AQA GCSE FRENCH VERBS

AND TENSES

GCSE FRENCH VERBS AND TENSES – this booklet will help you manage verbs and tenses successfully. Use it whenever you are preparing speaking and writing for Controlled Assessments to be more accurate and to vary your language more and impress the examiner and achieve a better grade!

1. Personal Pronouns – This is the first thing you need to know before anything else about verbs. The personal pronouns in French are different to English especially you.

Je J’

I I (before a vowel or h)

Tu You – singular / informal

Il He

Elle She

On One/We (generalising)

2. Tenses – Now you have to get to grips with CONJUGATING verbs – this means knowing how to use them in different tenses (past, present and future) with each personal pronoun (I, you, he, she etc.

There are different tenses and they are different to English – there is only one simple present and past e.g. There is only one way of saying I do and I am doing – je fais I did and I have done – j’ai fait

3. The Infinitive The infinitive form of a verb is the verb in its basic form when it is not conjugated with a personal pronoun. Je cours tous les jours – I run everyday is not the infinitive because it is conjugated in the present tense with I – je. The infinitive is also the version of the verb which will appear in the dictionary (e.g. courir (run) / jouer (play) / faire (do) The infinitive form of a verb is usually preceded by to, but not always (e.g. to see, to play, to do).

Nous We

Vous You ( plural / formal )

Ils They (masculine)

Elles They (feminine)

PAST PRESENT FUTURE Le passé composé L’imparfait

Le présent

Le futur proche Le futur simple

I did/have done I was doing/used to do j’ai fait je faisais

I do /am doing je fais

I am going to do I will do je vais faire je ferai

PLURAL PRONOUNS

SINGULAR SINGULAR SINGULAR SINGULAR SINGULAR PRONOUNS

Look at these examples: J’aime courir le matin - I like to run in the morning J’ai besoin de courir tous les jours - I need to run every day. Je peux courir très vite - I can run fast Je dois courir pour rester en forme - I must run to stay fit. When the verb is conjugated with I, you, he, she etc. there are verbs that follow a pattern, regular verbs and unfortunately ones that don’t play by the rules, irregular verbs.

Infinitives on the AQA vocabulary list * The verbs in bold are all regular verbs Health aider – to help aller bien/mieux – to be well/better (s’)arrêter – to stop avertir – to warn avoir mal – to hurt avoir peur – to fear boire – to drink désintoxiquer – to detox from drugs/alcohol (se) détendre – to unwind/relax s’entraîner – to train épuiser – to exhaust se droguer – to take drugs fumer – to smoke gâcher – to waste/spoil goûter – to taste/try s’inquiéter – to worry

manger – to eat mener – to lead se passer – to spend (time) prendre – to take se relaxer – to relax renoncer – to give up reprendre connaissance – to regain consciousness respirer – to breathe sauvegarder – to save (a life) sentir – to feel/smell tousser – to cough tuer – to kill vivre – to live

Relationships and Choices aggresser – to attack appeler - to call (s’) appeler – to be called avoir…ans – to be ….years old baiser – to kiss bavarder – to chat brutaliser – to bully cacher – to hide compter sur – to rely on connaître – to know (a person/place) consacrer – to devote contribuer – to contribute critiquer – to criticise (se) débrouiller – to sort oneself out/manage déranger – to disturb

(se) disputer – to argue douter – to doubt (s’)entendre avec– to get on with envahir – to invade épouser – to marry éviter – to avoid féliciter – to congratulate fêter – to celebrate gêner – to bother (s’)habituer à – to be used to hésiter – to hesiter humilier – to humiliate loger – to stay/reside lutter – to fight/struggle menacer – to threaten mourir – to die naître – to be born

(se) plaindre – to complain plaire - please pleurer – to cry porter – to carry/wear realiser – to realise/achieve réflechir – to reflect/think about refuser – to refuse remercier – to thank

respecter – to respect rêver – to dream rire – to laugh (se) séparer – to separate signer – to sign surveiller – to watch/supervise/mind tomber amoureux de – to fall I love with

