Mot du Jour: Venir (To Come)

Pocket Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press:

venir /vəniʀ/

1. 1. venir de faire to have just done;
      elle vient de partir she's just left;
      ‘vient de paraître‘ (of book) ‘new!’;
   2. ~ aggraver la situation to make the situation worse;
   3. le ballon est venu rouler sous mes pieds the ball rolled up to my feet;
   4. s'il venait à pleuvoir if it should rain.

2. intransitive verb (+ v être)
   1. to come;
      ~ de to come from;
      ~ après/avant to come after/before;
      allez, viens! come on!;
      viens voir come and see;
      j'en viens I've just been there;
      je viens de sa part he/she sent me to see you;
      faire ~ qn to send for sb;
      to get sb to come;
      faire ~ le médecin to call the doctor;
      ça ne m'est jamais venu à l'idée it never crossed my mind;
      dans les jours à ~ in the next few days;
   2. en ~ à to come to;
      en ~ aux mains to come to blows.

Here's the conjugation in the present tense:

Indicative Present of venir:
Je	viens
Tu	viens
Il/Elle	vient
Nous	venons
Vous	venez
Ils/Elles	viennent

Le Conditonnel: The Conditional Tense

The conditional mood is one of the easiest to conjugate. Iy tells if an event is likely to occur but hasn't happened yet. In English this would be the equivalent of "would".

Le Conditonnel is formed by using si clauses which is equivalent to if..then statements.

To form the conditional of -ER and -IR verbs, add the appropriate ending to the infinitive. For -RE verbs, drop the final E before adding the ending.

Singular		Plural
1st person	je	-ais	nous	-ions
2nd person	tu	-ais	vous	-iez
3rd person	il	-ait	ils	-aient

Here are the verbs with irregular conjugation

Verb	Conditional stem	Similarly-conjugated verbs
acheter	achèter-	achever, amener, emmener, lever, promener
appeler	appeller-	épeler, jeter, projeter, rappeler
aller	ir-
avoir	aur-
devoir	devr-
envoyer	enverr-
essayer	essaier-	employer, ennuyer, nettoyer, payer
être	ser-
faire	fer-
pleuvoir	pleuvr-
pouvoir	pourr-
savoir	saur-
venir	viendr-	revenir, devenir, parvenir
voir	verr-	revoir
vouloir	voudr-

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Mot du Jour: écrire (to write)

Image Source

écrire /ekʀiʀ/

transitive verb
1. to write;
2. to spell.

s'écrire reflexive verb (+ être)

1.to be written;
2.to be spelled.

Indicative Present of écrire:
Je	écris
Tu	écris
Il/Elle	écrit
Nous	écrivons
Vous	écrivez
Ils/Elles	écrivent

Expressions with the verb

J'écris un note. I'm writing a note.
ça s'écrit comment? How is it spelled?

