English is not
French :
1. GRAMMAR
English Grammar ≠ French Grammar
Le crayon noir de ton vieil oncle est perdu
La plume noire de ta vieille tante est perdue
English Grammar ≠ French Grammar
Le crayon noir de mon vieil oncle est perdu
La plume noire de ma vieille tante est perdue
My old uncle’s black pencil is lost
My old aunt’s black pen is lost
In E., only the content words have changed.
Not the articles or the endings.
Le crayon noir de mon vieil oncle est perdu
La plume noire de ma vieille tante est perdue
French substantives have gender
(masculine / feminine)
How about English ?
No contrast masculine / feminine
for common nouns :
Le crayon
La plume
Un crayon
Une plume
Un oncle
Une tante
The pencil
The pen
A pencil
A pen
An uncle
An aunt
A becomes An
before a vowel
How about English ?
But the contrast masculine / feminine exists
for gendered beings (in the singular) :
Le garçon ... il
La fille ... elle
Le crayon ... il
La plume ... elle
The boy ... He / his
The girl ... She / her
The pencil ... It / its
The pen ... It / its
The boys / girls / pencils / pens ... They / their
How about English ?
No gender markers in the plural !
The boys ... they
The girls ... they
The drinks ... they
also :
Everybody ... they
and even :
Somebody / someone .... they / them / their
Nobody / no one ... they / them / their
Le crayon noir de ton vieil oncle est perdu
La plume noire de ta vieille tante est perdue
Les crayons noirs
Les plumes noires
French adjectives agree with the nouns they
qualify (gender and number)
How about English ?
English adjectives do not agree
with the nouns they qualify :
Un grand homme
Une grande femme
Les beaux arbres
Les belles maisons
A tall man
A tall woman
The beautiful trees
The beautiful houses
How about English ?
English adjectives do not agree
with the nouns they qualify :
Le livre est bon
Les biscuits sont bons
La pomme est bonne
Les tasses sont bonnes
The book is good
The biscuits are good
The apple is good
The cups are good
However ...
The French « beaucoup de ...»
is invariable (does not change),
but the English « much » and « many »
change with the number of the noun :
Il n’a pas beaucoup d’argent, ....
He doesn’t have much (a lot of) money, ...
mais il a beaucoup d’amis.
but he has many (a lot of) friends !
English vs. French
Le crayon noir de mon vieil oncle est perdu
La plume noire de ma vieille tante est perdue
French possessives behave like adjectives :
they agree with the noun they qualify.
English possessives do not :
they agree with the possessor
How about English ?
English possessives agree with the possessor :
Il a vu son père
Il a vu sa mère
He saw his father
He saw his mother
Elle a vu son père
Elle a vu sa mère
She saw her father
She saw her mother
We saw our mother
You saw your father
They saw their father
English vs. French
Le crayon noir de ton vieil oncle est perdu
La plume noire de ta vieille tante est perdue
Fr. past participles behave like adjectives :
They agree with the noun they qualify
How about English ?
English past participles do not agree
with the nouns they qualify :
L’homme que j’ai vu
La femme que j’ai vue
Les hommes que j’ai vus
Les femmes que j’ai vues
The man / woman / men / women / I’ve seen
No word endings in English ?
It is true that (in contrast to Latin or German) nouns
(substantives) do not change according to their
grammatical status (subject or object) :
The boy loves the girl
The girl loves the boy
No word endings in English ?
It is true that verbal endings are much simpler, and
fewer, in English than in Latin or French :
Amo
J’aime
I love
I am
Amas
Tu aimes
You love
You are
Amat
Il/elle aime
He / she loves
He / she is
Amamus
Nous aimons
We love
We are
Amatis
Vous aimez
You love
You are
Amant
Ils aiment
They love
They are
No word endings in English ?
Yes there are !
- s -ed -ing
No word endings in English ?
Yes there are !
- s -ed -ing
No word endings in English ?
- S : 1. Plural - S
2. 3rd. Person - S
3. Genitive ’S
4. ’S = is, has
-S :
one morph, three phonemes
one book, two books
one bed, two beds
one tree, two trees
one house, two houses
one witch, two witches
[s]
[z]
[z]
[Iz]
[Iz]
Careful !!! (1)
We need a plural - S after
One of the (...) + noun :
One of the best players in the world
One of his worst performances
One of my favourite books
One of your dirty tricks
One of her close friends is an astronaut
etc.
- S : 3rd. Person -S
He works, she sits, ...
He begs, she digs, ...
