EasyFrench

Definite & Indefinite Articles

• Definite Articles (The): Indicate a specific person, place, or thing. Use le (masculine singular), la (feminine singular), l' (before a vowel or mute h), and les (plural).
• Indefinite Articles (A/An/Some): Use un (masculine), une (feminine), and des (plural).

Adjectives

• Descriptive adjectives usually follow the nouns they modify and agree in gender and number.
• The feminine form usually ends in -e, and the plural adds an -s.
• Exceptions that precede the noun: autre, beau, bon, grand, gros, jeune, joli, mauvais, même, nouveau, petit, vieux.
• Adjectives of color follow the noun and agree with it, except for marron and orange, which are invariable.

These are the two most essential irregular verbs in French.

• Subject Pronouns: Tu is familiar singular; vous is polite singular or plural. On means one, we, or people.
• Idioms with avoir: Avoir is used for age (J'ai vingt ans), feeling hot/cold (avoir chaud/froid), and hunger/thirst (avoir faim/soif).
• Negation: Place ne before the conjugated verb and pas after it (e.g., Je ne suis pas). Indefinite articles change to de/d' in negative sentences with avoir.
• There is/There are: Use the invariable expression Il y a.... Its negative is Il n'y a pas de....

Regular -er Verbs (e.g., parler)

Drop the -er and add the standard endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.

Forming Questions (Interrogatives)

• Intonation: Raise the pitch of your voice at the end of the sentence (Vous êtes d'ici?).
• Tag Questions: Add n'est-ce pas? to the end of a statement to expect agreement.
• Est-ce que: Precede the entire statement with est-ce que (e.g., Est-ce qu'elle a une opinion?).
• Inversion: Invert the subject pronoun and verb, connecting them with a hyphen (Êtes-vous déjà en retard?). Insert a -t- between two vowels for third-person singular (Parle-t-il?).
• Information Words: Qui (who), Que/Qu'est-ce que (what), Comment (how), Où (where), Quand (when), Quel (which), Pourquoi (why).

Regular -ir Verbs (e.g., choisir)

Drop the -ir and add the standard endings: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent.

Telling Time & Dates

• Use Il est... to tell time (e.g., Il est deux heures).
• Use midi for noon and minuit for midnight.
• To express time after the hour, state the hour plus the minutes (Il est cinq heures dix). Use et quart (quarter past) and et demie (half past).
• Dates use the definite article le + cardinal number + month (le cinq juillet), except the 1st of the month which uses the ordinal le premier.

Regular -re Verbs (e.g., attendre)

Drop the -re and add: -s, -s, [nothing], -ons, -ez, -ent.

Spelling Changes in -er Verbs

• -cer verbs (commencer): Change c to ç before an -o- in the nous form (nous commençons) to keep the soft 's' sound.
• -ger verbs (manger): Add an e before an -o- in the nous form (nous mangeons) to keep the soft 'g' sound.
• -e-er verbs (acheter): Change mute e to è in forms with a mute e ending (e.g., j'achète, but nous achetons).
• -é-er verbs (préférer): Change é to è in forms where it occurs in the final sounded syllable (e.g., je préfère, but nous préférons).
• -eler/-eter verbs (appeler/jeter): Double the consonant l or t when the ending contains a mute e (e.g., j'appelle, je jette).
• -yer verbs (envoyer): Change y to i before a mute e ending (e.g., j'envoie).

The Verbs aller (to go) and faire (to do/make)

• Futur Proche: Use the conjugated form of aller + an infinitive verb to express the near future (e.g., Je vais dîner — I'm going to eat dinner).
• Weather & Idioms with faire: Use Il fait... to describe weather (e.g., Il fait chaud). Faire is used in many chores and activities like faire le ménage (clean house) and faire du sport (play sports).
• Prepositions à and de: à indicates location/destination (at/to) or indirect objects. de indicates origin (from) or possession (of).
• Contractions: They must contract with le and les. à + le = au; à + les = aux; de + le = du; de + les = des.

Key Irregular Verb Families

• partir (to leave): je pars, tu pars, il part, nous partons, vous partez, ils partent. (Also: dormir, sortir, servir, sentir).
• venir (to come): je viens, tu viens, il vient, nous venons, vous venez, ils viennent. (Also: tenir, devenir, revenir). Note: venir de + infinitive means "to have just done something".
• dire (to say): je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent.
• lire (to read): je lis, tu lis, il lit, nous lisons, vous lisez, ils lisent.
• écrire (to write): j'écris, tu écris, il écrit, nous écrivons, vous écrivez, ils écrivent.
• mettre (to put/place): je mets, tu mets, il met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils mettent.
• pouvoir (can/able to): je peux, tu peux, il peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent.
• vouloir (to want): je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent.
• devoir (must/owe): je dois, tu dois, il doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils doivent.
• recevoir (to receive): je reçois, tu reçois, il reçoit, nous recevons, vous recevez, ils reçoivent.