Free Time and the Media acheter – to buy aller – to go (s’)amuser – to have fun/enjoy annuler - to cancel chanter – to sing choisir – to choose cliquer – to click contrôler – to check/control courir – to run danser – to dance déchirer- to tear up dépenser – to spend (money) dérouler …en bas/en haut – to roll down/up deviner – to guess donner – to give échanger – to exchange effacer – to erase/rub out/delete emballer – to pack/wrap (s’)ennuyer – to get bored envoyer – to send essayer - to try faire du lèche-vitrine – to window shop faire les économies- to save (money) faire les courses – to go shopping faire les magasins – to go shopping feuilleter – to skim through gagner – to win/earn imprimer – to print jouer – to play

laisser – to leave lancer – to throw/launch lire – to read marquer (un but) – to score (a goal) mettre de l’argent à côté – to put money aside mettre en ligne – to publish/post online nager – to swim patiner – to skate pousser – to push (se) promener – to go for a walk regarder – to watch recevoir – to receive/get rembourser – to reimburse replacer – to replace remplir – to fill remporter (un prix) to win a prize (se) rencontrer – to meet sauter – to jump sortir – to go out suggérer – to suggest surfer – to surf taper – to type télécharger – to download tirer – to pull toucher – to touch vendre – to sell venir – to come voir – to see

Holidays (s’)approcher – to approach/get nearer atterrir – to land (se) baigner – to swim chercher – to look for commander – to order composter – to validate/stamp a ticket conduire – to drive confirmer – to confirm coûter – to cost décoller – to take off diriger – to steer/pilot/direct doubler – to double/dub/overtake durer – to last expliquer – to explain (se) garer – to park indiquer – to indicate louer – to hire/rent marcher – to work(function)/walk (se) mettre en route – to set off/get on the road

paraître – to appear partager – to share partir – to leave partir en vacances – to go on holiday quitter – to leave (house/hotel) ralentir – to slow down recommender – to recommend remarquer –to notice réserver – to reserve revenir – to return/go back stationner – to park suivre – to follow tourner – to turn visiter – to visit voler – to fly voyager – to travel

Home and Local Area allumer – to light/switch on appuyer – to lean/press (s’)asseoir – to sit down (se) coucher – to go to bed descendre – to go down donner sur – to look out on dormir – to sleep entrer – to enter éteindre – to put out/turn off faire du babysitting – to do babysitting faire du jardinage – to do gardening faire du ménage – to do housework garder - to look after habiter – to live

laver – to wash (se) lever – to get up mettre – to put (on) monter – to climb/go up montrer – toshow nettoyer – to clean (se) réveiller – to wake up téléphoner – to telephone (se) trouver – to find/be located

Environment augmenter – to increase construire – to bulid croire – to believe cultiver – to grow détruire – to destroy

disparaître – to disappear endommager – to damage gaspiller – to waste jeter – to throw produire – to produce

ramasser – to pick up recycler - to recycle réduire – to reduce

réutiliser – to reuse sauver – to save

School and Future Plans apprendre – to learn commencer – to start comprendre – to understand copier – to copy demander – to ask dessiner – to draw détester – to hate discuter – to discuss échouer – to fail écouter – to listen empêcher – to prevent enseigner – to teach étudier – to study finir – to finish frapper – to hit/strike mentir – to lie organiser – to organise oublier – to forget

parler – to speak passer – to sit (an examination) penser- to think perdre – to lose poser (une question) – to ask (a question) pouvoir – to be able to (can) préparer – to prepare punir – to punish redouble – to re-sit a year répeter – to repeat répondre –to reply réussir – to pass/succeed réviser – to revise savoir – to know (se) taire – to be quiet/shut up traduire – to translate travailler – to work utiliser – to use

Current and Future Jobs choisir – to choose décider – to decide devenir – to become distribuer – to distribute/deliver/give out livrer – to deliver

