FrenchLesson 2 of 3 in the course French verbs

French Verb Groups, Conjugation Forms, and Compound Tenses

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

French verbs change form to express who is acting, when an action occurs, and the speaker’s attitude toward it. This lesson introduces conjugation, the three traditional verb groups, and the main categories of French verb forms.

Conjugation is the variation in a verb’s form, especially its endings, according to grammatical features. These include person (such as I, you, or we), tense (such as present or future), and mood (such as indicative or subjunctive).

All flashcards

Conjugation
Variation in a verb’s form according to grammatical features such as person, tense, and mood.
Finite form
A verb form conjugated for grammatical mood and tense.
Compound tense
A tense formed from a conjugated auxiliary followed by a past participle.
Second-group verb
An -ir verb whose present participle ends in -issant.
Spelling change in -oyer and -uyer verbs
The y changes to i before a silent e, as in j’envoie.

Quiz questions

  1. When does a past participle used with avoir agree in French?Answer: When its direct object comes before the participle.
  2. What spelling change preserves the /s/ sound in a -cer verb before an ending beginning with a or o?Answer: Change c to ç.
  3. Which auxiliary do French reflexive verbs use in compound tenses?Answer: Être.
  4. Where is the French passé simple mainly used?Answer: In writing, especially literature.
  5. What stem does aller use in the future and conditional?Answer: ir-

Based on the Wikipedia article French conjugation, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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