Irregular verbs in French. Irregular verbs in French Irregular verbs in French

What is the secret to mastering French verbs? There is no big secret, but if you know the following subtleties, it will still be easier to learn them. By the way, in the article we will tell you how French children cope with verbs.

Translation from English of the article by Camille Chevalier-Karfis “The Secret To Mastering French Verb Conjugation” from the site frenchtoday.com

1. Difficulties of French grammar. What is the difference from conjugating English verbs

Present (present)

Take, verb “parler” (translated as “to talk”). Notice how it ends. In textbooks, endings are underlined, in bold or in red.

• Je parl e
• Tu parl es
• Il parl e
• Elle parl e
• On parl e
• Nous parl ons
• Vous parl ez
• Ils parl ent
• Elles parl ent

French Verb Conjugation - Present Tense

For an English-speaking student, for example, such a conjugation is unusual. In English you add"S"to the third person singular (he, she, it). Except for a few irregular verbs such asto be- to be, the verb will not change much:

• I speak, you speak, we speak, they speak... And further: he speaks, she speaks, it speaks

Looks simple compared to the French conjugation, doesn't it?

2. “Regular” French verbs

Verb "parler"is a “regular” verb. Such verbs are conjugated according to the above scheme.

Consider the verb"parler" more carefully:

• We remove "er"– the basis remains"parl".

Parler – er = parl

• To the stem we add the ending corresponding to the object pronoun.

Je= base + e = je parle

Tu= base + es = tu parles

Il, elle, on= base + e = il, elle, on parle

Nous= base + ons = nous parlons

Vous= base + ez = vous parlez

Ills, elles+ base + ent = ils, elles parlent

Students spend hours writing down these conjugations.

Grammar textbooks are crammed with them, in the present tense of the indicative mood and all other tenses and moods. The books promise that by practicing this way you will master verbs.

Let me disagree!

Conjugation of the verb “aller” - translation “to go”

3. Classification in French

French verbs are classified according tothree verb groups, the conjugation structure of which is “predetermined”.

1. First group= French verbs ending in "ER".
2. Second group= French verbs ending in "IR".
3. Third group= French verbs ending in "RE".

So far it looks logical.

IN ADDITION, French has a lot of “irregular” verbs: verbs with a non-obvious conjugation model and others.

The first group, the "ER" group, includes only one irregular verb: one that ends in "er" BUT does not follow the same conjugation pattern as the verb "parler".

The verb conjugation pattern is noteworthy"aller", which is ALSO very useful in French. Although, it is not final, because there are also verbs ending in “ER”, which are incorrect judging by their endings, but change the basis when spelled. Such as"jetter". But I'm getting off topic.

So, the first group of French verbs with"ER"at the end - solid. Many useful verbs are conjugated using this pattern.

However, the other two “groups” have many exceptions.

Yes, verbs like "grossir" (to gain weight), “finir” (to finish, “choisir” (to choose) - regular verbs in"IR". But most verbs ending in "IR", incorrect. These are the verbs:"venir" (to come), "tenir" (hold), “dire” (speak). The list goes on for a long time.

So how does a French learner know which verb is"IR"is right or wrong?

When there are so many exceptions to a group, and these exceptions are such common verbs, is it still necessary to focus on this group?

Do you need to spend hours cramming these “IR” and “RE” charts, or is it better to use that time honing in on common irregular verbs? Decide for yourself.

4. The secret to conjugating French verbs

The secret is this: watch videos on YouTube, listen to French speech and you will learn the correct conjugation of verbs implicitly, without focusing on grammar.

Let's take the verb "parler"in present time.

Verb forms after"Je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, elles"pronounced exactly the same ="parl".Just like a base.

After "nous" pronounced “ons” How [ɔ] nasal = “parlons”, after "vous" pronounced [e] = "parlez", as well as the infinitive form of the verb "parler". So, say “parlez = parler = parl”.

French is a living language. People use it every day to communicate. It comes easier if you learn it not only from textbooks.

