Table of Contents
I Verbs-Basic Forms and Uses
1 Present Tense 3
The Present Tense of Regular -er, -ir, and -re Verbs 4
Spelling Changes in the Present Tense of Regular -er Verbs 8
First-Conjugation (-er) Verbs with Mute e as the Stem Vowel 10
First-Conjugation (-er) Verbs with e as the Stem Vowel 11
Uses of the Present Tense 12
Pour parfer un francais authentique | Speak Real French The Prefix re- 15
2 Present Tense of Irregular Verbs 18
Common Irregular Verbs 18
Expressions with avoir, etre, faire, and prendre 21
Irregular Verbs Resembling Regular Verbs 26
Other Irregular Verbs 29
Verbal Constructions 30
Pour parler un français authentique | Speak Real French The Verb System in Spoken French 32
3 Negative Sentences 35
Basic Negative Structures 35
Other Negative Structures 38
Ne… que 39
Pour parler un français authentique | Speak Real French Further Uses of ne… que only 40
4 Interrogative Sentences 42
Question Formation 42
5 Imperative 51
6 Passé Composé 56
Passé Composé with avoir 56
Passé Composé with être 59
Special Cases 62
Agreement of the Past Participle 63
7 Imperfect; Imperfect Versus Passé Composé 65
The Imperfect Tense 65
Uses of the Imperfect Tense: The Imperfect Contrasted with the Passé Composé 68
Other Uses of the Imperfect Tense 71
Special Meanings of Certain Verbs 72
Pour parler un francais authentique | Speak Real French The Imperfect Tense 74
8 Reflexive Verbs 77
Conjugation and Use of Reflexive Verbs 77
The Infinitive of Reflexive Verbs 79
The Passé Composé of Reflexive Verbs 81
Reciprocal Reflexive Verbs 83
The Imperative of Reflexive Verbs 85
Other Reflexive Constructions and Reflexive Verbs 86
9 Future and Conditional; Conditional Sentences (1) 89
The Future Tense 89
Use of the Future After quand and Other Conjunctions 92
The Conditional 93
Conditional Sentences (1) 95
Pour parler un français authentique | Speak Real French Pronunciation of the Future and Conditional 98
10 Pluperfect, Future Perfect, and Past Conditional; Conditional Sentences (2) 99
The Pluperfect (Le plus-que-parfait) 99
The Future Perfect (Le futur antérieur) 101
The Conditional Perfect (Le conditionnel passé) 104
Conditional Sentences (2) 105
11 Passé Simple 108
Formation and Use of the Passé Simple 108
The Passé Simple of Irregular Verbs 109
12 Present Participles; Uses of the Infinitive 112
The Present Participle 112
Uses of the Infinitive 114
Verb + à + Infinitive 116
Verb + de + Infinitive 118
Verb + Object + de + Infinitive 120
Adjective or Noun + Preposition + Infinitive 122
Faire + Infinitive 123
II Nouns and Their Modifiers; Pronouns
13 Nouns: Gender, Number, and Articles; Uses of Articles 129
Gender and Number of Nouns; Definite and Indefinite Articles 129
Plural Nouns 131
Determining the Gender of Nouns 132
Determining the Gender of Nouns (Continued) 135
C'est Versus il/elle est 136
The Partitive 137
Expressions of Quantity 139
Uses of Articles 141
14 Stressed Pronouns; Subject-Verb Agreement 144
Stressed Pronouns-Forms and Usage 144
Subject-Verb Agreement with Stressed Pronouns and Other Special Cases 148
15 Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns 150
Possession and Possessive Adjectives 150
Possessive Pronouns 153
Demonstrative Adjectives 155
Demonstrative Pronouns 156
16 Interrogative Adjectives and Pronouns, and Other Question Words 160
Interrogative Adjectives 160
Interrogative Pronoun lequel 162
Interrogative Pronouns who, whom, what, and Other Question Words 164
17 Adjectives, Comparatives, and Superlatives 170
Gender of Adjectives 170
Plural of Adjectives 173
Position of Adjectives 175
Comparison of Adjectives, Adverbs, Nouns, and Verbs 179
Superlative of Adjectives, Adverbs, and Nouns 183
Pour parler un français authentique | Speak Real French Adjectives 186
18 Object Pronouns 189
Direct Object Pronouns 189
Indirect Object Pronouns 193
Pronoun y 196
Pronoun en 197
Double Object Pronouns 199
Restrictions on the Use of Object Pronouns 201
Object Pronouns in Affirmative Commands 202
III Other Elements of the Sentence
19 Numbers; Time; Dates 207
Cardinal Numbers to 99 207
Cardinal Numbers 100 and Above 209
Ordinal Numbers 210
Telling Time 212
Days, Dates, and Years 215
20 Adverbs 219
Adverbs of Manner 219
Adverbs of Time 224
Adverbs of Place 226
Adverbial Phrases 227
21 Negatives and Indefinites 231
Negative Words 231
Indefinite Words and Expressions 234
Indefinite Words and Expressions (Continued) 237
Idioms and Expressions with Negative and Indefinite Words 239
22 Prepositions; Prepositions with Geographical Names 242
The Preposition à 242
The Preposition de 246
The Prepositions avec and sans 250
The Prepositions en and dans 252
Sur, sous, and Related Prepositions 256
Entre, pour, and par 258
Other Prepositions 260
Prepositions with Geographical Names 262
IV Verbs in Two-Clause Sentences
23 Relative Clauses 269
The Relative Pronouns qui and que 269
Preposition + qui and lequel 272
Dont 274
Other Relatives 276
Relatives Without Antecedents 278
24 The Present Subjunctive 282
Moods of Verbs 282
Forms of the Present Subjunctive 282
Uses of the Subjunctive: Imposition of Will, Necessity, Getting Someone to Do Something 284
Uses of the Subjunctive: Emotion and Opinion 288
Uses of the Subjunctive: Negation of Fact and Opinion 292
Uses of the Subjunctive: Special Cases 294
Pour parler un français authentique | Speak Real French The Present Subjunctive 296
25 The Past Subjunctive; Literary Subjunctives 298
Forms and Use of the Past Subjunctive 298
Forms and Use of the Imperfect Subjunctive 300
Forms and Use of the Pluperfect Subjunctive 302
26 The Subjunctive (Continued) 304
The Subjunctive After Certain Conjunctions 304
The Subjunctive in Relative Clauses 309
The Subjunctive After Superlatives 311
The Subjunctive in Certain Types of Indefinite Clauses 313
V Idiomatic Usage
27 The Passive Voice and Substitutes for the Passive 317
The Passive Voice (La voix passive) 317
Substitutes for the Passive Voice 320
28 Important Idioms and Proverbs 323
Idioms with avoir and être 323
Idioms with faire 326
Idioms with prendre 328
Idioms with mettre 330
Idioms with voir 331
Idioms with dire 333
Expressions with Other Common Verbs 334
Idioms from Rural Life: The Farm, Cats, Dogs, and Cabbages 338
Idioms Relating to Time, Weather, the Life Cycle, and Eating 340
Other Idioms 342
Proverbs 347
VI Review
29 Review Exercises 351
Appendices
Verb Charts 367
Written Conventions 387
Answer Key 389
Index 443
