la formation et l'usage du subjonctif en français

I talked, a while back, about when to use the subjunctive mood in French. This time around, I'd like to talk about how to conjugate verbs properly in the subjunctive. It's not that hard. After you read the following, you can reinforce your knowledge by reading about the subjunctive mood over at About.com.

I. LA FORMATION DU SUBJONCTIF

The basic rule for forming a subjunctive conjugation, both for regular verbs and for many (if not most) irregular verbs, is this:

que + [verb stem] + [verb ending]
[NB: The "que" isn't always present, but it's generally there.]

The verb stem is formed this way:

3rd-person plural conjugation (ils form), minus "-ent"

The verb endings are almost the same as the endings for regular -er verbs; just watch out for the nous and vous forms:

-e
-es
-e
-ions
-iez
-ent

So, for example, if I wanted to use the regular verbs parler, choisir, and attendre, their subjunctive conjugations would look like this:

PARLER (ils parlent... parl- + endings)

que je parle
que tu parles
qu'il parle
que nous parlions
que vous parliez
qu'ils parlent


CHOISIR (ils choisissent... choisiss- + endings)

que je choisisse
que tu choisisses
qu'il choisisse
que nous choisissions
que vous choisissiez
qu'ils choisissent


ATTENDRE (ils attendent... attend- + endings)

que j'attende
que tu attendes
qu'il attende
que nous attendions
que vous attendiez
qu'ils attendent


Many irregular verbs also follow this pattern:

SORTIR, PARTIR, DORMIR, CONNAITRE

que je sorte, que je parte, que je dorme, que je connaisse
que tu sortes, que tu partes, que tu dormes, que tu connaisses
qu'il sorte, qu'il parte, qu'il dorme, qu'il connaisse
que nous sortions, que nous partions, que nous dormions, que nous connaissions
que vous sortiez, que vous partiez, que vous dormiez, que vous connaissiez
qu'ils sortent, qu'ils partent, qu'ils dorment, qu'ils connaissent


The "e-consonant-er" verbs (jeter, appeler, préférer, etc.) generally follow the regular pattern except for the nous/vous forms:

que je jette
que tu jettes
qu'il jette
que nous jetions (only one "t"!)
que vous jetiez (one "t"!)
qu'ils jettent

que je préfère
que tu préfères
qu'il préfère
que nous préférions (accent aigu!)
que vous préfériez (accent aigu!)
qu'ils préfèrent

(etc.)

For almost all of the above types of verbs, the nous/vous forms look exactly like the nous/vous forms of the imperfect tense.


Some verbs, however, form their stems in an irregular way:

savoir ➞ sach-
faire ➞ fass-
pouvoir ➞ puiss-
aller ➞ aill- / all- (nous/vous forms only)
vouloir ➞ veuill- / voul- (nous/vous forms only)
prendre ➞ prenn- / pren- (nous/vous forms only)

avoir ➞ totally irregular:
que j'aie
que tu aies
qu'il ait
que nous ayons
que vous ayez
qu'ils aient

être ➞ also totally irregular:
que je sois
que tu sois
qu'il soit
que nous soyons
que vous soyez
qu'ils soient

There's more, but that ought to cover the basics for now.



II. L'USAGE DU SUBJONCTIF

In my other post, I talked about when to use the subjunctive mood. Be especially careful about verbs like croire and penser, which do NOT take the subjunctive in the affirmative, but which DO take the subjunctive in the negative, because the negative is an expression of doubt. Examples:

Je pense qu'il est cinglé. (I think he's nuts.)
Je ne pense pas qu'il soit cinglé. (I don't think he's nuts.)

Elle croit que son amie est là. (She thinks her friend is there.)
Elle ne croit pas que son amie soit là. (She doesn't think her friend is there.)


III. QUIZ

So! If you've read this post thoroughly, and you've read the other post (to which I've linked twice), then maybe you're ready for a two-part quiz. Part I will be about whether to use the subjunctive. Part II will concentrate on how to conjugate the subjunctive.