He plays, she sees,
He kisses, she watches,
[s]
[z]
[z]
[Iz]
Subject / verb agreement
In French, « il y a ... » is invariable :
Il y a un chat sur le paillasson
Il y a deux chats dans la maison
In English, « there is / are » agrees with
the « real » subject that follows :
There is a cat on the mat
There are two cats in the house
NOT : They are ... (= ils sont)
Careful !!! (2)
It’s = it is, it has (it’s now or never)
Its = possessive (the dog bit its master)
Who’s = who is, who has
(Who’s the owner of this car ?)
(Who’s never been to Antwerp ?)
Whose = relative pronoun
(The girl whose dog bit the postman)
No word endings in English ?
Yes there are !
- s -ed -ing
- ed forms the simple past
and the past participle of regular verbs.
Here also, there are three pronunciations :
Worked [t]
Loved
[d]
Played [d]
Wanted [Id]
Mended [Id]
Naked, Crooked [Id]
No word endings in English ?
Yes there are !
- s -ed -ing
-ing
The ending -ing is used to form the
present participle and the gerund of
regular verbs.
The present participle is used
in the « progressive » verbal form :
I am teaching
You are learning
He / She / It is standing
-ing
The ending -ing is used to form the
present participle and the gerund of
regular verbs.
The gerund is an -ing verbal form
used as a substantive :
There will be some dancing tonight,
but no drinking after midnight.
No parking here (« a parking » ≠ Engl.)
Studying at the ULB is fun.
No word endings in English ?
The form of personal pronouns changes
according to their function (« case ») :
SUBJECT
I
YOU
HE
SHE
IT
WE
THEY
OBJECT
POSSESSIVE
ME
YOU
HIM
HER
IT
US
THEM
MY, MINE
YOUR, YOURS
HIS
HER, HERS
ITS (NOT IT’S)
OUR, OURS
THEIR, THEIRS
While we’re talking about pronouns ...
NOTE THAT THE ENGLISH « YOU »
IS BOTH SINGULAR AND PLURAL
IS BOTH FAMILIAR AND POLITE
SO
IS BOTH « TU » AND « VOUS »
NOTE THAT THE FRENCH «ON» WILL BE RENDERED IN
DIFFERENT WAYS IN ENGLISH :
Alors, on ne dit même pas merci ?
Won’t you even say thank you ?
On a encore une fois ouvert la rue.
They have broken up the street again !
Chez nous, Monsieur, on ne jure pas.
We don’t swear here at home, Sir.
On m’a volé mon portefeuille
My wallet has been stolen.
On ne parle pas ainsi aux dames.
One does not talk to ladies like that.
Au Moyen Âge on brûlait des sorcières
In the Middle Ages witches were burnt alive.
En Amérique on parle anglais
In America, they speak English / E. Is spoken.
No word endings in English ?
It is true that verbal endings are much simpler in Eng.
than in Latin or French :
Amo
J’aime
I love
I am
Amas
Tu aimes
You love
You are
Amat
Il/elle aime
He / she loves
He / she is
Amamus
Nous aimons
We love
We are
Amatis
Vous aimez
You love
You are
Amant
Ils aiment
They love
They are
Verbal endings are much simpler in English
than in Latin or French,
But English conjugation can be complex :
1. Word order is important (patterns)
2. Not all verbs behave in the same way (AV/NAV)
(especially negation / interrogation)
3. Some verbs are irregular
4. The VP has its own internal structure
5. Complementation is not the same as in French
(verb + inf., verb + that ..., verb + -ing)
1. Word order is important (patterns)
The dog chased the man
The man chased the dog
You are my best student
Are you my best student ?
She gave the officer a medal.
She gave a medal to the officer.
1. Word order is important (patterns)
SV
SVCs
SVAC
SVO
SVOO
We exist. It is raining.
She is a nurse. You are getting fat.
They live in Brussels. She is there.
He caught a cold. She paid for the drinks.
We sent him an invitation
I explained the text to them
SVOC He painted the door green
They provided the refugees with blankets
SVOAC He put the book on the table
But word order may differ :
I saw the dog / I saw it
J’ai vu le chien / je l’ai vu
1. Word order is important (patterns)
SV
SVCs
SVAC
SVO
SVOO
SVOC
SVOAC
All these patterns start with SV.
SV agreement is simple, but important :
The dog barks / The dogs bark
There is a fly in my soup /
There are two flies in my soup
2. Not all verbs behave in the same way (AV/NAV)
(especially negation / interrogation)
3. Some verbs are irregular
REGULAR
I work / she works
I worked / she worked
I have worked / she has worked
IRREGULAR
I sing / she sings
I sang / she sang
I have sung / she has sung
4. The VP has its own internal structure :
A VP can contain several auxiliaries, but their order is fixed.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Aux (can, may,
must ...,
shall/will, do) +
[to] + inf.
