ETRE

tre means "to be" in many senses that this verb is used in English. Il est beau - He ishandsome Je suis Paris - I'm in Paris Nous sommes franais - We're French Il est l-bas - He's over there 2. tre is used to describe someone's profession; however, note that the indefinite article is not used in this construction in French: Mon preestavocat - My father is a lawyer Je suistudiant - I'm a student 3. tre can be used with the preposition plus astressed pronoun to indicate possession: Celivreest moi This is my book. - qui est cet argent ? - C'est Paul. - Whose money isthis? - It'sPaul's. 4. Expressions with tre Notes There are a number of English "to be" expressions which are translated in French by avoir(to have): avoirfroid - to be cold avoir raison - to be right avoir xx ans - to be xx years old more expressions with avoir When talking about the weather, French uses the verb faire (to do/make) rather than tre: Quel temps fait-il ? - How's the weather? Il fait beau - It's nice out Il fait du vent - It's windy more expressions with faire tre as an Auxiliary Verb 1. tre is the auxiliary for some verbs in thecompound tenses: Je suisall en France - I went to France Nous tions dj sortis - We had already left Il seraitvenusi... - He would have come if... 2. tre is used to form the passive voice: La voitureestlave - The car is washed Il estrespect de tout le monde - He is respected by everyone

Future Imperfect Present participle Present je (j') tu il nous suis es est sommes serai seras sera serons tais tant tais tait Pass compos tions Auxiliary avoir

vous ils

tes sont

serez seront

tiez taient

verb Past participle

AVOIR
Avoir means "to have" in most senses, including having in one's possession and currently experiencing. J'aideuxstylos I have two pens J'aitrois frres I have three brothers J'ai mal la tte I have a headache J'aiune ide I have an idea J'aiteu I've been had (tricked) Note: Avoir can mean "to have to," but that expression is more commonly translated by devoir. Expressions with Avoir Avoir is used in a number of idiomatic expressions, many of which are translated by the English verb "to be": J'ai 30 ans I am 30 years old J'aisoif I am thirsty J'aifroid I am cold Il y a... There is/are... Auxiliary Verb Avoir is the auxiliary for most French verbs in the compound tenses ( exceptions): J'ai dj tudi I have already studied. J'aurai mang avant ton arrive I will have eatenbeforeyou arrive Si j'avais su, je t'aurais tlphon If I hadknown, I would have calledyou

Future Present j' tu il nous vous ils ai as a avons avez ont

Imperfect aurai auras aura aurons aurez auront

Present participle avais avais avait avions aviez avaient ayant Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

avoir eu

Faire means "to do" and "to make" in most senses that these verbs are used in English. Je fais la lessive - I'm doing the laundry. Je faismes devoirs - I'm doing my homework. Je fais du bricolage - I do odd jobs / DIY. Je fais un gteau - I'm making a cake. Je fais des projets - I'm making plans. Je fais des progrs - I'm making progress. Notes When "to make" is followed by an adjective, it is translated by rendre: a me rend heureux. - That makes me happy "To make a decision" is translated by prendreunedcision: J'aiprisunedcision. - I made a decision Lesson on translating "to make" Expressions with Faire Faire is used in a number of idiomatic expressions, including some related to weather,sports, and math. Il fait du soleil - It'ssunny Il fait froid - It's cold out. Je fais du ski - I ski. Je fais du golf - I golf. Deux et deux font quatre - Two plus twoequals (makes) four. Je fais de l'autostop - I'mhitchhiking. Il fait sa tte - He actsimpulsively. a fait parti de notre projet - That's part of our plan. Causative The causative construction faire + infinitive is used to describe when someone/something has somethin g done, makes someone do something, or causes something to happen. Je fais laver la voiture - I'm having the car washed. Ilm'a fait laver la voiture - He made me wash the car. Le froid fait geler l'eau - Cold makes water freeze.

