AS French
Heathcote 2013-14
Welcome Pack
Liberté
Egalité
On-line Resources
Course Specification
Grammar Guide
Grammar Assessment
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Fraternité
Bienvenue! Welcome to French A-Level at Heathcote. This booklet is
designed to give you an idea of what to expect as well as an important
head start. It is divided into three sections:
Contents
1. Course Specification i.e. what you will be studying and need to
know, and how this will be assessed.
Look through this to get an idea of the exams you will be sitting and how much they
are worth, what topics you will be learning about and what grammar you will need to
know.
2. Grammar guide: Tenses
Read through this carefully! You cannot enjoy or succeed at A' Level if you do not
learn to love or, at least, get on with grammar i.e. the nuts and bolts of the language,
the rules by which you put everything together to create meaning.
3. Grammar assessment: Tenses
Have a go at completing the spreadsheet using the booklet to help you. We will have a
computerised diagnostic assessment using the same format at the beginning of term to
see how you fare.
On-line resources
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/french/a-level/french-2650
Information from the exam board on the qualification you are taking
www.wordreference.com
On-line dictionary including example of how words are used in context
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/french/grammar/
Good for revision of grammar basics
www.linguascope.com
username:
password:
www.kerboodle.com
username:
password:
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1. Course Specification
Subject Content
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Grammatical Structures
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Exam info and assessment criteria
A 2-hour listening, reading and writing exam make up 70% of the ASLevel qualification (the remaining 30% is Speaking). Here is some
information on this exam.
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Assessment Criteria: Writing Section (cont.)
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2. Grammar Guide: Tenses
1) In any language, when we refer to something happening, we always
use a tense to indicate whether it is going to, is, or has already, happened.
e.g. I'm going to eat an apple. I am eating an apple. I ate an apple.
2) French verbs are formed by: a stem + an ending (-ER, -RE, -IR)
3) To use the verbs in different tenses, we need to know some rules.
These rules are simple and are applied to nearly all verbs.
4) Unfortunately, some verbs do not follow theses rules and it is therefore
important to know these IRREGULAR VERBS such as “aller” (to go),
“faire” (to do), “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be).
5) Tenses:
Le présent
Le passé composé
L’imparfait
Le futur simple
Le conditionnel
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Le Présent
When to use it:
To talk about what is happening at the moment
To talk about what happens usually/normally
Time phrases:
Tous les jours (everyday), chaque jour (everyday), chaque
matin (every morning), parfois (sometimes)...
Regular Verbs
1) ER verbs: take off the –ER and add the endings:
-e
-es
-e
-e
-ons
-ez
-ent
-ent
2) IR verbs: take off the –IR and add the endings:
-is
-is
-it
-it
-issons
-issez
-issent
-issent
3) RE verbs: take off the –RE and add the endings:
-s
-s
-ons
-ez
-ent
-ent
Examples:
Parler
Je parle
Tu parles
Il/Elle parle
Nous parlons
Vous parlez
Il/Elles parlent
Finir
Je fini
Tu finis
Il/Elle finit
Nous finissons
Vous finissez
Ils/Elles finissent
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Vendre
Je vends
Tu vends
Il/Elle vend
Nous vendons
Vous vendez
Ils/Elles vendent
Irregular Verbs
As in every French tense there are always irregular verbs. These verbs do
not follow the rules. You just have to learn them off!
Examples:
Être
Je suis
Tu es
Il/Elle est
Nous sommes
Vous êtes
Ils/Elles sont
Avoir
J’ai
Tu as
Il/Elle a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils/Elles ont
Aller
Je vais
Tu vas
Il/Elle va
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils/Elles vont
Common irregular verbs:
venir: to come
pouvoir: to be able
vouloir: to want/wish
partir: to leave
prendre: to take
sortir: to go out
voir: to see
lire: to read
boire: to drink
écrire: to write
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Faire
Je fais
Tu fais
Il/Elle fait
Nous faisons
Vous faisez
Ils/Elles font
Le Passé Composé
When to use it:
To talk about something that has happened in the past and
is now finished.
Time phrases:
La semaine dernière (last week), hier (yesterday), etc.
