Natalya Glukhova

Verb moods in French

11/06 2018

Good afternoon friends!

Today I will tell you about the mood of verbs in French. When you compose any sentence in French or Russian, the predicate in it always has its own grammatical form, which depends not only on when the action occurs, but also on the interaction of the main members of the sentence with each other and with the secondary members of the sentence.

The way a person speaking a sentence relates to an action reflects the moods of verbs in French. Exactly this grammatical category allows us to imagine how a phrase is pronounced if we do not hear it, but read it. After all, each mood is characterized by tempo, stress, timbre and other speech features.

These are the usual tense forms and traditional conjugation according to the tables, depending on which group the predicate belongs to. Let us recall the rules for forming such phrases:

On the left you see the name of the time, and on the right - the rules for forming the predicate in it. As you, of course, remember, infinitive is the initial form of the verb, and part. Passé is abbreviated as Participe passé, that is, the past participle. Its formation also depends on which group the word belongs to:

If to the first, then add -é to the stem (parler - parl é).
If to the second, then – i (finir – fini).
The rules for obtaining third ones must be remembered.

Where is the subject?

Imperative mood verb (Impératif) – very similar to the Russian equivalent. Do you remember when you use this form of predicate in ordinary speech? Namely, when you ask for something, order or voice rules and requirements. Such phrases are found everywhere in public places, talking about the rules of behavior. In French, Impératif can be in three variants: in the second person singular and plural. numbers, first person plural. For example:
Choisis! - Choose!
Coisissez! – Choose!
Choisissons! - Let's choose!
This type of mood is also relevant for reflexive verbs:
Levez-vous! - Get up!
Consider three tables of formation of the imperative mood. They will help you construct sentences correctly.

Verbs of group 1:

You can check how well you understand the imperative mood by completing the exercises that I have selected for you.
1. Fill in the blanks with the correct endings of verbs in the imperative
inclination.

	You	We	you/you
a)chanter		chantons
b) choice			choisissez
c) faire	fais
d) attend		attendons
e) dormir			dormez

How are you doing?

I'm sure everything worked out!

Test yourself. Here are the answers: a) chante chantez; b) choisis, choisissons; c) faisons, faites; d) attends, attendez; e) dors, dormons.

If, yes, how would

Another option for grammatical characterization is the conditional mood (condittionel). It is used when you talk about desired, possible, or expected events. Has forms of present and past tense. It is formed strictly according to the rules that apply even to verbs of the third group.

The present tense (Conditionnel présent) is obtained by adding the tense ending Imparfait to the infinitive. Moreover, if a word ends in –re, then the final vowel will be omitted, and only then the corresponding ending will be added.
The past tense (Conditionel passé) can be obtained in two ways. One of them, the most common, is using the auxiliary verb avoir or etre in the present tense of the main one in participe passé (past participle, which I already mentioned above).

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The second form is used much less frequently and is found only in books. Auxiliary verbs in the subjunctive mood (Subjonctif imparfait) together with the semantic one in Conditionnel présent are also used to form it.
For better understanding and clarity, I offer you several tables:

For verbs of group 1 (the semantic word is to speak)

For 2 g. (meaning to finish or complete)

3 group or exceptions (take, take)

Conditionnel passé is useful if you are talking about events that could have happened, but did not happen. The conditional mood is most often used in complex sentences, as one of its parts. Examples will help you better understand what we are talking about:

Si j'avais eu ton numéro, je t'aurais téléphoné le soir. - If I had your phone number, I would call you in the evening.
Often such phrases are used with the conjunction Si (if/if).
In conclusion, I offer you a grammatical characteristic that is not typical for Russian, but this does not make it any more difficult.

My opinion

When you want to show your personal opinion about something, it is correct to use the subjunctive mood (Subjonctif). It can be used in four tense forms: in the present simple, in the past simple and incomplete, and in the long past.

Do you know how much there is in the French language?

The first two varieties are often found in everyday speech, while the second are used mainly in old books and are not typical for modern French. But in any case, subjunctive forms are used in subordinate clauses. Let's take a closer look at the two forms used.

Subjonctif present is formed with the help of the particle que, which comes before the subject. In this case, the verb must be in the third person, plural. number (of course, the present tense) with the addition of endings -е, -es, -е, -ions, -iez, -ent (with the exception of verbs - exceptions - avoir, parler, être, finir, mettre, etc.):

Que personne ne sorte! - Let no one come out!
Qu'elle danse! - Let her dance!

