Posts under "Grammar"

The 100 Most Frequently Used French Verbs

Posted by Mr. Transparent No Comments
Dec 14 2011

 

C’est vrai, on n’a pas trop le choix (it’s true, one doesn’t have much choice): Memorizing de nouveaux verbes (new verbs) is absolutely essential to learn, and ultimately master, la langue française.

But the one question that often challenges the new students is always the same: “Par où doit-on commencer?” (“Where should one start from?”)

One way to go is to begin with the les verbes les plus fréquemment utilisés (the most frequently used verbs) of the French language.

For that, we’ll turn to the precious 1971 “Dictionnaire des fréquences de la langue française” of the C.N.R.S., which lists amid its pages the 100 most frequently used French verbs.

 

French Byki Deluxe 4

 

Apprendre de nouveaux verbes français (Learning new French verbs) with BYKI has never been easier, more addictive, and more fun—Ça vaut vraiment le coup d’essayer (it’s really worth the try!)


The list of the 100 French verbs featured here is the result of an impressive statistical linguistic study conducted by the C.N.R.S. some 40 years ago

Learn more about the C.N.R.S.: Acronym for “Centre national de la recherche scientifique” (“National Center of Scientific Research”), the largest government research organization in France


Les verbes les plus fréquemment utilisés (the most frequently used verbs):

1. Être (to be)

2. Avoir (to have)

3. Faire (to do)

4. Dire (to say)

5. Pouvoir (to be able to)

6. Aller (to go)

7. Voir (too see)

8. Savoir (to know)

9. Vouloir (to want)

10.Venir (to come)

11. Falloir (to be necessary)

12. Devoir (must)

13. Croire (to believe)

14. Trouver (to find)

15. Donner (to give)

16. Prendre (to take)

17. Parler (to speak)

18. Aimer (to love, to like)

19. Passer (to pass)

20. Mettre (to put)

21. Demander (to ask)

22. Tenir (to hold)

23. Sembler (to seem)

24. Laisser (to let)

25. Rester (to stay)

26. Penser (to think)

27. Entendre (to hear)

28. Regarder (to look)

29. Répondre (to answer)

30. Rendre (to return)

31. Connaître (to know)

32. Paraître (to appear)

33. Arriver (to arrive)

34. Sentir (to feel)

35. Attendre (to wait)

36. Vivre (to live)

37. Chercher (to search)

38. Sentir (this time meant as “to smell”)

39. Comprendre (to understand)

40. Porter (to carry)

41. Devenir (to become)

42. Entrer (to enter)

43. Retenir (to keep)

44. Écrire (to write)

45. Appeler (to call)

46. Tomber (to fall)

47. Reprendre (to resume; to recapture)

48. Commencer (to begin)

49. Suivre (to follow)

50. Montrer (to show)

51. Partir (to leave)

52. Mourir (to die)

53. Ouvrir (to open)

54. Lire (to read)

55. Arrêter (to stop)

56. Servir (to serve)

57. Jeter (to throw)

58. Recevoir (to receive)

59. Monter (to go up)

60. Lever (to raise)

61. Agir (to act)

62. Perdre (to lose)

63. Écouter (to listen)

64. Continuer (to continue)

65. Sourire (to smile)

66. Apercevoir (to perceive)

67. Reconnaître (to recognize)

68. Ajouter (to add)

69. Jouer (to play)

70. Marcher (to walk)

71. Garder (to keep)

72. Manquer (to miss)

73. Retrouver (to retrieve)

74. Descendre (to go down)

75. Rappeler (to remind)

76. Quitter (to quit)

77. Tourner (to turn)

78. Finir (to finish)

79. Crier (to scream)

80. Courir (to run)

81. Permettre (to allow)

82. Songer (to think of sth.)

83. Offrir (to offer)

84. Présenter (to present)

85. Apprendre (to learn)

86. Souffrir (to suffer)

87. Exister (to exist)

88. Envoyer (to send)

89. Expliquer (to explain)

90. Manger (to eat)

91. Valoir (to be worth sth.)

92. Oublier (to forget)

93. Rentrer (to go back)

94. Pousser (to push)

95. Occuper (to occupy)

96. Compter (to count)

97. Empêcher (to prevent)

98. Plaire (to please)

99. Travailler (to work—Barely made the list!!) :)

100. S’écrier (to exclaim)

Become a Superman of la Grammaire française!