(se) rappeler - to remember répondre – to reply améliorer – to improve assurer – to assure

4. Le Présent (The Present) – Regular Verbs

When to use it: To talk about what is happening at the moment To talk about what happens usually/normally

Time phrases: Tous les jours (everyday), chaque jour (everyday), le matin (in the mornings), parfois,

(sometimes), lundi ( on Monday) , le weekend ( at the weekend) etc. Regular Verbs

1) ER verbs: take off the –ER and add the endings –parler – to speak

je parle I speak / am speaking

tu parles You speak / are speaking (sing/informal)

il parle he speaks / is speaking

elle parle she speaks / is speaking

nous parlons we speak / are speaking

vous parlez you speak / are speaking (pl/formal)

ils parlent they speak (m/mixed)

ells parlent they speak (f)

2) IR verbs: take off the –IR and add the endings – finir – to finish

je finis I finish/ am finishing

tu finis You finish / are finish ing (sing/informal)

il finit he finishes / is finishing

elle finit she finishes/ is finishing

nous finissons we finish / are finishing

vous finissez you finish / are finishing (pl/formal)

ils finissent they finish (m/mixed)

ells finissent they finish (f)

3) RE verbs: take off the –RE and add the endings - vendre – to sell

je vends I sell/ am selling

tu vends You sell / are selling (sing/informal)

il vend he sells / is selling

elle vend she sells/ is selling

nous vendons we sell / are selling

vous vendez you sell / are selling (pl/formal)

ils vendent they sell (m/mixed)

elles vendent they sell (f)

5. Le Présent (The Present) – Irregular Verbs – the most common irregular verbs

aller (to go) je vais tu vas il/elle/on va nous allons vous allez ils/elles vont

avoir (to have) j’ai tu as il/elle/on a nous avons vous avez ils/elles ont

boire (to drink) je bois tu bois il/elle/on boit nous buvons vous buvez ils/elles boivent

connaître (to know a person or place)

je connais tu connais il/elle/on connaît nous connaissons vous connaissez ils/elles connaissent g. je connais Paris / Mme Carpenter

devoir (to have to / must) je dois I have to / I must tu dois il/elle/on doit nous devons vous devez ils/elles doivent

dire (to say/to tell) je dis tu dis il/elle/on dit nous disons vous disez ils/elles disent

être (to be + adjective/noun)

je suis I am (e.g. clever) tu es you are il/elle/on est he is nous sommes we are vous êtes you are ils/elles sont they are (Careful: don’t use for I am plus verb e.g. I am playing = je joue)

faire (to do/ to make + activity expressions) je fais tu fais il/elle/on fait nous faisons vous faîtes ils/elles font

lire (to read) je lis tu lis il/elle/on lit nous lisons vous lisez ils/elles lisent

partir (to leave) je pars tu pars il/elle/on part nous partons vous partez ils/elles partent

pouvoir (to be able/can/may)

je peux I can / I am able to / I may

tu peux il/elle/on peut nous pouvons vous pouvez ils/elles peuvent

prendre (to take / to have food) je prends tu prends il/elle/on prend

nous prenons vous prenez ils/elles prennent

savoir (to know something)

je sais I know (how) tu sais il/elle/on sait nous savons vous savez ils/elles savent

venir (to come) je viens tu viens il/elle vient nous venons vous venez ils/elles viennent

vouloir (to want to) je veux tu veux il/elle veut nous voulons vous voulez ils/elles veulent

voir (to see) je vois tu vois il/elle voit nous voyons vous voyez ils/elles voient

Other irregular verbs to watch out for: if you come across them, look in the dictionary to find out how to use them! The following verbs you must LEARN THEM BY HEART mettre (to put), courir (to run), apprendre (to learn) recevoir (to receive), rire (to laugh), sourire (to smile), conduire (to drive), croire (to believe), naître (to be born), mourir (to die)

je vais au cinema ( I go to the cinema)

j’ai les cheveux blonds (I have blond hair)

je bois du coca (I drink coke)

je dois aller au collège (I must go to school)

je fais la cuisine; il fait ses devoirs

(remember: le lit = bed!!)

je pars à cinq heures (I leave at 5 o’clock)

je peux venir (I can come)

ils prennent un café (they’re having coffee)

je sais nager (I know how to swim)

mon ami vient chez-moi ( my friend comes to my house)

je veux jouer au

foot ( I want to

play football)

Samedi, je vois mon copain (on Saturday, I see my friend.)