Part I: to use, or not to use...?

Ask yourself: do I use the subjunctive in this situation, or not? Choose the correct conjugation, whether it be indicative or subjunctive.

1. Il faut que tu (es / sois) là à 3 heures.

2. Il pense que son frère (est / soit) doué aux langues.

3. Elle veut que sa mère (est / soit) plus compréhensive.

4. Il est absolument impératif que tu (sors / sortes) la poubelle!

5. Oh là là, comme je suis contente que tu (es / sois) venue!

6. Je doute fort qu'il (peut / puisse) le faire.

7. Je crains (craindre = to fear) que tu (n'as / n'aies) tort.

8. Il me dit qu'il (sait / sache) jouer du piano.

9. Nous savons qu'il (est / soit) nécessaire d'étudier.

10. Gérard ne (veut / veuille) pas prendre son déjeuner dans la cafétéria.

11. Etudie afin que tu (réussis / réussisses) à l'examen.

12. Avant que tes parents (ne sont / ne soient) ici, il faut nettoyer la maison!

13. Nous (sommes / soyons) contents que tu te trouves parmi nous en France.

14. Bill ne s'approche pas du tigre de peur qu'il (n'est / ne soit) mangé.

15. La seule chose que je (sais / sache), c'est que personne n'est parfait.


ANSWERS (highlight inside the brackets to see): [ (1) sois; (2) est; (3) soit; (4) sortes; (5) sois; (6) puisse; (7) n'aies; (8) sait; (9) est; (10) veut, (11) réussisses; (12) ne soient; (13) sommes; (14) ne soit; (15) sache ]


Part II: proper conjugation

Conjugate the verbs properly.

1. que tu (connaître)

2. qu'on (réfléchir)

3. qu'ils (avoir)

4. que je (mettre)

5. que tu (appeler)

6. que vous (vouloir)

7. que je (être)

8. que nous (aller)

9. qu'elles (vendre)

10. que tu (prendre)

11. qu'on (haïr, to hate)

12. que nous (manger)

13. que vous (savoir)

14. qu'on (pouvoir)

15. qu'ils (faire)


ANSWERS (highlight inside the brackets to see): [ (1) connaisses; (2) réfléchisse; (3) aient; (4) mette; (5) appelles; (6) vouliez; (7) sois; (8) allions; (9) vendent; (10) prennes; (11) haïsse; (12) mangions; (13) sachiez; (14) puisse; (15) fassent ]



_

le subjonctif

A good page on the French subjunctive mood is here.


_

quirks with the imperfect tense in French

You may recall my post on how to form the imperfect tense in French. I mentioned some freakiness with the double-i:

Nous étudiions. (We were studying.)

Nous skiions. (We were skiing.)

Another quirk to watch out for has to do with the letters c and g. I believe I've explained this in another post, but to reiterate:

When placed in front of the vowels a and o, the consonants c and g undergo a slight change if they're to be pronounced softly (i.e., the "s" sound for c, the "zh" sound for g): the c gains a cedilla, and the g takes on an extra e after it.

Examples: le français, nous mangeons

This is relevant when forming the imperfect tense. Take commencer, for example:

je commençais (note the cedilla)
tu commençais
elle commençait
nous commencions (note the lack of cedilla, because the c is followed by an i, not a or o)
vous commenciez
ils commençaient (cedilla again!)

Now watch what happens with manger:

je mangeais (note the additional e)
tu mangeais
il mangeait
nous mangions (no e!)
vous mangiez
elles mangeaient (e again!)

Keep these changes in mind as you master l'imparfait!


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contrastive tenses: l'imparfait et le passé composé

First a quick review of the French imperfect tense (l'imparfait), then a little demonstration of how the tense is used contrastively.

