Le Grand Franais Assignment

Michael Gosselin French 12 G June 4, 2004

COMMON MISTAKES MADE IN PRACTICE PARAGRAPH WRITING: 1. Not using the tre auxillary in the pass compos with VANDERTRAMP verbs when necessary, eg : Nous avons restes... instead of nous sommes restes.

2. Not putting accord on adjectives when there should be, eg: La Saint-Valentin est aussi une fte de lamour trs importante dans lhistoire (forgot to add e to important) 3. Using un instead of une and other masculine-feminin confusion, eg: Cest un clbration Roman - this should be in fact written: Cest une clbration Romaine... 4. Wrong order of words, especially adjectives, eg: Les Romans ont mange beaucoup... should instead be written as Les Romans on beaucoup mange... 5. Using the wrong verb tense, especially when the subject is not pass compos, present, or imparfait. Eg: Alors, les gens qui ne sont pas en bon forme pratiqueras pour devenir mieux. This should be corrected to : Donc, il faut que les tudiants qui ne font pas souvent les sports apprenne un sport, et pratique beaucoup pour devenir mieux. 6. not adding appropriate endings to verbs : Lducation physical devrais tre should be changed to lducation physical devrait tre LES TENSES ET LA CONJUCATION DES VERBES :

Present (indicatif): 1er groupe conjugation:

Stem: eg : aimer remove er aim Add endings: je e tu es il e nous - ons vous ez ils ent

eg : jaime, vous aimez, ils aiment 2e groupe connjugation : Stem : eg : finir remove ir fin Add endings: Je is Tu is Il it Nous issons Vous issez Ils issent

Eg : je finis, nous finissons, il finit 3e groupe conjugation : Stem : eg : courir : remove ir cour Add endings: Je s Tu s Il t Nous ons Vous ez Ils ent

Eg : tu cours, nous courons, ils courent Negative usage : put ne just after the subject, and put pas just after the verb. Eg: Je ne cours pas loin. Il naime pas le pizza Exceptions : Many stem changes like je bois nous buvons occur in the present tense, especially in the 3rd group. Just watch out for them, and use common sense to conjugate these. There are, however, some regularities in these irregular changes in 3rd group present tense. Pouvoir, vouloir, valoir all have ending changes in the je and tu forms: Je peux, je veux, je vaux Tu peux, tu veux, tu vaux Verbs ending in dre (not including indre and soudre which keep normal endings) have an engind change in the il form: Eg: moudre instead of t, we use d, as is shown here: il mout is wrong il moud is correct In tre, avoir, faire, and aller, we use the ending ont instead of ent in the ils form. Eg: ils sont, ils ont, ils font, ils vont In the verbs assaillir, couvrir, cueillir, defalir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrir, tressaillir theres some ending changes for the je, tu and il forms. Je s gets changed to je - e Tu s gets changed to tu - es Il t gets changed to il e Eg: je couvre, tu ouvres, il offre Here are some of the most important irregular verbs conjugated in present tense :

ALLER: je vais, tu vais, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont AVOIR : jai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont TRE : je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommer, vous tes, ils sont FAIRE : je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faisez, ils font VENIR : je viens, tu viens, il vient, nous venons, vous venez, ils viennent

Pass Compos (indicatif) : Conjugation :

Take the sujet (je, tu, il, nous, vous, ils), add the auxillary verb (the correct form of either avoir or tre, depending on the verb) anda dd the participe pass (which is the same for all subjects of each verb). Eg: Il a mang un pizza. In this case, Il is the subject, which has not changed in any way, despite the fact that this construction is in the pass compos. A is the il form of the auxillary verb avoir. The form of the auxillary verb always conforms to the subject. Mang is the participe pass of the verb manger. No matter what the subject is, mange is used as the participe pass when using the verb manger in the pass compos. There are many irregular past participles: tre jai t Faire - jai fait Ouvrir - jai ouvert Dcouvrir - jai dcouvert Suivre - jai suivi Dormir - jai dormi Sentir - jai senti Mettre - jai mis Prendre - jai pris Apprendre - jai appris Dire - jai dit Ecrire - jai crit Conduire - jai conduit Dtruire - jai dtruit Avoir - jai eu Boire - jai bu Savoir - jai su Voir - jai vu Pouvoir - jai pu Devoir - jai du Vouloir - jai voulu Recevoir - jai reu Lire - jai lu Courir - jai couru Connatre - jai connu Vivre - jai vcu Il y a il y a eu Il faut il a fallu