6a Le Passé Composé (Past Perfect Tense)

When to use it: To talk about something that happened or has happened in the past and is now finished e.g. I played / I have played

Time phrases: La semaine dernière (last week), hier (yesterday), etc. Le passé composé is made up of 2 parts: 1) The auxilary verb or helping verb (the present tense of AVOIR or ÊTRE) + 2) The past participle or PP (donné, parlé, sorti, fait, etc) Le Passé Composé with Regular AVOIR Verbs The present tense of avoir (helping verb) + the past participle (PP)

Donner – to give (PP – donné )

Finir- to finish (PP – fini )

Vendre – to sell (PP – vendu)

J’ai donné – I gave I have given

J’ai fini – I finished I have finished

J’ai vendu – I sold I have sold

Tu as donné – You gave

Tu as fini – You finished

Tu as vendu- you sold

Il/Elle a donné – He/She gave Il/Elle a fini – He /She finished

Il/Elle a vendu – He/She sold

Nous avons donné – We gave Nous avons fini – We finished

Nous avons vendu – We sold

Vous avez donné – You gave Vous avez fini – You finished

Vous avez vendu- You sold

Ils/Elles ont donné – They gave Ils/Elles ont fini – They finished

Ils/Elles ont vendu- They sold

6b Le Passé Simple with Irregular AVOIR verbs There is a group of irregular verbs that take AVOIR in le passé composé. These verbs are formed with: Present tense of avoir ( Helping Verb) + the irregular past participle (PP) Irregular past participles: Infinitive PP avoir: to have: eu e.g. j’ai eu – I had /I have had être: to be: été boire: to drink: bu e.g. il a bu – he drank / he has drunk connaître: to know: connu courir: to run: couru e.g. elle a couru – he ran/he has run croire: to believe: cru devoir: to have to: dû dire: to say/tell: dit e.g. nous avons dit – we said / we have said écrire: to write: écrit faire: to make/do: fait e.g. ils ont fait – they did / they have done lire: to read: lu mettre: to put: mis ouvrir: to open: ouvert pouvoir: to be able: pu e.g. tu as pu – you could/have been able prendre: to take: pris recevoir: to receive: reçu savoir: to know: su e.g. ils ont su – they knew/they have known voir: to see: vu vouloir: to want: voulu e.g. vous avez voulu – you wanted/you have wanted Examples: Prendre – to take Avoir- to have Être – to be J’ai pris J’ai eu J’ai été Tu as pris Tu as eu Tu as été Il/Elle a pris Il/Elle a eu Il/Elle a été Nous avons pris Nous avons eu Nous avons été Vous avez pris Vous avez eu Vous avez été Ils/Elles ont pris Ils/Elles ont eu Ils/Elles ont été

6c Le Passé Simple with ÊTRE Verbs A small group of verbs take the present tense of “être” as their helping verb. They usually describe some sort of transition or movement e.g. go, leave, arrive Present tense of être ( Helping Verb) + (PP) past participle être - to be je suis …. tu es … il est… elle est.. on est … nous sommes… vous êtes… ils sont…. elles sont ... Infinitive PP Mourir: to die: mort e.g. il est mort – he died/he has died Retourner: to return: retourné Sortir: to go out: sorti e.g. elle est sortie – she went out/has gone out Venir: to come: venu Arriver: to arrive: arrive e.g. Je suis arrivé(e) – I arrived/have arrived Naître : to be born: né Descendre: to go down: descendu Entrer: to enter: entré e.g. Tu es entré – you entered/have entered Tomber: to fall: tombé Rester: to stay: resté e.g. nous sommes resté(e)s – we stayed/have stayed Aller: to go out: allé Monter: to go up: monté Partir: to leave: parti e.g. ils sont partis – they left/have left

*The past participle must 'agree with' who did the action.