To form the imperfect tense, remove the "-ons" ending from the first-person plural conjugation of a verb to create a stem:

parler: parlons: parl-
choisir: choisissons: choisiss-
vendre: vendons: vend-
prendre: prenons: pren-
appeler: appelons: appel-
lire: lisons: lis-
vouloir: voulons: voul-
savoir: savons: sav-
devoir: devons: dev-

(irregular form) être: ét-

(etc.)

Depending on person and number, add these endings:

je: -ais
tu: -ais
il/elle/on: -ait
nous: -ions
vous: -iez
ils/elles


In French, the imperfect tense is equivalent to the past progressive tense in English: was ...ing. So:

Je parlais = I was speaking
Tu choisissais = You were choosing
Elle vendait = She was selling
Nous prenions = We were taking
Vous appeliez = You were calling
Ils lisaient = They (masc.) were reading
Je voulais = I was wanting (to)...
Tu savais = You knew (a bit awkward to translate this is as "You were knowing")
Il devait = He had to...


As in English, French verb tenses can be used contrastively. Here's an English example of a contrast between the past progressive and the simple past tense:

I was sleeping when my cell phone rang.

In French, the same contrast is expressed with l'imparfait and le passé composé. To wit:

Je dormais quand mon portable a sonné.

The imperfect tense is used for the "background action," i.e., for actions or events that occur over a period of time. The passé composé, like the simple past tense in English, is used for the "interrupting action," i.e., for actions or events that tend to be sudden and of very short duration. In the above examples, sleeping is the background action; the phone's ringing is the interrupting action.

What if I gave you a problem like this:

Je (regarder) la télé quand le martien (frapper) à la porte.

You'd ask yourself, first, what the background action was: watching TV or the Martian knocking? Obviously, watching TV occurs over a longer period of time than a sudden knock, so regarder should be in the imperfect. Thus:

Je regardais la télé quand le martien a frappé à la porte.

Try this one, which may be a bit more difficult:

Mes copains (arriver) quand je/j' (être) dans la salle à manger.

What's the background action? My being in the dining room or my friends' arriving? It helps to remember that, technically speaking, an arrival happens in a single moment-- the moment the arriving person or thing stops moving. It's only at the very instant that my friends are at the door that I can say they have arrived. Knowing this, we can say that:

Mes copains sont arrivés quand j'étais dans la salle à manger.
My friends arrived when I was in the dining room.

Try your hand at the following sentences.

1. Maman (parler) au téléphone quand notre chat (miauler). (miauler = to meow/mew)

2. Nous (conduire) quand nous (percuter) le cerf. (le cerf = the deer; percuter = to hit, crash into)

3. Quand il (casser) son crayon, je/j' (étudier).

4. Robert et Maxine (skier) quand le bâtiment (exploser). (bâtiment = building)

5. Tu (être) où quand le vol (avoir lieu)? (vol = theft; avoir lieu = to take place)


Final note: The imperfect tense can lead to strange spellings, especially the double-i in the nous form:

Nous étudiions (the imperfect stem of étudier is étudi-)
Nous skiions (the imperfect stem of skier is ski-)

Beware!


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le futur proche

The near-future tense in French is a way of saying "going to," and corresponds, for the most part, to the way we use "going to" in English. The basic construction in French involves the conjugated form of the verb aller plus the infinitive form of the required verb.

sujet + (ne/n') aller [conjugué] (pas) + infinitif

PRÉSENT: Je vais au ciné. (I'm going to the cinema.)
FUTUR PROCHE (affirmatif): Je vais aller au ciné. (I'm going to go to the cinema.)
FUTUR PROCHE (négatif): Je ne vais pas aller au cinéma. (I'm not going to go to the cinema)

Other examples:

1. Elle va faire la vaisselle après le souper.
2. Va-t-il comprendre?
3. Où vont-ils le trouver?

Example (3), above, brings in the idea of direct and indirect objects, and how to place them inside a futur proche construction. The grammatical rule is simple enough: place all objects, direct and indirect, right before the infinitive, and never inside the ne/pas negation. For instance:

1. Où va-t-elle le trouver? (Where's she going to find him/it?)
2. Je vais le faire dans un instant. (I'm going to do it in a moment.)
3. Elle va lui en parler demain. (She's going to talk to him about it tomorrow.)
4. Je te promets que je vais y réfléchir. (I promise you that I'm going to think about it.)
5. Nous allons leur proposer une solution. (We're going to propose a solution to them.)
6. Ils vont nous traquer. (They're going to track/hunt us.)
7. L'écureuil ne va pas les partager. (The squirrel's not going to share them.)
8. Tu ne vas pas le lire? (You're not going to read it?)
9. Ne vas-tu pas le faire? (Aren't you going to do it?)

Try changing the following sentences from the present to the near-future tense.

1. Je fais du jogging chaque jour.
2. Tu y penses.
3. Le fait-il?
4. Nous jouons au foot.
5. Visitez-vous Paris?
6. Elles prennent le train.
7. Pourquoi n'étudies-tu pas le chinois?
8. Pourquoi ne l'étudies-tu pas?

Answers (highlight the space between the brackets to see):

[
1. Je vais faire du jogging chaque jour.
2. Tu vas y penser.
3. Va-t-il le faire?
4. Nous allons jouer au foot.
5. Allez-vous visiter Paris?
6. Vont-elles prendre le train?
7. Pourquoi ne vas-tu pas étudier le chinois?
8. Pourquoi ne vas-tu pas l'étudier?
]


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les verbes avec l'auxiliaire être

I. Verbs conjugated in the present perfect with "to be" as the auxiliary

I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.

--the Bhagavad Gita, as quoted by scientist Robert Oppenheimer, one of the "fathers" of the atomic bomb

You don't hear it much in modern English, but in older English, it was common for some verbs, especially verbs of motion and verbs of change of state, to be paired with "to be" instead of "to have" in the past tense. The above Oppenheimer quote is an example of this: "I am become Death" instead of "I have become Death." In Stephen R. Donaldson's The One Tree, a powerful character named Infelice arrives at a gathering and announces her presence by saying: I am come.

This should alert you to the fact that not all verbs are conjugated in the present perfect with the auxiliary (i.e., helping verb) "to have." There are verbs that take "to be" as their auxiliary.

II. La maison d'être

In modern French (and in German, too, by the way*), a certain set of verbs is still conjugated in this manner. French teachers teach these verbs in several different ways, but one of the more prominent ways (aside from invoking "MRS. D.R. VANDERTRAMPP"**) is to use a visual aid called "La maison d'être," or "the House of être." See below:

(reference found here)


III. Some quirks of être verbs

As in older English, French être verbs (henceforth "E-verbs") are those that involve motion or a change of state. When you conjugate an E-verb au passé composé, the past participle must agree with the gender and number of the subject. To wit:

Je suis monté(e)
Tu es monté(e)
Il est monté
Elle est montée
Nous sommes monté(e)s
Vous êtes monté(e)(s) (remember, with "vous," this could be singular!)
Ils sont montés
Elles sont montées

Another quirk to remember is that certain E-verbs can also be conjugated with avoir if they're transitive (i.e., transferring their action from the subject to an object or objects; see here for more info). Some E-verbs that can also be A-verbs:

passer: J'ai passé le livre à mon frère. (I passed the book to my brother.)
descendre: J'ai descendu les bagages. (I took down the bags.)
         (Or, more sinisterly) J'ai descendu le flic. (I killed the cop.)
sortir: J'ai sorti la poubelle. (I took out the garbage.)
monter: J'ai monté mon sac à dos. (I've put up my backpack.)

There are others, but you get the idea. If the E-verb is being used transitively, i.e., with an object, then it's actually an A-verb in that context. Be very careful with this!


