Contents
- Regular verbs: er, ir, re >>
- Slightly irregular ‘er’ verbs >>
- A few common irregular verbs >>
- Definite and indefinite articles >>
- Test this unit >>
Regular verbs
| Parler | Remplir | Vendre |
|---|---|---|
| Je parle Tu parles Il/Elle/On parle Nous parlons Vous parlez Ils/Elles parlent |
Je remplis Tu remplis Il/Elle/On remplit Nous remplissons Vous remplissez Ils/Elles remplissent |
Je vends Tu vends Il/Elle/On vend_ Nous vendons Vous vendez Ils/Elles vendent |
There are numerous verbs in the first Chapter of Didier’s story. Many of them are regular. Try to find them with this game
– Il habite en Normandie
– Il travaille à la poste.
Slightly irregular -er verbs
Some verbs are regular apart from some slight changes. In the story, an example in the first chapter is in the second paragraph: “Il achète une camionnette”. Observe the patterns and try to remember them.
| Mener | Lever | Appeler | Espérer | Jeter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accent grave on mute endings Je mène Tu mènes Il/Elle/On mène Nous menons Vous menez Ils/Elles mènent |
similar to ‘mener’ Je lève Tu lèves Il/Elle/On lève Nous levons Vous levez Ils/Elles lèvent |
notice the 2 ‘l’s in all the mute endings J’appelle Tu appelles Il/Elle/On appelle Nous appellons Vous appellez Ils/Elles appellent |
è on mute endings and é on ‘nous’ and ‘vous’ forms J’espère Tu espères Il/Elle/On espère Nous espérons Vous espérez Ils/Elles espèrent |
similar to appeler Je jette Tu jettes Il/Elle/On jette Nous jetons Vous jetez Ils/Elles jettent |
A few common irregular verbs
Put the list below on your fridge and learn them by heart!
| Totally Irregular | Nous & Vous Stand Out | Similarities between 1st Three and Last Three |
|---|---|---|
| Avoir = to have |
Aller = to go |
Connaître = to know/be acquainted with |
| Être= to be | Vouloir = to wish/want | |
| Faire = to do/make | Pouvoir = to be able | |
| Devoir = to have to/to owe | ||
| Savoir = to know |
Maintenant à vous de jouer!
Definite and indefinite articles
In French, all nouns are either masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
It takes practice to distinguish between masculine feminine nouns, but the plural is quite straightforward.
For definite articles (‘the’ form), you use the following forms: Le (masculine singular), la (feminine singular), l’ (noun beginning with a vowel or silent ‘h’) and les (all plurals).
Below are a few examples of this:
- le garçon (masculine singular);
- la fille (feminine singular),
- les enfants (plural).
Note also:
- l’homme (silent ‘h’) ;
- l’amie (begins with a vowel).
In Didier’s story, there are a number of examples of definite articles, such as the following:
Il connaît tous les habitants de la région. Le vendeur ; les routes de la France.
The French use the definite article where it is not used in English.
For example, one always says ‘la France’ to designate the country.
In English, we simply say ‘France’.
- La France est un beau pays – France is a lovely country.
- J’adore le fromage – I love cheese.
- Les Irlandais voyagent beaucoup – Irish people travel a lot.
For Indefinite articles (‘a’, or ‘some’ form), you use the following:
Un (masculine singular); une (feminine singular) and des (plural).
- Un homme (masculine singular) entre dans la salle.
- Elle achète une robe (feminine singular).
- Il y a des Français (plural) qui habitent le Connemara.
‘Des’ is used to designate a general number or ‘some’.
- Il a des bananes – he has bananas (‘some’ bananas as distinct from ‘the’ bananas).
- J’aime manger des oranges – I like to eat oranges.
There are quite a few indefinite articles in the first chapter of Didier’s story.
I supply a few: Il habite un petit village; Une jolie ferme…… Can you find others in this game?