So if the person was female you must add an extra -e to the end of the past participle: e.g. elle est partie - she left.

If two or more females did the action you must add -es: e.g. elles sont parties - they left.

If one male did the action, then the past participle does not change: e.g. il est parti - he left.

If two or more males did the action add -s: e.g. ils sont partis - they left.

7. L’Imparfait ( The Imperfect Tense)

When to use it: To talk about something that was happening or used to happen in the past or to describe the way something was in the past (the weather was fine last Tuesday).

Phrases: Pendant que je lisais le livre, il est rentré (While I was reading the book, he came back)

Quand j’étais jeune (when I was young)

Il faisait du soleil pendant mes vacances ( It was sunny during my holiday)

How to form l’imparfait:

1) Take the “nous” part of the present tense: e.g nous donnons – we give

2) Drop the –ons: e.g donn -

3) Add the endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient, -aient

Examples: Parler- to speak Finir – to finish Lire- to read Je parlais Je finissais Je lisais Tu parlais Tu finissais Tu lisais Il/Elle parlait Il/Elle finissait Il/Elle lisait Nous parlions Nous finissions Nous lisions Vous parliez Vous finissiez Vous lisiez Ils/Elles parlaient Ils/Elles finissaient Ils/Elles lisaient *There is only one irregular verb in l’imparfait Être – to be J’étais I was / I used to be Tu étais You were/ used to be Il/Elle était He/She was / used to be Nous étions We were/ used to be Vous étiez You were / used to be Ils/Elles étaient They were / used to be

8. Le Futur Proche ( Near Future Tense )

When to use it: To talk about what we are going to do. Time phrases: Ce soir (this evening), ce week-end (this weekend), le week-end prochain (next

weekend), l’année prochaine (next year), etc. Le futur proche is made up of 2 parts: 1) Aller (to go) in the present tense + 2) The infinitive (verb in its unchanged form ending in –er, -ir, -re)

Pronoun Aller

Infinitive

écouter – to listen regarder – to watch

faire – to do jouer – to play

aller – to go voir – to see

chanter – to sing danser – to dance étudier – to study

visiter –to visit parler – to speak

retrouver –to meet

Je I

vais am going

Tu You

vas are going

Il/Elle He/She

va is going

Nous We

allons are going

Vous You (pl)

allez are going

Ils/Elles They

vont are going

9. Le Futur Simple (Simple Future Tense)

When to use it: To describe what will happen at a certain time in the future.

Time phrases: Demain (tomorrow), la semaine prochaine (next week).

Regular Verbs

Regular –er, -ir and –re* verbs all follow the same rules in the future:

1) Take the infinitive (title) of the verb: e.g donner, finir 2) Add the endings : -ai, -as, -a , -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, -ont * There is a slight difference for –re verbs. Before adding the endings you must take off the “e”. For example: vendre = to sell / I will sell = Je vendrai Parler – to speak Partir - to leave Prendre – to take Je parlerai Je partirai Je prendrai Tu parleras Tu partiras Tu prendras Il/Elle parlera Il/Elle partira Il/Elle prendra Nous parlerons Nous partirons Nous prendrons Vous parlerez Vous partirez Vous prendrez Ils/Elles parleront Ils/Elles partiront Ils prendront Futur Simple: Irregular Verbs For irregular verbs in the futur simple, you only need to learn the stem as the endings are the same. For example: être: ser / I will be: je serai Irregular verbs: Infinitive future stem future aller: to go: ir: j'irai I will go avoir: to have: aur: j'aurai I will have envoyer: to send: enverr: j'enverrai I will send devoir: to have to: devr: je devrai I will have to être: to be: ser: je serai I will be faire: to make/do: fer: je ferai I will do/make pleuvoir: to rain: pleuvr : il pleuvra It will rain pouvoir: to be able: pourr: je pourrai I will be able to recevoir: to receive: recevr je recevrai I will receive savoir: to know: saur: je saurai I will know voir to see : verr : je verrai I will see