Le passé composé is made up of two parts:
1) The auxilary verb (the present tense of AVOIR or ÊTRE)
+
2) The past participle (donné, parlé, sorti, fait, etc)
Regular AVOIR Verbs
The present tense of avoir + the past participle
1) -ER verbs: take off the –ER and add é
Donner
J’ai donné
Tu as donné
Il/Elle a donné
Nous avons donné
Vous avez donné
Ils/Elles ont donné
2) –IR verbs: take off the –IR and add i
Finir
J’ai fini
Tu as fini
Il/Elle a fini
Nous avons fini
Vous avez fini
Ils/Elles ont fini
3) –RE verbs: take off the –RE and add u
Vendre
J’ai vendu
Tu as vendu
Il/Elle a vendu
Nous avons vendu
Vous avez vendu
Ils/Elles ont vendu
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Irregular AVOIR verbs
There is a group of irregular verbs that take AVOIR in le passé
composé. These verbs are formed with:
1) present tense of avoir + 2) the irregular past partciple
Irregular past participles:
avoir:
être:
boire:
connaître:
courir:
croire:
devoir:
dire:
écrire:
faire:
lire:
mettre:
ouvrir:
pouvoir:
prendre:
recevoir:
savoir:
voir:
vouloir:
to have:
to be:
to drink:
to know:
to run:
to believe:
to have to:
to say/tell:
to write:
to make/do:
to read:
to put:
to open:
to be able:
to take:
to receive:
to know:
to see:
to want:
Examples:
Prendre
J’ai pris
Tu as pris
Il/Elle a pris
Nous avons pris
Vous avez pris
Ils/Elles ont pris
eu
été
bu
connu
couru
cru
dû
dit
écrit
fait
lu
mis
ouvert
pu
pris
reçu
su
vu
voulu
Avoir
J’ai eu
Tu as eu
Il/Elle a eu
Nous avons eu
Vous avez eu
Ils/Elles ont eu
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Être
J’ai été
Tu as été
Il/Elle a été
Nous avons été
Vous avez été
Ils/Elles ont été
ÊTRE Verbs
A small group of verbs take the present tense of “être” as their
auxilary verb.
1) present tense of être + 2) past participle
An easy way to remember this group of verbs is with the name:
MRS VAN DE TRAMP
Mourir:
to die:
Retourner: to return:
Sortir:
to go out:
Venir:
Arriver:
Naître :
mort
retourné
sorti
to come:
venu
to arrive: arrivé
to be born: né
Descendre: to go down: descendu
Entrer:
to enter:
entré
Tomber:
Rester:
Aller:
Monter:
Partir:
to fall:
to stay:
to go out:
to go up:
to leave:
tombé
resté
allé
monté
parti
N.B: The past participle must 'agree with' who did the action. So if the person was
female you must add an extra -e to the end of the past participle: e.g. elle est partie she left.
If two or more females did the action you must add -es:
e.g. elles sont parties - they left.
If the person who did the action was one male, then the past participle does not
change: e.g. il est parti - he left.
If two or more males did the action add -s: e.g. ils sont partis - they left.
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L’Imparfait
When to use it:
To talk about something that used to happen in the
past. To describe the way something was in the past
(the weather was fine last Tuesday).
Phrases:
Quand j’étais jeune (when I was young), l’anneé
dernière (last year).
How to form l’imparfait:
1) Take the “nous” part of the present tense: e.g nous donnons
2) Drop the –ons: e.g donn
3) Add the endings:
-ais, -ais, -ait, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient, -aient
Examples:
Parler
Je parlais
Tu parlais
Il/Elle parlait
Nous parlions
Vous parliez
Ils/Elles parlaient
Finir
Je finissais
Tu finissais
Il/Elle finissait
Nous finissions
Vous finissiez
Ils/Elles finissaient
Lire
Je lisais
Tu lisais
Il/Elle lisait
Nous lisions
Vous lisiez
Ils/Elles lisaient
*There is only one irregular verb in l’imparfait: être
Être
J’étais
Tu étais
Il/Elle était
Nous étions
Vous étiez
Ils/Elles étaient
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Le Futur Simple
When to use it:
To describe what will happen at a certain time in the
future.
Time phrases:
Demain (tomorrow), la semaine prochain (next week).
