La Conjugaison

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La Conjugaison des Verbes en Français
Une léçon avec Mme Gareau
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Les Sujets
Like in English, verbs are words.
Also, as in English, they usually follow the
(often a person), which is doing the
action. There are subjects
action
subject
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I
you
he/she/one
we
you
they (masc/fem.)
je
singular
tu
il/elle/on
nous
vous
plural
ils/elles
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Les Verbes en ER
When a subject and verb are placed together in a
sentence, the form of the verb changes, depending
on the subject used. This is called a
.
conjugation
Ex I walk. You walk. He
walks.
Je marche. Tu marches. Il marche
As you can see from the example, the ending of
the verb changes when a different subject is
used. In French, there is a large group of verbs
which follow the same pattern. This group is
commonly referred to as ER Verbs, because in
all of these verbs, the
(original form of the verb) ends in ER.
infinitive
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How to conjugate "ER" verbs

• To conjugate an ER verb, remove the ER and
  add

SUBJECT ENDING EXAMPLE TRANSLATION
je Je marche. I walk.
tu Tu marches. You walk.
il/elle/on Il marche. He walks.
nous Nous marchons. We walk.
vous Vous marchez. You walk.
ils/elles Ils marchent. They walk.
e
es
e
ons
ez
ent
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Quelques questions pour pratiquer...

• For each of the following sentences, conjugate
  the ER verb with the subject given.

• Ex Je marche (marcher to walk) à lécole.
• Tu ___________ (regarder to watch) la télé.
• Il ___________ (jouer to play) au basketball.
• Nous ___________ (parler to talk) au téléphone.
• Vous ___________ (écouter to listen) la musique.
• Ils ___________ (danser to dance) très bien.
• Je ___________ (chanter to sing) Oh Canada.
• La fille ___________ (manger to eat) un
  sandwich.
• Le garçon ___________ (habiter to live) à
  Clavet.
• Les bébés ___________ (pleurer to cry).
• Un enfant ___________ (aimer to like) les
  bonbons.

• NOTE
• If a subject begins with le or un, it is
  masculine singular. Treat it as IL (ending
  e).
• If a subject begins with la or une, it is
  feminine singular. Treat it as ELLE (ending
  e).
• If a subject begins with les or des, it is either
  feminine or masculine plural. (ending ent).

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corrigé
Quelques questions pour pratiquer...

• For each of the following sentences, conjugate
  the ER verb with the subject given.

• Ex Je marche (marcher to walk) à lécole.
• Tu regardes (regarder to watch) la télé.
• Il joue (jouer to play) au basketball.
• Nous parlons (parler to talk) au téléphone.
• Vous écoutez (écouter to listen) la musique.
• Ils dansent (danser to dance) très bien.
• Je chante (chanter to sing) Oh Canada.
• La fille mange (manger to eat) un sandwich.
• Le garçon habite (habiter to live) à Clavet.
• Les bébés pleurent (pleurer to cry).
• Un enfant aime (aimer to like) les bonbons.

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How to conjugate "IR" verbs
There is another group of verbs which follows a
pattern for conjugation. They are called IR
Verbs. These verbs, like the ER verbs, all
end in IR.

• To conjugate an IR verb, remove the IR and
  add

SUBJECT ENDING EXAMPLE TRANSLATION
je Je finis. I finish.
tu Tu finis. You finish.
il/elle/on Il finit. He finishes.
nous Nous finissons. We finish.
vous Vous finissez. You finish.
ils/elles Ils finissent. They finish.
is
is
it
issons
issez
issent
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Quelques questions pour pratiquer...

• For each of the following sentences, conjugate
  the IR verb with the subject given.

• NOTE
• Whenever the subject JE is followed by a
  vowel, the contraction J is used.
• A group is masculine when one or more members is
  male.
• If a subject begins with la, une, or is a female
  person, it is feminine singular and treated as
  ELLE (ending it ).
• If a subject begins with le, un, or is a male
  person, it is masculine singular and treated as
  IL (ending it).

• Ex Je finis (finir to finish) mes devoirs.
• Il ___________ (rougir to redden).
• Tu ___________ (choisir to choose) un livre.
• Nous ___________ (blanchir to become pale)
• Vous ___________ (agir to act) bien.
• J ___________ (obéir to obey) aux adultes.
• Matthew et Lise ___________ (réagir to react)
  poliment.
• Nicole ___________ (grandir to grow) très vite.
• Le ballon ___________ (grossir to enlarge)

9
corrigé
Quelques questions pour pratiquer...