The same logic applies to French.Passé Composeupon agreement:

• Parler, parlez, parl, parle, parls, parles = "parl"

They are all pronounced the same.

Therefore, when you speak, you should not even think about making agreement in your speech. This is only important in writing.

First you must learn to speak French. Find an audio or video of a verb or other word being spoken by a native speaker. Listen several times. Now pronounce the verb loudly and as closely as possible to the way a native speaker pronounces the word. This is what children do in France - they learn the language by ear.

5. The most rude and common mistakes in French verbs

If more attention was paid to the pronunciation of French verbs, I would not hear many students pronouncesilent "ENT" after ils/ellesin French verbs.

This is the most popular mistake. You can’t imagine how many advanced French students are literally “killed” by verbs.

And don't even get me started ontying and silent endings. Do you know that"S" V "nous" And "vous" never pronounced as “S”? Never, absolutely never say them!

This ending is either not pronounced or pronounced like"Z"when tying. It would be easier if you remembered this:

• Nous = noo

• Vous = voo

And we would learn right now the French verbs that requireelisionand pronounce them correctly.

6. Method of teaching French without audio materials

Learning French without audio materials is a crime given modern technologies and capabilities.

Everyone studying French independently or in a class must haveBescherelles or other tutorialsto check how verbs are written. If you plan to write in French, you will need a book like this. They are used by schoolchildren in France.

7. The key to successfully learning French is to prioritize

I'm not saying that all other teaching methods are bad. But approaches to learning are quickly becoming outdated. French is not taught to foreigners in the same way. There is a difference. French baby knows how to speak before she can write!

A five-year-old child would be surprised to find thatform "tu" usually requires "s". This is new to him/her.

Our adult mind works differently than a child's. Knowing grammar can and will help you master the French language.

• If you are learning French for communication: watch videos (from simple cartoons to serious films), listen to the radio and do not torment yourself too much with grammar.
• If you are learning a language to pass written exams: study the grammar, read books together with audio material and understand the logic of the teaching methods you use.

To hone French verbs, for example, you should:

1. Understand how verbs are pronounced, before teaching them.
2. Practice (with audio)with the most useful and commonly used verbs (both regular and irregular).
3. Learn a verb together with a pronoun. They should flow naturally from your mouth with the correct clipping, binding or constriction.
4. Teach out of order.Another stupidity from traditional teaching methods: in schools they force cramming from"je" before "ils". Your brain prioritizes conjugating verbs this way, and then you're surprised that you can't remember which form comes after"ils".
5. Memorize negative forms well, so that you don’t have to “add” negative particles every time, and they will quickly pop up in your head. The same goes for inversion or questioning.
6. Know when to use French tenses and moods. A beginner does not need to learn the French subjunctive mood. This shouldn't be his priority yet. Stay in the present indicative tense for now = this is the most commonly used tense (it can even accidentally play the role of the subjunctive since they often have the same verb form)!

8. How the French know which verb to use

If you think that all French people understand French conjugation and know when to use the subjunctive mood, you are far mistaken.

Yes, we learned this at school. But that was a long time ago. And we didn't necessarily pay attention to it (although French grammar and conjugation is a huge part of the French school curriculum, a much larger part compared to English grammar in English-speaking countries).

Instead we rely on our French flair. That's why we can speak a language because we can write it correctly.

For example, if I write:

Il faut que tu aies du courage = You will need courage.

I am very tempted to write“il faut que tu es du courage”. Cause? Because"tu es" widely used, and sounds just like"tu aies". Of course, this is not the same mood (indicative subjunctive - subjunctive). It's not even the same verb! (etre vs. avoir), but so strong is the habit of writing "tu es" that it is actually a very common mistake.

So how do I know it's the subjunctive mood? I would take the verb as an incorrect French subjunctive:

Il faut que tu saches... for example.

Even if the rest of the sentence doesn't work with"savoir", Then "il faut que"requires the subjunctive mood, that's enough.

Have fun learning French, and remember, repetition is the key!

