Revision of ‘re’ verbs and some odd ‘er’ verbs in the Present Tense ‘More Oddballs !’ Revision of ‘re’ verbs and some odd ‘er’ verbs in the Present Tense

What is the ‘Present Tense’ ? In English and in French the present tense is used to talk about things which are happening now, at the present time. Je tonds la pelouse Je balaie la grange. I mow the lawn I sweep the shed

infinitive So what are ‘verbs’ all about ? Verbs are doing, being or having words. In their ‘unchanged’ state, they are called ‘VERB INFINITIVES’ To mow to sell to sweep to clean infinitive tondre vendre balayer nettoyer

Why do verbs change ? In English and French, verbs change from their INFINITIVE when linked to a PRONOUN. PRONOUN (I) (you) (he) (she) je tu il elle nous vous ils elles (we) (you) (they)

Patterns ‘er’ – habiter aimer ‘ir’ – finir choisir Luckily most verb endings in French follow a regular pattern. The pattern depends on whether the VERB INFINITIVE ends in: ‘er’ – habiter aimer ‘ir’ – finir choisir ‘re’ – vendre attendre

We have covered verbs ending in ‘er’ and ‘ir’ in units 1 and 2 We have covered verbs ending in ‘er’ and ‘ir’ in units 1 and 2. Let’s revise those ending in ‘re’.

‘tondre’ – ‘to mow’ (I) (you) (he) (she) (we) (they) (mow) (mows) je Take off ‘re’, add s - ons ez ent (I) (you) (he) (she) (we) (they) (mow) (mows) je tu il elle nous vous ils elles tonds tond tondons tondez tondent

Some ‘odd’ ‘er’ verbs – balayer / nettoyer / envoyer Verbs ending in ‘…yer’ end in a slighly different way to ‘normal’ ‘er’ verbs. Let’s revise how ‘er’ verbs usually change.

Verb Infinitives ending in ‘er’: Take off ‘er’, add e es ons ez ent e.g. ‘habiter’ – ‘to live’ (je) j’ tu il elle nous vous ils elles habite habites habitons habitez habitent (I) (you) (he) (she) (we) (they) (live) (lives)

Verb Infinitives ending in ‘yer’: Take off ‘yer’, add ie ies yons yez ient e.g. ‘balayer’ – ‘to sweep’ je’ tu il elle nous vous ils elles balaie balaies balayons balayez balaient (I) (you) (he) (she) (we) (they) (sweep) (sweeps)

‘mettre’ – ‘to put’(on) (I) (you) (he) (she) (we) (they) (put) je tu il elle nous vous ils elles mets met mettons mettez mettent

Now try these simple exercises: Change the verb in brackets to its correct form. Nous (tondre) la pelouse. Vous (mettre) la table. Je (balayer) la cuisine. Ils (essuyer) la vaisselle. Elles (mettre) les livres dans la chambre. Tu (nettoyer) la cave. (vendre)-tu les tableaux ? Elles (attendre) leurs parents. Nous tondons la pelouse. Vous mettez la table. Je balaie la cuisine. Ils essuient la vaisselle. Elles mettent les livres dans la chambre. Tu nettoies la cave. vends-tu les tableaux ? Elles attendent leurs parents. …easy…

Translate these phrases into French. So try these too: Translate these phrases into French. We mow the lawn You(pl) sweep the kitchen. I clean the bathroom They (m) wipe the dishes. She puts on her blouse You (pl) wait for the train Do you (s) sweep the garage? They (f) put the paintings in the car. Nous tondons la pelouse.. Vous balayez la cuisine. . Je nettoie la salle de bains. Ils essuient la vaisselle Elle met son chemisier. Vous attendez le train Balaies – tu le garage ? Elles mettent les tableaux dans la voiture. …Well done !!

That’s it for the oddballs … Next we look back to the past!