When to use le subjonctif

	Verbs/expressions of will which express an order, a need, a piece of advice, or a want.
	aimer mieux que	to like better / to prefer that
	commander que	to order that
	demander que	to ask (someone to do something)
	désirer que	to desire that
	donner l'ordre que	to order that
	empêcher que*	to prevent (someone from doing something)
	éviter que*	to avoid
	exiger que	to demand that
	il est à souhaiter que	it is to be hoped that
	il est essentiel que	it is essential that
	il est important que	it is important that
	il est naturel que	it is natural that
	il est nécessaire que	it is necessary that
	il est normal que	it is normal that
	il est temps que	it is time that
	il est urgent que	it is urgent that
	il faut que	it is necessary that
	il vaut mieux que	it is better that
	interdire que	to forbid that
	s'opposer que	to oppose that
	ordonner que	to order that
	permettre que	to permit that
	préférer que	to prefer that
	proposer que	to propose that
	recommander que	to recommend
	souhaiter que	to wish that
	suggérer que	to suggest that
	tenir à ce que	to insist that
	vouloir que	to want that
	*these verbs are followed by the ne explétif: Évitez qu'il ne parte - Prevent him from leaving.
	Verbs/expressions of emotion or feeling which indicate fear, happiness, anger, regret, surprise, or other sentiments.
	adorer que	to love that
	aimer que	to like that
	apprécier que	to appreciate that
	avoir honte que	to be ashamed that
	avoir peur que	to be afraid that
	craindre que	to fear that
	déplorer que	to deplore that
	détester que	to hate that
	être content que	to be happy that
	être désolé que	to be sorry that
	être étonné que	to be amazed that
	être heureux que	to be happy that
	être surpris que	to be surprised that
	être triste que	to be sad that
	il est bizarre que	it is odd that
	il est bon que	it is good that
	il est dommage que	it is too bad that
	il est étonnant que	it is amazing that
	il est étrange que	it is strange that
	il est heureux que	it is fortunate that
	il est honteux que	it is shameful that
	il est inutile que	it is useless that
	il est rare que	it is rare that
	il est regrettable que	it is regrettable that
	il est surprenant que	it is surprising that
	il est utile que	it is useful that
	redouter que	to dread that
	regretter que	to regret that
	se réjouir que	to be delighted that
	Verbs/expressions of doubt, possibility, and opinion
	accepter que	to accept
	s'attendre à ce que	to expect
	chercher ... qui	to look for
	Je cherche un homme qui sache la vérité (he may not exist = doubt)
	détester que	to hate
	douter que**	to doubt that
	il est convenable que	it is proper/fitting that
	il est douteux que**	it is doubtful that
	il est faux que	it is false that
	il est impossible que	it is impossible that
	il est improbable que	it is improbable that
	il est juste que	it is right/fair that
	il est possible que	it is possible that
	il est peu probable que	it is improbable that
	il n'est pas certain que	it is not certain that
	il n'est pas clair que	it is not clear that
	il n'est pas évident que	it is not obvious that
	il n'est pas exact que	it is not correct that
	il n'est pas probable que	it is improbable that
	il n'est pas sûr que	it is not certain that
	il n'est pas vrai que	it is not true that
	il semble que	it seems that
	il se peut que	it may be that
	le fait que	the fact that
	nier que	to deny that
	refuser que	to refuse
	**These do not take the subjunctive when they are used negatively: Je doute qu'il vienne, Je ne doute pas qu'il vient.
Note	The following verbs and expressions do not take the subjunctive when they are used in the affirmative, because they express facts which are considered certain. When negative or interrogatory, they require the subjunctive: Penses-tu qu'il soit sympa ? Oui, je pense qu'il est sympa, Non, je ne pense pas qu'il soit sympa.
	c'est que	it's that/because
	connaître (quelqu'un) qui	to know (someone) that
	croire que	to believe that
	dire que	to say that
	espérer que	to hope that
	être certain que	to be certain that
	être sûr que	to be sure that
	il est certain que	it is certain that
	il est clair que	it is clear/obvious that
	il est évident que	it is obvious that
	il est probable que	it is probable that
	il est exact que	it is correct/true that
	il est sûr que	it is certain that
	il est vrai que	it is true that
	il me (te, lui...) semble que	it seems to me (you, him...) that
	il paraît que	it appears that
	penser que	to think that
	savoir que	to know that
	trouver que	to find/think that
	vouloir dire que	to mean that
	The following conjunctions
	à condition que	provided that
	à moins que*	unless
	afin que	so that
	avant que*	before
	bien que	although
	de crainte que*	for fear that
	de façon que	so that, in order that, in such a way that
	de peur que*	for fear that
	en attendant que	while, until
	jusqu'à ce que	until
	pour que	so that
	pourvu que	provided that
	quoique	even though
	quoi que	whatever, no matter what
	sans que	without
	*these conjunctions are followed by the ne explétif: Mangeons avant que nous ne partions - Let's eat before we leave
Note	The following conjunctions do not take the subjunctive, because they express facts which are considered certain:
	ainsi que	just as, so as
	alors que	while, whereas
	après que***	after, when
	aussitôt que***	as soon as
	car	since, because
	en même temps que	at the same time that
	depuis que	since
	dès que***	as soon as, immediately
	lorsque***	when
	parce que	because
	pendant que	while
	plutôt que	instead of, rather than
	puisque	since, as
	quand***	when
	tandis que	while, whereas
	une fois que***	once
	***These conjunctions are followed by the future tense.
	In a subordinate clause with the negative pronoun ne ... personne or ne ... rien, or the indefinite pronoun quelqu'un or quelque chose.
	Je ne connais personne qui veuille le faire.	I don't know anyone who wants to do it.
	Y a-t-il quelqu'un qui puisse m'aider ?	Is there someone who can help me?
	After main clauses which contain the words seul, unique, premier, dernier, or any superlative, the subjunctive is optional - it depends on how concrete the speaker feels about what is being said.
	C'est la seule personne que je connaisse.	That's the only person I know.
	C'est l'étudiante la plus intelligente que j'aie.	She's the smartest student I have.

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Le Subjonctif: The subjunctive mood Part 1

Le subjonctif is one of the most confusing subjects when it comes to learning the French language. However once you have mastered the subjonctif you would see that it is actually easier than you have thought.