Future Present je tu fais fais

Imperfect ferai feras

Present participle faisais faisais faisant

il nous vous ils

fait faisons faites font

fera ferons ferez feront

faisait faisions faisiez faisaient

Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

avoir fait

DIRE
Dire means "to say" or "to tell": Je n'airiendit I didn't say anything Dis-moi la vrit Tell me the truth Comment dit-on "furthermore" en franais ? How do you say "furthermore" in French? Dire que means "to say that": J'aiditquej'avaisfroid I said that I was cold Je vaislui dire qu'ildoit nous aider I'm going to tell him that he has to help us Dire de can either mean "to think, have an opinion on" or "to feel like": Qu'est-cequetu dis de mon ide ? What do you think of my idea? Quedites-vous de la maison ? What do you think about the house? atedit de sortir ? Do you feel like going out? a ne me ditrien I don't feel like it at all, That doesn't do anything for me Se dire Se dire can be a pronominal or passive voice construction. 1. Pronominal Reflexive - to say to oneself Je me suisdit de ne pas pleurer I told myself not to cry Il s'estdit, bon, ilfaut essayer encore unefois He said to himself, well, I have to try again (figurative) - to claim (to be) Il se ditavocat He claims to be a lawyer Elle se ditprte She claims she's ready Reciprocal - to say to each other

Nous devons nous dire au revoir We have to say good-bye (to each other) Ils se sontenfinditqu'ilss'aiment They finally told each other that they love each other 2. In the passive, se dire means "to besaid": a ne se dit pas. That isn'tsaid a ne se dit plus. That isn't said anymore, People don't say that anymore. Comment a se dit en espagnol ? How is that said in Spanish? Expressions with dire ceci/celadit - (with) that said celava sans dire - that goes without saying c'est--dire - that is (to say) comme on dit - so to speak, as they say entendre dire - to hear (it said that) J'aientendu dire qu'ilva... - I heard that he's going to... on se dirait - you would think, you can almost imagine vouloir dire - to mean Future Present je tu il nous vous ils dis dis dit disons dites disent Imperfect dirai diras dira dirons direz diront Present participle disais disais disait disions disiez disaient disant Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

avoir dit

ALLER
Aller means "to go" in most senses that verb is used in English. Je vais la banque I'm going to the bank. Ilva avec vous He's going with you. Nous allons au cinma We're going to the movies. O vas-tu ? Where are you going?

avabien It's going well. Expressions with Aller Aller is used in several idiomatic expressions: Je vais pied I am going on foot. ava sans dire That goes without saying. On y va ? Shall we go? Futurproche Aller is commonly used to express the near future - the idea that someone is going to do something. This construction is formed by conjugating aller and adding the infinitive of the action that is about to occur. Je vaistudier I am going to study. Vas-tu nous aider ? Are you going to help us? Nous allonspartirdanscinq minutes We're going to leave in five minutes.

Future Present je / j' tu il nous vous ils vais vas va allons allez vont

Imperfect irai iras ira irons irez iront

Present participle allais allais allait allions alliez allaient allant Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

tre all

VOIR
Voir means "to see": Je voisLise le samedi. I see Lise on Saturdays. Je vois deux chiens. I seetwodogs. As-tu vu ce film ? Have you seen this movie? Voir can mean "to see" figuratively, in the sense of "to witness" or "to experience": Je n'aijamais vu untelenthousiasm.e I've never seen such enthusiasm. Il a vu la mort de toussesamis.

He has seen (lived through) the deaths of all of his friends. Voir is also commonly used to mean "to see" in the sense of "to understand" Ah, je vois ! Oh, I see! (I get it, I understand) Je ne vois pas la diffrence. I don't see (understand) the difference. Je ne vois pas comment vousavezdcid. I don't see (understand) how you decided. Voir with verbs Voir can be followed by an infinitive to mean "to see" literally or figuratively: As-tu vu sauter la petite fille ? Did you see the little girl jump? J'ai vu grandirsesenfants. I saw (witnessed) his children growing up. Allervoir means "to go (and) see": Tudevraisallervoirun film. You should go see a movie. Vavoirsielleestprte. Go and see if she's ready. Faire voir means "to show": Fais-moi voir tes devoirs. Let me see / Show me your homework. Faisvoir ! Let me see! Show me! Voirvenir (informal, figurative) means "to see something/someone coming": Je tevoisveni.r I see where you're going (with this), what you're leading up to. Maisc'est trop cher ! On t'a vu venir ! But that's too expensive! They saw you coming! Se voir Se voir canbe a pronominal or passive voice construction. 1. Pronominal Reflexive - to seeoneself Te vois-tu dans la glace ? Do you see yourself in the mirror? Je me voishabiter en Suisse. I see (can imagine) myself living in Switzerland. (figurative) - to find oneself, be in the position of Je me voisoblig de partir. I find myself obliged to leave. Ils'est vu contraintd'enparler.

