Module Summary

1 La famille en voie de changement

Rafael J Maramag | SKE French | 20 May 2025

Nouns and Articles: Gender

• Nouns are naming words for people and things. In French, they are always categorised as either
feminine or masculine (grammatical gender). They are also almost always determined/identified by an
article which can be definite “le, la” (which translate to English ‘the’) or indefinite “un, une” (which
translates to English ‘a’ or ‘an’).
• To identify whether a noun is either masculine or feminine, here are a few rules and tips:
• Nouns or words pertaining to a person (or an animal), will always take the gender of the said person
(or animal) eg un garçon, une fille, le fils, la sœur, le chien, la chienne, le château (Exemptions: la
personne, un serpent, la girafe).
• Noun endings can help deduce if it is feminine or masculine (but not always):
• Often, words ending in -age, -ment, -eau are masculine eg le fromage, un médicament, le château,
l’homme, la femme
• Often, words ending in -sion, -tion, are feminine eg la circulation, la télévision, l’institution
• There are always exemptions to these so best to always try to employ the correct article to a new
word you encounter in order to aid in your familiarity and eventual mastery of nouns and genders.
French Articles
Definite, Indefinite, Partitive

• There are three types of articles in French

• Definite articles (English ‘the’) are: le (masculine), la (fem), l’ (masc or fem if the noun starts
with a vowel or silent h) and les (plural) eg le lycée, la certitude, l’homme, la femme, l’enfant,
les enfants
• Some uses of definite articles
• Used in the same way as the English ‘the’ eg Le livre est sur la table. (The book is on the
table).
• When the noun is the idea or the first word in the sentence in English or to express a generality
eg Les enfants dorment beacoup. (Babies sleep a lot.)
• With parts of the body eg Elle a les cheveux noirs. (She has black hair.)
• With countries eg Les Philippines sont un pays chad. (Philippines is a hot country.)
• With languages eg Le philippin est plus difficile à apprendre que le français. (Filipino is harder
to learn than French.)
French Articles
Definite, Indefinite, Partitive

• Indefinite articles (English ‘a’ or ‘an’): un (masc), une (fem), des

(plural - can be translated to ‘some’)
• Eg J'ai un frère et une sœur. (I have a brother and a sister)
• J'ai des frères et sœurs (I have siblings/ I have brothers and sisters)
• Je veux acheter une voiture ( I want to buy a car)
• Je veux manger des cacahuètes (I want to have peanuts)
• No article is needed after être and devenir eg Il est médecin. (He is
a doctor.) Nous devenous professeurs (We become teachers)
French Articles
Definite, Indefinite, Partitive

• Can be translated to English ‘some’ or ‘any’, these are partitive articles which are used to
specify an ‘unknown quantity’ of something. They are formed by the combination of “de”
and the definite article.
Before a vowel or silent
Masculine Feminine h Plural

DE + LE = DU DE LA DE L’ DE + LES = DES

• Often used when discussing eating or drinking as you normally eat and drink ‘some’ not
all of it.
• Tu manges de la viande ? (Do you eat [any] meat?)
• Ils ont des animaux de compagnie. (They have [some] pets.)
• J'ai acheté du pain. (I bought some bread).
• Nous avons bu de l’eau. (We drank water)
Nouns and Articles: Plurality

• If there is more than one of a noun, make it plural by adding -s

• Eg un chien, des chien, une famille, des familles, un lion, des lions
• Some nouns have distinct endings when they undergo the plural form:
• ending in -al —> -aux eg un journal, des journaux, un animal, des animaux
• Ending in -eau —> -eaux eg un bateau (a boat), deux bateaux (two boats)
• -eu —> -eux eg un neveu (a nephew), des neveux (nephews), un lieu (a place), des lieux (places)
[exceptions: un pneu (a tyre), des pneus (tyres)
• -ou —> oux eg un chou (a cabbage), des choux (cabbages)
• Nouns ending in -s, -x, -z don’t change in plural. Eg un cas, des cas, un choix, des choix
• Some nouns are always plural: les cheveux, les lunettes, des vacances, des toilettes
• A few nouns change completely from singular to plural: un oeil (an eye), deux yeux (two eyes, a pair of eyes)
The Present Tense
Le présent de l’indicatif

• The French present tense is used to express the following:

• Current action or situation (what is happening right now) eg Je suis fatigué. (I
am tired.)
• Habitual actions eg Nous allons a l’ecole tous le jours. (We go to school
everyday.)
• In French, there is no separate present progressive tense as in English
(formed by auxiliary verbs is/are and the gerund form of the verb -ing - [I am
singing.]
• The French present tense, therefore, has three English equivalents,
• eg <Je marche> can mean all of the following:
•
The Present Tense
Subject-verb agreement

• Clarify grammatical terms which are involved in the construction and

conjugation of the present tense in French.
• Verbs are words that denote action, state or occurrence. They have a
root/neutral form we call ‘infinitives’ which can be divided into three
groups:
• 1 - Verbs ending in -er : manger [to eat]
• 2 - Verbs ending in -ir : finir [to finish]
• 3 - Verbs ending in -re : vendre [to sell]
• Each group follows certain patterns of ‘conjugations’ to effect the tense
or mood required by the verb.
 The Present Tense
Subject pronouns

• It’s good to revise the subject pronouns (words which replace nouns - persons or things) at this point
to reinforce ‘conjugations’ - which is basically the transformation of the verb so that it agrees with the
subject (the doer of the action) in person and number.

Singular Plural
I Je X
You Tu X (informal)
He/She/One
Il/Elle/On X
(we)
We Nous X
You Vous X (formal) X
They Ils/Elles X
• Optional/additional: juxtapose sentence construction and formation in English and compare and
contrast where possible/relevant. It will show that it follows the same S-V agreement in person and
number [albeit having much simpler conjugations]
The Present Tense
Subject pronouns

• TU or VOUS? Both mean ‘YOU’ and VOUS is preferred when you’re addressing a
singular person formally, showing respect and a more unfamiliar relationship
whilst TU is used when talking to friends and family. When you’re addressing
more than one person though, your relationship won’t matter, VOUS should be
used. The choice only exists when you’re addressing a singular person.
Singular Plural

I Je X

You Tu X
He/She/One
Il/Elle/On X (informal)
(we)
We Nous X

You Vous X (formal) X

They Ils/Elles X
The Present Tense travailler to work

Conjugating Regular Verbs in -ER entrer to enter

to give;
donner to produce
PARLER
to speak; to talk

Je -E Je parle francais. aimer to love

Tu -ES Tu parles anglais. chercher

to look for; to
seek; to search

Il/Elle/On -E Elle parle espagnol.

to find;
trouver to discover
Nous -ONS Nous parlons allemand.

Vous -EZ Vous parlez philippin. penser to think

Elles parlent
Ils/Elles -ENT to explain;
vietnamien. expliquer to account for
The Present Tense
Conjugating Regular Verbs in -ER

• To conjugate regular verbs in -ER in the present tense, the following steps should be done: (we take
for example the verb PARLER [to speak])
• Omit the suffix or ending -ER to retain the stem PARL- and replace it with the following endings to
correspond with the subject pronouns respectively:
• Je : add suffix -E to stem PARL- to form PARLE = Je parle
• Tu : add suffix -ES to stem PARL- to form PARLES = Tu parles
• Il/Elle/On: add suffix -E to stem PARL- to form PARLE = Il/Elle/On parle
• Nous: add suffix -ONS to stem PARL- to form PARLONS = Nous parlons
• Vous: add suffix -EZ to stem PARL- to form PARLEZ = Vous parlez
• Ils/Elles: add suffix -ENT to PARL- to form PARLENT = Vous parlent
• The same pattern above should be followed for regular verbs in -ER (travailler, entrer, donner, to
name a few)
The Present Tense
Conjugating Irregular Verbs in -ER

ALLER EFFACER BOUGER APPELER

to go to erase to move to call
Je vais au
Je VAIS Je efface Je bouge J’appelle
cinema.
Tu vas a la
Tu VAS Tu effaces Tu bouges Tu appelles
plage.
On va au
Il/Elle/On VA supermarche.
Il efface Elle bouge On appelle

Nous allons au
Nous ALLONS Nous effaçons Nous bougeons Nous appelons
restaurant.
Vous allez a
Vous ALLEZ Vous effacez Vous bougez Vous appelez
l’ecole.
Ils vont a la
Ils/Elles VONT Ils effacent Elles bougent Ils appellent
bibliotheque.
The Present Tense
Conjugating Irregular Verbs in -ER

• Some irregular verbs undergo radical changes and do not necessarily follow any
pattern. It is important and useful to know them by heart as some of them are
amongst the most commonly used verbs in French.
• Take for example, ALLER (to go), Je vais, Tu vas, Il/Elle/On va, Nous allons, Vous
allez, Ils/Elles vont. It follows the regular pattern of conjugation in the present tense
for Nous and Vous only.
• Verbs ending in -CER follow the same pattern as in regular verbs in -ER present
tense apart from <Nous divorçons> the c becomes ç in order to keep the
pronunciation c as /s/ consistent throughout.
• For -GER, as above and add E after G for <Nous mangeons>
• For verbs such as appeler, jeter, acheter, céder, payer, employer - there’s a slight
spelling change for <Je, Tu, Il/Elle/On, Ils/Elles> subject pronouns.
The Present Tense
Conjugating Regular Verbs in -IR

CHOISIR AGIR FINIR

to choose; to select to act to finish
Je choisis l’argent plutôt que
Je -IS Je agis Je finis
toi.

Tu -IS Tu choisis le gagnant. Tu agis Tu finis

Il/Elle/On -IT Elle choisit la liberté. Il agit Elle finit

Nous choisissons de nous

Nous -ISSONS Nous agissons Nous finissons
taire.
Vous choisissez un camp, le
Vous -ISSEZ Vous agissez Vous finissez
nôtre ou le leur
Ils choisissent ce qui est le
Ils/Elles -ISSENT Elles agissent Elles finissent
mieux pour eux.
The Present Tense
Conjugating Regular Verbs in -IR

• To conjugate regular verbs in -IR: take out -IR and replace it with the corresponding endings
for each subject pronoun, we take for example FINIR (to finish) so that for
• Je : add the ending -IS to the stem FIN- = Je finis
• Tu : add the ending -IS to the stem FIN- = Tu finis
• Il/Elle/On : add the ending -IT to the stem FIN- = On finit
• Nous : add the ending -ISSONS to the stem FIN- = Nous finissons
• Vous : add the ending -ISSEZ to the stem FIN- = Vous finissez
• Ils/Elles : add the ending -ISSENT to the stem FIN- = Ils finissent
• There are a lot of verbs in -IR that follow that same pattern (accomplir, établir, convertir, to
name a few)
The Present Tense
Conjugating Irregular Verbs in -IR

• Verbs that end in -MIR, -TIR, -VIR usually follow this conjugation pattern in the
present tense: drop the final letter of the stem (the remaining part of the infinitive
verb after omitting -IR) in the singular subject pronouns only (je, tu, il/elle/on) before
adding these endings (we take DORMIR as an example)
• Je : -S (remaining stem DOR) = Je dors
• Tu : -S (remaining stem DOR) = Tu dors
• Il/Elle/On : -T (remaining stem DOR) = On dort
• Nous : -ONS (remaining stem DORM) = Nous dormons
• Vous : -EZ (remaining stem DORM) = Vous dormez
• Ils/Elles : -ENT (remaining stem DORM) = Elles dorment
The Present Tense
Conjugating Irregular Verbs in -IR

• Other verb endings such as -LLIR, -VRIR, -FRIR, follow the regular conjugation for -
ER verbs (eg COUVRIR - je couvre, tu couvres, on couvre, nous couvrons, vous
couvrez, elles couvrent)
• SOUFFRIR, OUVRIR, OFFRIR are some of the verbs that follow the same pattern as
above
• Verbs that end in -ENIR (such as TENIR, VENIR) follow this pattern in the present
tense. Let’s take VENIR as a model
• Je viens, Tu viens, Elle vient, Nous venons, Vous venez, Ils viennent
• Other verbs in -IR have unique conjugations that they don’t follow a pattern. And
one of the most important verbs in French ‘AVOIR’ [to have] falls into this category
J’ai Tu as Il/Elle/On a Nous avons Vous avez Ils/Elles ont
so it’s best to know it by heart.
The Present Tense
Conjugating Regular Verbs in -RE

VENDRE ENTENDRE RÉPONDRE

to sell to understand; to hear to answer; to reply
Je vends des vêtements
Je -S
d’occasion.
J’entends Je réponds

Tu vends des billets pour

Tu -S Tu entends Tu réponds
le match.
Il vend ses photos torrides en
Il/Elle/On - ligne
On entend Elle répond

Nous vendons des achats

Nous -ONS à prix réduits pour un Nous entendons Nous répondons
petit bénéfice
Est-ce que vous vendez
Vous -EZ Vous entendez Vous répondez
du matériel de camping ?

Ils/Elles -ENT Ils vendent Elles entendent Elles répondent

The Present Tense
Conjugating Irregular Verbs in -RE

• To conjugate regular verbs in -RE: take out -RE and replace it with the
corresponding endings for each subject pronoun (refer to the previous table)
• The most common -RE verbs are irregular so watch out for them and make sure
you take note of the irregularity or change in spelling; change in stem; change in
suffix or ending accordingly and make sure you master them so that they remain
in your vocabulary stash and grammar arsenal (boire, faire, vivre, sourire,
survivre, rire, to name several).
• Another unique irregular verb in -RE is certainly one of, if not, the most commonly
used verb in French - ÊTRE (to be) , so memorising it, not only in the present
tense, but also the other tenses used in French, should be a priority.

Je suis Tu es Il/Elle/On est Nous sommes Vous êtes Ils/Elles sont

Emphatic/ Stressed Pronouns
Pronom disjunctif; les pronoms disjoints

• Emphatic/Stressed Pronouns are personal pronouns (meaning

they can only replace persons) that are used to highlight or stress
the person they refer to.
• Moi, j’aime danser. (Me, I love to dance.)
• Elle, je la déteste ! (Her, I hate her!)
• Double up with the personal subject or object pronoun for more
emphasis.
• In the first sentence the emphatic pronoun MOI highlights the
subject I (JE), whilst ELLE puts emphasis on the direct object pronoun
her (LA)
Emphatic/ Stressed Pronouns
Other uses

• In compound subjects and objects (Rafa and I, Martina and her) or indeed, in groups of
pronouns connected by <and> [You and I, him and her, you and me], emphatic
pronouns should be used.
• Marie et moi** sommes allés au cinéma. [Marie and I went to the cinema.]
• Florent a invité Marie et moi* au mariage. [Florent invited Marie and me to the
wedding.]
Toi et moi** sommes plus que de amis. [You and I are more than friends.]
• Toi et moi** avons raison. [You and I are right.]
• ——-
• *Marie et moi (us) is the object pronoun but we still have to use moi as they are split by ‘and’ <et>

• **Remember subject-verb agreement here. Adding up the split subjects should determine which appropriate subject pronoun
should be used to agree with the conjugation of the verb. (Toi + moi = nous; toi + toi = vous; elle + lui = Ils) but this is optional
and should be saved for a more focussed session on the topic
Emphatic/ Stressed Pronouns
Other uses

• In single word responses - Qui veut du gâteau ? Nous ! [Who wants the
cake? Us!]
• Qui est-ce ? Eux ! [Who is it? Them!]
• Very simple sentences without verbs : C’est moi ! [It’s me!] Pas eux ! [Not
them!] Vous aussi ! [You too!]
• After certain prepositions :
• Nous dinons chez eux. [We are having dinner at their house]
• Je ne peux pas faire ça sans toi. [I can't do this without you.]
• In comparisons : Nous sommes meilleurs qu'eux. [We are better than
them]
 Pronominal verbs
Reflexive, Reciprocal, Idiomatic
• Pronominal verbs are verbs which require a reflexive pronoun. In French you will
either see the reflexive pronoun <se> or <s’> before the verb in its infinitive form
• eg se souvenir* (to remember) | s’habiller (to get dressed)
• There are three types of pronominal verbs namely:
• Reflexive verbs which indicate that the subject of the verb is performing or doing
the action upon [itself, himself, herself, oneself, themselves]. Usually have to do
with parts of the body, clothing, personal circumstance, or location
• Eg s’asseoir (to sit down) | se doucher (to take a shower) | se brosser <les
cheveux, les dents> [to brush (one’s hair) (one’s teeth)] |
• Eg Je me lève généralement vers 6 heures du matin : (I normally get [myself] up
at 6.00am)
• ——- *can only stand as a verb in its pronominal form as one cannot remember other else’s memories but
their own.
Pronominal verbs
Reflexive, Reciprocal, Idiomatic

• Reciprocal verbs indicate that there are two or more subjects acting
on one another/each other. The reflexive pronouns <one
another/each other> are used in English to denote reciprocity whilst
the reflexive pronouns paired with the right verb is the way to denote
reciprocity. Some examples:
• s’adorer (to adore each other/one another) | se détester (to hate
one another/each other) | se regarder (to look at each other) | se
marier (to get married)
• Vous vous mariez ! Quand recevrai-je l'invitation ?
• Nous nous regardent comme si c’était la premiére fois. [They are
looking at each other as if it were the first time]
 Pronominal verbs
Reflexive, Reciprocal, Idiomatic
• Idiomatic verbs are verbs that take on a different meaning when used with a reflexive pronoun.

Change in Non-pronominal
Pronominal form Meaning
meaning form

s’amuser to have fun amuser to amuse

s’appeler to be named appeler to call

s’entendre to get along entendre to hear

se tromper to be mistaken tromper to deceive

• Eg. Il m’a trompé. (He cheated on me.)
Je me suis trompé de bus. (I got on the wrong bus.)
• Je m'entends bien avec lui. (I get along well with him.)
J n’entends rien. (I hear nothing.)
• J ne m’entends bien pas avec la. (I don’t get along well with her.)
Expressing the Future
Near future; Simple future
PRESENT TENSE <ALLER> (to go) + INFINITIVE
• There are two ways to express
Je vais manger puis je vais dormir
the future tense in French
• Near future : Present tense of Tu vas partir de vacances

‘ALLER’ (to go) + INFINITIVE Verb Il va se marier

avec son amour
d’enfance
• Simple future : Conjugating Nous allons voyager le week-end prochain
verbs in
the simple future (translates to Vous allez faire les courses
“will…”)
Ils vont apprendre le français
• ALLER (to go) + Infinitive Verb
Expressing the Future
Near future; Simple future
SIMPLE FUTURE
Keep the INFINITVE for Verbs in -ER and -IR whilst omitting E for Verbs in *-RE and simply add the suffixes to the
corresponding subject as below. Notice that other verbs require a change in stem before adding the suffixes (see
column below)

No change in stem Changing stems Sample sentences

Je manger -ai avoir —> aur Je mangerai au restaurant ce soir.

Tu auras une surprise pour ton
Tu boir* -as être —> ser
anniversaire.
On pourra se marier dans la
Il/Elle/On finir* -a aller —> ir
matinée.
Nous ferons tout ce que nous
Nous visiter -ons pouvoir —> pourr
pouvons.

Vous apprendr -ez devoir —> devr Vous finirez votre travail á temps.

Ils/Elles vendr* -ont faire —> fer Ils devront étudier ce week-end.