The Conditional The conditional is not a tense because it does not refer to a time period. Instead, the conditional is a mood that expresses what a subject would do under certain circumstances. Use the conditional in the following situations:

• To express what would happen under certain conditions: Si j’avais le temps je voyagerais. (If I had the time, I would travel.)

• When “could” has the sense of “should be able to,” in which case you use the conditional of pouvoir: Il pourrait faire ceci. (He could [should be able to] do this.)

• To politely make a request or a demand: Je voudrais l’acheter. (I would like to buy it.)

The conditional uses the same stem as the future tense, but you then add the conditional endings, which are exactly the same as the imperfect endings, as shown in Table 1. For irregular verbs and verbs with spelling changes, you simply add conditional endings to the stems used for the future.

• acheter: nous achèterions (xxx)

• aller: j’irais (xxx)

• appeler: vous appelleriez (xxx)

• avoir: tu aurais (xxx)

• devoir: il devrait (xxx)]

• envoyer: j’enverrais (xxx)

• essayer: j’essaierais or j’essayerai (xxx)

• être: nous serions (xxx)

• faire: vous feriez (xxx)

• jeter: elle jetterait (xxx)

• pouvoir: ils pourraient (xxx)

• recevoir: je recevrais (xxx)

• savoir: on saurait (xxx)

• venir: nous viendrions (xxx)

• voir: vous verriez (xxx)

• vouloir: ils voudraient (xxx)

Irregularities in the future and conditional also occur in related verbs:

• nous mettrions (we would put); nous permettrions (we would permit)

• j’enverrais (I would send); je renverrais (I would send back)

Negating in the conditional To negate a sentence in the conditional, simply put ne and the negative word around the conjugated verb:

• Elle ne rirait pas. (She wouldn’t laugh.)

• Je ne pleurerais pas. (I wouldn’t cry.)

Remember that pronouns remain before the conjugated verb: Il ne vous punirait pas. (He wouldn’t punish you.) Questions in the conditional To form a question using inversion, reverse the order of the subject pronoun and the verb and join them with a hyphen:

• Voudriez‐vous aller en France? (Would you like to go to France?)

• J’aimerais partir. (I would like to leave.)

French Prepositions of Place – Countries, Cities, Regions Why do you say “Je vais en France” but “Je vais au Japon”? Like any inanimate object, continents, countries, and regions also have genders in French. The ending will usually tell you which is feminine or masculine and help you choose the correct French preposition of place. A – General Rule About French Prepositions of Places When the name of a region ends in an E, it’s usually feminine. La France, l’Angleterre, la Suisse, la Chine, l’Inde, la Californie, l’Asie

• To say you’re going TO it, use EN Je vais… en France, en Italie, en Afrique, en Floride…

• To say you’re there, use EN Je suis…  en France, en Italie, en Afrique, en Floride…

• To say you’re coming from it, use DE Je viens de France, d’Italie, d’Afrique, de Floride…

(There are many exceptions though, such as Le Mexique, Le Maine, Le Zimbabwe…) When the name of a region ends in any other vowel but E, or a consonant, it’s usually masculine. Le Canada, le Japon, le Portugal, le Burundi, le Luxembourg, le Texas

• To say you’re going TO it, use AU Je vais… au Niger, au Brésil, au Maroc, au Congo

• To say you’re there, use AU Je suis…  au Niger, au Brésil, au Maroc, au Congo

• To say you’re coming from it, use DU Je viens… du Niger, du Brésil, du Maroc, du Congo

When a masculine country starts with a vowel or an H, use the rules of the feminine countries L’Iran, l’Ouganda, Oman, Angola, Israël

• Je vais en Iran, je viens d’Angola, je suis en Israël

B – Particular Cases About French Prepositions of Places Unfortunately, there are too many exceptions to be listed… So be ready to face many particular cases. Here are some pointers 1 – Plural names A few names of regions are plural. Most plural regions end in an S, but not all regions ending in an S are plural (le Laos, L’Arkansas)… So with plural regions, here is the rule Les États-Unis, les Maldives, les Pays-Bas, Les Philippines…

• To say you’re going TO it, use AUX Je vais… aux États-Unis, aux Maldives

• To say you’re there, use AUX Je suis…   aux États-Unis, aux Maldives

• To say you’re coming from it, use DES Je viens… des États-Unis, des Maldives

Note the pronunciation of les États-Unis – there are 2 strong liaisons in Z, whether its introduced by les, aux or des = Zéta Zuni 2 – Cities Cities are usually not introduced by any article, and are usually feminine. Paris est belle (because here Paris refers to “la ville de Paris”).