Posted by Mr. Transparent 3 Comments
Nov 26 2011

 

Don’t be just good, or “average good”, in French grammar; why not become un Superman (or a Wonder Woman) of la grammaire française!

(Picture suggested by a fan of The French Blog)

For that, retour aux bases (back to the basics):

Starting with identifying les classes grammaticales (grammatical classes), which are today’s topic: le verbe (the verb), le nom (the noun), l’adjectif (the adjective), le déterminant (the determiner), le pronom (the pronoun), la conjonction (the conjunction), la préposition (the preposition), and l’interjection !

* * *

* LES CLASSES GRAMMATICALES *


 
CLASSE GRAMMATICALE LA FONCTION L’ACCORD (The Agreement)

 EXEMPLES
LE VERBE
(Verb)		 Le verbe is all about l’action
L’action made by whom? By le sujet (the subject)
 How to conjugate le verbe? It’s le temps de l’action (the time of the action) which determines the conjugaison

 Être, avoir, pardonner (to forgive), aimer (to love, to like), croire (to believe), pouvoir (to be able), comprendre (to understand)
LE NOM
(Noun)		 “What’s in a name“? That, of course, depends: It could be une idée abstraite (abstract idea), it could be une personne, un animal, or un objet (an object), etc. L’accord (the agreement) of the le nom occurs with l’adjectif, le déterminant, le pronom, and le verbe Festival, Lafayette, opéra,Paris, folklore, crêpes, poème
LE DÉTERMINANT
(Determiner)		 Used with un nom (a noun), the determiner provides more specific information on it, such as le nombre (the number), and le genre (gender) L’accord (the agreement) happens with le nom which it determines Un, une, des; le, la, les; ce/cet, cette; mon, ma, mes, ton, ta, tes, son, sa; etc.
L’ADJECTIF (Adjective) Tied to le nom, it helps to express its quality, a relationship, etc. 
Just like with the determiner, the adjective agrees with le nom which it serves to qualify
Merveilleux, pernicieux, facile, fabuleux, énigmatique, sympathique, etc.
PRONOM
(Pronoun)		 Mostly to avoid repetition, a pronom (pronoun) can replace un nom (a noun) or un adjectif (adjective) The agreement is in gender and number Je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles, on, le mien, le leur,celle-ci, celui, tout, lequel, qui
ADVERBE An invariable that modifies the sense of d’autres mots (of other words) Les adverbes are invariable, and therefore have no accord (agreement) Beaucoup, très,affectueusement, derrière, peu, tellement, assez, parfois
CONJONCTION
 As the word conjonction indicates, its function is to link two words or two sentences Also invariable, and therefore has no accord (agreement)
 mais, ou, et, donc, or, ni, car, que, puis, si, néanmoins, comme, parce que, puisque
PRÉPOSITION INTERJECTIONS(!) A préposition aims at introducing un complément 

Also invariable

 

 

 

 Dans, sur, contre, à, sauf, avec, dans, de, depuis, avant, sans, vers, pour 
Oh! Eh ! Aïe ! Paf! Splash!

Some “Tricky” French Nouns: Change their Gender, Get a Whole New Meaning!

Posted by Mr. Transparent 2 Comments
Nov 20 2011

Not too long ago, we tackled here in The French Blog the often “tricky” issue of French gender: “French Quiz: Masculin (♂) or Féminin (♀)?”

In today’s post we’ll feature a super special category of unusual French nouns, which can mean deux choses complètement différentes (two things completely different), depending only on whether they are used as masculin or féminin.

Sounds a bit “tricky“, doesn’t it?

Well, then let’s check it out mes amis!

Since there is no particular rule to recognize or categorize these special nouns, which change their sens (meaning) simply by changing their genre (gender), your best shot would be to just memorize them—And remember, the overall context is always your friend!

Here are some of the most important of such nouns that you should always keep in mind:

  • Un aide vs. une aide:
If you find the word “aide” used in the masculin form, then it means “a helper”, as in “un aide-soignant” (a “nurse’s aide”, or a “practical nurse”); however, if “aide” comes in the féminin form, then it simply means “a help”, as in the expression “l’aide divine” (“divine help”), or “l’aide humanitaire.” 

  • Un critique vs. une critique:
The masculin word “critique” designates “a critic (person)”, as in “un critique d’art“, whereas “une critique” means either “a criticism”, as in “une critique constructive” (a constructive criticism), or simply a “critique”, as in “une critique littéraire” (a “literary critique.”)

  • Un livre vs. une livre:
Most new French learners would recognize “un livre“ (“a book”), but would be puzzled if they stumbled into “une livre” or “la livre“, and can even mistake that for a typo! The explanation is in fact simple, since the feminine form “une livre” means “a pound”, either the currency, i.e. “la livre sterling“, or the weight measure, as in the Shakespearean expression “une livre de chaire” (“a pound of flesh.”) 

  • Un manche vs. une manche:
“Un manche” stands for “a handle”, as in “un manche à balai” (“a broomhandle”, which can also mean, in informal terms of course, “a very skinny person”!) “Une manche“, however, means “a sleeve.” Par exemple you can say “Elle a plusieurs cartes dans sa manche” (“She has many cards up her sleeve.”) Also, be sure that if you encounter “la Manche” (capitalized) ,then you immediately recognize it as “The English Channel”! 

  • Un mémoire vs. une mémoire:
This one should not be too hard to “memorize”: If you are writing a dissertation, or if you feel like you’re old enough to start writing your memoirs (think Chateaubriand‘s “Mémoires d’Outre-tombe“), then you are writing un mémoire. But if you speak about your memory faculty, then you would be referring to the féminin noun “la mémoire.”
 
The same can be said about the distinction between un merci (a “thank you”) and une merci (a mercy); un mode, as in “un mode d’emploi” (“a user’s manual”), and une mode (a fashion), as in MC Solaar‘s song “Victime de la mode” (“Fashion Victim”); un moule (a mold), as in “le moule de la société“ (“society’s mold”), and une moule (a mussel); le pendule (the pendulum), as in the novel “Le Pendule de Foucault” (“Foucault’s Pendulum”) of the sulfurous Umberto Eco, and la pendule (the clock); le physique (the physic, or the physical appearance) and la physique (physics); un poêle (a stove) and une poêle (a frying pan); un tour, meaning either “a trick”, as in un tour de magie (a “magic trick”) or a turn, as in “c’est ton tour” (“it’s your turn”), and une tour (a tower), as in “la Tour Eiffel“; and finally le voile (the veil) and la voile (sail, or sailing.)    

French *Conjugaison*: The Verb “Rêver” (“To Dream”)

Posted by Mr. Transparent No Comments
Oct 21 2011

Whether you say rêver, rêvasser, songer, fantasmer, etc., it all basically means “to dream“, whereas expressions such as être dans la lune (to be in the moon), être dans les nuages (to be in the clouds), actually mean “to daydream“—as I hear some students around here tend to do in the middle of their French class! :)
The verb rêver belongs to le premier groupe (the first group.) It can be transitif direct, transitif indirect, or simply intransitif, such as in the French sentence: “Mais je rêve!” (“I’m dreaming!”), often uttered when you can’t quite believe your eyes…As for l’auxiliaire with which it is conjugated, remember that it is always avoir.

Présent  

je rêve
tu rêves
il rêve
nous rêvons
vous rêvez
ils rêvent

Passé composé

j’ai rêvé
tu as rêvé
il a rêvé

nous avons rêvé
vous avez rêvé
ils ont rêvé

Imparfait

je rêvais
tu rêvais
il rêvait
nous rêvions
vous rêviez
ils rêvaient

Plus-que-parfait

j’avais rêvé
tu avais rêvé
il avait rêvé
nous avions rêvé 
vous aviez rêvé
ils avaient rêvé

Passé simple

je rêvai
tu rêvas
il rêva
nous rêvâmes
vous rêvâtes
ils rêvèrent

Passé antérieur

j’eus rêvé
tu eus rêvé
il eut rêvé
nous eûmes rêvé
vous eûtes rêvé
ils eurent rêvé  

