S.3 /4
LP1
METRO POUR L’ÉCOSSE ROUGE
How to say at, in, to + countries and cities.
masc.(Don’t end in ‘e’)
au (Japon)
LP2
m/s
fem. (End in ‘e’)
en Italie
plural
aux ( États-Unis)
How to say ‘to the,’ ‘at the’
à = to, at
à + le
=
à + la
=
à + l’
=
à + les
=
LP3
GRAMMAR
Remember – en ville, chez mon copain
au
à la
à l’
aux
How to say ‘some’
m (‘le’/ ‘un’ words) f (‘la’/ ‘une’ words) before a vowel
du
de la
de l’
pl (‘les’ words).
des
LP4 Agreement of adjectives (describing words).
In French the adjective usually goes after the noun it describes and it has to agree.
– some adjectives don’t agree because they are also nouns (marron, rose etc)
m/s
américain
LP5
américaine
m/pl.
américains
f/pl
américaines
The comparative ( more intelligent, taller)
plus
moins
aussi
LP6
f/s
=
=
=
more
less
as
Il est plus grand que moi.
Il est moins grand que moi.
Il est aussi grand que moi.
He’s taller than me
He’s smaller than me.
He’s as tall as me.
The superlative (most intelligent,tallest)
le, le les plus + adj. = most -
Il est le plus grand.
Elle est la plus intelligente.
Ils sont les plus bavards.
le, le les moins+ adj.= least -
Il est le moins sportif.
He’s the least sporty.
Elle est la moins grande.
She’s the smallest.
Elles sont les moins marrantes They are the least funny.
1
He’s the tallest.
She’s the most intelligent.
They are the most talkative
LP7
How to form the Present tense of ‘er’, ‘ir’, ‘re’ verbs
1
Take off the er, re,ir
2
add endings
je
er
e
es
e
ons
ez
ent(shh!))
je
tu
il, elle, on
nous
vous
ils/elles
re
s
s
ons
ez
ent(shh!)
ir
is
is
it
issons
issez
issent
Remember – in negative sentences the ne... pas goes round the verb
e.g. Je ne joue pas au foot.
LP8 Reflexive verbs
You already know a reflexive verb – je m’appelle literally means I call myself.
Reflexive verbs simply require an extra pronoun.
e.g.
se laver
-
to wash oneself, to get washed
je me lave
tu te laves
il,elle, on se lave
I get washed
do you get washed
he,she, we gets washed
nous nous lavons
vous vous lavez
ils,elles se lavent
we get washed
do you get washed
they get washed
– in negative sentences the ne...pas goes round the reflexive pronoun and the verb
e.g. Je ne me douche pas. I don’t shower.
LP9
Direct object pronouns. How to say him. Her, it, them
Remember
e.g.
But
him, it
her,it
them
le/ l’
la/ l’
les
- in French the direct object pronoun goes before the verb.
Je le préfère.
Je l’aime.
–
-
I prefer him,it.
I like him,her,it
2
LP10 How to say what you are going to do.
use aller ( see irregular verbs at end of sheet) in the present tense and add an infinitive
( jouer, faire etc.)
e.g. Je vais voir La guerre des Étoiles.
I’m going to see Star Wars.
LP11 Possessive adjectives
my
your(‘tu’)
his
her
our (‘on’)
our (‘nous’)
your (‘vous’)
their
m/s
f/s
pl.
mon
ton
son
son
son
notre
votre
leur
ma
ta
sa
sa
sa
notre
votre
leur
mes
tes
ses
ses
ses
nos
vos
leurs
LP12 How to say you like / don’t like doing something
aimer - to like
Negative
=
+
Je
infinitive( to play etc.)
n’aime pas sortir – I don’t like going out.
LP13 Talking about the past
See sheets on the Perfect and Imperfect tenses at the end of the booklet.
LP14 Talking about the future
See sheet on the Future tense at the end of the booklet.
LP15 How to say ‘would’
See sheet on the Conditional tense at the end of the booklet.
