French Grammar Study Guide: Disjunctive Pronouns, Infinitive Constructions, and Past Tense Usage

Disjunctive Pronouns (Pronoms accentués / Pronoms disjonctifs)

• Terminology and Classification

  • Referred to in standard textbooks as pronoms accentués.
  • Also historically or alternatively termed pronoms disjonctifs or tonic pronouns in English.
  • These pronouns refer exclusively to human beings or to pets that are treated as people (for example, talking to a pet dog named Fido).
  • Four of the disjunctive pronouns have distinct, specialized forms compared to their subject pronoun counterparts, while the other four share forms with subject pronouns:
  • Subject vs. Disjunctive Forms:
    • $je \rightarrow moi$
    • $tu \rightarrow toi$
    • $il \rightarrow lui$
    • $elle \rightarrow elle$
    • $nous \rightarrow nous$
    • $vous \rightarrow vous$
    • $ils \rightarrow eux$
    • $elles \rightarrow elles$
  • Subject pronouns ($je$, $tu$, $il$, $elle$, $nous$, $vous$, $ils$, $elles$) can perform only the grammatical function of subject. Disjunctive pronouns are highly versatile and fulfill multiple distinct grammatical roles.

• Grammatical Functions and Usage Rules

  • After Prepositions
  • Any pronoun that follows a preposition ($à$, $avec$, $de$, $sans$, $pour$, $devant$, $chez$, etc.) and refers to a person or pet must be a disjunctive pronoun.
  • Prepositions connect nouns, pronouns, or verbs.
  • Examples of prepositional use:
    • avec moi ("with me")
    • avec lui ("with him")
    • avec toi ("with you")
    • penser à moi ("think of me")
    • sans lui ("without him")
    • devant elle ("in front of her")
    • avec nous ("with us")
  • Usage with $ chez $:
    • $ chez $ is a preposition meaning "at the place/house of".
    • chez eux is used if the group consists of all males or a mixed-gender group.
    • chez elles is used if the group consists of two or more females.
  • Identification and C'est… qui Constructions
  • Corresponds to the English structure "I am the one who…" or "It is I who…".
  • In English, the verb following "who" in this construction defaults to third-person singular (e.g., "I am the one who locks the door", "I am the one who cooks supper").
  • In French, the verb following qui must agree directly with the understood subject represented by the disjunctive pronoun:
    • C'est moi qui ai raison. ("It is I who am right" / "I'm the one who's right.")
    • C'est lui qui a raison. ("He is the one who's right.")
    • C'est elle qui a raison. ("She is the one who's right.")
  • Standalone Pronouns and Short Responses
  • Subject pronouns ($je$, $tu$, $il$, etc.) cannot stand alone without a conjugated verb.
  • When answering a question without a full sentence (e.g., "Who wants gum?"), disjunctive pronouns are required:
    • English uses auxiliary verbs ("I do"), whereas French uses the disjunctive pronoun alone (Moi !).
  • Examples:
    • "She is tired, and me too / so am I" $\rightarrow$ Elle est fatiguée, et moi aussi.
    • "She doesn't like coffee, and neither do I / me neither" $\rightarrow$ Elle n'aime pas le café, et moi non plus.
  • Affected Emphasis and Contrastive Stress
  • In English, vocal stress or exaggeration on the subject pronoun creates emphasis (e.g., "I am leaving, but you can stay").
  • In French, vocal stress on subject pronouns is ungrammatical. Emphasis or contrast is expressed through repetition using the disjunctive pronoun before the subject pronoun:
    • Moi, je pars, mais toi, tu peux rester.
    • Used for explicit contrast: "I do this, you do that" (Moi, je fais ceci; toi, tu fais cela).
  • Compound Subjects
  • When a subject consists of a noun and a pronoun (e.g., "my friend and I", "you and I"), a disjunctive pronoun must be used instead of a subject pronoun:
    • Mon ami et moi…
  • Etiquette rule: Place the other person first before the first-person pronoun (Mon ami et moi, not Moi et mon ami).
  • Verb Agreement Rules for Compound Subjects:
    • Pronoun + moi ($Noun/Pronoun + moi$) functions as $nous$ $\rightarrow$ verb is conjugated in the $nous$ form.
    • Pronoun + toi ($Noun/Pronoun + toi$) functions as $vous$ $\rightarrow$ verb is conjugated in the $vous$ form.
    • Pronoun + lui/elle ($Noun + lui/elle$) functions as $ils/elles$ $\rightarrow$ verb is conjugated in the third-person plural form.
  • Comparative Constructions with $ que $
  • In comparative expressions, que functions similarly to a preposition and requires a disjunctive pronoun:
    • Il est plus intelligent que moi.
    • Je suis moins intelligent / aussi intelligent que toi.
  • Emphatic "Self" Pronouns (-même)
  • Appending -même (or -mêmes in plural) to disjunctive pronouns creates self-referential emphasis:
    • moi-même ("myself")
    • toi-même ("yourself")
    • lui-même ("himself")
    • elle-même ("herself")
    • nous-mêmes ("ourselves")
    • vous-mêmes ("yourselves" / "yourself")
    • eux-mêmes ("themselves", masculine/mixed)
    • elles-mêmes ("themselves", feminine)
  • Examples: Je peux lui dire moi-même ("I can tell him myself"); Nous le faisons nous-mêmes ("We are doing this work ourselves").