Verb + Verb Constructions

• Some verbs require no preposition before a following infinitive (e.g., aimer, aller, devoir, pouvoir, vouloir).
• Some require à (e.g., aider à, commencer à, réussir à).
• Some require de (e.g., accepter de, décider de, essayer de, refuser de).

Connaître vs. Savoir

• connaître: Means to be acquainted with a person, place, or thing. je connais, tu connais, il connaît, nous connaissons, vous connaissez, ils connaissent.
• savoir: Means to know a fact or how to do something. je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons, vous savez, ils savent.

More Irregular Families

• voir (to see): je vois, tu vois, il voit, nous voyons, vous voyez, ils voient. (Also: croire - to believe).
• courir (to run): je cours, tu cours, il court, nous courons, vous courez, ils courent.
• rire (to laugh): je ris, tu ris, il rit, nous rions, vous riez, ils rient.
• offrir (to offer): j'offre, tu offres, il offre, nous offrons, vous offrez, ils offrent. (Takes -er verb endings! Also: ouvrir, couvrir, découvrir).
• conduire (to drive): je conduis, tu conduis, il conduit, nous conduisons, vous conduisez, ils conduisent.
• suivre (to follow): je suis, tu suis, il suit, nous suivons, vous suivez, ils suivent.
• vivre (to live): je vis, tu vis, il vit, nous vivons, vous vivez, ils vivent.
• craindre (to fear): je crains, tu crains, il craint, nous craignons, vous craignez, ils craignent.

Relative Pronouns

• qui (who/that/which) is the subject of a relative clause.
• que (whom/that/which) is the direct object of a relative clause.
• où is used for time and place (where/when).
• lequel/laquelle replaces object of prepositions.
• dont (of whom/of which/whose) replaces "de + an object" or indicates possession.
• Indefinite relative pronouns (what) are ce qui, ce que, ce dont.

Prendre (to take/have) & Boire (to drink)

• prendre: je prends, tu prends, il prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent.
• boire: je bois, tu bois, il boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils boivent.

The Partitive Article (Some/Any)

• Used for unmeasurable quantities (food/drink). Forms: du (masc), de la (fem), de l' (vowel).
• In the negative, or after expressions of quantity (like beaucoup), all partitive and indefinite articles shorten to de/d'.

Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

• Direct Objects: Receive the action directly (answers what? or whom?). Pronouns: me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les. Placed directly before the conjugated verb.
• Indirect Objects: Answer "to whom?" or "for whom?" (requires à). Pronouns: me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur. Placed before the conjugated verb.

The Pronouns "y" and "en"

• y replaces a preposition of location (there) or "à + a thing/idea".
• en replaces nouns preceded by a partitive/indefinite article (some/any) or "de + a noun".

Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

• Adjectives: Match the gender/number of the item owned, not the owner. mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs. Use mon/ton/son before feminine words starting with a vowel.
• Pronouns: Stand alone to mean "mine, yours, etc." Always preceded by a definite article. le mien, le tien, le sien, le nôtre, le vôtre, le leur (and their feminine/plural forms).

Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns

• Adjectives (this/that/these/those): Always precede a noun. ce (masc), cet (masc vowel), cette (fem), ces (plural).
• Pronouns (this one/that one): Must be followed by -ci/-là, a preposition, or relative clause. celui, celle, ceux, celles.
• Indefinite Demonstratives: ceci, cela, ça.

Comparatives and Superlatives

• Adjectives/Adverbs: Compare using plus...que (more), aussi...que (as), moins...que (less). Superlatives use le/la/les plus or le moins.
• Nouns: Compare quantities using plus de...que, autant de...que, moins de...que.
• Verbs: Compare actions using plus que, autant que, moins que after the verb.
• Irregulars: bon -> meilleur (better); bien -> mieux (better).

Adverbs

• Usually formed by adding -ment to the feminine form of an adjective (e.g., douce -> doucement). Or to the masculine if it ends in a vowel (vraiment). Adjectives ending in -ent/-ant become -emment and -amment.