The rules for the formation of subjunctive statements with exceptions are given in the table:

In French, the imperative mood or so-called. the imperative is used to indicate an action, request, order, as well as when indicating a wish, threat, advice, etc. The imperative is used only in three persons: 2 l. units h. (tu) and 1.2 l. pl. h. (nous, vous).

Forms of the imperative mood French verbs completely coincide with the forms of their present tense in the indicative mood, however, there is the following feature: when forming the imperative, 2 l. units including verbs of group 1, as well as verbs of group 3 aller, cueillir and all verbs of the same group in -frir, -vrir “lose” the final “s”.

Formation de l'impératif

Ier groupe (le verbe chercher)

IIe groupe (le verbe obéir)

IIIe groupe (le verbe boire)

Mais: Va! Offre! (le verbe offrir) Cueille!

There are also the following exceptions to the rules that you need to remember:

avoir - aie! ayons! ayez!

etre - sois! soyons! soyez!

savoir - sache! sachons! sachez!

When forming the imperative mood of reflexive verbs in French, be careful:

- if we are talking about the affirmative form, then the reflexive particle is placed after the verb in its stressed (tonic) form, which coincides with the unstressed (atonic) form only in 1 and 2 liters. pl. h. (Promenons-nous! Asseyez-vous!). Therefore, for 2 l. units h. we use the stressed form (Calme-toi!)

N. B. Do not forget to put a line between the verb and the particle in writing.

- if we are talking about a negative form, then the reflexive particle is placed before the verb immediately after the negative particle “ne” and is used in its unstressed form. (Ne te plains pas! Ne nous doutons pas! Ne vous hatez pas!)!

Of course, the note about the “lost” s remains relevant (Ne t’en va pas!)

The French imperative is used:

1. Vo2 l. units and many more h. to express an order, request, prohibition, advice, wishes. Par example:

Finissez immediatement!

Ne me cherchez pas!

Donne-moi ta main!

N'oubliez pas vos amis!

Rétablissez-vous vite!

2 IN 1. l. units h. serves to express a proposal, an invitation. Par example:

Restons encore une heure!

Passons à l'action!

It is very important to note that the French imperative can be simple or complex, similar to the verb tense system. The above information relates to the formation and use of the simple imperative.

The complex form of the imperative is used much less frequently. It is formed by adding to the imperative form of the verb avoir or etre the simple past participle of the conjugated verb (the choice of the auxiliary verb is determined similarly to the rules for forming passé composé). For example: Aie parlé! Ayez cherche! Sois venu(e)! Soyez parti(e,s,es)!

--> Impératif forms

Impératif (imperative mood) – denotes an action, the commission or non-completion of which the speaker requires.

General information

Verbs in impératif do not have a subject.

Impératif has forms in only two persons:

- the second person of the singular and plural

Unit numberMn. number

– first person plural

Chantons! - Let's sing!
Finissons! - Let's finish!
Partons! - Let's go to!

The verb pouvoir is not used in the imperative mood.

An action in the imperative mood, by the very meaning of this mood, can only relate to the future. In French, command is usually expressed in present tense forms ( impératif present). Along with this, in French there are forms of the past tense of the imperative mood ( impératif passé), which express the temporal relation of precedence and the specific connotation of the completeness of the action.

Impératif present

Forms impératif present most verbs are formed from the same stem as the corresponding forms present de l'indicatif. The exceptions are the verbs avoir, être, savoir and vouloir, which have special stems.

Verbs of the first group, as well as the verbs aller, avoir, savoir, ouvrir, offrir, cueillir, are distinguished by the absence of a final -s in second person form singular. However, if the verb is followed by the words y or en, the final -s is saved. Compare:

Parle! - Speak!
Parle s-en! - Talk about it!
Pense! - Think!
Pense s-y! - Think about it!

Forms impératif present plurals are similar to the corresponding forms present de l'indicatif(except for the exceptions described above).

Below are examples of verb conjugations in impératif present.

In addition, you can familiarize yourself with the conjugation of verbs of the first, second and third groups on the page Typical conjugation of French verbs.

Impératif passé

Forms impératif passé are formed using an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in impératif present And participe passé(past participle) of the semantic verb.

Impératif passé is a rarely used form. It expresses an action that must be performed at some point in the future.

Sois revenu dans une demi-heure.
Come back in half an hour.

Ayez terminé ce travail avant midi.
Finish this work before noon.

