|
| French language and
grammar pages : verbs
and verb tables |
Group
1 verbs: verbs in -er .
Verbs with an infinitive ending in -er
are the most common standard category of verbs in French.
They have mostly evolved from Latin verbs ending in
-are .
With the exception of the verbs aller
and envoyer
all French verbs whose infinitive is formed with the -er
ending are conjugated regularly or with very small variations..
Sample verb porter
- to wear or to carry
This
is the standard model.
Variations: Slight
variations on the standard model occur with verbs ending in:
- cer and - ger , examples foncer,
manger
-é*er
and e*er
- examples répéter,
procéder, appeler, harceler, protéger
-ier -
example modifier
-oyer
- example tutoyer
See below for
details.
Note: For each tense, a
sample English equivalent is given for the first person
singular.
Table 1.
|
Tenses (indicative) : |
| Person |
Present
(I
carry, I am carrying, I wear, I am weraing ...) |
Future
(I
will carry / wear) |
Imperfect
(I
was carrying / wearing) |
| 1st
Singular. |
je
porte |
je
porterai |
je
portais |
| 2nd
Singular |
tu portes |
tu
porteras |
tu
portais |
| 3rd
Singular |
il /
elle / on ... porte |
il
(..) portera |
il
(..) portait |
| 1st
plural |
nous portons |
nous
porterons |
nous
portions |
| 2nd
plural |
vous portez |
vous
porterez |
vous
portiez |
| 3rd
plural |
ils /
elles portent |
ils
porteront |
ils
portaient |
| Notes |
|
|
|
Table 2
|
Tenses (indicative): |
| Person |
Preterite
(I
carried / wore) |
Perfect
(passé composé)
(I
have carried / worn) |
Pluperfect
(I'd
carried / worn) |
| 1st
Singular. |
je
portai |
j'ai
porté |
j'avais
porté |
| 2nd
Singular |
tu
portas |
tu as
porté |
tu
avais porté |
| 3rd
Singular |
il
(..) porta |
il
(..) a porté |
il
avait porté |
| 1st
plural |
nous
portâmes |
nous
avons porté |
nous
avions porté |
| 2nd
plural |
vous
portâtes |
vous
avez porté |
vous
aviez porté |
| 3rd
plural |
ils
portèrent |
ils
ont porté |
ils
avaient porté |
| Notes |
rare except in 3rd person
|
|
|
Table 3
|
Tenses (indicative): |
| Person |
Future
perfect
(I
will have carried / worn) |
Conditional
(I
would carry / wear) |
Past
conditional
(I
would have carried / worn) |
| 1st
Singular. |
j'aurai
porté |
je
porterais |
j'aurais
porté |
| 2nd
Singular |
tu
auras porté |
tu
porterais |
tu
aurais porté |
| 3rd
Singular |
il
aura porté |
il
porterait |
il
aurait porté |
| 1st
plural |
nous
aurons porté |
nous
porterions |
nous
aurions porté |
| 2nd
plural |
vous
aurez porté |
vous
porteriez |
vous
auriez porté |
| 3rd
plural |
ils
auront porté |
ils
porteraient |
ils auraient
porté |
| Notes |
|
|
|
Table 4
|
Imperative |
|
Present participle |
| Person |
(carry / wear)
|
|
(carrying, wearing) |
| 2nd
singular |
porte |
|
portant |
| 1st
plural |
portons |
|
|
| 2nd
plural |
portez |
|
|
| Notes |
|
|
|
Table 5
|
Tenses (subjunctive) : |
| Person |
Present
(may carry / wear, may be carrying /
wearing) |
preterite
(might
carry
/ wear) |
Perfect
(parfait)
(may
have carried / worn) |
| 1st
singular. |
je
porte |
je
portasse |
j'aie
porté |
| 2nd
singular |
tu
portes |
tu
portasses |
tu
aies porté |
| 3rd
singular |
il,
elle... porte |
il
portât |
il ait
porté |
| 1st
plural |
nous
portions |
nous
portassions |
nous
ayons porté |
| 2nd
plural |
vous
portiez |
vous
portassiez |
vous
ayez porté |
| 3rd
plural |
ils
portent |
ils
portassent |
ils
aient porté |
| Notes |
|
(very rare) |
|
Further subjunctive cases - such as a pluperfect subjunctive -
can be formed, though are very rarely used in modern French.
Examples:
He's wearing a green shirt.
-
Il porte une chemise verte
The men were carrying a very heavy trunk.
Les
hommes portaient une malle très lourde..
Carry
it !!
Portez le !
She may be wearing a red dress this evening.
Il se peut qu'elle porte une robe rouge ce soir.
She may have been wearing a red dress that
evening.
Il se peut qu'elle ait porté une robe rouge ce soir-là.
Variations on the standard model
► Type 1. -cer and -ger , examples foncer,
manger
Verbs
in -cer and -ger need to add an e
before endings starting with o, in
order to soften the consonant:
Example: manger
- present tense
Je
mange, tu manges il mange, nous mangeons,
vous mangez, ils mangent
► Type 2.
-é*er
or - e*er-
examples répéter,
procéder, appeler, harceler, protéger
( * represents any
consonant)
With verbs in - é*er, the
é
becomes an è
before the endings -e
and -ent
Example: répéter
- present tense
Je
répète, tu répètes il
répète, nous répétons, vous
répétez, ils répètent
With
verbs in -e*er,
before the endings -e and -ent, either the
consonant is doubled,
or the preceding e becomes
an è
Example: s'appeler
- present tense
je
m'appelle
tu t'appelles
il/elle s'appelle
nous nous appelons
vous vous appelez,
ils/elles s'appellent
Example: geler
- present tense
je
gèle, tu
gèles,
il gèle,
nous gelons, vous gelez, ils gèlent
Example: se
promener - present tense
je
me promène,
tu te promènes,
...... nous nous promenons ...... ils se promènent
Note; some
verbs combine features of both type 1 and type 2: example
protéger.
► Type 3
-ier -
example modifier
The only small
difference here is that the i is
dropped before endings already starting with an i (in
other words before the imperfect endings -ions and -iez)
So the first person plural imperfect
tense of modifier
is:
nous modifions, not nous
modifiions
►
Type 4
- oyer -
example tutoyer
With
verbs in -oyer,
before the endings starting with an -e
(except -ez) ,
the y becomes
an i
Example: tutoyer
- present tense
Je
tutoie, tu tutoies, il tutoie, nous tutoyons,
vous tutoyez, ils tutoient.
The verb envoyer
has further irregularities in the future
tenses : j'enverrai,
etc.
|
Copyright
© About-France.com 2011-2012
|