Once you “cut” away the
VERB ENDING in the
Infinitive form, what you
are left with is the
VERB STEM
What is the
VERB STEM of a
regular verb?
Let’s take for
example the verb
“JOUER”
TO PLAY
Is that always true
for the 3 families of
regular verbs?
Yes, the stem almost
never changes
whatever the tense
used.
What do you mean by
“almost never
changes”?
Well, sometimes it varies a
little depending on its spelling,
but we don’t need to worry
ourselves for that now.
What makes the verb ending
change, Bernard?
Two things, Sophie.
1. The choice of the Personal Pronoun
(who or what does the action)
2. The choice of the Tense.
(When the action takes place)
Well Roger, if the verb
stem doesn’t change,
what does then?
Dear Alice! It is
the verb ending
of course.
What are the
Personal
Pronouns?
The Personal Pronouns are
little words which replace the
name of people or things.
Follow me and I will show you
Oh!
Français
English
je
I
fi
tu
you (familiar)
ti
il
he
fo
elle
she
hi
nous
vous
ils
elles
we
ni
you (formal)
chi
they (masculine) nhw
they (feminine) nhw
or
j’
Cymraeg
Here is the list of all the French
Personal Pronouns and their
equivalent in English and Welsh.
Let’s go and see
what difference
the pronouns
make to the
verb ending.
Je
tu
il
elle
nous
vous
ils
elles
jou e
jou es
jou e
jou e
jou ons
jou ez
jou ent
jou ent
Présent
Rydw i
Rwyt ti
Mae
o
Mae
hi
Rydan ni
Rydych chi
Maen nhw
Maen nhw
yn
yn
yn
yn
yn
yn
yn
yn
chwarae
chwarae
chwarae
chwarae
chwarae
chwarae
chwarae
chwarae
BLUE
=
Personal
Pronoun
RED
=
Changes
due to
pronoun
and
tense
Presennol
Just like in
Welsh,
then!
...And you will see how the
ending changes when I use a
different pronoun.
Let’s use
the present
tense of the
verb
JOUER...
Je
tu
il
elle
nous
vous
ils
elles
jou e
jou es
jou e
jou e
jou ons
jou ez
jou ent
jou ent
Présent
I
you
he
she
we
you
they
they
play
play
plays
plays
play
play
play
play
Present
What
happens in
English?
I
you
he
she
we
you
they
they
am playing
are playing
is playing
is playing
are playing
are playing
are playing
are playing
Present Progressive
This is why you
need to be more
careful when
translating
The effect of the pronoun is not so
marked in English.
When translating “you” remember to use:
- “tu” if you address only one person (your family or friends)
- “vous” if you address more than one person or somebody you
do not know or someone you must show respect to, like your
Headmaster or a teacher.
When translating “they” or
“nhw” remember to use:
-“elles” when it refers to
- a feminine plural noun,
- more than one female.
When translating “they” or
“nhw” remember to use:
-“ils” when it refers to
- a masculine plural noun,
- more than one male or
-a mixed group (males and
females).
Présent
Imparfait
Je joue
Rydw i’n Chwarae
I play / I am playing
Futur
Je jouerai
Roeddwn i’n Chwarae
I played / I was playing
Passé composé
Mi fydda i’n Chwarae
I will play
Je jouais
Conditionnel
Je jouerais
Mi fyddwn i’n Chwarae
I would play
J’ai joué
Rydw i wedi Chwarae
I played/ I have played
Plus-que-parfait
J’avais joué
Roeddwn i wedi Chwarae
I had played
Let’s see what
effect the Tense
has on the
Verb Ending!
We’ll show the
changes only with
the pronoun “je” as
we will deal with
each complete
tenses in a next
lesson.
Click on the big eggs for some practice
Task 1
Multiple choice
Task 2
Quiz