PRESENT TENSE

ER verbs To form a regular er verb, e.g. jouer:to play 1. Remove the er to make the stem. Jouer Jou__ 2. Add the correct ending: Je jou__e Tu jou__es Il/elle/on jou__e Nous jou__ons Vous jou__ez Ils/elles jou__ent IR verbs To form a regular ir verb, e.g. finir:to finish 1. Remove the ir to make the stem. Finir Fin__ 2. Add the correct ending: Je fin__is Tu fin__is Il / elle / on fin__it Nous fin__issons Vous fin__issez Ils / elles fin__issent -RE verbs To form a regular -re verb, e.g. rpondre:to answer 1. Remove the re. Rpondre Rpond__ 2. Add the correct ending: Je rpond__s Tu rpond__s Il / elle / on rpond___ Nous rpond__ons Vous rpond__ez Ils / elles rpond__ent Reflexive/ Pronominal verbs Reflexive verbs are those that have se in front of the infinitive. They tell you about something is being done to/with someone. e.g. We argue with each other Nous nous disputons
I washed myself Je me lave

PERFECT TENSE
This is used to describe a completed action in the past e.g. I played football yesterday I have been to France three times The perfect tense is made up of 2 parts: auxiliary + past participle e.g. Hier, il a jou au foot. Yesterday, he played football. Je suis all(e) en France trois fois. I went three times in France. VERBS THAT TAKE AVOIR AS THE AUXILIARY Subject j tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles Avoir ai as a avons avez ont Past participle ER verbs IR verbs - remove ER - remove IR - add - add I e.g. jouer e.g. finir jou fini RE verbs - remove RE - add U e.g. rpondre rpondu

Irregular past participles Some verbs dont follow the usual pattern for forming the past participle. Often, if a verb is irregular in one tense then itll probably be irregular in other tenses as well - check the dictionary if youre not sure. Here are some common irregular past participles that take avoir: Infinitive Past participle Infinitive Past participle Avoir eu Lire lu Boire bu Pouvoir pu Devoir d Prendre pris Dire dit Recevoir reu tre t Voir vu Faire fait Vouloir voulu VERBS THAT TAKE TRE AS THE AUXILIARY Reflexive/ Pronominal verbs Reflexive verbs all use TRE to form the perfect tense. e.g. je me lave (I wash myself) je me suis lav (I washed myself) MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs A few verbs use TRE instead of avoir when forming the perfect tense. Tips for remembering which ones they are: * Theyre all to do with movement (e.g. to go, to leave, to return) * If you put them together, the first letters spell out MRS VANDERTRAMP Monter = to climb Rentrer = to come back Sortir = to go out Venir (p.p venu) = to come Arriver = to arrive Natre (p.p. n) = to be born Descendre = to go down Entrer = to enter Retourner = to return Tomber = to fall Rester = to stay Aller = to go Mourir (p.p. mort) = to die Partir = to leave Subject je tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles tre suis es est sommes tes sont Past participle Apart from venir, natre & mourir, these verbs follow the regular pattern for forming past participles.

The endings of most reflexive verbs are regular they follow the patterns above for ER, IR & RE verbs. The only extra bit is that the se changes depending who youre talking about.
se laver to wash oneself Je me lave Tu te laves Il/elle/on se lave Nous nous lavons Vous vous lavez Ils/elles se lavent

Irregular verbs The following verbs are irregular in the present tense check the middle section of the dictionary to find out how to conjugate them.
English To be To be able to/can To buy To do/make To drink To eat To go To go out To have to/must To leave To say To see To sleep To take To want Infinitive tre il est nous sommes Pouvoir il peut ils peuvent Acheter il achte nous achetons Faire il fait vous faites Boire il boit nous buvons Manger tu manges nous mangeons Aller il va nous allons Sortir je sors nous sortons Devoir je dois vous devez Partir je pars ils partent Dire tu dis vous dites Voir il voit nous voyons Dormir je dors nous dormons Prendre il prend ils prennent Vouloir je veux ils veulent

Past participle agreement Verbs that use TRE have one extra thing to think about - the past participle has to agree with the person youre talking about! one male no change one female add E group of males or mixed group add S group of females add ES he went out = il est sorti she went out = elle est sortiE they went out = ils sont sortiS they went out = elles sont sortiES

Dont forget the agreement with reflexive verbs & MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs!