Le Passé Composé

Le Passé Composé or the Compound Past Tense is formed by using the present tense of avoir plus the participe passé or past participle of a verb.

Examples of uses of Le Passé Composé:

J'ai mangé un pain: I have eaten bread. Used for an action or state of being completed in the past

Tu as visité ta mère plusieurs fois : You have visited your mother several times. Used for an action repeated a specific number of times in the past

Il a étudié bien, a pris un examen et a reussi : He has studied well, took an exam and passed. Used for a series of actions completed in the past

Le Participe Passé: Past Participle

The past participle of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending of a verb and adding é, i, or u to -er, -ir, and -re verbs, respectively:

	-ER verbs		-IR verbs		-RE verbs
Verb	parler		réussir		vendre
Remove	-er		-ir		-re
Stem	parl-		réuss-		vend-
Add	é		i		u
Result	parlé		réussi		vendu

Irregular verbs usually have irregular past participles:

acquérir	acquis		apprendre	appris
atteindre	atteint		avoir	eu
boire	bu		comprendre	compris
conduire	conduit		connaître	connu
construire	construit		courir	couru
couvrir	couvert		craindre	craint
croire	cru		décevoir	déçu
découvrir	découvert		devoir	dû
dire	dit		écrire	écrit
être	été		faire	fait
instruire	instruit		joindre	joint
lire	lu		mettre	mis
mourir	mort		offrir	offert
ouvrir	ouvert		naître	né
paraître	paru		peindre	peint
pouvoir	pu		prendre	pris
produire	produit		recevoir	reçu
savoir	su		souffrir	souffert
suivre	suivi		tenir	tenu
venir	venu		vivre	vécu
voir	vu		vouloir	voulu

Demander son chemin: Asking for directions

Comment dire ? How to say?

Demander son chemin: Asking for directions

Excusez-moi, Madame / Monsieur : Excuse me Sir/Ma'am

Pour aller à... To go to...

Je suis perdu: I'm lost

Je cherche la rue... : I'm looking for(name of)street

l'avenue: avenue
le boulevard: boulevard
la place: place

Pourriez-vous me dire comment aller à... :Could you tell me how to go to...

Décrire un itinéraire : Describing the destination

Vous allez / continuez tout droit. : You go all the way to the right.

Vous prenez la prochaine rue à droite / à gauche. : Take the next street to the left

Vous tournez à droite / à gauche. : Turn left/right.

Vous traversez la rue. : You cross the street.

Vous montez / descendez l'escalier. : You go up/down the stairs.

Quelle heure est-il? What time is it?

This is how you tell time in French:

The formula is simple

Il est+ (number) heure

Note: The French also follow sometimes a 24 hour time so they also use numbers 13-23

Il est une heure. (1h00)

Il est deux heures. (2h00)

Il est trois heures. (3h00)

Il est quatre heures. (4h00)

Il est cinq heures. (5h00)

Il est six heures. (6h00)

Il est sept heures. (7h00)

Il est huit heures. (8h00)

Il est neuf heures. (9h00)

Il est dix heures. (10h00)

Il est onze heures. (11h00)

Il est midi. (12h00) = noon

Il est treize heure (13h00)

Il est quatorze heure (14h00)

Il est quinze heure (15h00)

Il est seize heure (16h00)

Il est dix-sept heure (17h00)

Il est dix-huit heure (18h00)

Il est dix-neuf heure (19h00)

Il est vingt heure (20h00)

Il est vingt et un heure (21h00)

Il est vingt deux heure (22h00)

Il est vingt trois heure (23h00)

Il est minuit. (24h00) = midnight

To tell the number of minutes you simply say the number of minutes that have passed.

5h20= Il est cinq heure vingt.

4h35= Il est quatre heure trente-cinq.

for quarters like 15 and 45 you say:

for 15 mins: you say quinze (15) or "et quart"

To ask for time you say:

Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?)

To answer that you say either the following

Il est (number) heure.

Nous sommes à (number) heure.

To ask at what time you say:

À quelle heure? = (At what time)

To answer this you say:

À (number) heure.

Here are some more expressions on time

C'est l'heure = It's time.

En retard = Late

Tôt= Early

Numbers in French 20-69

Here are the numbers from 20-69 basically it has almost the same construction as in the English language


21 vingt et un

22 vingt-deux

23 vingt-trois


30 trente

31 trente et un

32 trente-deux


40 quarante

41 quarante et un


50 cinquante


60 soixante

Numbers in French 1-19

Here are the numbers from 1-19

1 un

2 deux

3 trois

4 quatre

5 cinq

6 six

7 sept

8 huit

9 neuf

10 dix

11 onze

12 douze

13 treize

14 quatorze

15 quinze

16 seize

17 dix-sept

18 dix-huit

19 dix-neuf

Reflexive Pronouns- Pronoms réfléchis

Reflexive Pronouns are pronouns used for Reflexive Verbs.

