Chapter 4Wrestling with Some Irregular Conjugations In This Chapter Breaking down irregular verbs Putting different irregular verbs together In Chapter 2, I introduce the regular verbs w
Trang 1Chapter 4
Wrestling with Some Irregular Conjugations
In This Chapter
Breaking down irregular verbs
Putting different irregular verbs together
In Chapter 2, I introduce the regular verbs whose infinitives end in -er, -ir, and -re Some
verbs with these endings, however, have an irregular conjugation They’re harder to conjugate because they don’t have a consistent stem throughout their conjugation, but most have similar endings, making them a little easier to figure out
In this chapter, I start with the most common and most frequently used irregular verbs I then focus on different groupings of irregular verbs and show you how to conjugate them all (If you want to work on other not-quite-so-common irregular verbs, you can find more
in Appendix C.)
Conjugating Irregular Verbs
From your experiences, you probably realize that nothing is run-of-the-mill Just like in life where you may know a few eccentric people, French is similar with its own unique verbs They’re not at all like the regular verbs you find in Chapter 2 (or even Chapter 3) These verbs are irregular and in a world of their own
This section first covers the four most commonly used irregular verbs in the French language and then delves into other frequently used irregular verbs
Focusing on the four most common irregular verbs
The following are the most common irregular verbs in the French language I wish I had a clear-cut, easy way for you to master these irregular beasts The only suggestion I can make
is that you study each one and practice using it; I’m sure each will be become second nature
to you in no time A good way to make these verbs your own is to practice saying them out loud to try to build up a certain rhythm You may even try making a song out of the conjuga-tions, using your favorite melody
Even with the following irregular conjugations, you may notice some consistencies; for
example, the nous form in French always ends in -ons, and the vous form almost always ends in -ez (exceptions include être, dire, and faire, whose vous forms end in -es instead).
Because the verbs in this section are irregular, I bold the entire conjugation and not just the
ending in the following tables From these four verbs, avoir and être are the two auxiliary
verbs That means that you always use them when forming the compound past tenses, which I discuss in Part III
Trang 2avoir (to have)
J’ai trois enfants (I have three children.)
être (to be)
Ils sont gentils (They are nice.)
aller (to go)
Nous allons au cinéma (We are going to the movies.)
faire (to do, to make)
Tu fais du bruit (You are making noise.)
Other verbs conjugated like faire are refaire (to redo), défaire (to dismantle), and sat-isfaire (to satisfy).
The four verbs in this section are the most common irregular verbs in French Try the following practice problems to double-check how well you know them I’ve conju-gated the verbs in the following sentences, but I may not have conjuconju-gated them cor-rectly Check to see whether they’re right, and correct the ones that are wrong by writing the correct conjugation in the provided blank If you come across any that are already correct, simply write “yes” in the blank
Q.Tu va à l’université
A.No Tu vas à l’université (You are going to the university.)
1 Tu fait ton lit.
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2 Ils vont à la plage.
3 Claudine es canadienne.
4 J’ai de la chance.
5 Vous faitez du ski.
6 Les touristes disont au revoir.
7 Tu vas bien.
8 Vous sommes formidable.
9 Philippe as un sac de couchage.
10 Nous faisons une quiche.
Working through other “helpful” irregular verbs
This next section of verbs focuses on important helping verbs Vouloir (to want to), pouvoir (to be able to), and devoir (to have to) help the main verb, which is in the infinitive form For example, Je veux voyager means I want to travel; Je peux voyager means I am able to travel; and Je dois voyager means I have to travel The verbs
vouloir and devoir can also be followed by nouns For example, Je veux du café
means I want some coffee Usually the verb vouloir is in the conditional form when
followed by a noun (See Chapter 17 for the lowdown on the conditional tense.) When
the verb devoir is followed by a noun, it means to owe, as in the example Il me doit
de l’argent, which means He owes me money.
Look at the following conjugations to see how you handle these three common
help-ing verbs You may notice a lot of similarities between pouvoir and vouloir, such as their endings and their vowel sequence (eu in all the singular — je, tu, il/elle/on — and the third person plural — ils/elles; and ou in the nous and vous forms within the
conjugation)
Trang 4pouvoir (to be able to)
Je peux parler français (I can [am able to] speak French.)
vouloir (to want to)
Nous voulons apprendre le français (We want to learn French.)
devoir (to have to)
Ils doivent lire (They have to read.)