IV. Les verbes pronominaux et les verbes réfléchis: pronominal and reflexive verbs

There is an entire class of verb that is always conjugated with être: le verbe pronominal. A subtype of this verb is le verbe réfléchi, or reflexive verb. In the infinitive form, such verbs have the pronoun "se" in front of them.

The pronoun se normally means something like "(to) oneself/each other," but sometimes there's no good reason for the se to be there. In such cases, the pronoun se is simply a pronoun and implies no reflexivity. A good example of this is the verb s'apercevoir, to notice/realize, which can be both pronominal and reflexive.

PRONOMINAL: Elle s'aperçoit que son mari n'est pas revenu. (She realizes that her husband hasn't come back.)
REFLEXIVE: Elle s'aperçoit dans la glace. (She notices herself in the mirror.)

Elle s'est aperçue que son mari n'était pas revenu. (She realized her husband hadn't come back.)
Elle s'est aperçue dans la glace. (She noticed herself in the mirror.)

As you see above, the se plays no real role in the pronominal sentence.

Now look at the following reflexive verbs:

Ils se parlent. = They talk/speak to each other.
Ils se sont parlé. = They talked/spoke to each other.

Elles se voient. = They (fem.) see each other.
Elles se sont vues. = They saw each other.

Elle se parle. = She talks to herself.
Elle s'est parlé. = She talked to herself.

Did you notice something? In the above se parler examples, the participle parlé did NOT receive an "e" or an "s"! Why? Because in this instance, the pronoun se is an indirect object. The original verb is parler à [quelqu'un], so parler takes an indirect object. You can see this when parler is used non-reflexively:

Je parle à Jeanne. Je lui parle. (lui = indirect object)
J'ai parlé à Jeanne. Je lui ai parlé. (not "Je lui ai parlée.")
Je parle à Jeanne et Hélène. Je leur parle. (leur = indirect object)
J'ai parlé à Jeanne et Hélène. Je leur ai parlé. (not "Je leur ai parlées.")

Compare this to the past-tense rule for direct objects, where there is agreement in gender and number:

J'ai vu Jeanne hier. (Jeanne = direct object)
Je l'ai vue hier. (the participle is inflected as feminine singular)

Let's look at an example with a reflexive verb:

se donner des cadeaux = to give each other gifts

Ils se donnent des cadeaux. (présent)
Ils se sont donné des cadeaux. (passé composé)

Why not "se sont donnés," with an "s" at the end? Because the direct object is cadeaux, while se (each other) is the indirect object. No agreement necessary.

V. L'intérrogation! (The quiz!)

Ecrivez la bonne locution au passé composé.

1. Elle _____ (se voir) dans la glace.

2. Ils _____ (se donner) des compliments.

3. Il _____ (tomber) de la falaise (cliff).

4. Elle _____ (naître) en 1995.

5. Vous _____ (passer) par le même bâtiment trois fois!

6. Je lui _____ (passer) le sel.

7. Nous _____ (monter) les valises.

8. Elles _____ (descendre) de la montagne.

9. Ils _____ (aller) voir leur famille en France.

10. Tu _____ (sortir) le chien?

LES REPONSES (highlight the space between the brackets to see the answers):
[
1. s'est vue
2. se sont donné (no "s"!!)
3. est tombé
4. est née
5. êtes passé/passée/passés/passées ("vous" can be sing., pl., masc., fem.)
6. ai passé
7. avons monté
8. sont descendues
9. sont allés
10. as sorti
]

Vous avez eu 10 sur 10, j'espère...!

---

*German examples:
Ich bin gekommen. = I have come. (not Ich habe gekommen.)
Er ist gegangen. = He has gone. (not Er hat gegangen.)