Negative form

The negative form of verbs in impératif is formed by general rule construction of negation: the particle ne is placed before the verb, and the particle pas or other words used for negation are placed after the verb (personne, rien, etc.)

Ne parle pas. - Do not speak.
Ne fais pas attention. - Do not pay attention.
N"ayez pas peur. - Do not be afraid.
Ne soyons pas naïfs! - Let's not be naive!
Ne dites rien. - Don't say anything.

Live spoken language The particle ne is most often absent before the verb.

Parle pas. - Do not speak. (colloquial)
Fais pas attention. - Do not pay attention. (colloquial)

Impératif and reflexive verbs

A peculiarity of the conjugation of reflexive verbs in impératif is that in the affirmative form, reflexive pronouns are placed after the verb. In this case, the reflexive pronoun te takes the form of the stressed pronoun toi.

Lève- toi! - Get up!
Amusons-nous! - Let's have some fun!
Habillez-vous. - Get dressed.

In the negative form impératif, reflexive pronouns do not change and remain before the verb.

Ne te lève pas! - Don't get up!
Ne vous habillez pas. - Don't get dressed.

Any foreign language has different verb forms, exactly the same with the French language. The most complex and extensive to study in foreign languages parts of speech are verbs. They have many forms, declensions, and conjugations. When learning verbs, your concentration and willingness to study in depth is important, but the imperative mood used in French is extremely simple.

What is the imperative mood l'impératif?

Considering moods, I would like to remind you what this term means. Inclination is grammatical form verb, which indicates the modality of the verb. That is, this is a certain characteristic that gives an idea of ​​the reality of the story or indicates the attitude speaking person to the listening person. This mood involves inducing someone to take a specific action or request, as well as to make a wish or order. The imperative mood comes in three forms:

• Firstly, this is the 2nd l. units numbers,
• Secondly, this is the 2nd l. pl. numbers,
• Thirdly, 1st l. pl. numbers.

Remember the most important rule: In the imperative mood, the subject expressed by the pronoun is never used!

It should be noted that the forms of the imperative mood of French verbs completely coincide with their forms of the present tense, which are presented in the indicative mood. But there is one feature that must be taken into account when using verbs in the imperative mood. This is a verb group.

You probably know that all French verbs are divided into the first, second and third groups. So, depending on which verb group the verb belongs to, the rules for forming the imperative mood may change.

Formation of the imperative mood – Formation de l’impératif

Let's look at the verb of group 1 – chercher (search): Cherche! (search!), Cherchons! (let's search!), Cherchez! (look for it!).

Verb 2 groups - obéir (obey), example: Obéis! (obey!), Obéissons! (let's obey!), Obéissez! (obey!).

Group 3 verb – boire (to drink), example: Bois! (drink!), Buvons! (let's drink, let's drink!), Buvez! (drink!).

Let us recall the exception using the example of verbs of group 3 offrir (offer) - Offre! (offer!), aller (go) - Va! (Go!) and other verbs of the 3rd group ending in -frir, -vrir. The final “s” in such verbs disappears in the imperative mood!

There are also other exceptions to the presented rules that need to be learned:

Verb 3 groups avoir (to have): aie! ayons! ayez!

Group 3 verb être (to be): sois! soyons! soyez!

Group 3 verb savoir (to know): sache! sachons! sachez!

Formation of the imperative mood of reflexive verbs

Let's remind ourselves what it is reflexive verbs. These are verbs whose action is directed towards oneself; in Russian they end in – sya, and in French they begin in se-. For example: Wake up, Rise – SE lever.

When forming the imperative mood of such verbs in French, you need to be especially careful:

If we are talking about the affirmative form, then SE is a reflexive particle of the French language, which is placed after the verb and in the person in which the verb is used.

For example: Promenons-nous! Or Asseyez-vous!

And for 2 l. units h. the stressed form of the pronoun Calme-toi is used! In the first case, the stressed form must also be used, but the pronouns “nous” and “vous” remain in the same form, since their stressed and unstressed forms are the same.

Remember that in writing you must put a hyphen between the verb and the reflexive particle!

If we are talking about negation, then the reflexive particle is placed before the verb, after the negative particle “ne”. It is used in its unstressed form.

For example: Ne te plains pas! Or: Ne nous doutons pas! Or: Ne vous hatez pas!

