Ayez parl\u00e9. <\/em>(Have spoken.)<\/p>\nThis one might seem strange, but consider the following context:<\/p>\n
Aie parl\u00e9 avec ton p\u00e8re avant ce soir, sinon, c\u2019est moi qui le fait. <\/em>([Make sure you] have spoken with your father before this evening, otherwise, I\u2019ll do it.)<\/p>\n3. The Conditional<\/h3>\n
The conditional mood is the mood of actions that are reliant on another action<\/strong>. It’s often used with si <\/em>(if) clauses, alongside the\u00a0imparfait<\/em>:<\/p>\nSi tu venais chez moi, on pourrait <\/strong>regarder notre s\u00e9rie pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9e. <\/em>(If you came to my house, we could watch our favorite show.)<\/p>\nThe conditional mood is also used to express politeness<\/strong>:<\/p>\nPourrais-tu me pr\u00eater ton stylo? <\/em>(Could you lend me your pen?)<\/p>\nOften, as you can see, the conditional can be used where in English we’d use “could” or “would.”<\/p>\n
Conjugating the Conditional<\/h4>\n
The conditional is usually conjugated in the present<\/strong>. You may recognize that the verb endings here look the same as the verb endings in the\u00a0imparfait<\/em> indicative.<\/p>\nJe parlerais <\/em>(I would speak)<\/p>\nTu parlerais <\/em>(You would speak)<\/p>\nIl\/elle\/on parlerait <\/em>(He\/she\/one would speak)<\/p>\nNous parlerions <\/em>(We would speak)<\/p>\nVous parleriez <\/em>(You would speak)<\/p>\nIls\/elles parleraient <\/em>(They would speak)<\/p>\nOccasionally, the conditional is used in the past. In this case, once again, we use\u00a0avoir<\/em> as a helping verb.<\/p>\nJ\u2019aurais parl\u00e9 <\/em>(I would have spoken)<\/p>\nTu aurais parl\u00e9 <\/em>(You would have spoken)<\/p>\nIl\/elle\/on aurait parl\u00e9 <\/em>(He\/she\/one would have spoken)<\/p>\nNous aurions parl\u00e9 <\/em>(We would have spoken)<\/p>\nVous auriez parl\u00e9 <\/em>(You would have spoken)<\/p>\nIls\/elles auraient parl\u00e9 <\/em>(They would have spoken)<\/p>\n4. The Subjunctive<\/h3>\n
The subjunctive mood is used to represent hypotheticals or intentions<\/strong>. For example:<\/p>\nIl faut que je fasse mes devoirs ce soir. <\/em>(It’s imperative that I do my homework tonight.)<\/p>\nJ\u2019aimerais que tu viennes \u00e0 ma soir\u00e9e! <\/em>(I\u2019d like you to come to my party!)<\/p>\nThere are many common phrases that end in que<\/em> and\u00a0are typically followed by the subjunctive.<\/p>\nIl faut que\u00a0<\/em>(It is imperative that)<\/p>\nIl est n\u00e9cessaire que\u00a0<\/em>(It is necessary that)<\/p>\nIl vaut mieux que\u00a0<\/em>(It would be better that)<\/p>\nJ’aimerais que<\/em> (I would like [something to happen])<\/p>\nAvant que\u00a0<\/em>(Before)<\/p>\nBien que\u00a0<\/em>(Even though)<\/p>\nConjugating the Subjunctive<\/h4>\n
The subjunctive is almost always used in the present tense<\/strong>. For regular verbs, the subjunctive looks quite a bit like the present indicative (and in fact, the present subjunctive and present indicative for -ER verbs look exactly the same).<\/p>\nHere\u2019s an example of a very common irregular subjunctive verb (faire<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 to do\/make) to give you an idea of how wacky the subjunctive can look:<\/p>\nque je fasse <\/em>(I do)<\/p>\nque tu fasses <\/em>(You do)<\/p>\nqu’il\/qu’elle\/que l’on fasse <\/em>(He\/she\/one does)<\/p>\nque nous fassions <\/em>(We do)<\/p>\nque vous fassiez <\/em>(You do)<\/p>\nqu’ils\/qu’elles fassent <\/em>(They do)<\/p>\nHere’s an example in context:<\/p>\n
Il faut que vous fassiez les courses. <\/em>(It is imperative that you do the food shopping.)<\/p>\nThere’s a subjunctive\u00a0imparfait<\/em> in French, but it’s very antiquated and you shouldn’t expect to use it.<\/p>\n5. The Infinitive<\/h3>\n
The infinitive mood is used when the unconjugated form<\/strong> of the verb is needed. It is known as an impersonal mood. This can happen in a variety of situations.<\/p>\nFirstly, the infinitive can occur after a conjugated verb.<\/p>\n
Je veux regarder<\/strong> la t\u00e9l\u00e9vision.\u00a0<\/em>(I want to watch television.)<\/p>\nLe gar\u00e7on doit finir<\/strong> ses devoirs!\u00a0<\/em>(The boy has to finish his homework.)<\/p>\nLe chien a esp\u00e9r\u00e9 manger<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>(The dog hoped to eat.)<\/p>\nNext, the infinitive can occur after an impersonal expression or adjective.<\/p>\n