He found himself forced to talk about it. Reciprocal - to see each other Nous nousvoyonstous les jours. We see each other every day. Quand se sont-ilsvus ? When did they see each other? 2. Passive a) to happen; to show, be visible a se voit That happens ane se voit pas tous les jours You don't see that / That doesn't happen every day Le troune se voit pas You can't see the hole / The hole isn't visible b) se voir plus infinitive - to be ___ed Il s'est vu dire de se taire He was told to be quiet Je me suis vu interdire de rpondre I was forbidden to respond Expressions with voir avoirquelque chose voir avec/dans - to have something to do with ne pas avoir grand-chose voir avec/dans - to not have much to do with ne rienavoir voir avec/dans - to have nothing to do with Celan'arien voir avec... - That has nothing to do with... Je voudraist'yvoir ! - I'd like to see you try! I'd like to see how you would handle it! On verra - We'll see rien voir - nothing to do (with) Future Present je tu il nous vous ils vois vois voit voyons voyez voient Imperfect verrai verras verra verrons verrez verront Present participle voyais voyais voyait voyions voyiez voyaient voyant Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

avoir vu

SAVOIR
In general, savoir means "to know" in many senses that this verb is used in English, including to know a fact Anne sait la date Anne knows the date to know by heart Sais-tucepome ? Do you know this poem by heart? to know how (to do something) Je ne sais pas nager I don't know how to swim to realize Il ne sait pas cequ'ildit He doesn't know (realize) what he's saying. Meaning Changes In the pass compos, savoir means "to learn" or "to find out": J'aisuqu'ilavaitmenti. I found out thathe'd lied. Il n'a jamais su la vrit. He never found out the truth. In the conditional, savoir is a very formal equivalent of "to be a ble to": Sauriez-vous me dirigervers... Couldyoupossibly direct me toward... Je ne saurais pas vous aider. I'm afraid I can't help you. Notes Savoir is commonly confused with connatre, which also means "to know" but is used in different circumstances. Learn more in my lesson on savoir vsconnatre. Savoir is one of a handful of French verbs that can be made negative with just ne, rather than ne... pas. Je ne saissi je devrais le faire I don't know if I should do it. Je ne saurais le faire I wouldn't know how to do it. Future Present je tu il nous vous ils sais sais sait savons savez savent Imperfect saurai sauras saura saurons saurez sauront Present participle savais savais savait savions saviez savaient sachant Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

avoir su

POUVOIR
In general, pouvoir means "to be be able to," usually translated by "can" or "may": Il peut le faire He can do it. Nous pouvons essayer Wecantry. Puis-je m'asseoir ici ? May I sit here? Puis is an alternative to peux, the most common first person singular conjugation. Puis isusuallyused for questions: Puis-je vous poser une question ? May I ask you a question? Puis-je vousaider ? May I help you? Possibility Pouvoir can also express possibility or conjecture: Ilpeuttremalade He might/may be sick. Tupeux le perdre You might lose it. Meaning Changes In the past tenses, pouvoir can have different nuances. In the pass compos, pouvoirmeans "could" in the sense of "was able to, managed to, succeeded in." In the imperfect,pouvoir also means "could" but only in terms of ability/possibility; it does not indicate whether or not the action actually took place. Il a pu le faire. - He could (and did) do it. vs Il pouvait le faire. - He could do it (he was capable). Je n'ai pas pusortir. - I couldn't (and didn't) go out. vs Je ne pouvais pas sortir. - I couldn't go out (it was too difficult). Learn more: Advanced past tenses In the past conditional, pouvoir means "could/might have done" (both ability and possibility): Auriez-vouspu le faire ? Couldyou have doneit? Il aurait pu le perdre. He might have lost it. In the conditional, pouvoir is used to express a polite request: Pourriez-vousm'aider ? Couldyou help me? Je pourrais vous poser une question ? May I ask you a question? In the subjunctive, pouvoir is a high-register (formal) way to expres s a wish:

PuisseDieuvousaider ! May God help you! Puisse-t-il y russir ! May he succeed! Il se peut Il se peut is an impersonal verb that means "it is possible" and is followed by the subjunctive: Il se peutqu'ellevienne. It is possible that she will come, She may come. Il se peutque nous soyons en retard. It's possible that we're late, We might be late. Peut-tre The adverb peut-tre means "perhaps" or "maybe": Tu vas venir ?Peut-tre. Are yougoing to come? Maybe. Nous allons peut-tre voir un film. We might see a movie, Perhaps we'll see a movie.