Negative Expressions

Instead of "pas", use these with "ne" before the verb:

• ne... jamais (never)
• ne... pas encore (not yet)
• ne... plus (no longer)
• ne... rien (nothing)
• ne... personne (no one)
• To express limits (only), use ne... que... where "que" is placed before the limited noun.

Stressed (Tonic) Pronouns

• Forms: moi, toi, lui, elle, soi, nous, vous, eux, elles.
• Used after prepositions (avec moi), in compound subjects (Thomas et toi), for emphasis, after c'est/ce sont, and to indicate possession with "être à".

The Imperative (Commands)

• Conjugated in three persons without subject pronouns: tu, nous, vous.
• For -er verbs (and aller), drop the final "s" in the "tu" form (e.g., Parle! Va!).
• Object Pronouns in Commands: Attached with a hyphen in affirmative commands (Passe-moi le sel!), but precede the verb in negative commands (Ne me passe pas le sel!).

Pronominal (Reflexive) Verbs

• Used when the action reflects back on the subject (e.g., se laver - to wash oneself).
• Accompanied by a reflexive pronoun matching the subject: je me, tu te, il se, nous nous, vous vous, ils se.
• Reciprocal verbs: Express a mutual action involving two or more people (e.g., Ils se regardent - They look at each other).
• Idiomatic pronominals: Verbs that change meaning when made reflexive (e.g., mettre = to put; se mettre à = to begin to).

The Present Participle

• Equivalent to English "-ing".
• Formed by dropping the -ons ending from the "nous" form of the present tense and adding -ant (e.g., faisons -> faisant).
• Irregulars: ayant (avoir), étant (être), sachant (savoir).
• Often preceded by the preposition en (while, upon, in, by) to express simultaneous actions or cause and effect (e.g., en étudiant - by studying).

The passé composé indicates completed action or actions in the past.

• It is a compound tense formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb avoir (or être for specific verbs) + the past participle of the main verb.

Regular Past Participles

• Drop the infinitive ending and replace it.
• -er verbs: add -é (e.g., parler -> parlé).
• -ir verbs: add -i (e.g., choisir -> choisi).
• -re verbs: add -u (e.g., attendre -> attendu).

Key Irregular Past Participles

eu (avoir), bu (boire), vu (voir), dû (devoir), lu (lire), pu (pouvoir), su (savoir), pris (prendre), compris (comprendre), mis (mettre), dit (dire), écrit (écrire), fait (faire), offert (offrir), ouvert (ouvrir).

The Imparfait (Imperfect)

The imparfait is used to describe continuous or habitual past actions or states, and to set the scene in descriptions.

• Formation: Drop the -ons ending from the nous form of the present tense, and add the endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

Passé Composé vs. Imparfait

• Passé Composé: Expresses a completed past action or a sequence of actions (sudden changes, interruptions).
• Imparfait: Indicates ongoing, habitual, background actions, descriptions, and mental/emotional states.

The Future Tense

• Formation: Add the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the entire verb infinitive (drop the final -e for -re verbs).
• Irregular stems: aller (ir-), avoir (aur-), courir (courr-), devoir (devr-), être (ser-), faire (fer-), pouvoir (pourr-), savoir (saur-), venir (viendr-), voir (verr-), vouloir (voudr-).

The Conditional

• Equivalent to the English "would" + infinitive.
• Formation: Use the exact same stem as the future tense, but add the imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

Si-Clauses (If... Then)

• If the si clause uses the imparfait, the main clause uses the conditional.
• If the si clause uses the pluperfect, the main clause uses the past conditional.

The Pluperfect (Plus-que-parfait)

Expresses "had done" something. Formed with the imparfait of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) + the past participle of the main verb.

The subjunctive mood expresses the speaker's feelings about an action, concerning necessity, importance, emotion, possibility, or doubt. It usually appears in a dependent clause following que/qu'.

Formation

• Drop the -ent from the ils/elles form of the present indicative, and add the subjunctive endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent.

Highly Irregular Subjunctives

• faire: que je fasse, que nous fassions
• pouvoir: que je puisse, que nous puissions
• savoir: que je sache, que nous sachions
• aller: que j'aille, que nous allions
• vouloir: que je veuille, que nous voulions
• être: que je sois, que tu sois, qu'il soit, que nous soyons, que vous soyez, qu'ils soient
• avoir: que j'aie, que tu aies, qu'il ait, que nous ayons, que vous ayez, qu'ils aient