• For each of the following sentences, conjugate
  the IR verb with the subject given.

• Ex Je finis (finir to finish) mes devoirs.
• Il rougit (rougir to redden).
• Tu choisis (choisir to choose) un livre.
• Nous blanchissons (blanchir to become pale)
• Vous agissez (agir to act) bien.
• J obéis (obéir to obey) aux adultes.
• Matthew et Lise réagissent (réagir to react)
  poliment.
• Nicole grandit (grandir to grow) très vite.
• Le ballon grossit (grossir to enlarge)

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Les Verbes Irreguliers
While many verbs follow a conjugation pattern
(like ER IR verbs), those which do not follow a
pattern are referred to as irregular verbs.
Four of the most common irregular verbs are

• avoir
• être
• aller
• faire

to have
to be
to go
to do / to make
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Les Conjugaisons des Verbes Irreguliers
Verbe je / j tu il/elle nous vous ils/elles
avoir to have (I have) (you have) (he/she has) (we have) (you have) (they have)
être to be (I am) (you are) (he/she is) (we are) (you are) (they have)
aller to go (I go) (you go) (he/she goes) (we go) (you go) (they go)
faire to do to make (I do) (I make) (you do) (you make) (he does) (he makes) (we do) (we make) (you do) (you make) (they do) (they make)
Jai
Tu as
Il /elle a
Nous avons
Ils ont
Vous avez
Je suis
Tu es
Il /elle est
Nous sommes
Vous êtes
Ils sont
Vous allez
Je vais
Tu vas
Il /elle va
Nous allons
Ils vont
Ils font
Vous faîtes
Nous faisons
Il /elle fait
Tu fais
Je fais

• NOTES
• Unlike the English subject I, in French, the
  subject je is not always capitalized. The only
  time it is capitalized is when it is found at the
  beginning of a sentence.
• Remember that je becomes j when it is followed
  by a vowel.

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Pour pratiquer les verbes irreguliers

• Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation of
  the verb.

1. Mme Gareau ________ (être) ton professeur.
2. J ________ (avoir) fini mes devoirs.
3. Tu ________ (aller) à lécole Clavet.
4. Leah ________ (faire) un projet.
5. Michel ________ (avoir) mal à la tête.
6. Hope et Dana ________ (aller) étudier.
7. Jordan et moi, nous ________ (faire) la cuisine.
8. Walker et Adam ________ (être) des élèves.
9. Nicole et toi, vous ________ (avoir) des
   questions?
10. Tu ne ________ (aller) pas à la danse?

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corrigé
Pour pratiquer les verbes irreguliers

• Fill in the blank with the correct conjugation of
  the verb.

1. Mme Gareau est (être) ton professeur.
2. J ai (avoir) fini mes devoirs.
3. Tu vas (aller) à lécole Clavet.
4. Leah fait (faire) un projet.
5. Michel a (avoir) mal à la tête.
6. Hope et Dana vont (aller) étudier.
7. Jordan et moi, nous faisons (faire) la cuisine.
8. Walker et Adam sont (être) des élèves.
9. Nicole et toi, vous avez (avoir) des questions?
10. Tu ne vas (aller) pas à la danse?

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Une Révision des Verbes
A) Fill in the blanks.
B) Match the verb with its meaning.

1. Name two kinds of regular verbs _____ and _____
2. How many subjects are there? __________
3. What is it called when a subject and verb are
   placed together in a sentence? __________
4. What is the original form of the verb called?
   __________
5. What happens to the subject JE when it is
   followed by a vowel? __________

a) regarder b) aller c) aimer d) être e)
jouer f) faire g) avoir h) finir i) écouter j)
choisir

1. To be _______
2. To go _______
3. To make _______
4. To watch _______
5. To have _______
6. To choose ______
7. To like _______
8. To listen _______
9. To finish _______
10. To play _______

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corrigé
Une Révision des Verbes
B) Match the verb with its meaning.
A) Fill in the blanks.

1. Name two kinds of regular verbs er and ir
2. How many subjects are there? Six
3. What is it called when a subject and verb are
   placed together in a sentence? A conjugation
   
4. What is the original form of the verb called?
   The infinitive
5. What happens to the subject JE when it is
   followed by a vowel? It becomes
   j

a) regarder b) aller c) aimer d) être e)
jouer f) faire g) avoir h) finir i) écouter j)
choisir

1. To be D
2. To go B
3. To make F
4. To watch A
5. To have G
6. To choose J
7. To like C
8. To listen I
9. To finish H
10. To play E

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