Regular Verbs
Regular –er, -ir and –re* verbs all follow the same rules in the future:
1) Take the infinitive (title) of the verb: e.g donner, finir
2) Add the endings : -ai, -as, -a , -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, -ont
* There is a slight difference for –re verbs. Before adding the endings
you must take off the “e”. For example: vendre = vendr
I will sell = Je vendrai
Examples:
Parler
Je parlerai
Tu parleras
Il/Elle parlera
Nous parlerons
Vous parlerez
Ils/Elles parleront
Partir
Je partirai
Tu partiras
Il/Elle partira
Nous partirons
Vous partirez
Ils/Elles partiront
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Prendre
Je prendrai
Tu prendras
Il/Elle prendra
Nous prendrons
Vous prendrez
Ils prendront
Futur Simple: Irregular Verbs
For irregular verbs in the futur simple, you only need to learn the stem as
the endings are the same. For example:
être:
ser
I will be:
je serai
Irregulars:
aller:
avoir:
envoyer:
devoir:
être:
faire:
pleuvoir:
pouvoir:
revevoir:
savoir:
venir:
voir:
vouloir:
to go:
to have:
to send:
to have to:
to be:
to make/do:
to rain:
to be able:
to receive:
to know:
to come:
to see:
to want:
ir:
aur:
enverr:
devr:
ser:
fer:
pleuvr:
pourr:
recevr
saur:
viendr:
verr:
voudr:
j'irai
j'aurai
j'enverrai
je devrai
je serai
je ferai
il pleuvra
je pourrai
je recevrai
je saurai
je viendrai
je verrai
je voudrai
Examples:
Aller
J’irai
Tu iras
Il/Elle ira
Nous irons
Vous irez
Ils/Elles iront
Être
Je serai
Tu seras
Il/Elle sera
Nous serons
Vous serez
Ils/Elles seront
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Vouloir
Je voudrai
Tu voudras
Il/Elle voudra
Nous voudrons
Vous voudrez
Ils/Elles voudront
Le Conditionnel
When to use it:
To talk about things that would happen in the future
(I would buy a sports car if I won the lotto).
Regular verbs
Regular –er, -ir and –re* verbs all follow the same rules in the
conditional:
1) Take the infinitive of the verb, e.g donner, finir
2)Add the endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient, -aient
(These are the same endings as l’imparfait!)
* There is a slight difference for –re verbs. Before adding the endings
you must take off the “e”. For example: boire = boir
I would drink = je boirais
Examples:
Donner
Je donnerais
Tu donnerais
Il/Elle donnerait
Nous donnerions
Vous donneriez
Ils/Elles donneraient
Finir
Je finirais
Tu finirais
Il/Elle finirait
Nous finirions
Vous finiriez
Ils/Elles finiraient
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Prendre
Je prendrais
Tu prendrais
Il/Elle prendrait
Nous prendrions
Vous prendriez
Ils/Elles prendraient
Le Conditionnel: Irregular verbs
If you know the irregular stems for the futur simple, you know them for
le conditionnel (they are exactly the same!)
Use the irregular stems from the future tense and add the endings:
aller:
avoir:
envoyer:
devoir:
être:
faire:
pleuvoir:
pouvoir:
revevoir:
savoir:
venir:
voir:
vouloir:
to go:
to have:
to send:
to have to:
to be:
to make/do:
to rain:
to be able:
to receive:
to know:
to come:
to see:
to want:
ir:
aur:
enverr:
devr:
ser:
fer:
pleuvr:
pourr:
recevr
saur:
viendr:
verr:
voudr:
j'irais
j'aurais
j'enverrais
je devrais
je serais
je ferais
il pleuvrait
je pourrais
je recevrais
je saurais
je viendrais
je verrais
je voudrais
Examples:
Aller
J’irais
Tu irais
Il/Elle irait
Nous irions
Vous iriez
Ils/Elles iraient
Être
Je serais
Tu serais
Il/Elle serait
Nous serions
Vous seriez
Ils/Elles seraient
Vouloir
Je voudrais
Tu voudrais
Il/Elle voudrait
Nous voudrions
Vous voudriez
Ils/Elles voudraient
3. Grammar Assessment
Use what you have understood to fill in responses on the following
spreadsheet. We will see how you got on in September. The first sheet is a
general guide to the main French tenses.
