Chapter 22Ten Verbs Used the French Way In This Chapter Distinguishing transitive from intransitive verbs Making sense of the prepositions If you’ve ever tried to translate something fro
Trang 1Part VI The Part of Tens
Trang 2In this part
This part is similar to one in every other For Dummies
book Here I include some great information in a nut-shell that doesn’t necessarily fit anywhere else in this book In this part, I include two chapters with fun informa-tion that you can quickly absorb Chapter 22 looks at ten verbs that are used the French way Chapter 23 looks at ten verbs that are often frequently mixed-up between French and English
Trang 3Chapter 22
Ten Verbs Used the French Way
In This Chapter
Distinguishing transitive from intransitive verbs
Making sense of the prepositions
If you’ve ever tried to translate something from one language to another, you probably didn’t translate literally or word for word If you did translate literally, you probably noticed something that didn’t quite jive in the translation That’s because every language has a way of saying things that’s unique to that language and therefore different in other languages
French is no different In this chapter, I help you avoid pitfalls regarding ten verbs that are used transitively in English but intransitively in French and vice versa This means that some verbs are followed by a direct object in one language but not in the other, and some verbs
take a preposition in one language but not in the other Transitive verbs are followed by a direct object, whereas intransitive verbs aren’t (Chapter 1 gives you the complete lowdown
on the differences between transitive and intransitive verbs.) This chapter looks more closely at ten common verbs that you may use in everyday conversation (Please know that this list isn’t exhaustive; I only list ten of the most common.) I start first with verbs that are transitive in French, but intransitive in English, and then move to the intransitive French verbs (and transitive English verbs)
Attendre (To Wait For)
The first French transitive verb that comes to mind is attendre (to wait for) (In English this
verb is intransitive.) Think of the preposition for as being built into the verb itself and
there-fore making any other preposition unnecessary
Nous attendons le train (We are waiting for the train.) Ils attendent le professeur (They are waiting for their professor.)
Chercher (To Look For)
The verb chercher (to look for) is another verb that’s transitive in French and intransitive in English In French you say Je cherche les clés, which is literally I’m looking the keys, but in
good English is I’m looking for the keys The preposition for is built into the verb You also
use the verb chercher to mean to pick up someone So don’t panic if someone says, Je vais
chercher mes enfants à l’école This statement doesn’t necessarily mean that I am going to
look for my children in schoolin the sense that they are lost in the school — instead it means
I’m picking them up.
Trang 4Écouter (To Listen To)
Écouter (to listen to) is also transitive in French but intransitive in English Notice that
the following example doesn’t use a preposition between the verb écouter and the
noun, unlike in English where you use the preposition to.
Il écoute la radio (He is listening to the radio.) Nous écoutons le president (We are listening to the president.)
Payer (To Pay)
When you go shopping, how do you pay for your purchases? How do you pay for your
movie ticket or even the grocery bill? In French, the verb payer (to pay) is transitive
and doesn’t need a preposition (like for) after it like it does in English.
Tu paies les provisions (You are paying for the groceries.) Nous payons les billets d’avion (We are paying for the plane tickets.)
However, don’t use the verb payer to mean to pay a visit to someone; instead use the
verb rendre visite à (see Chapter 23).
Regarder (To Look At, To Watch)
The last French transitive verb that I cover in this chapter is the verb regarder (to look
at, to watch) In French, this verb is always followed by the direct object, regardless of how you translate it in English
Il regarde les oiseaux (He is looking at the birds.) Regarder also means to watch, and in that sense, it’s transitive in both English and
French
Vous regardez le match (You are watching the game.)
Je regarde la télé (I’m watching television.)
Demander (To Ask)
The first intransitive French verb (but transitive English verb) that I cover is demander
(to ask) With this verb and the following four verbs in this chapter, you follow the
verb with the preposition à in French When you ask someone a question, use the verb
demander à followed by the person.
Les étudiants demandent au professeur d’expliquer la leçon (The students ask
the professor to explain the lesson.)
Elle demande à ses parents si elle peut sortir (She asks her parents if she can
go out.)
246 Part VI: The Part of Tens
Trang 5However, don’t use the verb demander à when you want to ask a question; use the
verb poser (to put, to ask) followed by the noun une question (a question) The person
to whom you are asking the question is still indirect with this verb The following examples clarify this construction
Il pose une question (He is asking a question.)
Il pose une question au directeur (He is asking a question to the director.)
Obéir (To Obey)
You also add the preposition à to the verb obéir (to obey) In French, you must say to
obey to someone, and therefore the person is the indirect object instead of the direct
object In English, the person is the direct object The fact that you’re obeying some-thing rather than someone doesn’t change the structure of the verb You still need the
preposition à.
Les enfants obéissent à leurs parents (The children obey their parents.) Nous obéissons à la loi (We obey the law.)
Permettre (To Allow)
The same rule applies to the verb permettre (to allow) That is to say that in French, you allow to someone to do something, and therefore you need the preposition à
before the noun This verb is intransitive in French but transitive in English
Le directeur permet aux employés de partir tôt (The director allows the employees
to leave early.)
Mme Meneau permet à sa fille de sortir avec Mathieu (Mrs Meneau allows her
daughter to go out with Mathieu.)
Répondre (To Answer)
Another verb that you use differently in French than in English is the verb répondre
(to answer) In French, you answer to someone as well as to a question.
Tu réponds à la question (You answer the question.) Nous répondons à notre entraîneur (We are answering our coach.)
Téléphoner (To Telephone, To Call)
When you call someone, you actually call to someone in French This meaning is
con-veyed by the verb téléphoner, followed by the preposition à, and then followed by
either a person or a place
Je téléphone à mes amis (I am calling my friends.) Ils téléphonent à leurs parents (They call their parents.) Nous téléphonons au bureau (We’re calling the office.)
247
Chapter 22: Ten Verbs Used the French Way
Trang 6248 Part VI: The Part of Tens