Some verbs, however, must use the auxillary verb tre instead of avoir. These are mostly action verbs, and are also known as the MRS DR. VANDERTRAMPP verbs. They are conjugated just as the avoir auxillary verb constructions are, but instead with the correct form of tre: Eg: Je suis arriv.

In this example, je is the subject, suis is the correct form of tre, and arriv is the past participle. Here is a list of the MRS. DR. VANDERTRAMPP verbs: Monter Rentrer Sortir Revenir Passr Devenir Venir Aller Natre Descendre Entrer Retourner Tomber Rester Arriver Mourir Partir

You can also use the Pass Compos in the negative, just by adding ne after the subject, and pas right before the verb, as follows: Je ne suis pas descendu. Nous navons pas bu le limonade.

Imparfait (Indicatif) Conjugation :

To form imparfait, just take the subject (je, tu, il, nous, vous, ils) add the verb stem and then put on the appropriate endings. The endings must always correspond with the subject. To form the stem, take the nous form of the present: eg: parler remove the ons and then use this as the stem add the imparfait endings. The endings for Imparfait are: Je ais Tu ais Eg : Je parlais beaucoup In this example je is the subject, parl- is the stem (nous parlons minus the ons = parl-) and ais is the je ending. Note that when using verbs from the second group the endings are slightly different : Je issais Tu issais Il issait Nous issions Vous issiez Ils issaient Eg : Nous hassions You can also use the imparfait for negative constructions, by simply adding ne just after the subject and adding pas just after the verb: Il ait Nous ions Vous iez Ils aient

Eg: Nous ne faisions pas la vaisselle. There are many important stems to know : tre - jtais Avoir - javais Aller - jallais Venir- je venais Manger- je mangeais Commencer- je commenais Sortir- je sortais Dormir- je dormais Mettre- je mettais Suivre- je suivais Devoir- je devais Pouvoir - je pouvais Vouloir- je voulais Savoir- je savais Connatre- je connaissais Prendre- je prenais Dire- je disais Lire- je lisais Ecrire- je crivais Conduire- je conduisais Boire- je buvais Croire- je croyais Voir- je voyais

Note the destinction between the usage of imparfait and pass compos :
Use Pass Compos The Imparfait To describe: What you did What happened What you used to do What used to be What you were doing What was going on The circumstances of an event (time, weather) Example: Hier aprs-midi, nous sommes alls en ville Nous avons vu un accident Pendant les vacances, jallais souvent a la plage Il y avait toujours beaucoup de monde Hier a neuf heures, je regardais la tl Il y a avait une comdie Quelle huere etait il ? Quelle temps faisait il ?

Futur (indicatif) conjugation :

To conjugate the futur, just take the future stem, and add the future endings. Eg: Nous mangerons un grand pizza. Eg : Il ferra la vaisselle To form the stems, just take the infinitive of the verb. (remember to remove the final e if there is one) (there are many irregular ones, which are listed below)

The endings are:

Je ai Tu as

Il a Nous ons

Vous ez Ils ont

Here are the irregular futur stems : Acheter acheterAppeler apellerPayer paierAvoir aurtre serAller irFaire ferVenir viendrDevoir devrEg : Ils verront Eg ; Vous irez For negative constructions, add ne before the verb, and place pas just after : Il naura pas assez de largent. Pouvoir pourrVouloir voudrEnvoyer enverrRecevoir recevrSavoir saurVoir verrIl y a il y aura Il pleut il pleuvra

Conditionnel (prsent) : conjugation :

To form the conditionnel, all you must do is take the future stem (whether irregular or not, it doesnt matter), and add the same endings as you would use on an imparfait verb. Review of Imparfait endings : Je ais Tu ais Il ait Nous ions Vous iez Ils aient

Eg: future stem aur- + add the imparfait ending ais (the subject well use is je): Eg: Jaurais mon livre. To make is negative, you must place ne right before the verb, and put pas right after the verb: Je naurais pas mon pantalon. Note that the conditionnel is used to describe what people would do or what would happen, if a certain condition were to be met. It is very easy and useful.