First we shall know first how verbs are conjugated in this mood:

For all regular verbs (-ER, -IR, and -RE), take the 3rd person plural form (ils) of the present tense of the verb, drop the -ent ending to find the stem, and add the subjunctive endings as follows:

	parler	choisir	rendre
Ils		parlent	choisissent	rendent
stem		parl	choisiss	rend
Subjunctive endings
... que je	-e	parle	choisisse	rende
... que tu	-es	parles	choisisses	rendes
... qu' il/elle/on	-e	parle	choisisse	rende
... que nous	-ions	parlions	choisissions	rendions
... que vous	-iez	parliez	choisissiez	rendiez
... qu' ils/elles	-ent	parlent	choisissent	rendent

	partir	mettre
... que je	parte	mette
... que tu	partes	mettes
... qu' il/elle/on	parte	mette
... que nous	partions	mettions
... que vous	partiez	mettiez
... qu' ils/elles	partent	mettent

boire	envoyer	prendre	venir
Nous		buvons	envoyons	prenons	venons
stem		buv	envoy	pren	ven
Subjunctive endings
... que nous	-ions	buvions	envoyions	prenions	venions
... que vous	-iez	buviez	envoyiez	preniez	veniez
Ils		boivent	envoient	prennent	viennent
stem		boiv	envoi	prenn	vienn
Subjunctive endings
... que je	-e	boive	envoie	prenne	vienne
... que tu	-es	boives	envoies	prennes	viennes
... qu' il/elle/on	-e	boive	envoie	prenne	vienne
... qu' ils/elles	-ent	boivent	envoient	prennent	viennent

Read Part II here

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Le Verbe Boire: To Drink

Le Verbe Boire has an irregular conjugation. Here is the conjugation in present tense:

Je bois

Tu bois

Il/Elle boit

Nous buvons

Vous buvez

Ils/ Elles boivent

So when you want to say you are drinking something, you form the sentence by using the personal pronoun + conjugated form of the verb + partitif + the drink you are drinking

Example:

Je bois du thé ( I drink tea)

I'll be posting a more detailed lesson soon.

Faire: To do or make

Here is the conjugation for the verb Faire.

Indicative Present of faire:
Je	fais
Tu	fais
Il/Elle	fait
Nous	faisons
Vous	faites
Ils/Elles	font

The Imperfect Past Tense- L'imparfait

The French imperfect (imparfait) is a descriptive past tense which indicates an ongoing state of being or a repeated or incomplete action. The beginning and end of the state of being or action are not indicated, and the imparfait is very often translated in English as "was" or "was ___-ing."

It is formed by adding the following endings to the root of the verb

• 1st person singular : -ais
• 2nd person singular : -ais
• 3rd person singular : -ait
• 1st person plural : -ions
• 2nd person plural : -iez
• 3rd person plural : -aient

Example:

Parler- To talk/speak

• je parlais
• tu parlais
• il/elle parlait
• nous parlions
• vous parliez
• ils/elles parlaient

However for some verbs the endings could be different.

Example:


finir (to finish)

• je finissais
• tu finissais
• il/elle finissait
• nous finissions
• vous finissiez
• ils/elles finissaient

boire (to drink)

• je buvais
• tu buvais
• il/elle buvait
• nous buvions
• vous buviez
• ils/elles buvaient

être (to be)

• j'étais
• tu étais
• il/elle était
• nous étions
• vous étiez
• ils/elles étaient

avoir (to have)

• j'avais
• tu avais
• il/elle avait
• nous avions
• vous aviez
• ils/elles avaient

The imperfect can indicate any of the following:

I.	Habitual actions or states of being
	Quand j'étais petit, j'avais beaucoup des jeux	When I was young,I had a lot of toys.
II.	Physical and emotional descriptions: time, weather, age, feelings
	Il était midi et il faisait beau.	It was noon and the weather was nice.
III.	Actions or states of an unspecified duration
	Je faisais la queue parce que j'avais besoin de billets.	I stood in line because I needed tickets.
IV.	Background information in conjunction with the passé composé
	J'étais au lycée quand j'ai pris une examen .	I was at at school, when I took the exam.
V.	Wishes or suggestions
	Ah ! Si j'étais riche !	Oh, if only I were rich!
VI.	Conditions in si clauses
	Si j'avais de l'argent, j'irais avec toi.	If I had some money, I would go with you.
VII.	The expressions être en train de and venir de in the past.
	J'étais en train de faire la vaisselle.	I was (in the process of) doing the dishes.

Source

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

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)

Le verb "être" = The verb "to be"

The verb être is a very important and basic verb in French. It is similar to the English verb "be". This verb is used same as the "be" verb in English.

Examples

I am a Doctor : Je suis medecin.
You are beautiful : Tu es belle

Of course as any other French Verb, it is also conjugated and the conjugation for the present tense is as follows.

Infinitive present: être

Participle Present: étant

Indicative Present of être:
Je	suis
Tu	es
Il/Elle	est
Nous	sommes
Vous	êtes
Ils/Elles	sont

More conjugations and more verbs on the nest entries.