous habitons
=
Vous habitez
=
Ils habitent
=
Elles habitent
=
You will also notice that the “e” of “je” has been replaced by an apostrophe.
Can you think why ?
All REGULAR “er” verbs follow the same pattern and you will come across many
“er” verbs in French.
On the next page, you will see a list of some the “er” verbs that you will be studying.
At the back of the booklet there is a list of some other very important “er” verbs that
you need to know.
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habiter
-
préférer
-
aimer
-
adorer
-
détester
-
commencer
-
manger
-
arriver
-
parler
-
écouter
-
travailler
-
jouer
-
porter
regarder
-
rester
-
neiger
-
préparer
-
proposer
-
décider
-
collectionner
-
monter
-
acheter
-
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Translate into French
 I live in Scotland.
 We prefer cats.
 My sisters prefer dogs.
 I love French and English
 My sister hates maths and art
 I am wearing trousers and a jumper
 My dad works in a school
 The French start school at 8am
 It is snowing.
 This year I am staying at home during the holidays.
 My mum watches Eastenders four times a week.
 When it snows I stay at home.
 On Sundays we stay at home and play cards.
 My cousins decide to go to the cinema.
 My brother and I collect stamps.
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 My mum prepares breakfast every day.
 My sister collects cuddly toys.
 My dad prepares the meals when my mum is working.
 They are going up the stairs
 I am going to Paris this year and am going to go up the Eiffel Tower
 During the holidays I am going to buy a present for my mum
 Every Saturday my sister and I go shopping and buy clothes
 Do you like buying clothes?
(be careful – the French say “like you to buy some clothes ? )
Bravo ! tu as réussi.
Please try to remember the rules about the present tense as it is important all the way
through your studies of French.
To see how much you can remember about the Present Tense (both for Irregular and
regular verbs) try out the “Test yourself” quiz at the back of your booklet.
7
Irregular verbs – the BIG ONES
By now you will already have looked at how we conjugate (form) regular “er” verbs
in French.
Here is the bad news. Like in English there are some verbs in French that do not
follow the normal pattern and these are called irregular verbs. You will come across
these verbs regularly and therefore become very familiar with them.
So Don’t Panic!
In pairs try to think of any irregular verbs in English. Remember in English we add
“s” for he, she, it – any verbs that do not do this are irregular.
As you will see, there are quite a few irregular verbs in English. If you wrote down
“to be” and “to have” , then very well done. We do not say “I be, you be, he/she bes
etc” or “he/she haves” in English and the same is true of French.
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FOUR BIG IRREGULAR VERBS
“To have”, “to be”, “to do “and “to go” are the four BIG IRREGULAR VERBS and
are very important. ALL FOUR MUST BE LEARNED REALLY WELL..
To have – avoir
Complete the French (you should know some of them)
Singular
=
I have
=
You have
=
He has
=
She has
=
one has, we have
=
we have
=
you have
=
they have
=
they have
Plural
Translate into French
 She has three brothers.
 My sister has long blond hair.
 I don’t have a pet.
 My friend has blue eyes and brown hair.
 My sisters have green eyes.
 I am 12 years old ( remember the French say – “I have 12 years”)
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To be – être
Complete the French (you should know some of them)
Singular
=
I am
=
You are
=
He is
=
She is
=
one is, we are
=
we are
=
you are
=
they are
=
they are
Plural
Translate into French
 He is Scottish.
 They are tall.
 My mum is small and sporty.
 My dad is tall and funny.
 My brothers are chatty but lazy.
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To do/ to make – faire
Complete the French (you should know some of them)
Singular
=
I do / am doing / make / am making
=
You do / are doing / make / are making
=
He does / is doing / makes / is making
=
She does / is doing / makes / is making
=
one does, we do / is /are doing / make / is / are making
=
we do / are doing / make / are making
=
you do / are doing / make / are making
=
they do / are doing / make / are making
=
they do / are doing / make / are making
Plural
Translate into French
 I do French in room 2
 My sister does not do sciences in lab 3
 I do my homework every night
 My cousins go skiing once a year. (the French say do skiing)
 His brother is making a cake.
 Her brother goes swimming at the swimming pool every day ( the French say do
swimming)
 What do you do?
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BIG IRREGULAR VERB NUMBER 4
To go – aller
Complete the French (you should know some of them)
Singular
=
I go / am going
=
You go / are going
=
He goes / is going
=
She goes / is going
=
one goes / is going, we go / are going
=
we go / are going
=
you go / are going
=
they go / are going
=
they go / are going
Plural
Translate into French
 We are going to the cinema this evening.
 At the weekend my sister and I go into town with her friends.
 My brothers are going to the swimming pool on Friday.
 My mum and dad are going to a restaurant on Tuesday.