10. Le Conditionnel ( The Conditional Tense) When to use it: To talk about things that would happen in the future if another condition is met. *You should already know Je voudrais – I would like Regular verbs Regular –er, -ir and –re* verbs all follow the same rules in the conditional: 1) Take the infinitive of the verb, e.g donner, finir 2)Add the endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient, -aient (These are the same endings as l’imparfait!) * There is a slight difference for –re verbs. Before adding the endings you must take off the “e”. For example: boire = boir / I would drink = je boirais Donner – to give Finir - to finish Prendre – to take Je donnerais Je finirais Je prendrais Tu donnerais Tu finirais Tu prendrais Il/Elle donnerait Il/Elle finirait Il/Elle prendrait Nous donnerions Nous finirions Nous prendrions Vous donneriez Vous finiriez Vous prendriez Ils/Elles donneraient Ils/Elles finiraient Ils/Elles prendraient Le Conditionnel: Irregular verbs If you know the irregular stems for the futur simple, you know them for le conditionnel (they are exactly the same!) Use the irregular stems from the future tense and add the endings: Infinitives Stem Conditional aller: to go: ir: j'irais - I would go avoir: to have: aur: j'aurais – I would have envoyer: to send: enverr: j'enverrais – I would send devoir: to have to: devr: je devrais - I would have to/should être: to be: ser: je serais - I would be faire: to make/do: fer: je ferais - I would do/make pleuvoir: to rain: pleuvr il pleuvrait – It would rain pouvoir: to be able: pourr: je pourrais - I would be able to/might revevoir: to receive: recevr je recevrais – I would receive

11a Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are quite common in French but less so in English. You can recognise them in English,

when you say ‘myself, yourself…’ after the verb or ‘get, gets’ before a verb:

I wash myself I get washed he gets showered we get ready they ask themselves

In French they use the equivalent of ‘myself’ but it goes directly before the verb:

je me lave (I myself wash)

se laver (to get washed/to wash oneself):

je me lave I get washed/I wash myself nous nous lavons we get washed/we wash ourselves

tu te laves you get washed vous vous lavez you (lot) get washed

il se lave he gets washed ils se lavent they get washed

elle se lave she gets washed elles se lavent they get washed

Here’s a list of some common reflexives verbs in French

se préparer to get ready se demander to ask oneself/wonder s’arrêter to stop (oneself)

s’habiller to get dressed se lever to get up se doucher to get showered

se maquiller to put on makeup s’amuser to have fun s’embêter to get bored

se réveiller to wake up se coucher to go to bed s’appeler to be called/name is

se brosser to brush se peigner to comb se fâcher to get angry

se promener to go for a walk se reposer to rest se raser to shave

se disputer to argue s’entendre to get on se présenter to introduce oneself

s’intéresser à to be interested in se casser to break/to scarper se dépêcher to hurry up

se blesser to injure oneself se fouler to sprain oneself s’entraîner to train

11b Reflexive verbs in the perfect tense (passé composé)

Reflexive verbs in the past tense use être as the helping verb and then you add the PP.

Remember the PP has to agree with the personal pronoun – e for feminine and s for plural.

s’amuser – to have fun/enjoy oneself

je me suis amusé(e) I enjoyed myself

tu t’es amusé(e) You enjoyed yourself

il s’est amusé He enjoyed himself

elle s’est amusée She enjoyed herself

nous nous sommes amuse(é)s We enjoyed ourselves

vous vous êtes amuse(é)(s ) You enjoyed yourself/selves

ils se sont amusés They enjoyed themselves

elles se sont amusées They enjoyed themselves

12 Useful Extras – Try to use some of these verb phrases in your work to impress the examiner !

a. These are good for descriptions and opinions !

