ADVANCED French Verb-Handling
Welcome to 'advanced' learners of French.
This special section of VerbExpress.net is devoted to helping motivated self-learners achieve a high proficiency in handling Frenchverb-tenses and their powerful variations.
We will explore secrets and provide helpful tips that will make mastery easier and faster than is possible with traditional approaches.
A note about the meaning of 'Advanced':
There are at least two ways of thinking about advanced verb-handling in French.
One way is to imagine that the more actual tenses you know, the more advanced you become.
This is, of course, partly true, but any expert will agree that true mastery only comes when you know how to skillfully handle all the variations within each tense.
The list below gives a snapshot of the possible variations of any given tense that an advanced user will know.
All these tenses and variations are featured throughout the VerbExpress.net site.
At any time, you can instantly find any verb tense by name by going to the French Verb Tense Index (from the Top Menu), or from HERE.
The possible variations of any given tense that an advanced user will know include the following:
Each of these variations are shown along with every French verb tense (where applicable) throughout the site.
1) The Actif form: (Temps simple, Temps composé, or Temps combiné)
(39 tenses are included in the French Verb Tense Atlas here on the verbexpress site.)
2) The Passif form:
Passif direct (2 options for each tense and variation, where applicable),
Passif indirect (1 option, where applicable),
Passif pronominal (2 options, where applicable),
3) The Pronominal form: (up to 8 different types for each tense and variation)
4) The Semi-auxiliaires principaux (up to 4 in each tense and variation.
These include: 'Aller', 'Devoir', 'Pouvoir', and 'Vouloir')
So let's jump right in.
- First, if you are absolutely new to French verbs - and you are motivated - it is strongly recommended that you take the Grand Tour of the French Verb System HERE before continuing. Then return to this area and dive in.
Now, buckle up and let's look at the Absolute Foundations for Mastering the French verb tenses.
I'll list them, then explain each one in turn.
Although these foundations are not in order of priority, each one of them is important to achieve real French verb-tense mastery.
Each foundation is covered below with explanations and/or links to relevant pages on this site.
See this as a secret doorway into the secrets of power communication in French. Come back here anytime for a refresher.
We will look at general concepts here, rather than all the minute details which are covered elsewhere on this site.
Links to those areas are included below as we proceed.
The participe passé
|
The Participe passé Enables the instant creation of thousands of useful adjectives. |
See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations. See HERE for Rules of Agreement |
|
The Participe passé Enables the construction of all compound tenses. |
See |
|
The Participe passé Enables the creation of all direct passive ideas. |
See |
-
The Infinitif présent
Enables the extraction of 2 other verb tenses from itself.
See 'Note 1' below for details.
Enables unlimited verb-chaining.
See HERE for an introduction to verb chains (with examples and translations.)
-
The Présent-Indicatif
Enables the extraction of 4 other verb tenses from itself.
See 'Note 2' below for details.
- The Infinitif passé
Enables adding the idea of 'past completion' of any action to ideas in any time frame.
See HERE for rules, examples, and translations.
- The skillful use of pronouns with verbs, including:
- The concept of direct and indirect objects and their effect on pronoun selection and use,
- How to select the correct pronouns, and
- Where to place them in the temps simple, the temps composé, the temps combiné, and with semi-auxiliary verbs.
- When to make the French participe passé agree in gender and number with the pronouns. This affects spelling and often affects pronunciation.
NOTE: An entire section will be coming to show the correct and skillful use of French pronouns, so stay tuned!
Notes:
1) The 'Infinitif présent' enables the creation of 2 additional simple tenses and 3 additional Compound tenses. See instructions further below.
Simple tenses (temps simples) created from the Infinitif présent (Meanings HERE) are:
The 'Futur simple' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
The 'Conditionnel présent' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Compound tenses (temps composés) created from the Infinitif présent, the Futur simple, and the Conditionnel présent of 'avoir' and 'être' + participe passé of the main verb are as follows:
Infinitif présent of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Infinitif passé' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Futur simple of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Futur antérieur' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Conditionnel présent of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Conditionnel passé' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
2) The Présent-Indicatif enables the creation of 4 additional simple tenses and 5 additional Compound tenses. See instructions further below.