Les verbes irréguliers (“le verbes irréguliers” - irregular verbs) are verbs whose changes in time, gender and number do not occur according to the rules. Despite the fact that irregular verbs cause difficulties even for native speakers, students are introduced to them already in the first stages of learning French. This is especially true for lexical units often used in speech.

Être

Être (“Être” - to be) becomes the first French verb that beginners become familiar with. The ability to conjugate ktre is necessary already at the initial stage of learning. Le présent de l`indicatif ("le présent de l`indicatif" - present indicative) of the verb "to be" looks like this:

je suis (“je syu`i” - I am)

nous sommes (“well catfish” - we are)

tu es (“tu e” - you exist)

vous êtes (“vu zet” - you are)

il est (“il e” - he exists)

ils sont (“il with” - they exist)

It should be noted that in the present tense the verb “to be” is not translated into Russian. If in French we say “Je suis Marie”, the translation of this phrase is “I am Marie”. Le participe passé (“le participe passé” - past participle) of the verb être - été. The verb “to be,” in addition to being used independently, can also be used as le verbe auxiliaire (“le verbe auxiliaire” is an auxiliary verb), thereby losing its main lexical meaning.

Le passé composé (“le pa`se kopo`ze” - complex past tense) is one example of using the verb “to be” as an auxiliary. A small group of verbs are conjugated with être, many of which denote movement, as well as reflexive verbs: nous sommes nés (“well som ne” - we were born), il s`est allé (“il se ta`le” - he left). Le participe passé of the verb “to be” agrees in gender and number with the pronoun.

Avoir

Avoir (“a`voir” - to have), along with the verb “to be,” should also be studied at the initial stage. Le présent de l'indicatif:

j`ai (“zhe” - I have)

nous avons (“well, for the sake of it” - we have)

tu as (“tu a” - you have)

vous avez (“voo za`ve” - you have)

il a (“il a” - he has)

ils ont (“il zo” - they have)

In most cases, the verb “to have” is not translated into Russian. The phrase “J`ai une pomme” (“zhe yun pom”) in Russian will sound like “I have an apple,” and not “I have an apple.” In addition, the verb avoir can be part of a construction, for example, “avoir peur” (“a’voir peur” - to be afraid). Le participe passé of the verb “to have” - eu.

Avoir can be used as an auxiliary verb in many grammatical tenses, the most commonly used being Le passé composé. Most verbs are used with avoir in this tense. Le participe passé can be consistent with les compléments d'objet direct ("le cople'ma do'bzhe di'rekt" - pronouns that perform the function of a direct object). For example: ma mère était très jeune quand elle m`a eue (“ma mayor était très jeune quand elle m`a eue” - my mother was very young when she gave birth to me).

Aller

Aller (“a`le” - to go, to walk) out of ignorance can be classified as a verb of the first group, since it has a characteristic ending. In fact, the verb belongs to the third group and is irregular. Le présent de l'indicatif:

je vais (“je ve” - I’m going)

nous allons (“well, let’s go” - we’re going)

tu vas (“tu va” - you are coming)

vous allez (“voo za`le” - you are coming)

il va (“il va” - he is coming)

ils vont (“il in” - they are coming)

In the past tenses, the verb “to go” is conjugated with être, as it denotes movement. Le participe passé of the verb - allé. aller itself acts as an auxiliary in Le futur immédiat (“le futur imé’dya” - time used to denote the near future; has no analogues in Russian, is translated using auxiliary words and special constructions): je vais manger (“zhe ve ma'zhe" - I'm going to eat now, I'm going to eat).

Venir

The use of venir (“ve`nir” - to come, to arrive) is often confused with the use of aller, which denotes movement from an object, while venir is movement towards an object. Le présent de l'indicatif:

je viens (“je vie” - I’m coming)

nous venons (“well, that’s it” - we are coming)

tu viens (“tu vie” - you come)

vous venez (“vou ve`ne” - you come)

il vient (“il vie” - he comes)

ils viennent (“il vienne” - they come)

Le participe passé of the verb - venu. In the past tenses, venir is conjugated with the verb “to be,” which means the participle must agree with the pronoun. As an auxiliary venir, it is used in Le passé immédiat (“le pa`se ime`dya” - a tense denoting an action that has just occurred; there are no equivalents in Russian, translated using additional words): je viens de vous dire (“zhe Vieux deux deer” - I just told you).