• For most cities, to say you’re going TO it, use à Je vais… à Paris, à Tokyo, à New-York

• To say you’re IN it, use à Je suis… à Paris, à Tokyo, à New-York

• To say you’re coming from it, use DE Je viens… de Paris, de Tokyo, de New-York

But some cities include an article in their name – Le Havre, le Caire, La Paz, Les Andelys… For these, usually the article contracts with the à, becoming au, du etc… 3 – Islands Are messy business in French… !! Many don’t have any article, and will be introduced by à or de Je vais à Cuba, à Haïti, à Madagascar But some are masculine Je vais au Japon And some are feminine Je vais en Corse And other plural Je vais aux Maldives So it’s more like a case by case scenario… 4 – Regions and states These usually follow the general rules for gender. La Provence, Le Sussex, l’Oregon. Note that in the US, the states are masculine except: La Floride, La Californie, La Caroline du Sud, La Caroline du Nord, La Louisiane, la Georgie, la Virginie occidentale (West Virginia), la Virginie Orientale (Virginia), La Pennsylvanie. But watch out… Le Maine. For prepositions used with  regions and states, it’s very difficult to say there is a rule per se… We tend not to use à, but rather en, au, aux or dans le, dans la, dans les… It’s really a matter of custom, not grammar. Au Texas, dans le Maine, en Bourgogne, en Californie, dans la Creuse….  ]]>

Future Tense The future tense expresses what the subject will do or is going to do in the future. It also describes what action will or is going to take place at a future time. Although the future tense is usually used for events taking place in the future, the present tense in French may be used to refer to an action that will take place very soon or to ask for future instructions.

• Il part tôt. (He will be leaving early.)

• Je prends le bus? (Shall I take the bus?)

In addition, you can express an imminent action in the near future by conjugating the verb aller (to go) in the present tense and adding the infinitive of the action the speaker will perform. Keep in mind that the irregular present tense of aller is je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, and ils vont.

• Il va aller loin. (He’s going to go far.)

• Ils vont jouer. (They are going to play.)

Otherwise, use the future tense in the following cases:

• To express what will happen: Je réussirai. (I will succeed.)
• After quand (when), lorsque (when), dès que (as soon as), andaussitôt que (as soon as), when referring to a future action, even if the present tense is used in English: Quand (Lorsque, Dès que, Aussitôt que) nous aurons beaucoup d’argent, nous irons en France. (When [As soon as] we have a lot of money, we will go to France.)

Future tense of regular verbs Form the future tense of regular verbs, as shown in Table 1, by adding the following endings (often referred to as avoir endings because they resemble the present conjugation of avoir) to the verb infinitive. Note the following about forming the future tense of regular verbs:

• ‐re verbs drop the final e before adding the appropriate future ending: vendre (to sell) becomes nous vendrons (we will sell)

• The e of the er infinitive stem of the future is not pronounced.

All verbs that require spelling changes form the future in the same way as regular verbs: infinitive + future ending (except the following): For verbs ending in ‐yer (except envoyer, which is irregular), change yto i in all forms of the future tense. Verbs ending in ‐ ayer may or may not make this change:

• j’emplo i erai, nous emplo i erons (I will use, we will use)

• je pa i erai or je pa y erai (I will pay)

For verbs ending in e + consonant + er (but not é + consonant + er), change the silent e before the infinitive ending to è in all forms of the future tense.

• tu ach èteras, vous ach èterez (you will buy)

With appeler and jeter, double the consonant in the future tense.

• nous appellerons (we will call)

• nous jetterons (we will throw)

Future tense of irregular verbs Irregular verbs in the future have future stems ending in ‐r or ‐rr. Add the future endings to these stems to get the correct future form, as shown in Table 2. Negating in the future tense To negate a sentence in the future, simply put ne and the negative word around the conjugated verb:

• Elles ne sortiront pas ce soir. (They will not go out this evening.)

• Il ne fumera jamais. (He will never smoke.)

Remember that pronouns remain before the conjugated verb: Je ne te téléphonerai pas. (I will not call you.) Questions in the future tense To form a question using inversion, reverse the order of the subject pronoun and the verb and join them with a hyphen:

• Irez‐vous en France cet été? (Will you go to France this summer?)

• Jouera‐t‐elle du piano? (Will she play the piano.)