Now it’s your turn to conjugate these verbs and add the infinitives to make complete sentences Work through the following practice questions and compare your answers
to those in the key at the end of the chapter Translate the sentences after you conju-gate the verbs
Q.Tu _ (pouvoir) conduire
A.Tu peux conduire You can drive.
11 Nous _ (vouloir) dormir.
12 Ils _ (pouvoir) lire.
13 Je _ (pouvoir) venir.
14 Isabelle _ (vouloir) sortir.
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15 Tu _ (devoir) travailler.
16 Vous _ (pouvoir) parler français.
17 Tout le monde _ (vouloir) avoir de l’argent.
18 Les filles _ (vouloir) voyager.
19 Je _ (devoir) manger.
20 Tu _ (pouvoir) chanter.
Grouping Irregular Verbs
Although many verbs have an irregular conjugation, you may be able to group them according to the ending of their infinitive or the similarity of their conjugation For
instance, many -ir verbs are irregular, but you can put them into three groups If you
remember the conjugation of one verb in a group, then you know the conjugation of all the verbs in that group The following sections show each of the three groups and give you tips on how to remember each
Looking at the “pseudo” -ir verbs
The following are irregular verbs that end in -ir To conjugate these verbs, you need
to keep the singular conjugation (the je, tu, and il/elle/on) separate from the plural conjugation (the nous, vous, and ils/elles) For the singular conjugation, get rid of not only the -ir of the infinitive, but also the consonant before the -ir For example, for the verb partir, get rid of the -tir for the singular and add -s, -s, -t Now for the plural, bring back the t from the infinitive and add -ons, -ez, -ent For the verb servir, drop the -vir from the infinitive, add the ending -s, -s, -t; bring the v back for the plural and add -ons, -ez, -ent Do this with all the verbs in this group.
“Pseudo” -ir Verb Endings
Trang 6I use the verb partir (to leave) as an example Check out the following conjugation.
partir (to leave)
Ils partent de l’école (They are leaving [from] school.)
Check out Table 4-1 for more examples of these types of verbs
Table 4-1 Common “Pseudo” -ir Verbs
se sentir to feel (well/unwell) se sen/tir
Use the following practice exercises to double-check that you have a good grasp of these types of verbs In each blank, write the correctly conjugated form of the verb in parentheses I provide the translations in the Answer Key
Q.Nous _ (partir) demain matin
A.Nous partons demain matin (We are leaving tomorrow morning.)
21 Tu _ (servir) les hors-d’oeuvre.
22 Nous _ (dormir) tard le weekend.
23 Je _ (sortir) le vendredi soir.
24 Elle _ (mentir) quelquefois.
25 Ils _ (servir) de la glace.
26 Vous _ (sentir) bon.
27 Il _ (partir) demain.
28 Tu _ (dormir) trop.
29 Marie _ (sortir) souvent.
30 Elles _ (partir) pour l’Australie.
Trang 7The “wannabes”: -ir verbs acting like -er verbs
You conjugate this set of irregular -ir verbs like -er verbs, such as the verb parler
(to speak) Drop the -ir of the infinitive and add the endings in the following table.
(Don’t the endings look familiar?)
The “Wannabe” Endings: -ir Verbs Acting Like -er Verbs
Check out the following example of the verb ouvrir (to open), conjugated.
ouvrir (to open)
Nous ouvrons la porte (We open the door.)
Table 4-2 has some examples of this type of verb
Table 4-2 Common “Wannabe” -ir Verbs
cueillir to pick, to gather (flowers, vegetables, and so on)
Work through these practice problems for a quick review of the “wannabe” verbs
Conjugate the verb in parentheses and write your answer in the blank (I provide the translation in the answers.)
Q.Tu _ (souffrir) de la chaleur
A.Tu souffres de la chaleur (You suffer/are suffering from the heat.)
31 Nous _ (cueillir) des fleurs.
32 Ils _ (accueillir) leurs invités.
33 Je _ (couvrir) mon livre.
Trang 834 Elle _ (découvrir) la vérité.