Here are the reflexive pronouns

Je- Me

Tu- Te

Il/Elle- Se

Nous- Nous

Vous- Vous

Ils/Elles- Se

Please take note that me, te, se changes into m', t', s' if the verb starts with a vowel.

e.g.

Je m’appelle Jean (me+ appelle)

Tu t'appelles Pierre (te+appelles)

Il s'appelle Marc (se + appelle)

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive Verbs are Verbs that take action upon themselves. It is usually used when the verb is about the body or has something to do with clothing. Reflexive Verbs are always used with Reflexive Pronouns

Here are some common Refelxive Verbs. Make sure you check the Conjugation Guide.

s'approcher de	to approach
s'asseoir	to sit down
se baigner	to bathe, swim
se brosser (les cheveux, les dents)	to brush (one's hair, one's teeth)
se casser (la jambe)	to break (one's leg)
se coiffer	to fix one's hair
se coucher	to go to bed
se couper	to cut oneself
se déshabiller	to get undressed
se doucher	to take a shower
se fâcher	to get angry
s'habiller	to get dressed
se laver (les mains, la figure)	to wash (one's hands, one's face)
se lever	to get up
se maquiller	to put on makeup
se marier (avec)	to get married (to)
se moquer de	to make fun of (someone else)
se moucher	to blow one's nose
se peigner	to comb one's hair
se raser	to shave
se regarder	to look at oneself
se reposer	to rest
se réveiller	to wake up
se souvenir de	to remember

There are two separate tasks when conjugating reflexive verbs. First, take the reflexive pronoun se, change it to agree with the subject of the verb, and place it directly in front of the verb. Then, as with all verbs, you must conjugate the infinitive according to whether it's an -er, -ir, -re, or irregular verb.

Les Pronoms Toniques

Les pronoms toniques are used to give emphasis to a noun or pronoun.

me: moi
you: toi
he: lui
she: elle
oneself: soi
us: nous
you (formal or plural): vous
them : eux/ elles

Conjugation of Irregular Verbs Present Tense: Avoir, Aller and Être

Some verbs in French are Irregular therefore they have different conjugations. Examples of them are Avoir (to have, Aller (to go) and Être (to be).

The conjugation of the following verbs in Present tense are as follows:

Avoir: To Have

Je	ai
Tu	as
Il/Elle	a
Nous	avons
Vous	avez
Ils/Elles	ont

Aller: To Go

Je	vais
Tu	vas
Il/Elle	va
Nous	allons
Vous	allez
Ils/Elles	vont

Être: To Be (for uses of être click here)

Je	suis
Tu	es
Il/Elle	est
Nous	sommes
Vous	êtes
Ils/Elles	sont

Conjugations of Regular RE Verbs- Present Tense

Conjugation is very important when it comes to the French language. Every verb is conjugated depending on the subject, its gender and number. So here are a few basics when it comes to conjugating in the present tense.

RE- Ending Verbs

Example: Attendre- To wait

Je	attends
Tu	attends
Il/Elle	attend
Nous	attendons
Vous	attendez
Ils/Elles	attendent

Here are other regular verbs ending in RE

défendre	to defend
descendre	to descend
entendre	to hear
perdre	to lose
prétendre	to claim
rendre	to give back, to return something
répondre	to answer
vendre	to sell

Conjugations of Regular IR Verbs- Present Tense

Conjugation is very important when it comes to the French language. Every verb is conjugated depending on the subject, its gender and number. So here are a few basics when it comes to conjugating in the present tense.

IR- Ending Verbs

Example: Agir- To act

Je	agis*
Tu	agis
Il/Elle	agit
Nous	agissons
Vous	agissez
Ils/Elles	agissent

*It should be J'agis because if the verb begins with a vowel Je becomes J'

Here are other regular verbs ending in IR

abolir	to abolish
avertir	to warn
bâtir	to build
bénir	to bless
choisir	to choose
établir	to establish
étourdir	to stun, deafen, make dizzy
finir	to finish
grossir	to get fat
guérir	to cure, heal, recover
maigrir	to lose weight, get thin
nourrir	to feed, nourish
obéir	to obey
punir	to punish
réfléchir	to reflect, think
remplir	to fill
réussir	to succeed
rougir	to blush, turn red
vieillir	to grow old

Conjugations of Regular ER Verbs- Present Tense

Conjugation is very important when it comes to the French language. Every verb is conjugated depending on the subject, its gender and number. So here are a few basics when it comes to conjugating in the present tense.

ER- Ending Verbs

Example: Manger- To eat

Je	mange
Tu	manges
Il/Elle	mange
Nous	mangeons
Vous	mangez
Ils/Elles	mangent

Here are other regular verbs ending in ER

aimer	to like or to love
arriver	to arrive or to happen
chanter	to sing
chercher	to look for
danser	to dance
demander	to ask for
détester	to hate
donner	to give
écouter	to listen to
étudier	to study
jouer	to play
manger	to eat
nager	to swim
parler	to talk or to speak
penser	to think
regarder	to watch or to look at
rêver	to dream
skier	to ski
travailler	to work
trouver	to find
visiter	to visit (a place)