Simple tenses (temps simples) created from the Présent-Indicatif:
The 'Participe présent' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
The 'Imparfait' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
The 'Impératif présent' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
The 'Subjonctif présent' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Compound tenses (temps composés) created from the Présent-Indicatif of 'avoir' and 'être' + participe passé of the main verb:
Participe présent of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Participe passé composé' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Présent-Indicatif of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Passé composé' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Imparfait of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Plus-que-parfait' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Impératif présent of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Impératif passé' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
Subjonctif présent of avoir or être + participe passé creates The 'Subjonctif passé' - (See HERE for examples and meanings.)
So in all, the Infinitif présent, the Présent-Indicatif, and their derivatives result in 8 'Simple' tenses and 8 'Compound' tenses. (The total from Notes 1 and 2 above)
We use just two tenses to create all the others!
In quick review, the auxiliary verbs (avoir, être) enable the creation of 8 Compound tenses.
| Passé composé is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Présent-Indicatif) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
| Plus-que-parfait is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Imparfait) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
| Futur antérieur is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Futur simple) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
| Conditionnel passé is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Conditionnel présent) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
| Infinitif passé is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Infinitif) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
| Impératif passé is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Impératif présent) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
| Participe passé composé is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Participe présent) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
| Subjonctif passé is created by: |
avoir or être (in the Subjonctif présent) + Participe passé (of the main verb) See HERE for complete rules, exceptions, examples, and translations |
Quick Rules on How to Apply Some of the Tips listed above:
Use the 'Infinitif présent' to extract 2 more tenses:Create the Futur simple:
The Infinitif présent can create the 'Futur simple' by adding the endings (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, and –ont) to the Infinitif form of almost any verb.
* An Infinitif that ends in "re" has the "e" removed before adding the endings. * There are also a few verbs that have a special spelling in the Futur simple. * See the complete rules, exceptions, and examples with translations HERE. Create the Conditionnel présent:
In the same way, the Infinitif présent can create the 'Conditionnel présent' by adding the endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, - ions, -iez, and –aient) to the Infinitif form of almost any verb.
* An Infinitif that ends in "re" has the "e" removed before adding the endings. * There are also a few verbs that have a special spelling in the Conditionnel présent. * See the complete rules, exceptions, and examples with translations HERE. |
Use the 'Présent-Indicatif' to extract 4 more tenses:Create the Participe présent:
The Présent-Indicatif can create the 'Participe présent'. Take the "nous" form of a verb in the Présent-Indicatif, remove the "-ons" ending. Then add the ending (-ant).
*There are also a few verbs that have a special spelling in the Participe présent. * See the complete rules, exceptions, and examples with translations HERE. Create the Imparfait:
The Présent-Indicatif can also create the 'Imparfait'. Take the "nous" form of the verb, remov the "-ons" ending. Then add the endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, and –aient).
* The verb "être" has a special spelling in the Imparfait. The endings shown above are simply added after "ét-" * See the complete rules, exceptions, and examples with translations HERE. Create the Impératif présent:
The Présent-Indicatif can create the 'Impératif présent' by simply using the "tu, nous, and vous" forms of the Présent-Indicatif form of almost any verb.
* There are also a few special spelling rules in the Impératif. * See the complete rules, exceptions, and examples with translations HERE. Create the Subjonctif présent:
Finally, the Présent-Indicatif can create the 'Subjonctif présent'. There are two parts to the approach:
A) For the subjects "je,tu, (il / elle / on), (ils / elles)", take the "ils" form of the verb of the Présent-Indicatif. Remove the "-ent" ending. Add the endings (-e for je), (-es for tu), (-e for il / elle / on), (-ent for ils / elles)
B) For the subjects "nous and vous", take the "nous" form of the verb in the Présent-Indicatif. Remove the "-ons" ending. Add the endings (-ions for nous), and (-iez for vous)
* There are also a few verbs that have a special spelling in the Subjonctif présent. * See the complete rules, exceptions, and examples with translations HERE. |