**The mnemonic "MRS. D.R. VANDERTRAMPP" is an acrostic for remembering a cluster of être verbs. To wit:

Monter (motion)
Rester (motion, or lack thereof)
Sortir (motion)

Devenir (change of state)
Retourner (motion)

Venir (motion)
Aller (motion)
Naître (change of state)
Descendre (motion)
Entrer (motion)
Revenir (motion)
Tomber (motion)
Rentrer (motion)
Arriver (motion)
Monter (motion)
Partir (motion)
Passer (par) (motion)

"regular" verbs that behave a bit strangely

In French, there are some verbs that are conjugated almost like good old regular verbs, but with some slight alterations. I want to talk about two major types of "almost-regular" verbs: (1) the -eCer verbs and the (2) -cer/-ger verbs.

1. -eCer verbs

This type of verb has an infinitive form that ends in "e," plus a single consonant, plus "er." Examples:

s'appeler (to be named/called)
jeter (to throw)
amener (to bring)
péter (to burst, fart)
se promener (to walk/go walking)

Watch how each of the above verbs behaves when each is conjugated in the present indicative (l'indicatif du présent):

s'appeler
je m'appelle
tu t'appelles
il s'appelle
nous nous appelons
vous vous appelez
ils s'appellent

jeter
je jette
tu jettes
elle jette
nous jetons
vous jetez
elles jettent

amener
j'amène
tu amènes
il amène
nous amenons
vous amenez
ils amènent

péter
je pète
tu pètes
elle pète
nous pétons
vous pétez
elles pètent

se promener
je me promène
tu te promènes
il se promène
nous nous promenons
vous vous promenez
ils se promènent

Notice anything in common about the ways in which the above verbs "twist" themselves away from the regular "-er" form? Perhaps the first thing to note is that the first, second, and third-person singular conjugations are all spelled differently from the infinitive: s'appeler gets a double "l"; jeter gets a double "t"; amener gets a grave accent (un accent grave); péter does, too; and so does se promener. There's no rule governing what -eCer verb gets which type of conjugation; as with all irregular verbs, these "almost-regular" verbs will simply need to be memorized.

Note, too, that the first- and second-person plural forms (nous et vous) are conjugated normally, i.e., in the manner of regular "-er" verbs. Finally, note that the third-person plural forms (ils, elles) go back to being slightly irregular.

Keep this irregularity in mind whenever you see any -eCer verbs.



2. -cer/-ger verbs

This type of "-er" verb ends in -cer or -ger. Examples:

lancer (to throw, launch)
annoncer (to announce)
commencer (to begin, start, commence)
manger (to eat)
plonger (to dive, plunge)
voyager (to travel)

Watch what happens when we conjugate the "-cer" verbs.

lancer
je lance
tu lances
il lance
nous lançons
vous lancez
ils lancent

annoncer
j'annonce
tu annonces
elle annonce
nous annonçons
vous annoncez
elles annoncent

commencer
je commence
tu commences
on commence
nous commençons
vous commencez
ils commencent


And now, the "-ger" verbs:

manger
je mange
tu manges
il mange
nous mangeons
vous mangez
ils mangent

plonger
je plonge
tu plonges
elle plonge
nous plongeons
vous plongez
elles plongent

voyager
je voyage
tu voyages
on voyage
nous voyageons
vous voyagez
ils voyagent


What rule do you see at work here? In truth, the rule is as much about pronunciation as it is about conjugation: in French, it's often the case that the pronunciation of the letters "c" and "g" will change in front of the vowels "a" and "o." This rule operates in nouns just as it does in verbs:

le français (not le francais)

So you have to understand that, if you want your "c" to sound like an "s" in front of "a" and "o," you need to add the cedilla (la cédille), that little diacritical mark that dangles under the "c." If you forget the cedilla and mistakenly write "le francais," a Frenchman will read that and mentally hear "le franké." Not pleasant.

For a "g" to be a soft "g" in front of "a" and "o," you need to add an "e." Hence: nous voyageons.

As with any language, French is full of irregularities. These can drive a beginning student crazy, but it's best to learn them well now; otherwise, you may form bad habits in your writing and speech later on. Strive for perfection as you learn the language so that you don't doom yourself to speaking it with a laughable accent. Bad habits, once formed, are very hard to unlearn.