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FRENCH VERB TENSES
Time Line ⇒
Imperfect
Perfct Conditnl
Pluperfect
Present
Future
Conditional
Subjunctive
I have done
I am
doing
I would do
If I were…
I do
I will do
I am going to
do
I did
I was doing
I would have
I used to do
done
Reg:
je portais
j'aurais porté
j'avais porté
j'ai porté
je porte
je porterai
je porterais
je porte
Irr
eg:
je faisais
j'aurais fait
j'avais fait
j'ai fait
je fais
je ferai
je vais faire
je ferais
je fasse
ais, ais, ait
ions, iez,
aient
conditional
avoir
+ past
participle
unless it's eg
imperfect avoir
+ past
participle
unless it's eg
present avoir
+ past
participle
unless it's eg
e, es, e,
ons, ez,
ent
regular verbs:
regular verbs:
e, es, e, ent
infinitive +
ai, as, a
sortir, then it's
être
+ past
participle
and must agree
sortir, then it's
être
+ past
participle
and must agree
sortir, then it's
être
+ past
participle
and must agree
infinitive +
longer
endings (like
imp)
ais, ais, ait
but nous and
vous are
like
imperfect
ions, iez
I would have been
I had been
j'avais été
I have been
j'ai été
Eng:
I had done
Perfect
Maybe…
Possibly …
Fre:
Tips:
to be
être
I was being
j'étais
j'aurais été
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ons, ez, ont
ions, iez, aient
I am
je suis
I will be
je serai
I would be
je serais
(If) I were
je sois
to
have
avoir
I was having
j'avais
I would have had
j'aurais eu
I had had
j'avais eu
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I have had
j'ai eu
I have
j'ai
I will have
j'aurai
I would have
j'aurais
(If) I had
j'aie
j'aie
C'est
grave,
docteu
The Big French Grammar Diagnosis
present
I am
you are
he is
we are
you are
they are
I have
you have
he has
we have
you have
they have
I go
you go
he goes
we go
you go
they go
answer
past tense
I went
I saw
I listened
I had
I heard
I ate
I have been
I finished
I learned
I sold
I came
I slept
I went out
I went upstairs
I received
I fell
I got dressed
I was able to
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answer
future tense
I will eat
you will eat
he will eat
we will eat
you will eat
they will eat
I will go
I will be
I will have
I will get dressed
I will pay
I will send
I will finish
I will come
it will be necessary
I will have to
I will be able to
I will run
answer
other tenses
I would eat
you would eat
he would eat
we would eat
you would eat
they would eat
I had gone
you had gone
she had gone
we had gone
you had gone
they had gone
I had watched
you had watched
he had watched
we had watched
you had watched
they had watched
answer
I finish
I had to
I will die
you finish
he finishes
I returned
I put
I will receive
I will see
we finish
I did
I will know
you finish
I was born
it will rain
they finish
I begin
you begin
he begins
we begin
you begin
they begin
I went downstairs
I entered
I left
we arrived
they went
we left
I drank
Michael Jackson
died
I read
I said
I wrote
I liked
I went to bed
I got up
I will want
I will sell
I will take
I will put
I will do
I will drink
I will live
I eat
you eat
he eats
we eat
you eat
they eat
I learn
you learn
he learns
we learn
you learn
they learn
I sell
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I will read
I will say
I will write
I will like
I will go to bed
I will get up
I will fall
I will have finished
you will have
finished
he will have finished
we will have
finished
you will have
finished
they will have
finished
I will have left
you will have left
she will have left
we will have left
you will have left
they will have left
I used to go
you used to go
he used to go
we used to go
you used to go
they used to go
I used to have
I used to be
I used to get up
I used to begin
I used to eat
I used to pay
I used to send
you sell
he sells
we sell
you sell
they sell
I get
dressed
you get
dressed
he gets
dressed
we get
dressed
you get
dressed
they get
dressed
I come
you come
he comes
we come
you come
I used to finish
I used to come
I used to receive
I used to see
I used to know
I used to be able to
I used to have to
I used to want
I used to take
I used to put
I used to do
I used to believe
I used to drink
I used to read
I used to say
I used to write
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