Irregular verbs should be studied gradually, trying to use new material in written and oral speech as often as possible.

Good afternoon friends!

Today I would like to tell you about irregular verbs in French. This grammatical concept is characteristic of many European languages. Usually this group includes words that change to construct sentences in some way that is not typical for other verbs. Irregular verbs of the French language, unlike, for example, English, are divided into a separate, third group. Despite the fact that the group is not the first or second, many of these words are learned at the very beginning of acquaintance with the language. Why? I'll tell you about this a little later.

Division into groups

First, let's remember how they are distributed in French according to their type of conjugation. In total, there are three types of changes in words denoting action, by tense (3 groups):

• The first ones end in –er.
• The second ones end in – ir.
• The third ones are irregular, ending in – re, – oir. But insofar as these are exceptions, then in their ranks there will be enough with endings of the first and second groups.

The peculiarity of the latter is that each of them not only changes the ending depending on the conjugation, but also the stem. What does it look like? Look at the table where the conjugations of several irregular verbs are given, and you will see the difference:

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Have you noticed that the endings are repeated for everyone? These are: -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent/ont. But the basics change quite significantly: savoir – sai/sav; devoir – doi(v)/dev. How to find out what stem will be in the word you need? Just learn it. Please note that I deliberately offer you a table of changes in Les verbes irréguliers in time Présent. Other tenses have their own endings for their formation and auxiliary words, so conjugating irregular verbs in them is much easier.

Essentials

Newcomers often wonder how many Les verbes irréguliers there are? There are more than a hundred exceptions, but you shouldn’t learn everything at once. To begin with, select those that you will probably find useful in your speech and which are the most frequent. Lists with translations of the most commonly used ones will help you:

1. aller - to go
2. - have
3. boire – to drink
4. connaître – to understand, to know
5. courir – to run
6. croire – think, count
7. dire – to speak
8. écrire – to write
9. envoyer - to send
10. - be
11. faire - to do
12. fuir – to run away
13. lire - read
14. mettre – to put
15. mourir – to die
16. naître – to be born
17. nuire – to harm
18. ouvrir – to open
19. partir - to leave
20. prendre – take
21. recevoir - to receive
22. rire - laugh
23. savoir - to know
24. venir – to come
25. vivre – to live
26. voir – to see
27. vouloir – to wish

To make it easier to change them to form the present, past or future tense, there are special tables that indicate the rules of conjugation. Remember how to use returnables?

Four main

Finally we come to the question of why the third group of verbs is studied at the very beginning. The thing is that it contains four verbs that are auxiliary for the formation of complex tenses. These words are: Être (to be, is), avoir (to have), aller (to go, to walk), venir (to come, to arrive). I will tell you more about this in topics dedicated to these important helpers. I propose to look at examples of their conjugation in the illustrations:

The difference between aller and venir is also shown here: the first means the movement of an object, and the second means movement TO an object.

By and large, there is nothing complicated, especially considering the frequency of use of these words in speech. Exceptions occur in different languages, but they always have some features that make them easy to remember. The main thing is to see these features.

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Oral training and reading French literature will help you easily use any form of irregular verbs. I hope I helped you master such an important section of grammar as conjugating the third group of French verbs. Share this information with your friends and learn languages ​​while playing. You can read even more simple and useful things about languages ​​on my blog, subscribe and don’t miss out.

I was with you, Nataya Glukhova, I wish you a good day!

French is one of the most popular languages ​​in the world, along with English and Spanish. Every year in Russia more and more people begin to learn this language.