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les verbes CONNAÎTRE et SAVOIR

The French have two principal verbs meaning "to know." The verb connaître means "to know" in the sense of "to be familiar with." An example might be the sentence Romeo connaît Juliet. The verb savoir, by contrast, is more about knowing facts. Jacques sait que deux et deux font quatre.

Here are these irregular verbs' respective present-tense conjugations.

connaître
Je connais
Tu connais
Il connaît

Nous connaissons
Vous connaissez
Ils connaissent

savoir
Je sais
Tu sais
Elle sait

Nous savons
Vous savez
Elles savent

See if you can fill in the blanks with the proper verb, correctly conjugated.

1. _____-tu Michèle?

2. Vous _____ bien que votre frère n'est toujours pas arrivé.

3. _____-vous le Président des Etats-Unis?

4. Qui va gagner? Dieu _____ .

5. Nous ne _____ pas ce qui va se passer.

6. Je _____ que la France se trouve en Europe.

7. Elles ne _____ pas le patron.

8. _____-tu qui je suis? (Be careful! Something of a trick question. This is also the first line of "The Bourne Identity.")


ANSWERS (highlight to see):

1. Connais
2. savez
3. Connaissez
4. sait
5. savons
6. sais
7. connaissent
8. Sais ("savoir" is used because this question is about knowing a fact)



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les verbes réguliers

You might want to refresh your memory by visiting my old post on conjugation here.

Regular verbs in French come in three flavors: the "-er" verbs, the "-ir" verbs, and the "-re" verbs. If you've revisited the above-linked post, you'll be familiar with the terms infinitive and infinitive stem. Let's look at three typical regular verbs:

INFINITIVE: parler (to speak)
STEM: parl-

INFINITIVE: choisir (to choose)
STEM: chois-

INFINITIVE: vendre (to sell)
STEM: vend-

Conjugation for "-er" verbs involves tacking the following endings onto the stem:

1st person sing. = -e
2nd person sing. = -es
3rd person sing. = -e

1st person pl. = -ons
2nd person pl. = -ez
3rd person pl. = -ent

For parler (to speak/talk), this means a conjugation that looks like this:

je parle
tu parles
il parle

nous parlons
vous parlez
ils parlent



Conjugation for "-ir" verbs involves tacking the following endings onto the stem:

1st person sing. = -is
2nd person sing. = -is
3rd person sing. = -it

1st person pl. = -issons
2nd person pl. = -issez
3rd person pl. = -issent

For choisir (to choose), this means a conjugation that looks like this:

je choisis
tu choisis
elle choisit

nous choisissons
vous choisissez
elles choisissent



Conjugation for "-re" verbs involves tacking the following endings onto the stem:

1st person sing. = -s
2nd person sing. = -s
3rd person sing. = [no ending]

1st person pl. = -ons
2nd person pl. = -ez
3rd person pl. = -ent

For vendre (to sell), this means a conjugation that looks like this:

je vends
tu vends
on vend

nous vendons
vous vendez
ils vendent


Try your hand at conjugating some verbs. Fill in each blank with the appropriate for of the verb or, if the verb form is given, with the appropriate subject pronoun.

1. Max _____ la pelouse. (tondre = to mow)

2. _____ attendons le train. (attendre = to wait for, to await)

3. _____-tu russe? (parler)

4. Elle _____ sur mes chaussures. (vomir = to vomit)

5. _____ restes ici? (rester = to stay)

6. Nous _____ tout ce qu'il faut. (fournir = to furnish/supply)

7. Pierre et Madeline _____ dans la même banque. (travailler = to work)

8. Jacqueline _____ son chat. (nourrir = to feed)

9. Vous _____ souvent? (skier = to ski)

10. Les poules _____ des oeufs. (pondre = to lay [eggs])


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