Verbs in French are almost as difficult to conjugate as in Russian. Endings change for each person, number, tense.
French verbs: groups
There are three groups of verb conjugations, each with its own rules. The verbs of the first two groups are declined according to the same rules for all verbs within each of the groups. Although there are small nuances. The third group includes verbs that are not included in the first two, and are distinguished by a variety of forms. It is their conjugation that needs to be memorized, while the verbs of the first and second groups can be identified by certain signs, determine which group should be assigned and conjugated according to general rules. What are these signs? Simplified: the type of conjugation depends on the end of the verb.
The first group includes verbs with –er endings. This is the largest group with one exception. The verb aller - to walk belongs to the third group.
The second group includes verbs with –ir endings. This is about three hundred French verbs. It should be borne in mind that there are verbs that end in -ir, but still refer to the thirdgroup - they can be found in the tables of irregular verbs.
Verbs of the first and second groups are declined by adding endings to the stem of the word. The base itself never changes.
The third group includes irregular (or irregular) verbs. They do not decline in exactly the same way, however, despite the fact that most students find this topic difficult, the conjugation of many of these verbs is quite easy to remember. The fact is that this group includes, among other things, the most popular verbs of the French language, which, like the English verbs to be - to be and to have - to have, play a service role and are used very often. Important: only the verbs of this group can change the stem. There are no uniform rules for changing it, but these verbs can also be divided into subgroups: 1) verbs, the basis of which changes without any system - there are very few of them; 2) verbs in which the stem changes only in the plural, in the third person; 3) verbs that have two stems - for the plural and the singular.
How to conjugate a present tense verb?
First you need to assign the verb to one of the groups, then follow the conjugation rules below.
1st group. Conjugate the verb écouter - listen.
Je (I) –e. For example: J'écoute de la musique la nuit.– I listen to music at night.
Tu (You) –es. For example: Tu m'écoutes? – Are you listening to me?
Il/elle (He/She) –e. For example: Il écoute la radio. – He listens to the radio.
Nous (We) –ons. For example, Nous écoutons chanter les oiseaux. – We listen to the birds sing.
Vous (you) –ez. For example: Vous écoutes le silence. – You listen to silence.
Ils/elles (They) –ent. For example: Ils écoutent mes histories. – They listen to my stories.
It is worth paying attention to the fact that for some verbs, when conjugated, it is possible to double the last consonant in the stem of the word. There is another "special" verb ending in -er - envoyer (send). Despite the fact that it bows according to the rules, its basis changes a lot, which is why experts argue about which group it is better to attribute it to. Another well-known verb, aller, also ends in -er, but it undoubtedly belongs to the third group, since it is inclined in a completely different way than representatives of the third group.
2nd group. Conjugate the popular verb choisir - choose.
Je (I) - issis. For example: Je choisis une robe rouge. – I choose the red dress.
Tu (You) - issis. For example: Tu choisis une robe longue. – You choose a long dress.
Il/elle (He/She) – issit. For example: Il choisit ses compagnons. – He chooses his comrades.
Nous (We) - issons. For example: Nous choisissons la liberté. – We choose freedom.
Vous (you) - issez. For example: Vous choisissez un conseiller financiers. – You choose a financial advisor.
Ils/elles (They) - issent. For example: Ils choissent le vélo. – They choose cycling.
Please note that in the plural, the verbs of the second group have the same endings asverbs first, but the element –iss is added.
3rd group. You need to remember the conjugation of such verbs as avour - to have, être - to be, lire - to read, mettre - to put. They don't hide according to the rules.
Next, let's look at examples of how irregular verbs of one of the groups decline.
Irregular verbs ending in –ir. For example, dormir means to sleep. I don't sleep well. - Je ne dors pas bien/You sleep - Tu dors/ He sleeps on his back - Il dort sur le dos / We sleep - Nous dormons. Are you sleeping now? - Dormez-vous? They take turns sleeping. - Ils dorment à tour de rôle. The same endings must be added to the stems of other verbs from this group, discarding the ending, for example, in the word mentir (to lie), the stem will be ment-.
Verbs ending in: 1) –endre, -ondre are separated into a separate group. For example, vendre - to sell; 2) -wire. For example, construire - build; 3) -aindre, -oindre, -eindre. For example, plaindre - to regret.
How to conjugate a past tense verb
Keep in mind that there are three past tenses in French. The conjugation of the verbs in each of them must be analyzed separately. The two tenses (Passé composé and Plus-que-parfait) are compound, and the conjugation of the verbs is done with the help of an auxiliary verb: according to the scheme, the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) plus the past participle. For example, let's try to change one sentence above - "I choose a red dress." "I chose reddress" will be "J'ai choisi une robe rouge", where J'ai is a pronoun with a modified auxiliary verb, and choisi is a participle.
Verbs in the simple past tense are declined in the same way as verbs in the present tense - by adding endings to the stem of the word:
Je (I) - ais. For example: Je dansais. – I was dancing.
Tu (You) – ais. For example: tu dormais. – You were sleeping.
Il/elle (He/She) – ait. For example: Il ronflait. – He was snoring.
Nous (We) - ions. For example: nous chantions. – We sang.
Vous (you) – iez. For example: Vous clamiez. – You complained.
Ils/elles (They) – aient. For example: Ils volaient - You flew.
Please note that there is no division into groups here. The past simple endings are the same for all verbs.
How to conjugate a future tense
In the future simple tense, verbs are conjugated according to a fairly simple scheme: you need to take the indefinite form of the verb and add to it the ending of the verb avoir - to have. For example, for the first person, the verb avoir has the ending ai, hence je volerai - I will fly, je viendrai - I will come, j'appellerai - I will call. However, there are a number of verbs that are better considered separately - they have special forms in the future tense. In addition, in some words the final consonant is doubled (j'appellerai).
How best to learn verb conjugation?
Instructions
- Memorize personal pronouns. First you need to learn them, and only then look into the conjugation tablesverbs.
- To get acquainted with the principles of assigning verbs to different groups. This not only systematizes knowledge, but also allows you to learn how to highlight the stem of the verb.
- Gradually get acquainted with the rules of conjugation of verbs, moving from the first group to the third. That is, first you need to remember the seven endings inherent in the verbs of the first group in the present tense, then the second, then you can gradually master the verbs of the third group, in turn, dividing them into subgroups. It is also worth gradually getting acquainted with the endings for different tenses. Such small "pieces" of information are easily remembered. In the course of memorization, be sure to practice, for example, take any verb of the first group and conjugate it. When all the rules are mastered, you can practice conjugation by choosing any random verb.
As you can see, the main principle is gradualness. Move on to the next stage only after mastering the previous one.
Let's give an example of how to conjugate a verb. To do this, take any verb from the exercise or dictionary. For example, the verb "to water" is arroser. Judging by the ending, the verb belongs to the first group. Therefore, in the present tense it will be: I water - Je arrose, You water - Tu arroses, He waters - Il arrose, She waters - Elle arrose, We water - Nous arrosons, You water - Vous arrosez, They water - Ils arrosent.