Subjonctif (prsent) : conjugation :

The subjunctive is used in certain constructions, especially in the construction: Verb or expression + que + subject + subjunctive verb... Eg : Il faut que Paul rponde a la question. Note that the subjunctive is always introduced by que. To form the subjunctive, you must add the subjuctive endings onto subjunctive stems. To form the subjunctive stem, just take the ils form of the prsent, and remove the ent from the end. (Eg: parlent remove ent becomes parl-) Then, just add the subjuctive endings: Je e Il e Tu es Nous ions For the verbs in the second group, however, the endings are : Je isse Il isse Tu isses Nous issions Vous iez Ils ent

Vous issiez Ils issent

Note that the verbs tre, avoir, faire, and aller are irregular in the subjunctive: Que je (j) Que tu Quil/elle/on Que nous Que vous Quils/elles tre Sois Sois Soit Soyons Soyez Soient Avoir Aie Aies Ait Ayons Ayez Aient Faire Fasse Fasses Fasse Fassions Fassiez fassent Aller Aille Ailles Aille Allions Alliez aillent

In the subjunctive, to make the sentence negative, just put ne before the verb, and pas right after the verb: Il faut que Paul ne rponde pas a la question.

Plus-que-parfait : conjugation :
To form the plus-que-parfait, just take the imperfect of avoir or tre, and add the pass composs past participle. Eg : Lanne, devant, javais visit Montral. This tense is used to describe what people had done or what had happened before another past event. Remember to use the same agreement as in the pass compos: Eg: Jsi vu Pauline ce matin. Je lavais vue hier aussi

Jai dveloppe les photos que javais prises cet t Remember that if the past participle is a VANDERTRAMP verb, the imparfait auxillary part must be tre, just like pass compos : Eg : Lt avant a, nous sommes alls au Mexique. You can also use the plus-que-parfait in negative constructions by putting ne before the auxillary verb in imparfait form, and then putting pas right before the past participle: Eg: Lt avant a, nous ne sommes pas alls en France.

Past Conditional : Conjugation :

This tense is used to describe what would have happened if certain conditions had been met. Eg: Si javais tudi, jaurais russi lexamen. To form it, just take the CONDITIONAL of avoir or tre, and add the past participle : Eg: jaurais voyag Eg: nous serions alls Also in the reflexive forms : Eg: je me serais amus To put the Past Conditional in the negative, just place a ne just before the conditional form of avoir or tre, and put pas right after it. Eg: je naurais pas vu le film Dracula. Eg : je ne me serais pas amus bien.

The Pass Simple : Recognizing it :

This tense must be easily recognized in writing. It is used for similar purposes, and in a very like manner to the pass compos. Here are some irregular verbs conjugated as an example : Infinitive Pass Simple Parler Je parlai Tu Parlas Il Parla Finir Finis Finis Finit Rpondre Rpondis Rpondis Rpondit

Nous Parlmes Vous Parltes Ils Parlrent

Finmes Fintes finirent

Rpondmes Rpondtes rpondirent

For most irregular verbs the stem of the pass simple is very similar to the past participle (like in pass compos): Aller (all) il alla Avoir (eu) il eut ils allrent ils eurent prendre (pris) il prit recevoir (reu) il reut ils prirent ils reurent

Note the following irregular verbs: tre il fut Faire il fit ils furent ils firent venir il vint voir il vit ils vinrent ils virent

Futur Anterieur: Conjugation (also known as the past future)

To form the future Antrieur, just take Auxillary verb (either avoir of tre) in the future simple form, and add the participe pass to it. Note that avoir is always used as the auxiliary, except in the case of VANDERTRAMP verbs, which use tre as their auxiliary. Eg: Je serai fait tout mes devoirs. Jaurai mang tout la glace. The Futur Anterieur is used to tell about what you will have done by that time. In English, you might say: By tomorrow, I will have finished all my work for the entire Christmas break. In French that would be: Demain, jaurai fini tous mes devoirs pour la dure de les vacances de Nol. To use it in negative constructions, just place Eg: Je ne serais pas rest assez.

