Grammar!

What are the Regular Endings for Present Tense Verbs?

What are the Regular Endings for Present Tense Verbs?

Subject	-ER	-IR	-RE
Je	-e	-is	-s
Tu	-es	-is	-s
Il/Elle/On	-e	-it	N/A
Nous	-ons	-issons	-ons
Vous	-ez	-issez	-ez
Ils/Elles	-ent	-issent	-ent

Some Exceptions to the Present Tense Rule

Verb	Trend
Être	nous sommes vous êtes ils/elles sont
Venir, Tenir, Obtenir	look for -nir For singular and ils/elles, move the i to before the e they follow the rules of -re endings (ex. viens)
Prendre, Comprendre, Apprendre	look for -prendre drop the “-dre” Ils/Elles add an extra n (comprennent)
Mettre, Permettre	look for -ttre for singular subjects, drop “tre” and add the ending for plural subjects, drop “re” and add the ending
Demon Verbs: Savoir, Devoir	learn these if you really plan on using them as they do not follow any specific trends

Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp: Verbs

French Verb	English Verb
Devenir	to become
Revenir	to come back
Monter	to ascend
Retourner	to
Sortir	to leave
Venir	to come
Aller	to go
Naitre	to be born
Descendre	to descend
Entrer	to enter
Rentrer	to return/to go back home
Tomber	to fall
Rester	to stay
Arriver	to arrive
Mourir	to die 😭
Partir	to leave

Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp: Ways to Remember

I like to think of it as the why to actions with direction

• not walking, but walking so you can go back home

• not driving, but driving so you can go to the party

• not putting on your shoes, but putting on your shoes so you can leave the house

Background Info for Passé Composé

• Think of it as the simple past tense

  • ex. “I ate” or “He said”

Endings for Passé Composé’s Past Participles

Subject	-ER	-IR	-RE
All Pronouns	-é	-i	-u

Steps for Passé Composé

1. Identify the verb that will become your past participle (ex. vendre)

2. Is it in DR MRS VANDERTRAMP or not? (ex. vendre = NO)

3. Identify the subject (ex. nous)

4. Identify the present tense form of the auxiliary verb (ex. nous (avoir) = avons)

5. Put it in the order: subject+auxillary+past participle (ex. nous = avons)

6. If the auxiliary is être, then make sure to make sure the terms agree (ex. Elle a mangée)

Background Info for Imparfait

• Think of it as:

  • “Sean was eating cake on his birthday” or “Kirney was playing Minecraft”

• my favorite tense because it is very consistent

Use it in the following instances:

Instance
Continuous actions
Habitual action
Emotions
Age
Time (better to say duration)
Endless actions
Descriptions

Endings for Imparfait

Subject	Ending
Je	-ais
Tu	-ais
Il/Elle/On	-ait
Nous	-ions
Vous	-iez
Ils/Elles	-aient

Steps for Imparfait

1. Take the nous version of a noun (ex. passer → nous passons)

2. Remove the ending (ex. nous passons)

3. Identify the Subject (ex. Je)

4. Add the Appropriate Ending (ex. Je passais)

Background Info for Subjonctif

This verb tense is a mood in grammar that is used to express subjective actions or states. It often conveys uncertainty, doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, or hypothetical situations

Endings for Subjonctif

notice that the endings:

• not nous and vous: imparfait endings

• nous and vous: present tense endings

Subject	Ending
Je	-e
Tu	-es
Il/Elle/On	-e
Nous	-ions
Vous	-iez
Ils/Elles	-ent

Steps for Subjonctif

1. Make sure it is preceded by a subjective action/state+que

2. Take the Ils/Elles endings of a verb (ex. ils comprennent)

3. Identify the pronoun (ex. Je)

4. Remove the ending (ex. ils comprennent)

5. Find the Ending (ex. Je = -e)

6. Add the Ending (ex. Je comprenne)

Background Info for Plus-Que-Parfait

• to be honest, its just imparfait+passé composé

• Think of it as:

  • “Alison had been studying for the Bio Exam” or “Hayden had been watching One Piece”

• When you look at the name, it sort of makes sense

  • It is “plus-que-parfait” or “better than perfect” as it is more complete (more steps ugh) than “imparfait” or “imperfect”

Steps for Plus-Que-Parfait

1. Find the auxiliary, usually avoir or être (ex. monter = etre)

2. Identify the subject (ex. tu)

3. Apply the imparfait of the auxillary (ex. tu étais)

4. add the verb in its past participle (ex. tu étais monté)

Background Info for Gerondif

• used to express simultaneous actions

• formed by adding -ant to the stem of the verb

• Must be preceded by En or “by”

• Think of it as:

  • “By sleeping, Damaris was making her headache better” or “By playing Brawl Stars in class, the IB boys can relieve some stress”

• it is also very consistent

Steps for Gerondif

1. Remove the ending of a verb/Find the stem (ex. parler)

2. Add en before the word (ex. en parl)

3. Add -ant (ex. en parlant)