 We go to my grandparents’ house twice a month.
 Where are you going?
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IR verbs
Now let’s look at IR verbs.
IR verbs – finir = to finish . As with the regular “er” verbs, all regular “ir” verbs
follow the pattern shown below.
To form the Present tense of REGULAR “ir” verbs you complete the following
steps.
1. Remove the “ir”
2. Add the following endings “is, is, it, it, it, issons, issez, issent, issent”
Using the above steps, try to conjugate the verb “finir ”
Finir – to finish
Singular
Je
=
Tu
=
Il
=
Elle
=
On
=
Plural
Nous
=
Vous
=
Ils
=
Elles
=
The “ir” group of verbs is not as big as the “er” but you do have to learn them.
To give you more practice conjugating these verbs, you will find a list of some of
them on the next page with some sentences to translate into French.
13
Regular “IR” verbs
choisir
-
grossir
-
maigrir
-
Rougir
-
Translate into French
 She is putting on weight
 I often go red
 My dad is losing weight
 He is choosing a book
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RE verbs
The last group of regular verbs are “re” verbs. This is a small group of verbs,
however , again they need to be learned
To form the Present tense of REGULAR “re” verbs you complete the following
steps.
1. Remove the “re”
2. Add the following endings “s, s, -, -, -, ons, ez, ent, ent”
Using the above steps, try to conjugate the verb “répondre ”
Répondre – to answer
Singular
Je
=
Tu
=
Il
=
Elle
=
On
=
Plural
Nous
=
Vous
=
Ils
=
Elles
=
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Regular “RE” verbs
vendre
-
descendre
-
perdre
-
attendre
-
entendre
-
Translate into French
 My dad is selling his car
 We are waiting for a bus
 I am always losing my keys
 They are going down the street
 Are you selling your house ?
16
Irregular verbs
You are now familiar with the big 4 irregular verbs, however there are many more.
On the next few pages, you will find some other irregular verbs you need to know.
At the back of the booklet there is also a list of some other irregular verbs that you
will come across later.
Lire – to read
Singular
=
I read / am reading
=
You read / are reading
=
He reads / is reading
=
She reads / is reading
=
one reads / is reading, we read / are reading
=
we read / are reading
=
you read/ are reading
=
they read / are reading
=
they read / are reading
Plural
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écrire – to write
Singular
=
I write / am writing
=
You write / are writing
=
He writes / is writing
=
She writes / is writing
=
one writes / is writing, we write / are writing
=
we write / are writing
=
you write / are writing
=
they write / are writing
=
they write / are writing
Plural
sortir – to go out
Singular
=
I go out / am going out
=
You go out / are going out
=
He goes out / is going out
=
She goes out / is going out
=
one goes out / is going out, we go out / are going out
=
we go out / are going out
=
you go out / are going out
=
they go out / are going out
=
they go out / are going out
Plural
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Prendre = to take
This verb is used in the sense if taking something from someone
e.g. a sweet or a present or taking the bus or a train etc. It also means to have if used
with food, showers baths etc
E.g. I have cereals for breakfast – the French say “I take cereals for breakfast”
Singular
=
I take / am taking
=
You take / are taking
=
He takes / is taking
=
She takes / is taking
=
one takes / is taking, we take/ are taking
=
we take / are taking
=
you take / are taking
=
they take / are taking
=
they take / are taking
Plural
Another two verbs which are formed in this way are:
Comprendre = to understand
Apprendre
= to learn
Translate the following
 We are taking the car
 She is having a yoghurt
 I do not understand Spanish
 She is having a shower
 My cousins are learning French
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Dormir – to sleep
Singular
=
I sleep / am sleeping
=
You sleep / are sleeping
=
He sleeps / is sleeping
=
She sleeps / is sleeping
=
one sleeps / is sleeping, we sleep / are sleeping
=
we sleep / are sleeping
=
you sleep / are sleeping
=
they sleep / are sleeping
=
they sleep / are sleeping
Plural
Partir = to leave
Singular
=
I leave/ am leaving
=
You leave / are leaving
=
He leaves / is leaving
=
She leaves / is leaving
=
one leaves / is leaving, we leave / are leaving
=
we leave / are leaving
=
you leave / are leaving
=
they leave / are leaving
=
they leave / are leaving
Plural
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Boire – to drink
Singular
=
I drink / am drinking
=
You drink / are drinking
=
He drinks/ is drinking
=
She drinks / is drinking
=
one drinks / is drinking, we drink / are drinking
=
we drink / are drinking
=
you drink / are drinking
=
they drink / are drinking
=
they drink / are drinking
Plural
Yipee ! !
We have come to the end of the irregular verbs.
However there are many more, some of which can be found at the back
of your booklet. Your teacher will go through some of these with you.