3
Present Tense Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs do not follow a pattern and have to be learned off by heart. Avoir (to
have) et être (to be) are the two most-used verbs in French.
avoir
j’ai
tu as
il a
I have
nous avons
we have
do you have?
vous avez
do you have?
he has
ils ont
they have
Remember that the French also use avoir when talking about age.
e.g. j’ai 15 ans
être
je suis
tu es
il est
7
to have
to be
I am
are you?
he is
nous sommes
vous êtes
ils sont
aller
je vais
tu vas
il va
je fais
tu fais
il fait
nous allons
vous allez
ils vont
nous faisons
vous faites
ils font
I can
can you?
he can
je veux
tu veux?
il veut
I can
can you?
he can
we do
do you do?
they do
to be able, can
nous pouvons
vous pouvez?
ils peuvent
vouloir
we go
do you go?
they go
to do, make
I do, make
do you do?
he does
pouvoir
je peux
tu peux?
il peut
to go
I go
do you go?
he goes
faire
we are
are you?
they are
we can
can you?
they can
to want
nous voulons
vous voulez?
ils veulent
4
we can
can you?
they can
The Perfect Tense
Part one
The Perfect Tense is used to talk about what you have done or what has happened.
In English we have three ways of expressing the perfect tense but in French there is only
one.
e.g.
I watched, I have watched, I did watch = j’ai regardé
To form the perfect tense you need:
a)
the auxiliary – most verbs take avoir
avoir
j’ai
tu as
il a
elle a
on a
b)
to have
I have
do you have?
he has
she has
we have
nous avons
vous avez
ils ont
elles ont
we have
do you have?
they have
they have
the past participle
verbs ending in er – take off er – add é
e.g.
regarder (to watch)
regardé (watched)
verbs ending in re – take off the re – add u
e.g
attendre (to wait for) changes to attendu (waited for)
verbs ending in ir – take off ir – add i
e.g
finir (to finish) changes to fini (finished)
Take the appropriate part of avoir, add the past participle of the verb you need.
j’ai regardé
tu as attendu
il a fini
nous avons parlé
vous avez vendu
ils ont choisi
–
-
I watched, have watched
did you wait
he finished, has finished
we spoke, have spoken
you sold, have sold
they chose, have chosen
Remember – in a negative sentence the ne...pas goes round the auxiliary.
e.g
je n’ai pas fini – I haven’t finished
5
The Perfect Tense
Part two
Some past participle are irregular and have to be learned off by heart.
ending in u
infinitive
meaning
past participle
meaning
avoir
boire
devoir
lire
recevoir
voir
to
to
to
to
to
to
have
drink
have to, must
read
receive, get
see
eu
bu
dû
lu
reçu
vu
had
drank
had to
read
received, got
saw
to
to
to
to
take
learn
understand
put(on), place
pris
appris
compris
mis
took
learned
understood
put, placed
ending in s
prendre
apprendre
comprendre
mettre
ending in t
faire
dire
écrire
to do,make
to say, tell
to write
fait
dit
écrit
did,made
said, told
wrote
être
to be
été
been
6
The Perfect Tense
Part three
A small group of verbs and all reflexive verbs take être as their auxiliary.
a)
the auxiliary
être
je suis
tu es
il est
elle est
on est
I am
are you?
he is
she is
we are
nous sommes
vous êtes
ils sont
elles sont
we are
are you?
they are
they are
b) The past participle has to agree with the person doing the action of the verb.
Here is a rhyme to help you remember which verbs take être.
Entré, rentré, arrivé
resté, monté, né, allé
tombé, mort, retourné
These with ease we all can say.
Parti sorti, descendu,
revenu and devenu,
venu too with these we take,
and all with être conjugate
aller
arriver
entrer
monter
rester
naître
to
to
to
to
to
to
go
arrive, happen
go in
go up
stay
be born
je suis allé(e)
tu es venu
il est arrivé
elle est partie
on est sorti
nous sommes entré(e)s
vous êtes né(e)(s)
ils sont morts
elles sont restées
venir
partir
sortir
descendre
tomber
mourir
I went, have been
did you come
he arrived
she left
we went out
we went in
were you born
they died
they stayed
7
to
to
to
to
to
to
come
leave
go out
go down
fall
die