Simple and complex imperative mood

We have already met simple forms of the imperative mood earlier, so we will talk in more detail about the complex form. Yes, the French imperative can be both simple and complex, a clear analogy of which is the system of verb tenses.

The complex form of the imperative mood is not used as often as the simple one. It is formed by adding to the simple imperative form of the verb of group 3 “avoir” or “etre” a simple participle, taken in the form of the past tense (participe passé) of the conjugated verb. Which auxiliary verb will be used depends on the rules for forming the passé composé tense.

If you remember, there are a number of verbs that are conjugated with different auxiliaries.

For example: Aie parlé! (you), Ayez cherche! (you), Sois venu(e)! (you), Soyez parti(e,s,es)! (You).

The complex form of the imperative mood of the French language is used to denote an action that is completed before a certain moment in the future.

For example: Ayez rédigé (eye redige) votre rapport (votre rapor) avant neuf heures (avant neveur) et vous serez recompensé (e vou sere rocompense). Finish your report before 9 o'clock and you will be rewarded.

And also this complexity of inclination was invented to give the action a certain “completeness”

For example: Ayez fini ce rapport à cinq heures (Eye fini se rapor a sankeur). Finish your report before 5 o'clock.

The tricky thing about learning moods is that their forms may require information about verb tenses that you have learned previously. If you have studied everything carefully and your memory is fresh, then there will never be any difficulties! Good luck with your studies!

Mood is a grammatical form of a verb that shows the speaker’s attitude towards an action. The moods in French are as follows:

• indicative (indicatif),
• imperative (impératif),
• conditional
• subjunctive (subjunctif).

In French, each mood has several tense forms. The tense in which the verb is located determines the moment of speech to which the action refers.

Indicative

The speaker is aware of the action as real, definite, which occurs in the present, past or future time. The indicative mood has greatest application in language.

In French, the main forms of the indicative mood are:

• present to express the present tense
• passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait, passé simple to express the past tense
• futur simple, futur antérieur to express the future tense

Imperative mood

An inducement to a certain action, a request, a wish or an order. Exists in three forms: second person singular and plural, first person plural. In the imperative mood, the subject pronoun is not used.

Fais! - Do it! Choisis! - Choose!

Faites! - Do it! Choisissez! - Choose!

Faisons! - Let's do! Choisissons! - Let's choose!

Regarde! - Look! Regardez! - Look!

Regardons! - Let's see! (Let's get a look!)

Reflexive verbs:

Lève-toi! - Get up! Levez-vous! - Get up! Levons-nous! - Let's get up!

Conditional mood

Indicates an action that may be possible, contemplated, or desired. This mood denotes an action, the possibility of which depends on specific and specific conditions.

The conditional mood has two tenses: le Conditionnel présent and le Conditionnel passé. Both tenses are translated by one form of the conditional mood.

Le Conditionnel présent coincides in form with le Futur dans le passé.

Il pourrait etre là. - He's probably there.

Il voudrait lire ce roman. — He would like to read this novel.

Si j'étais fort, je t'aidais. - If I were strong, I would help you.

Le Conditionnel passé is formed with the help of auxiliary verbs avoir or être, which are in le Conditionnel présent and le Participe passé of the conjugated verb.

Si tu étais venu au stade, tu aurais assisté à un match splendide. — If you came to the stadium, you would be present at a great match.

Si j'avais eu ton numéro, je t'aurais téléphoné le soir. - If I had your number, I would call you in the evening.

Subjunctive mood

Shows that the speaker does not view the action as real fact, but as expected or desired. It is usually used after impersonal phrases and verbs expressing will, command, prohibition (vouloir, prier, il faut, il semble), as well as in subordinate clauses after some conjunctions and allied words.

Il faut que j'aille à la poste. - I need to go to the post office.

Je veux que vous écoutiez l'instructeur. - I want you to listen to the instructor.

Le Subjonctif présent is formed by adding to the stem of the third person plural of the indicative mood (Indicatif) the endings: -е, -es, -е, -ions, -iez, -ent.

Exceptions to this rule are the verbs avoir, être and some others: parler, finir, mettre.

Il n'y a personne qui puisse l'aider. - Nobody can help him.

Je serais bien content qu’il soit là. “I would be very pleased if he were there.”

Je ne suis pas sûr qu’il fasse beau demain. — I'm not sure that the weather will be good tomorrow.

Il me demande que je revienne le lendemain. — He asks me to come back the next day.

Que personne ne sorte! - So that no one comes out! (let no one leave!)

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