LES CONSTURCTIONS AVEC SI : Here are the three basic constructions using si clauses, their meanings, and which tenses to use:

To describe:

Si part of the si clause

Must be Present Tense

Main or resulting part of the si clause

Can be Imperative, Present, or Future Must be conditional

Examples:

A possibility (more likely than not) (concerning a future happening or event) A hypothetical or unlikely situation (usually contrary to reality) A hypothetical situation in the past, or an impossible situation

Si je vais en ville, jachterai le journal Si tu vas au supermarch, achte du pain. Si javais un billet, jirais au concert

Must be Imperfect

Must be Plus-queparfait

Must be Past conditionnel

Si javais tudi, je naurais pas rat lexamen.

USEFUL TRANSITION, BEGINNING, AND CONCLUDING WORDS: Good starting Phrases: Le weekend dernier... Hier, jai eu le plus trange exprience de ma vie Dans nos jour Dans mon enfance Dabord Au dbut Premirement Good transitions (middle, beginning, end, and in between of the body paragraphs, as well as leading off of and introductory paragraph and just before concluding paragraphs). Et puis... Dabord Alors... Au dbut Ensuite... Premirement Apres (a) En somme Au bout dun moment En gnral En mme temps Gnralement Au mme moment Dhabitude Donc, En plus/de plus Cependant Malheureusement/Heureusement Pourtant Naturellement Dailleurs Nanmoins Par contre Car/parce que En effet Pour conclure Enfin Puis Finalement Ensuite

Puisque Firstly; first of all... And then At the start... So; then Firstly... Next; then In the end; in summary... After that In general... At the peak of the moment... Generally... At the same time... Usually, habitually... At the same moment... Moreover, in addition... Therefore... Unfortunately; fortunately... However... Naturally... However... Nevertheless... In any case/ at any rate... Because... On the other hand... To conclude... In effect... Then; next... Finally... Then; next... Finally... Since... Good concluding and Phrases to end body paragraphs and concluding sentences: En gros... Overall En somme... In summary En conclusion... In conclusion Le conclusion de tout cela est The conclusion of all this is... Enfin In the end/finally... Finalement Finally... A la fin In the end... Pour conclure To conclude... HERE ARE 10 EXAM TOPICS THAT I PREDICT COULD POTENTIALLY APEEAR IN THE WRITTEN SECTION OF THE POVINCIAL EXAM. (*attached are two that I have written paragraphs on) 1. Write and entry in your journal in which you outline what you have decided to do after graduating from high school and why. 2. You are in charge of bringing a guest speaker to your school or class. Whom would you invite and why? 3. Upon graduating from elementary school, you buried two or three meaningful items. You dug them up yesterday. Describe the items and their significance to you. 4. Someone very special to you has just moved far away. Write a letter to this person telling why you will miss him/her and why he/she has been and important influence in your life 5. Complete the following story: Je regardais la tlvision quand soudain, a ma grande surprise, ... 6. You are looking for a job. Write a letter of introduction in which you explain your interest in this job, your qualifications and how this job will help you to achieve your future goals.

7. A group of exchange students visited you school. You were on the planning committee. Write an article for you school newspaper describing the activities you did with them. 8. Discuss how technology affects your daily life. 9. When you arrived home, the door was open, but there was no one in the house or was there? Describe what happened thereafter. 10. You read a good book or you have seen a good movie. Why would you recommend it to someone else? What appealed to you about it? Explain your opinion and evaluation. THE PROPER USEAGE OF SOME RELATIVE PRONOUNS: The purpose of relative pronouns is to introduce relative clauses. Eg: Je connais llve qui est le nouveau prsident du comite scolaire. MAIN CLAUSE RELATIVE CLAUSE Relative pronouns can be imbedded in the main clause : La BMW est un moto qui cote trop. The relative pronoun qui can be used as the french equivalent of who, that, or which. The constructions using qui by itself must be (QUI + VERB). Eg: Je connais quelquun qui pourra vous aider. WHO The relative pronoun que can be used as the French equivalent of whom, that, or which. The constructions using que by itself must be (QUE + NOUN or PRONOUN). Eg: Donne-moi les livres que je tai prts hier. THAT/WHICH The relative pronoun dont can be used as the French equivalent of about which, of whom, or of which. The constructions using dont by itself must be (DONT + NOUN or PRONOUN). Eg: La fille dont tu me parlais est aussi ici. OF WHOM (parler de) The relative pronoun ce que can be used as the French equivalent of what; or that which. The constructions using ce que by itself must be (CE QUE + NOUN or PRONOUN). Eg: As-tu compris ce que le prof nous a dit? WHAT/THAT WHICH

Je narrive pas comprendre ce que ce mot signifie. WHAT/THAT WHICH The relative pronoun ce qui can be used as the French equivalent of what; or that which. The constructions using ce qui by itself must be (CE QUI + NOUN or PRONOUN). Eg: Il aime ce qui est de bonne qualit. THAT WHICH The relative pronoun ce dont can be used as the French equivalent of what; that of which; or that about which. The constructions using ce dont by itself must be (CE DONT + NOUN or PRONOUN). Eg: Je ne sais pas ce dont il soccupe. THAT OF WHICH/WHAT (soccuper de) (parler de)

Je nai pas compris ce dont il a parl. THAT ABOUT WHICH/WHAT

CONJUGATION OF REFLEXIVE VERBS IN THE PAST AND PRESENT Reflexive verbs are used when talking about what you do to yourself, and also often ones daily routine. Eg: Chaque matin, je me peigne les cheveux. They are conjugated slightly differently than non reflexive verbs. To conjugate a reflexive verb in the present, Take the subject, add the appropriate reflexive pronoun and then add the correct form of the reflexive verb, using standard present tense endings. Eg: Je me lave. Here, je is the subject, and me is the reflexive pronoun which describes/represents the same person as the subject. ALWAYS. For the verb, just conjugate it using the rules and endings as you would with any other regular verb in the present tense (take into account 2nd group, and 3rd group ending changes, etc.) Heres a list of the reflexive pronouns: Je me Tu te Il se Nous nous Vous vous

Ils se Heres a list of the more commonly used reflexive verbs: Se rendre a Simpatienter Sexcuser Se trouver Sasseoir Se lever Sapprocher Sarrter Sen aller / sloigner Samuser Sennuyer Snerver Sinquiter Se fcher Se sentir Sappeler Sintresser Sexprimer Soccuper Se souvenir de / se rappeler Se taire Se rveiller Se tromper Se lever Se laver Shabiller Se prparer Se dpcher Se promener Sarrter Sacheter Se reposer Se mettre a table Se dshabiller Se coucher Sen dormer To go to To get impatient To apologize To be located To sit To stand up To come closer To stop To go away To have fun To get bored To get upset To worry To get angry To feel To be called To be interested in To express oneself To be busy with To remember (two ways) To be quiet To wake up To make a mistake To get up To wash oneself To get dressed To get ready To hurry To take a walk To stop To buy oneself To rest To sit down and eat To get undressed To go to bed To go to sleep

Infinitive constructions: Here, the reflexive pronoun comes immediately before the verb and describes the same person as the subject. Eg: Je vais me lever.

You can also use reflexive verbs in the present to form negative constructions. All you must do is add the ne right before the reflexive pronoun and put pas immediately after the verb. Eg: Je ne me repose pas. In infinitive constructions, be sure to put the ne and the pas on either side of the verb. Eg: Je ne vais pas me fcher. When using reflexive verbs in the pass compos, we conjugate them just like the regular pass compos, except for the addition of the reflexive pronoun, AND the auxillary verb. Remember that the auxillary is ALWAYS tre when youre conjugating reflexive verbs. Eg: Je me suis amus. Here, Je is the subject. Following the subject is the correct reflexive pronoun, and then the corresponding form of tre. ALWAYS. Amus is the past participle of amuser, just as in the standard pass compos. Note that there is nearly always accord on the past participle with the subject, as long as no noun follows the verb. If something follows the verb, then there is NEVER accord. Eg: Elles se sont amuses. (With accord: no noun after verb)

Elles se sont lav les cheveux. (Without accord : there is a noun after the verb) You can also use the pass compos of reflexive verbs in the negative. To do this, just add ne right before the reflexive pronoun, and pas just before the past participle of the reflexive verb. Eg: Il ne sest pas lav les mains. Elles ne se sont pas reposes. PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORMATION AND USAGE : Eg : Lavant ma voiture, je me suis arrt car jai eu une ide merveilleuse. The present participle is used in constructions with en + PRESENT PARTICIPLE. Used to express A SIMULTANEOUS ACTION (eg: while on, on, upon doing something) Eg: Michael coute ses compacts en faisant ses devoirs. Also used in cause and effect constructions (by doing something) Eg:

Il gagne beaucoup de largent en passant laspirateur. The present participle ALWAYS ends in ant. To form the present participle, just take the stem for the verb and add the ending ant. The stem is formed by taking the nous form of the regular present tense, and dropping the ons. This is always the case, no exceptions. There are, however, three irregular present participles: tre en tant; avoir en ayant; and savoir en sachent. Here are some examples of verbs that you should know the present participles of: Parler Finir Attendre Acheter Commencer Manger Aller Faire Sortir Voir Lire Prendre Nous parlons Nous finissons Nous attendons Nous achetons Nous commenons Nous mangeons Nous allons Nous faisons Nous sortons Nous voyons Nous lisons Nous prenons Parlant finissant attendant achetant commencant mangeant allant faisant sortant voyant lisant prenant

When using reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun represents the same person as the subject : Eg: En me lavant le figure, jai eu un ide merveilleuse. THE USAGE AND FORMATION OF THE PAST INFINITIVE: The past infinitive is used instead of the present infinitive when youre describing an action that happens before the main verbs action. Always introduce the past infinitive with aprs. Eg: Quest-ce que vous ferriez aprs tre mont le chteau du dragon ? To form the past infinitive, take the infinitive of avoir or tre, and add the standard past participle to it (this is the same past participle as the one used in pass compos). Eg : Je suis trs content davoir russi sur tous mes examens.

When using a reflexive verb, remember to put the reflexive pronoun just before the infinitive of tre or avoir. The reflexive pronoun describes the same person as the subject. Eg: Tu te souviens de ttre tomb, monsieur LaMarque? HERE ARE SOME PREDICTED SAMPLE SCENTENCES THAT MAY APPEAR ON THE FIRST PART OF THE PROVINCIAL EXAMINATION : 1. Nous savons que les fantmes existent, mais de _____ sont-ils fait? 2. Jtais gardinier des champs de M. Martin, le travail que _____ pendant toute ma vie. 3. Je ____ suis jamais perdu. 4. Lhomme a eu sa propre ____ trouver de quoi est fait le bonheur. 5. Jtais soudainement au milieu de ____ de beaut. 6. Si vous _____ tous vos devoirs, vous russiriez vos examens. 7. Si javais un stylo, je l ____ pour vous. (crire) 8. Si tu ntais pas tomb, tu n_____ pas cass ta jambe. 9. Si vous _____ oui a toutes ces questions, il est temps de prendre la route a la droite. 10. Si tu as envie dapprendre jouer la guitare, ______ !

USAGE AND FORMATION OF THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE: Le Comparatif: Used in constructions to compare people or things.

Eg : Cet htel est aussi moderne que lautre. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS + plus ADJECTIVE (+ que) - moins (or adverb) = aussi Plus moderne que Moins moderne que Aussi moderne que More modern than Less modern than As modern as

WHEN PUTTING STRESS PRONOUNS, put hem just after que. Eg: Je suis aussi riche que vous. The comparative form of the adjectives bon/bonne is meilleur/meilleure The comparative of the adverb bien is mieux. Eg: Je suis meilleur en foot que vous

Je joue mieux. NOUNS + plus de - moins de = aussi de Plus dargent que Moins dargent que Aussi dargent que More money than Less money than As much money as

NOUN

(+ que)

Eg : jai beaucoup plus dargent que toi. Mais Vous avez beaucoup plus damis que moi. The Superlative : The superlative, in constructions, is used to compare people or things to the rest of the group. Eg: Voici la fleure la plus belle de la foret. ADJECTIVE Le/la/les plus moderne de Le/la/les + (plus or moins) + Adjective + de Le/la/les moins moderne de After a superlative construction, de is used to introduce the group to which you are comparing the subject to. The superlative form of the adjectives bon/bonne is meilleur/meilleure (the best) Eg: Voici la meilleure htel de Vancouver. In a superlative construction, the position of the adjective (before/after the noun) is usually that same as in the regular construction. When the adjective comes after the noun, however, the article (le, la, les) is used twice. Eg: le peinture le plus intressant. A superlative construction may also be introduced by a possessive adjective. Eg: mon moins beau pantalon. ADVERBS Le moins Le plus + ADVERB Qui travaille le plus souvent ? Qui travaille le moins vite ?

The superlative form of the adverb bien is le mieux. Eg: Cest Louis qui travaille le mieux.

NOUNS Le moins de Le plus de

+ NOUN

Cest Eric qui a le moins dargent, mais le plus didees.

THE CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF NEGATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS: Here are the more basic and common negative constructions in French: AFFIRMATIVE Et / ou (and / or) Quelque(s) (some) Quelque chose (something) Quelque part (somewhere) Quelquun (someone, somebody) NEGATIVE ne...ni...ni (neither...nor) Ne...aucun(e) (no...not any) Ne...rien (nothing) Ne...nulle part (nowhere) Ne...personne (no one, nobody) Examples in the Pass compos and present Je ne vais ni chez ma mre ni chez mon pre Je nai fait ni mes devoirs ni la vaisselle. Je nai aucun stylo. Je nai eu aucun accident. Je ne sais rien sur ce sujet. J nai rien fait. Je ne conduis nulle part. Je ne me suis promen nulle part. Je ne parle a personne. Je nai connu personne au boum.

Note that in the pass compos, negative expressions always come after the past participle, except with rien, which comes just before : Eg: Vous navez rien dit? Also note that personne and rien can be used in the place of subjects: Eg: Personne na tlphone. Rien nest impossible.

Also note that the expression ne...que isnt negative. It just means only, or seulement. Ne must always come before the verb. And que comes before the word or phrase that is being restricted. Eg: Je parle anglais. Je ne parle quanglais.

STEM CHANGING VERBS AND THE STEM CHANGE DEFINITIONS:

Infinitif: Prsent

Acheter e- Jachte Tu achtes Il achte Nous achetons Vous acheter Ils achtent Achte !

Appeler l ll (double l) Jappelle Tu appelles Il appelle Nous appelons Vous appelez Ils appellent Appelle !

Prfrer - Je prfre Tu prfres Il prfre Nous prfrons Vous prfrez Ils prfrent Prfre !

Payer y-i Je paie Tu paies Il paie Nous payons Vous payez Ils paient Paie !

Commencer c (before a, o) Je commence Tu commences Il commence Nous commenons Vous commencez Ils commencent Commenons !

Manger g ge (before a, o) Je mange Tu manges Il mange Nous mangeons Vous mangez Ils mangent Mangeons !

Impratif

Pass compos Imparfait

Jai achet

Jai appel

Jai prfr

Jai pay

Jai commenc

Jai mange

Jachetais

Jappelais

Je prfrais

Je payais

Je commenais

Je mangeais

Pass Simple Futur

Jachetai

Jappelai

Je prfrai

Je payai

Je commenai

Je mangeai

Jachterai

Jappellerai

Je prfrerai

Je paierai

Je commencerai

Je mangerai

Conditionnel

Jachterai s Que jachte Achetant

Jappellerais

Je prfrerais Que je prfre Prfrant

Je paierais

Je commencerais

Je mangerais

Subjonctif

Que jappelle Appelant

Que je paie Payant

Que je commence Commenant

Que je mange

Participe Prsent

mangeant

Note that the tenses that are in grey are the ones that demonstrate the spelling change(s). For each of these verbs, there is a group of similar verbs that take on the same spelling changes. Eg: Verbs like acheter: Amener, lever, promener, se promener, etc. Verbs like appeler: Jeter, rappeler, se rappeler, sappeler, etc. Verbs like prfrer:

Clbrer, protger, suggrer, rpter, sinquiter, scher, etc. Verbs like payer: Balayer, employer, essuyer, nettoyer, sennuyer, etc. Verbs like commencer: Annoncer, se divorcer, se financer, menacer etc. Verbs like manger: Arranger, interroger, engager, mlanger, changer, protger, voyager, etc. OBJECT PRONOUNS AND THIER USES: Direct Object Pronouns: If the object in the sentence is connected to its verb without a preposition, its called an direct object. In Je vois Michel, Michel is the direct object of vois. In the sentence Je tlphone a Nick, Nick is the direct object of tlphone. Direct objects can be replaced by direct object pronouns: Singular Me, m Te, t Le, l La, l Note: Plural Nous Vous les

In French the direct object pronoun comes before the verb. Eg: Tu aimes les chaussures? - Non je ne les aime pas. In verb + infinitive constructions, the object pronoun is placed before the infinitive. Eg: Je peux jouer au cartes? Je ne veux pas te dranger. In the negative, the ne comes before the object pronoun with a single verb. Eg: Le Parc? Non, je ne le vois pas. In verb + infinitive constructions, the first verb is almost always the one that is made negative and the object pronoun precedes the infinitive, but after the negative word. Eg: Ces piles? Non, je ne veux pas les acheter.

Indirect Object Pronouns : Indirect objects indicate the person for whom or to whom an action is done. They are connected to the verb by the preposition . Eg: nous parlons nos amis.

French indirect object pronouns refer to people only. The indirect object pronouns are the same as the direct ones, except for lui which replaces il/elle. This means both to him and to her, depending on the noun that it refers to. Indirect object pronouns: Singular Plural Me, m Nous Te, t Vous lui leur The indirect object pronouns precede a single verb that is conjugated : Eg: Je leur cris. They also come before the infinitive in verb + infinitive constructions: Eg: Quest-ce que tu vas lui donner? The Pronoun Y The indirect objects lui and leur replace a phrase consisting of the preposition + and inanimate noun (a thing, not a person). Y can mean it or them. Eg: Les enfants rpondent aux questions? - Oui, ils y rpondent. Y can also be used in the place of several prepositions followed by it or them: Eg: Tu penses au concours ? - Oui, je y pense beaucoup. (a le concours) Y can also be used in the place of phrases that consist of a preposition of location such as , en, dans, sur, sous, derrire, devant + a noun of place. In this usage, Y means there. Eg: Je vais a Vancouver. - Jy habite.

The pronoun EN This pronoun replaces phrases with de + noun. It can usually replace people or things. (Animate and inanimate nouns). En often also replaces de or des. Eg: Tu as de largent? - Oui, jen ai En is also often used in the place of nouns that appear after quantity words like beacoup, trop, assez of after numbers:

Eg: Tu as combien de chats dans ta maison maintenant? - jen ai trop. En also replaces de + a noun of a place. Like from there in English. Eg: Marc est toujours Paris ? - Oui, il en revient vendredi (en = de Paris) When the pronoun en gets added to il y a, it becomes il y en a Eg: Est ce quil y a des biscuits? - Oui, il y en a assez Constructions with Double Object Pronouns and order of object pronouns: When theres two object pronouns in one sentence, they always go in this order: Me Te Se Nous Vous Le, l Lui Before La, l Les Before Leur Before y Before en

Note that the objects pronouns me, te, se, le, la become m, t, s, l before y and en. Otherwise, double object pronouns follow the same rules of placement as single object pronouns. Eg: Quand est ce que tu envoies les cadeaux a Michel? - Je les lui envoie aujourdhui. FIN