 ]]>

Passé Composé

The Passé Composé with Avoir

Using avoir as the helping verb is a logical choice in a tense that expresses an action that has occurred. Although English usage often omits the use of “have” when it is implied (You may say, “I lost my keys” and not, “I have lost my keys”), in French, you must always use the helping verb: J’ai perdu mes clefs. To form the passé composé of verbs using avoir, conjugate avoir in the present tense (j’ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont) and add the past participle of the verb expressing the action. Put the words together this way: subject + helping verb (usually avoir) + past participle. The passé composé, a compound past tense, is formed by combining two elements: when (the action has taken place and, therefore, requires the helping verb avoir) and what (the action that has happened and, therefore, requires the past participle of the regular or irregular verb showing the particular action). See Figure 1. Here are some examples of the passé composé. Elle a expliqué son problème. (She explained her problem.) Ils ont réussi. (They succeeded.) J’ai entendu les nouvelles. (I heard the news.) Forming the negative in the passé composé with avoir In a negative sentence in the passé composé, ne precedes the helping verb, and the negative word (pas, rien, jamais, and so on follows it: Je n’ai rien préparé. (I didn’t prepare anything.) Nous n’avons pas fini le travail. (We didn’t finish the work.) Il n’a jamais répondu à la lettre. (He never answered the letter.) Questions in the passé composé with avoir To form a question in the passé composé using inversion, invert the conjugated helping verb with the subject pronoun and add a hyphen. Then place the negative around the hyphenated helping verb and subject pronoun: As‐tu mangé? (Did you eat?) N’as‐tu rien mangé? (Didn’t you eat anything?) A‐t‐il attendu les autres? (Did he wait for the others?) N’a‐t‐il pas attendu? (Didn’t he wait for the others?) Regular verbs follow a prescribed set of rules for the formation of the past participle, whereas irregular verbs (discussed in the following section) must be memorized. Past participles of verbs conjugated with avoir agree in gender (masculine or feminine — add e) and number (singular or plural — add s) with a preceding direct object noun or pronoun: Le(s) film(s)? (The film[s]?) Je l'(les)ai aimé(s). (I liked it [them].) Quelle(s) robe(s) a‐t‐elle choisie(s)? (Which dress[es] did she choose?) Il nous a vus. (He saw us.)

The Passé Composé with Être

The passé composé of 17 verbs is formed by combining the present tense of être (je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont) and then adding the past participle of the verb showing the action. Most of these verbs express motion or a change of place, state, or condition (that is, going up, going down, going in, going out, or remaining). Dr. and Mrs. Vandertrampp live in the house in Figure , as illustrated in Table 1. Their name may help you memorize the 17 verbs using être. An asterisk (*) in Table 6 denotes an irregular past participle. Verbs whose helping verb is être must show agreement of their past participles in gender (masculine or feminine — add e) and number (singular or plural — add s) with the subject noun or pronoun, as shown in Table 2 : Remember the following rules when using être as a helping verb in the passé composé: Vous can be a singular or plural subject for both masculine and feminine subjects. Singular Plural Vous êtes entré. (You entered.) Vous êtes entrés. (You entered.) Vous êtes entrée. (You entered.) Vous êtes entrées. (You entered.) For a mixed group, always use the masculine form. Roger et Bernard sont revenus. (Roger and Bernard came back.) Louise et Mireille sont revenues. (Louise and Mireille came back.) Roger et Louise sont revenus. (Roger and Louise came back.) If the masculine past participle ends in an unpronounced consonant, pronounce the consonant for the feminine singular and plural forms: Il est mort. (He died.) Ils sont morts. (They died.) Elle est morte. (She died.) Elles sont mortes. (They died.) Forming the negative in the passé composé with être In the negative, put ne before the conjugated form of être and the negative word after it: Il n’est pas sorti. (He didn’t go out.) Elles ne sont pas encore arrivées. (They didn’t arrive yet.) Questions in the passé composé with être To form a question using inversion, invert the conjugated form of être with the subject pronoun and add a hyphen. The negatives surround the hyphenated verb and pronoun: Sont‐ils partis? (Did they leave?) Ne sont‐ils pas partis? (Didn’t they leave?) Verbs whose helping verb is être must show agreement of their past participles in gender (masculine or feminine — add e) and number (singular or plural — add s) with the subject noun or pronoun, as shown in Table 2 : Remember the following rules when using être as a helping verb in the passé composé: Vous can be a singular or plural subject for both masculine and feminine subjects. Singular                                             Plural Vous êtes entré. (You entered.)             Vous êtes entrés. (You entered.) Vous êtes entrée. (You entered.)           Vous êtes entrées. (You entered.) For a mixed group, always use the masculine form.

• Roger et Bernard sont revenus. (Roger and Bernard came back.)
• Louise et Mireille sont revenues. (Louise and Mireille came back.)
• Roger et Louise sont revenus. (Roger and Louise came back.)

If the masculine past participle ends in an unpronounced consonant, pronounce the consonant for the feminine singular and plural forms:

• Il est mort. (He died.) Ils sont morts. (They died.)
• Elle est morte. (She died.) Elles sont mortes. (They died.)

Forming the negative in the passé composé with être In the negative, put ne before the conjugated form of être and the negative word after it:

• Il n’est pas sorti. (He didn’t go out.)
• Elles ne sont pas encore arrivées. (They didn’t arrive yet.)

Questions in the passé composé with être To form a question using inversion, invert the conjugated form of êtrewith the subject pronoun and add a hyphen. The negatives surround the hyphenated verb and pronoun:

• Sont‐ils partis? (Did they leave?)
• Ne sont‐ils pas partis? (Didn’t they leave?)

]]>