35 Vous _ (offrir) des bonbons.
“Deceptive” -ir verbs: Same endings, different stem
One more set of irregular verbs that end in -ir are verbs that are all alike, yet irregular compared to regular -ir verbs These verbs have a conjugating pattern all their own.
If you know how to conjugate one of them, then you can conjugate them all
These -ir verbs have the same endings as regular -ir verbs but without the double s
in the plural (check out Chapter 2) The irregularity here is in the stem In fact, these verbs have two stems, one for the entire singular and third person plural and another
for the nous and vous forms To begin the conjugation, get rid of -enir from the infini-tive and add -iens, -iens, -ient, or -iennent for the singular forms or third person plural (ils/elles) For the nous and vous forms, add -enons and -enez Look at the example.
The “Deceptive” -ir Verb Endings
venir (to come)
Elle vient ici souvent (She comes here often.)
Table 4-3 provides a list of verbs that follow the same type of conjugation
Table 4-3 Alike But Unique Irregular -ir Verbs
Trang 9Verb Translation
Conjugate the verb in each set of parentheses and write your answers in the blanks provided I provide the translations in the Answer Key
Q.Le lait _ (contenir) des vitamines
A.Le lait contient des vitamines (Milk contains vitamins.)
36 Conjugate the verb tenir (to hold) from start to finish Use the verb venir from earlier in
this section as an example
je _ nous _
tu _ vous _
il/elle/on _ ils/elles _
37 Nous _ (revenir) du cinéma.
38 Les boîtes _ (contenir) des cadeaux.
39 Paul _ (tenir) le chien par la laisse.
40 Tu _ (obtenir) ton diplôme.
41 Le dictionnaire _ (appartenir) à mon grand-père.
42 Les invités _ (venir) à huit heures.
43 Le douanier _ (retenir) les journalistes.
44 Nous _ (devenir) influents.
45 Je _ (obtenir) la permission de mon patron.
Comprehending irregular -re verbs
Many irregular verbs in French have infinitives that end in -re Just like the irregular -ir
verbs, these verbs can be put into various groups I start off with verbs that build off
the verb prendre (to take) If you know how to conjugate prendre, you can also
conju-gate verbs that end in -prendre To conjuconju-gate these verbs, drop the -re off the infinitive for the singular forms (je, tu, and il/elle/on) and add the following endings: -s, -s, noth-ing For the plural forms, drop the -dre and add the following ending: -ons, -ez, -nent.
The -prendre Verb Endings
Trang 10With il, elle, and on, remember that you don’t add any endings Just drop the -re For an example, check out the conjugation of prendre.
prendre (to take)
Tu prends le métro (You take/are taking the subway.)
Table 4-4 lists other common -prendre verbs Look through this list and practice
con-jugating them
Table 4-4 Common -prendre Verbs
Are the following verbs conjugated correctly? If not, correct them If you find one that’s right, simply write “yes” in the blank after the question
Q.Nous prennons un taxi.
A.No Nous prenons un taxi (We take/are taking a taxi.)
46 J’apprends le français.
47 Ils comprenent le russe.
48 Elle prends le train.
49 Je surprends mes amis.
50 Nous comprendons la leçon.
Trang 11
Remembering the “mets”
Like the verb prendre, other irregular -re verbs have one stem in the singular and
another stem in the plural This is the case for the verb mettre (to put, to place) and
verbs that end in -mettre To form the singular conjugation, just drop the -tre from the infinitive and add -s, -s, nothing For the plural, bring back the t and add -ons, -ez, -ent.
The -mettre Verb Endings
In this example, I conjugate mettre If you know how to conjugate this verb, then you
can conjugate others like it
mettre (to put, to place)
Je mets mon manteau (I put my coat on.)
Table 4-5 lists the other common -mettre verbs Look through this list and practice
conjugating the verbs
Table 4-5 Common -mettre Verbs
Conjugate the verb in the following practice problems
Q.Tu _ (admettre) ton erreur
A.Tu admets ton erreur (You admit your error.)
51 Conjugate the verb permettre (to allow) from start to finish Use mettre from earlier in
this section as an example
je _ nous _
tu _ vous _
il/elle/on _ ils/elles _