Notes Pouvoir is one of a handful of French verbs that can be made negative with just ne, rather than ne... pas. Je ne peux sortir. I can't go out. Il ne peut vous aider. He can't help you.

Future Present je tu il nous vous ils peux, puis peux peut pouvons pouvez peuvent

Imperfect pourrai pourras pourra pourrons pourrez pourront

Present participle pouvais pouvais pouvait pouvions pouviez pouvaient pouvant Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

avoir pu

FALLOIR
Falloir is an irregular impersonal French verb that is better known in its conjugated form: ilfaut. Falloir means "to be necessary" or "to need." It is impersonal, meaning that it has only one grammatical person: the third person singular. It may be followed by the subjunctive, an infinitive, or a noun: Il fautpartir It's necessary to leave Il fautque nous partions We have to leave Il faut de l'argent pour faire a

It's necessary to have / You need money to do that When falloir is followed by an infinitive or noun, it may be used with an indirect object pronoun to indicate who or what needs whatever comes next: Il faut manger It's necessary to eat Il nous faut manger We have to eat Il fautunevoiture It's necessary to have a car Il me fautunevoiture I need a car Expressions with Falloir Falloir is used in a number of expressions, including: cequ'ilfaut - what is needed Il a bienfallu ! - I/We/They had to! s'il le faut - if (it's) necessary Faudrait voir voir (informal) - Come on! Come off it! Il fautcequ'ilfaut (informal) - You've got to do things right S'enfalloir The impersonal pronominal construction s'enfalloir means to be missing or short of something, as in "this action did not occur because something was missing": Tu as rat son appel, ils'enestfallu de 10 minutes You missed his call by 10 minutes Je n'ai pas perdu, maisils'en estfallu de peu I very nearly lost (I didn't lose, but it was close) Future Present il faut Imperfect faudra Present participle fallait Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle avoir fallu n/a

VOULOIR
Vouloir indicates a strong will or command - "to want" or "to wish": Je veuxdanser avec toi. I want to dance with you. Voulez-vousparler ? Do you wish to speak? Je ne veux pas le faire ! I don't want to (I won't) do it!

Polite requests and desires Vouloir can be used to express polite requests or desires in three different constructions. 1. In a question Voulez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plat ? Will you help me, please? Veux-tu t'asseoir, s'il te plat ? Pleasesit down. 2. In the conditional Je voudrais du th. I wouldlikesometea. Voudriez-vous venir avec nous ? Would you like to come with us? 3. In the imperative, usually in the second person plural, to express an extremely polite request. Veuillezm'excuser. Please (be so kind as to) excuse me. Veuillezvousasseoir. Please sit down. Vouloirbien Vouloirbien means to be willing to, to be glad to, to be good/kind enough to. Je veuxbien le faire. I'd be glad to do it. Elle veut bien l'acheter, mais il ne le vend pas. She's willing to buy it, but he's not selling it. Aidez-moi, sivousvoulezbien. Help me, if you would be so kind. Vouloir dire Vouloir dire means "to mean" (very useful in your French class!) Que veut dire volontiers ? Whatdoes "volontiers" mean? Volontiers veut dire gladly . "Volontiers" means "gladly. " En vouloir En vouloir quelqu'un means to holdsomethingagainstsomeone (beupset about something): Il m'en veut de l'avoir fait. He holds it against me for doing that. Ne m'enveuxpas ! Don't hold it against me! Notes Vouloir is followed directly by the infinitive, with no preposition. Je veux le faire. I want to do it. Nous voulons savoir.

We want to know. When vouloir is in a main clause with another verb in a subordinate clause, that verb must be in the subjunctive. Je veuxqu'il le fasse. I want him to do it. Nous voulonsquetu le saches. We want you to know (it). Vouloir can have different meanings in the imperfect and pass compos. Learn more in my lesson on advanced French past tenses

Future Present je tu il nous vous ils veux veux veut voulons voulez veulent

Imperfect voudrai voudras voudra voudrons voudrez voudront

Present participle voulais voulais voulait voulions vouliez voulaient voulant Pass compos Auxiliary verb Past participle

avoir voulu