Verb + Infinitive Constructions (Verbe + Infinitif)

• General Principles

  • Applies when two consecutive verbs share the same grammatical subject (the agent performing the action of the first verb also performs the action of the second verb).
  • Rule: Conjugate only the first verb (main verb); the second verb (subordinate verb) remains in its infinitive form.
  • English vs. French Structure:
  • In English, infinitives are preceded by the particle word "to" (e.g., "to swim", "to dance"). English leaves the slot between the conjugated verb and the infinitive completely blank without requiring structural prepositions.
  • In French, infinitives are designated by verb endings ($-er$, $-ir$, $-re$). Depending on the primary conjugated verb, French requires either:
    1. No preposition directly linking the verbs ($\emptyset$).
    2. The preposition $à$.
    3. The preposition $de$.

• Category 1: Verbs Followed Directly by an Infinitive (No Preposition / $\emptyset$)

  • Commonly includes verbs expressing preference, desire, disliking, intention, motion, or future actions.
  • Key Verbs:
  • aimer (e.g., Elle aime danser — "She likes to dance")
  • vouloir (e.g., Tu veux prendre un verre ? — "Do you want to have a drink?")
  • préférer (e.g., Il préfère rester à la maison — "He prefers to stay home")
  • espérer (e.g., Nous espérons partir — "We hope to leave")
  • détester (e.g., Je déteste attendre — "I hate to wait")
  • aller
  • penser (When followed directly by an infinitive, penser means "to plan to" or "to intend to")
  • venir (When followed directly by an infinitive without a preposition, venir indicates coming in order to do an action, e.g., Ils viennent voir le spectacle — "They are coming to see the show")

• Category 2: Verbs Requiring the Preposition $ à $ Before an Infinitive

  • Main verbs that must be linked to a following infinitive using $à$:
  • continuer à (e.g., Elle continue à sourire — "She continues to smile")
  • commencer à (e.g., Je commence à comprendre — "I am beginning to understand")
  • réussir à (e.g., Vous avez réussi à convaincre les autres — "You managed/succeeded to convince the others")
  • apprendre à (e.g., J'apprends à parler français — "I am learning to speak French")
  • penser à (When penser takes $à$, it means "to remember to" or "to think of doing something", e.g., Penses à acheter du lait — "Remember to pick up milk")
  • Note: If these verbs are followed by a direct object noun rather than an infinitive, the prepositional requirement changes (e.g., J'apprends la guitare vs. J'apprends à jouer).

• Category 3: Verbs Requiring the Preposition $ de $ Before an Infinitive

  • Main verbs that must be linked to a following infinitive using $de$:
  • refuser de (e.g., Il refuse de partir — "He refuses to leave")
  • essayer de (e.g., J'essaie de résoudre ce problème — "I am trying to solve this problem")
  • finir de (e.g., J'ai fini de peindre la cuisine — "I finished painting the kitchen")
  • oublier de
  • Note: When these verbs are followed directly by a noun, $de$ is omitted (e.g., Il refuse leur offre).

