Study Sheet : Dossier #5 (Episode #9)
You can use this study sheet as a guide to help you assess your mastery of the material we have covered this lesson, and to
help you study for your contrôle, an in-class assignment with a written and oral (comprehension & speaking) component,
worth 20 points. Make sure to review your « pictionary » vocabulary, the storyline, and your previous Ecrit/Oral
assignments as well.
More work with the past tense passé compose: the 17 verbs that take être as a helping verb (verbe #1)
Material :
Je suis allé/e au restaurant.
Examples :
Remember the passé composé is formed by conjugating the helping verb avoir or être (verbe #1) and
Hints :
using a past participle, or participe passé (verbe #2). The 17 verbs that take être are movement verbs
that you can associate with the You Tube song to the Rihanna melody (on my website), verbs that
would typically take place around a house, or you can memorize the acronym Dr. & Mrs.
Vandertrampp (D=descendre, etc). Remember: past participles for all regular –er verbs end in é, as in
parlé; past participles for all regular –ir verbs end in i, as in fini; and the past participles for all regular
–re verbs end in u, as in attendu. Irregular past participles can be similarly grouped (see the back of
this handout to review and/or use the online flashcards).
*Past participles that use the helping verb être must agree with the subject: Elle est allée.
73 (episode 8), 81
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Talking about what you and others do to themselves using reflexive verbs (les verbes pronominaux)
Material :
Présent: Je (ne) me lève (pas) à 7h. Il (ne) se rase (pas). Nous (ne) nous lavons (pas).
Examples :
Elles (ne) se coiffent (pas).
Passé: Je (ne) me suis (pas) levé(e). Il (ne) s’est (pas) rasé. Nous (ne) nous sommes (pas) lavés.
Hints :
Elles (ne) se sont (pas) coiffées
You know a verb is reflexive if you see a reflexive pronoun: me/te/se/nous/vous/se in front of it.
Some verbs are automatically reflexive in French, even though it doesn’t seem they would be in
English, ie: s’appeler (to call oneself). Any verb can be made reflexive but be careful of the context
(Je me suis mangé?? = I ate myself??)! In the passé composé, reflexive verbs always use the helping
verb être, and the past participle must agree with the subject, ie: Elle s’est lavée.
81
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Talking about what two or more people do to each other using reciprocal verbs (les verbes réciproques)
Material :
Présent: Nous (ne) nous (pas) regardons. Ils (ne) se parlent (pas).
Examples :
Passé: Nous (ne) nous sommes (pas) regardé. Ils (ne) se sont (pas) parlé.
While these look exactly like reflexive verbs, instead of referring to what you do to yourself, it refers to
Hints :
what two or more people are doing to each other (ie: We are looking at each other, they are talking to
each other). What will clue you in to whether someone is using a reflexive or reciprocal verb is the
context, so logic will prevail! With reciprocal verbs, the past participle does not agree with the subject.
81
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