Il est difficile \u00e0 travailler<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>(It is difficult to work.)<\/p>\nNous sommes d\u00e9sol\u00e9s d\u2019\u00eatre<\/strong> en retard.\u00a0<\/em>(We are sorry to be late.)<\/p>\nAlso, the infinitive can occur after a preposition.<\/p>\n
Avant de manger<\/strong>, nous discutons les nouvelles.\u00a0<\/em>(Before eating, we are discussing the news.)<\/p>\nPour finir<\/strong> le travail, je dois rester au bureau.\u00a0<\/em>(To finish the work, I have to stay at the office.)<\/p>\nThe infinitive can even give commands, orders or instructions.<\/p>\n
Conduire <\/em><\/strong>prudemment. <\/em>(Drive safely.)<\/p>\nCouper <\/em><\/strong>les oignons.\u00a0<\/em>(Cut the onions.)<\/p>\nEn cas d\u2019urgence, rester<\/strong> calme.\u00a0<\/em>(In case of emergency, stay calm.)<\/p>\nConjugating the Infinitive<\/h4>\n
This unconjugated form is also known as the dictionary form. These verbs retain their -er<\/em>, -ir<\/em>, -re<\/em> or irregular endings.<\/p>\n6. The Present Participle<\/h3>\n
The present participle is an impersonal mood that most accurately translates to the -ing form<\/strong> in English. This mood shows that an action is in the middle of occurring during the moment of speaking. It is also known as the g\u00e9rondif<\/em> (gerund). This mood can be employed in two main situations.<\/p>\nFirstly, the participle can show an actively occurring action using the preposition en<\/em> (while, by).<\/p>\nIl a jou\u00e9 le jeu en buvant<\/strong> le caf\u00e9.\u00a0<\/em>(He played the game while drinking his coffee.)<\/p>\nEn travaillant<\/strong>, je gagne de l\u2019argent.\u00a0<\/em>(By working, I earn money.)<\/p>\nLa fille rit en racontant<\/strong> l\u2019histoire.\u00a0<\/em>(The girl laughs while telling the story.)<\/p>\nThe participle can also modify a person, place or thing. In this case, it is describing a state of the nearest noun or pronoun.<\/p>\n
Lisant<\/em><\/strong> le livre, la fille \u00e9tait heureuse.\u00a0<\/em>(Reading the book, the girl was happy.)<\/p>\nJ\u2019ai vu l\u2019autobus conduisant<\/strong> \u00e0 l\u2019arr\u00eat de bus.\u00a0<\/em>(I saw the bus driving to the bus stop.)<\/p>\nConjugating the Present Participle<\/h4>\n
Creating the present participle is quite simple in French. Simply take the present tense of the verb in the nous<\/em> form, remove the -ons<\/em> ending and add on the –ant<\/em> ending that denotes the present participle.<\/p>\nJouer \u2013 nous jouons \u2013 jouant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nFinir \u2013 nous finissons \u2013 finissant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nVendre \u2013 nous vendons \u2013 vendant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nKeep in mind that verbs that undergo spelling changes during their conjugation with the nous<\/em> form retain these changes in the present participle.<\/p>\nManger \u2013 nous mangeons \u2013 mangeant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nPr\u00e9f\u00e9rer \u2013 nous pr\u00e9f\u00e9rons \u2013 pr\u00e9f\u00e9rant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nPlacer \u2013 nous pla\u00e7ons \u2013 pla\u00e7ant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nThere are only three irregular verbs in the present participle. They are \u00eatre<\/em> (to be), avoir <\/em>(to have) and savoir <\/em>(to know).<\/p>\n\u00catre \u2013 \u00e9tant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nAvoir \u2013 ayant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nSavoir \u2013 sachant<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n7. The Perfect Participle<\/h3>\n
The perfect participle is an impersonal mood that shows an action has been finished or completed<\/strong>. This mood does not occur after a noun or a pronoun like other moods\u2014rather, in front of it. As such, it shows a degree of detachment from the noun or pronoun it is talking about.<\/p>\n
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