• Special Construction: Asterisk Verbs ($Verb + à + person + de + infinitive$)

  • Four specific verbs require a dual prepositional structure when specifying both the recipient of the action and the action itself:
  1. $demander + à + \text{personne} + de + \text{infinitif}$ ("to ask someone to do something")
  2. $conseiller + à + \text{personne} + de + \text{infinitif}$ ("to advise someone to do something")
  3. $permettre + à + \text{personne} + de + \text{infinitif}$ ("to allow/permit someone to do something")
  4. $promettre + à + \text{personne} + de + \text{infinitif}$ ("to promise someone to do something")
  • Breakdown of structure:
  • The preposition $à$ introduces the person on the receiving end (indirect object).
  • The preposition $de$ introduces the action verb (infinitive).
  • Example: Il nous a permis de partir ("He allowed us to leave"). Here, nous represents the recipient of the permission ($à + nous = nous$), while $de$ links the infinitive partir.

Prepositional Nuances & Meaning Shifts

• Shift in Meaning for $ commencer $ and $ finir $

  • Commencer à vs. Commencer par:
  • Commencer à + infinitif: To begin performing an activity (e.g., Je commence à comprendre — "I am beginning to understand").
  • Commencer par + infinitif: To begin by doing something as the initial step in a sequential process (e.g., J'ai commencé par lire les instructions — "I started out by reading the instructions").
  • Finir de vs. Finir par:
  • Finir de + infinitif: To complete/finish an ongoing task (e.g., J'ai fini de peindre la cuisine — "I finished painting the kitchen").
  • Finir par + infinitif: To end up doing something, often as an ultimate outcome or alternative result (e.g., J'ai fini par peindre la cuisine — "I ended up painting the kitchen"; Tous les étudiants ont fini par comprendre — "All the students ended up understanding").

• The Recent Past Construction (Le passé récent)

  • Expresses an action that was completed moments prior ("just did something").
  • Formula: $\text{Present tense of } venir + de + \text{infinitive}$
  • Contrast between French and English:
  • English utilizes past simple/present perfect tense alongside the adverb "just" (e.g., "I just ate", "They just saw").
  • French uses the present tense conjugation of venir combined with $de$ and the infinitive:
    • Je viens de manger ("I just ate").
    • Ils viennent de voir le spectacle ("They just saw the show").
  • To emphasize immediate completion, the expression à l'instant can be added (e.g., Je viens d'arriver à l'instant — "I just got in the door that very moment").
  • Crucial Distinction: Omitting $de$ changes the sentence from the recent past to movement/purpose (Ils viennent voir — "They are coming to see").

Past Tenses Nuances: Passé Composé vs. Imparfait

• Imparfait for Habitual Past and Ongoing Background States

  • Used to describe past habits, routines, repeated states of being, or context ("the way things used to be").
  • Example 1: Quand j'avais 12 ans, je passais des heures à jouer au football. ("When I was 12, I spent hours playing soccer.")
  • Both verbs use the imparfait because they describe habitual, ongoing actions across a broad timeframe in the past.
  • Example 2: Maman savait nager, but elle n'aimait pas nager. ("Mom knew how to swim, but she didn't like to.")
  • Uses imparfait because it describes an ongoing state of capacity and preference over an extended period.

• Passé Composé for Completed Past Events

  • Used for specific, completed actions occurring at a precise point in time or on a specific day.
  • Example 1: Pourquoi n'as-tu pas travaillé hier ? ("Why didn't you work yesterday?")
  • Refers to a single, completed timeframe ("yesterday"). Negation surrounds the auxiliary verb (n'as-tu pas).
  • Combination Example: Je n'ai pas travaillé hier parce que c'était un jour férié.
  • First clause uses passé composé (Je n'ai pas travaillé) for a specific non-action event yesterday.
  • Second clause uses imparfait (c'était un jour férié) to describe the background condition/state (it was a holiday).

Course and Assessment Information

• First Term Test Overview
  • Contains 4 questions specifically testing disjunctive pronouns (pronoms accentués).
  • Scheduled timeframe: Approximately 3 to 4 weeks out (potential target dates: October 15, 16, or 17 — Thursday, Friday, or Saturday).
  • Question Format:
  • Fill-in-the-blank prompt selecting the correct disjunctive pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles) based on surrounding contextual references.
  • Sentence structure exercises given key words and target tenses (e.g., forming grammatically correct sentences incorporating verb + infinitive and object structures).
• Textbook Organization (Vis-à-vis)
  • Chapter 12 structure:
  • Lesson 1: Vocabulary.
  • Lessons 2 & 3: Four primary grammar points split across these two lessons.
  • Lesson 4: Perspective section (reading, listening comprehension).
  • Lesson 5: Adverbs.