But before you move on try translating some of the sentences on the
next page – all include irregular verbs.
Bonne chance!!
21
Translate the following into French
For a greater challenge try not look back at the verbs. You can work with partner if
you want to.
 My sister is reading a book in the living room.
 When it is nice day, I go out with my friends.
 My brother does a lot of sport and drinks three litre of water every day.
 When my sister is tired, she sleeps on the sofa.
 Every morning, my brother and I have cereals for breakfast.
 I don not understand maths because it is difficult.
 My brothers go out a lot with their friends.
 When I go on holiday, I always write a lot of post cards.
 My mum has a shower every morning.
 When it is raining, I stay in the house and read a book.
Bravo !! Tu as réussi
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.
Test yourself
How much do you remember
What do the following verbs mean
 vendre
-
 boire
-
 être
-
 avoir
-
 manger
-
 lire
-
 rester
-
 finir
-
 maigrir
-
 partir
-
Now try this little quiz
1.
A.
B.
C.
D.
2.
A.
B.
C.
D.
3.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Which sentence is incorrect?
ma mère est écossaise
mon père est anglais
je suis britannique
ils ont espagnols
Which of the following sentences is correct?
je suis 15 ans
elle sont 12 ans
ils ont 13 ans
j’être 11 ans
Which of the following sentences is correct ?
ils finissons les devoirs
ils finisent leurs devoirs
ils finent leurs devoirs
ils finissent leurs devoirs
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4.
A.
B.
C.
D.
5.
A.
B.
C.
D.
6.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Which two sentences are incorrect?
je aime les maths
tu détestes la géographie
elle adore le français
tu n’aime pas l’histoire-géo
Which form of “boire” would you use with “il” ?
bois
boi
boit
boisson
Which of the following sentences is incorrect ?
je vais en Espagne
ma sœur et moi vont en Espagne
mon frère va en Espagne
nous allons en Espagne
7. Which of the following verbs is irregular in the present tense?
A.
B.
C.
D.
préparer
descendre
rester
écrire
8. Which of the following sentences is incorrect?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ma sœur ne fait pas de sport
mes parents faisent du ski
mon copain fait de l’équitation
tu fais de la natation
Bravo tu as réussi
Check your answers to see ho well you have done
24
More “er” verbs
See how many meanings you can find of the verbs below.
Try to conjugate the verbs and make sentences using them.
accompagner
gagner
aider
garder
ajouter
laisser
allumer
louer
apporter
marcher
attraper
montrer
bouger
oublier
cacher
passer
casser
penser
chanter
pousser
chercher
quitter
commander
raconter
couper
remarquer
coûter
remercier
danser
rencontrer
demander
sembler
discuter
tirer
deviner
toucher
donner
traverser
durer
trouver
fermer
vérifier
fumer
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More irregular verbs
connaître
-
connais, connais, connaît, connaissons, connaissez, connaissent
savoir
-
- to know (a fact)
sais, sais, sait, savons, savez, savent
mettre
-
- to know ( a person)
- to put / to put on
mets, mets, met, mettons, mettez, mettent
permettre
- to allow (follows the same pattern as mettre)
promettre
- to promise (follows the same pattern as mettre)
dire
- to say
-
dis, dis, dit, disons, dites, disent
rire
-
ris, ris, rit, rions, riez, rient
venir
-
- to live
vis, vis, vit, vivons, vivez, vivent
voir
-
- to follow
suis, suis, suit, suivons, suivez, suivent
vivre
-
- to hold
tiens, tiens, tient, tenons, tenez, tiennent
suivre
-
- to come
viens, viens, vient, venons, venez, viennent
tenir
-
- to laugh
- to see
vois, vois, voit, voyons, voyez, voient
If you look at all the verb endings above, Can you see any similarities ?
26
Modal verbs
The next three verbs are called “Modal verbs” i.e. they are usually followed by
another verb which is ALWAYS in the infinitive.
As you continue your studies of French, you will come across these verbs more and
more. Try to learn them as they are very important.
vouloir
-
- to wish or to want to
veux, veux, veut, voulons, voulez, veulent
e.g. je veux aller en France l’an prochain.
-
I want to go to France next year
e.g Veux-tu aller au cinéma ?
-
do you want to go to the cinema ?
Pouvoir
-
- to be able to / can
peux, peux, peut, pouvons, pouvez, peuvent
e.g. je peux sortir avec mes amis.
-
I can go out with my friends
e.g. Peux-tu me prêter un stylo, s’il te plaît ?
-
Can you lend me a pen, please ?
Devoir
-
- to have to
dois, dois, doit, devons, devez, doivent
e.g. je dois faire mes devoirs.
-
I have to do my homework
e.g. dois-tu aller chez tes grand-parents ?
-
Do you have to go to your grandparents house ?
27