C’est It is

Ce sera It will be

c’était It was

Il y a There is or there are

Il y aura There will be

Il y avait There were or used to be

b. After having….. To say after having done something you need : Après + avoir or être (helping verb) + PP e.g. Après avoir fini mes devoirs - After having finished my homework.. Après être arrivé(e) au collège - After having arrived at school… Après s’être douché(e) - After having showered…

c. Have just done…. To say you have just done something you need : Personal Pronoun + verb venir + de/d’ + infinitive

e.g. Je viens de vendre ma maison - I have just sold my house Il vient de sortir avec ses amis - He has just gone out with his friends Nous venons d’acheter une voiture - We have just bought a car

d. To have to/must/be necessary to do something To say you have to /must you can use Il (+ pronoun -me/te/vous )+ verb falloir + infinitive e.g. Il faut porter un uniforme - It is necessary to/You must wear a uniform Il ne faut pas manger en classe - You must not eat in class Il me faut partir à 8 heures - I have to leave at 8 o’clock Il te faut prendre un comprimé - You must take a tablet

e. While/By doing something….

En + present participle ( ______ ing _______ ant)

The present participle is formed by dropping the ending –ons from the nous form of the present

tense and adding –ant.

e.g. nous parlons - we speak parlant - speaking

nous finissons - we finish finissant - finishing

nous répondons - we reply répondant - replying

nous dormons -we sleep dormant - sleeping

Only avoir, être and savoir are irregular

avoir- to have ayant - having

être- to be étant - being

savoir – to know sachant - knowing

e.g. En faisant du jogging, je reste en forme - By jogging, I stay fit

Je me bronze en lisant un magazine – I sunbathe while reading a magazine

mon frère regarde la télé en mangeant - My brother watches the TV while eating.

13 Verbs and Negatives

When you want express a negative in French you need to make a sandwich of ne and pas or another

adverb (e.g. jamais/plus/rien) with the verb in the centre.

You have already used ne ….. pas

e.g. je n’ai pas de - I don’t have.. je n’aime pas .. I don’t like je ne joue pas au foot – I don’t play

football.

Different negatives

ne ….. pas - not

ne …..plus - no longer

ne ….. jamais - never

ne….rien - nothing

ne ….personne – nobody

Negatives in different tenses

ne …..ni…..ni – neither…..nor

ne….nulle part - nowhere

ne….. guère - hardly

ne …..que – only

NE…PAS = not/do not

Présent Passé Composé Imparfait Futur

Je ne joue pas Je n’ai pas joué Je ne jouais pas Je ne jouerai pas

Je n’écoute pas Je n’ai pas écouté Je n’écoutais pas Je n’écouterai pas

NE…RIEN/RIEN…NE=nothing

Je ne mange rien Je n’ai rien mangé Je ne mangeais rien Je ne mangerai rien

Je ne fais rien Je n’ai rien fait Je ne faisais rien Je ne ferai rien

Rien ne marche Rien n’a marché Rien ne marchait Rien ne marchera

NE…PERSONNE/PERSONNE…NE=nobody

Je ne vois personne Je n’ai vu personne Je ne voyais personne Je ne verrai personne

Je n’aime personne Je n’ai aimé personne

Je n’aimais personne Je n’aimerai personne

Personne ne danse Personne n’a dansé Personne ne dansait Personne ne dansera

NE…JAMAIS = never

Je ne lis jamais Je n’ai jamais lu Je ne lisais jamais Je ne lirai jamais

Je ne fume jamais Je n’ai jamais fumé Je ne fumais jamais Je ne fumerai jamais

NE..PLUS= no longer, no more

Je ne bois plus Je n’ai plus bu Je ne buvais plus Je ne boirai plus

Je ne chante plus Je n’ai plus chanté Je ne chantais plus Je ne chanterai plus

Je n’ai plus de problème Je n’ai plus eu de problème

Je n’avais plus de problème

Je n’aurai plus de problème