Have + past
participle
Be + present
participle
Be + past
participle
(A+B) He must have studied to succeed
(A+C) Someone may be watching
(A+D) The doctor must be called at once
(B+C) They have been tapping our phone
(B+D) The flat has been decorated by Terry
(C+D) The book is being republished
(A+B+C) He should have been working for you
(A+B+D) The hostages may have been released
(A+B+C+D) She may have been being harassed
5. Complementation is not the same as in French
(verb + inf., verb + that ..., verb + -ing, etc.)
« Je veux que tu viennes avec moi »
* I want that you come with me
5. Complementation is not the same as in French
(verb + inf., verb + that ..., verb + -ing, etc.)
« Je veux que tu viennes avec moi »
* I want that you come with me
I want you to come with me
Complementation is not the same as in French
(verb + inf., verb + that ..., verb + -ing, etc.)
« Arrête de bouger ! »
* Stop to move !
Stop moving !
5. Complementation is not the same as in French
(verb + inf., verb + that ..., verb + -ing, etc.)
I remember kissing my wife for the first time
remember + ing : retrospective
I must remember to buy some bread today
remember + to + inf.: prospective
5.
Complementation is not the same as in French
Prepositional verbs in French may be
non-prepositional in English, and vice versa :
Resist temptation
Résister à ...
Answer a question
Répondre à ...
Survive an accident
Survivre à ...
Look at the clouds
Regarder les nuages
Wait for the bus
Attendre le bus
Listen to the radio
Ecouter la radio
6. English verbs have different aspects :
a) simple and progressive :
« Je mange une pomme »
« I eat an apple » (every day)
« I am eating an apple »
(here and now)
The Progressive
(be + present participle)
1. Dynamic
= « makes a difference »
SHORT
DRY
not
WET
TALL
««he
it is
is raining
growing» »
« a permanent state »
The Progressive
100 %
2. Temporary validity
= 100 % true
at the time of speaking
0%
NOW
The Progressive
3. Continuous Duration
not
punctual
or
– – – – – – – – discontinuous
The Progressive
1. Dynamic Process
2. Temporary validity
3. Continuous Duration
 At least TWO of these conditions
must be fulfilled.
The Progressive
PRESENT
PAST
1.
2.
3.
Dynamic Pocess
Temporary validity
Continuous Duration
She is talking (now)
I am listening
She was talking (then)
I was listening
She was talking when, suddenly, the phone rang.
I was listening when, suddenly, I had a new idea.
FUTURE
She will be talking
(at a PTA meeting next week)
I shall not be attending
English verbs mark aspect differently :
a) simple and progressive :
What do you do ?
(What’s your job ?)
Hey, what are you doing there ?
(Your present temporary activity)
I am standing in front of the Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower stands in Paris
I know that I love you (stative verbs)
(MacDonald’s : I’m lovin’ it !)
6. English verbs have different aspects :
b) simple and perfective :
« J’ai écrit une lettre »
« I wrote a letter »
(this morning)
« I have written a letter »
(It’s finished)
Another grammatical difference :
determiners
1. English has no partitive article :
Du pain : bread
Pas de pain : no bread
Du café fort : strong coffee
De l’eau trouble : murky water
De la limonade rouge : red lemonade
Another grammatical difference :
determiners
2. English has no plural indefinite article :
Des élèves : students
Pas d’ enfants : no children
Des ennuis : troubles
Des allumettes : matches
Another grammatical difference :
determiners
3. No definite article for NCNs
(abstractions and substances) :
L’amour
La nature
La religion
L’or est précieux
L’eau est chère
Love
Nature
Religion
Gold is valuable
Water is expensive
Another grammatical difference :
determiners
4. But (with specifying postmodification) :
L’amour qui dure
The love that lasts
La nature de l’Homme The nature of Man
La religion du Japon The religion of Japan
L’or de Troie The gold of Troy
L’eau des Océans The water of the Oceans
Another grammatical difference :
4.
Some of these NCNs (« Uncountables ») are countable in
French :
Un conseil :
Quelques conseils :
Deux conseils :
some advice
some advice
two pieces / bits of advice
(Two advices : deux conseillers juridiques,
deux mises en demeure )
Another grammatical difference :
4.
Some of these NCNs (« Uncountables ») are countable in
French :
Des informations :
Some information
Quelques informations : Some information
Les informations de 20 heures :
The eight o’clock news
Les nouvelles sont bonnes :
The news IS good.