Futur simple

je rêverai
tu rêveras
il rêvera
nous rêverons
vous rêverez
ils rêveront

Futur antérieur

j’aurai rêvé
tu auras rêvé
il aura rêvé
nous aurons rêvé
vous aurez rêvé
ils auront rêvé

* Conditionnel: 

Présent

je rêverais
tu rêverais
il rêverait
nous rêverions
vous rêveriez
ils rêveraient

Passé

j’aurais rêvé
tu aurais rêvé
il aurait rêvé
nous aurions rêvé
vous auriez rêvé
ils auraient rêvé

* Subjonctif:

Présent

que je rêve
que tu rêves
qu’il rêve
que nous rêvions
que vous rêviez
qu’ils rêvent

Passé 

que j’aie rêvé
que tu aies rêvé
qu’il ait rêvé
que nous ayons rêvé
que vous ayez rêvé
qu’ils aient rêvé

Imparfait

que je rêvasse
que tu rêvasses
qu’il rêvât
que nous rêvassions
que vous rêvassiez
qu’ils rêvassent

Plus-que-parfait 

que j’eusse rêvé
que tu eusses rêvé
qu’il eût rêvé
que nous eussions rêvé
que vous eussiez rêvé
qu’ils eussent rêvé

* Impératif:

Présent

rêve
rêvons
rêvez

Passé

aie rêvé
ayons rêvé  
ayez rêvé

* Infinitif:

Présent

rêver

Passé

avoir rêvé

* Participe:

Présent

rêvant

Passé

rêvé
ayant rêvé

* Gérondif:

Présent

en rêvant

Passé

en ayant rêvé

Be Always Composed With “Le Passé composé”!

Posted by Mr. Transparent No Comments
Sep 29 2011

“Passé composé“… Two distinct words when coupled together can saw a bit of confusion in the minds of many, many, helpless new French learners!

Qu’à cela ne tienne (nevermind), we’ll try in today’s post to shed some light on the different uses of this type of grammatical tense—so you won’t feel too “tense” about it anymore :)

In other words, be always composed with “le passé composé“!

Today’s linguists prefer actually to speak of “tiroir verbal” (literally “verbal drawer”) instead of temps grammatical, and what was called for a while “prétérit indéfini” would only later be rechristened “passé composé.”

It is maybe this change in name that caused the grammatical function of the passé composé to become less and less clear -even to a great deal of native French speakers!- especially since there also exist other temps composés of le mode indicatif (the “mode indicatif” is known as “realis mood” in English.)

Now, having said that, what’s really important to know about the use of le passé composé before anything else is that it is mainly for le discours (the speech)—in the grammatical sense of the word.

 

It expresses events which are completely achevés (finished) at some point in the past with respect to the present.

  • It is different from le passé simple, in which case le sujet (the subject) is dissociated from the time of speech.
  • With le passé composé, the emphasis is on *the present effect or effects* resulting from an action that took place and totally ceased in the past.
    • “S’il avait été le jouet de son imagination, l’avenir ne tarderait pas à le désabuser” (“If he had been the toy of her imagination, future would not take long before disenchanting him”, Alexandre Dumas, L’île de feu: Volume 1 – Page 146)
    • “Elle est née avec assez d’esprit” (“She was born with quite a mind of her own”, Alexandre Dumas, Mémoires d’une aveugle: Madame du Deffand: Volume 1 – Page 258)
    • “Elle était devenue si malheureuse que j’en ai eu pitié” (“She became so miserable that I felt pity for her”, Alexandre Dumas, Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge – Page 77)

But watch out my friends!

The passé composé can also be used for events at any determined point in the past, when it’s not formally used…

For example, it is the passé simple which should be used in the sentence: “J’ai été ravi, plus tard, quand elle m’a envoyé un joli bouquet de fleurs.” (“I was delighted, later, when she sent me a beautiful flower bouquet.”) In the formal way, of course, you would say: “Je fus ravi…”

It is true that the passé simple and the passé composé tend to be used interchangeably by many French speakers, but strictly speaking, they do not hold the same value nor the same function.

Finally, and this may have hopefully been pointed out by your French teacher, the passé composé can reflect l’antériorité (the precedence) with respect to an event of le futur proche (the near future): “Si notre équipe a marqué, tu me téléphones tout de suite!” (“If our team scored, you call me right away!”) :)

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