Verbs in French are easy to remember and generally change according to the same principle. There are regular and irregular verbs, the first, second and third groups.
The correct ones are those that are conjugated the same way for each group. You just need to find out which group the verb belongs to; this can be done by looking at its ending.
Verbs ending in -er belong to the first group. Verbs ending in -ir belong to the second group. These verbs have the suffix -iss in the plural in the present tense. Verbs that in the indefinite form have the endings -er, -re, -oir, as well as those that have the ending -ir, but do not have the suffix -iss in the plural of the present tense belong to the third group.
Such verbs are called irregular; they do not have specific conjugation rules. Each such verb changes according to a separate pattern, but, fortunately, there are few of them. It is believed that irregular verbs were formed in the past and have survived to this day. It also happens that the “irregularity” of one verb begins to spread to others. This is how entire groups arise, consisting of irregular verbs that are conjugated the same way.

For example, in the verb

Most likely, changes occurred at the early stages of development, and already in modern French the various forms of the verb remained in different forms. Later this conjugation scheme was retained and is now used with other verbs, for example the verb “aller”:

Among the verbs of the third group, several subgroups are distinguished, which will make them easier to remember:

Example of conjugation of some verbs:

The most common irregular verbs:
Avoir, apprendre, écrire, connaitre, acheter, répondre, aller, savoir, venir, prendre, sortir, comprendre, partir, faire, devoir, voir, dormir, lire, croire, entendre, boir, attendre, finir, vouloir, choisir, pouvoir, réussir, ouvrir, conduire, cueillir, eteindre, mentir, construire, mettre, traduire.

The verb occupies a special place in French. French grammar pays perhaps more attention to this part of speech than to all others. Those who study French know that there are three types or three categories of verbs with their own endings and their own conjugation.

Today we want to talk about French verbs of the third group. As you know, this is the most capricious group of verbs, the so-called irregular verbs. They have their own conjugation, each verb has its own endings. What is the third group? What verbs are included in this group? How to conjugate verbs of this group? We will try to answer all these questions in this article, so stay with us.

How to recognize the third group?

Friends, let’s do a little analysis to identify the third category of verbs in the French language. To do this, we first need to remember the endings of the first and second groups:

1st group – verbs in er: parler, partager, terminer, bouger, etc.

1st group – verbs in ir: finir, rougir, grandir, etc.

As you can see, everything is extremely clear and simple. And conjugating the verbs of the first two groups is easy and simple, but we will talk more about this in our other articles. With the third group the situation is somewhat different. There are no clear rules for all verbs in this group; each verb is conjugated differently.

3rd group – verbs in:

ir: venir, partir, assaillir, etc. (unless the stem in the first person plural of the present indicative mood does not end in iss).

re: comprendre, attendre, rendre, entendre, etc.

oir: voir, pouvoir, vouloir, etc.

er: aller

Well, friends, we have recognized the third group, now we will deal with the conjugation of these verbs.

Conjugate verbs of the third group

We want to draw your attention to Présent more than to the Future Simple, Imparfait or other French verb tenses. In other tenses there are auxiliary verbs and their own endings for the formation of these tenses.

Présent requires greater responsibility in the formation of its forms and endings. How to learn to conjugate verbs of the third group in the present tense? First, you need to learn how to highlight the stem in the verb, then add the necessary endings to it. Now we will give some examples of conjugation of each type of verbs of the third group, and highlight the endings for a clearer understanding of the situation. So, let's start conjugating.

As you can see, friends, the endings of the verbs are the same: – s , –s , –t , –ons , –ez , –ent. But each verb has its own base. There is no clear rule about how to recognize this whole thing, all these tricks in conjugation. There is no other choice but to memorize every verb that interests you. It’s clear that not everyone can learn all the verbs. But you can choose for yourself the most popular, most frequent ones, and learn them.

Separately, a few words should be said about the verbs “to be”, “to have” and “to go”. These capricious words require their own special form of conjugation, so everyone who studies French should know them.

We showed you just a few examples of conjugating irregular French verbs. To learn more, you need to read as much and as much French as possible, as well as do exercises and tasks regarding verbs.

We wish you success and make friends with the third group of verbs as soon as possible!