French verb morphology
In French, a verb is inflected to reflect its mood and tense, as well as to agree with its subject in person and number. Additionally, there exist compound verb forms (i.e., non-synthetic forms, using auxiliary verbs) for expressing a passive voice and a perfect aspect, and the latter often doubles as an ordinary past tense. Following the tradition of Latin grammar, the set of inflected forms of a French verb is called the verb's conjugation.
Stems and endings
A simple verb form is composed of two distinct parts, the stem (or root or radix) and the ending (or termination). In certain persons of the second conjugation there is also an infix -iss- between the stem and the ending.
- Ils parlaient.
- The stem parl- is from the verb parler (to speak) and the ending -aient indicates that this is the imperfect indicative third person plural.
- Nous finissons.
- The stem fin- is from the verb finir (to finish) and the ending -ons indicates that this is the present indicative first person plural; between these is the second-conjugation infix -iss-.
Note that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the stem from the ending in the case of completely irregular verbs (avoir, aller, dire, être, faire, pouvoir, savoir, valoir, vouloir):
- Il va travailler. Tu es là ? Elle a rougi.
Stems
The stem, which is the root of the verb, tells us the meaning.
The principle of the fixed stem
The stem normally stays fixed in the first two conjugations:
- Je parlerais, tu parlas, qu'ils parlassent, parlant, parlé, que nous parlions, parlez…
- Je finirais, vous finîtes, finissant, qu'ils finissent, fini, finis, que nous finissions…
In the third it is often modified, sometimes even between persons in the same tense:
- Je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent.
But such irregularities apart, the principle is that nothing is removed from the stem. Consequently, verbs ending in -guer and -quer keep the -gu- or -qu- throughout the conjugation, even where simplifying this combination to -g- or -c- would be consistent with the rules of French pronunciation:
- Naviguer : nous naviguons, je naviguais, en naviguant…
- Provoquer : nous provoquons, je provoquais, en provoquant…
Adding to the stem to preserve the pronunciation
But although it is impossible ever to remove anything from the stem, it is permissible to add letters when this is necessary. Certain stems can undergo various orthographical changes (which are not strictly speaking considered to be irregularities) in order to retain the correct pronunciation:
- The -c- in certain stems receives a cedilla before any ending which would otherwise change its pronunciation:
- Avancer : j'avance, nous avançons, j'avançais…
- Apercevoir : j'aperçois, tu aperçus, nous apercevons…
- The -g- in certain stems is followed by a silent -e- before any ending which would otherwise change its pronunciation:
- Manger : je mange, nous mangeons, je mangeais, vous mangiez, en mangeant…
Endings
The ending is a suffix which tells us:
- For all verbs, the mood and the tense;
- For finite verbs, the person and the number; and
- For the past participle alone, the gender and the number.
Apart from a few verbs which are considered totally irregular (mainly avoir, être and aller), for each tense of each mood a series of six endings (one for each person singular and plural) is associated to a group or subgroup of verbs. Each of these series must now remain fixed throughout a single tense. Consequently, no ending may be modified even when orthographical simplification would be possible:
- For example, when the verb stem ends in a vowel (crier, fuir, tuer, voir, etc.), the -e- of the ending may become silent but is never suppressed:
- Fuir, present subjunctive: que je fuie, que tu fuies, qu'il fuie, que nous fuyions, que vous fuyiez, qu'ils fuient…
- Créer, future indicative: je créerai, tu créeras, il créera, nous créerons, vous créerez, ils créeront…
- Similarly, the inperfect indicative endings for the first and second persons plural are -ions et -iez: however, for such verbs as gagner, voir, rire, briller, etc., the -i- of these endings, although serving no purpose in the pronunciation of the verb form, must be retained:
- Nous gagnions, vous voyiez, nous riions, vous brilliez…
Use of an auxiliary
Certain verb forms (compound and doubly compound tenses, as well as simple tenses in the passive voice) make use of an auxiliary verb.
Auxiliaries used
French uses two auxiliaries: être and avoir. The question of semi-auxiliaries (conjugated verbs combined with an infinitive to form a verbal periphrasis) will be studied elsewhere.
être as an auxiliary
The auxiliary être is used in the formation of three types of verbal form:
- Composite tenses of certain intransitive verbs expressing a motion or change of state (aller, arriver, devenir, entrer, mourir, naître, partir, rester, sortir, venir…):
- François est allé à Paris.
- Composite and doubly composite tenses of all reflexive verbs:
- François s'est lavé la tête. François s'est eu lavé la tête. François s'est souvenu de Paul. François et Paul se sont parlé longtemps.
- Simple tenses of the passive voice of transitive verbs:
- François est grondé par ses parents.
avoir as an auxiliary
The auxiliary avoir is mainly used to form composite tenses of non-reflexive active verbs. These can be intransitive (être, disparaître…), but most are transitive (manger, croire, faire…):
- J'ai été malade. Tu as mangé des spaghettis.
- Notice that the verb être is not used in forming composite tenses of itself. Consequently the auxiliary être which occurs in the composite and doubly composite tenses of the passive voice of transitive verbs must be conjugated with the auxiliary avoir:
- François a été grondé par ses parents. François a eu été grondé par ses parents.
- For some verbs the correct choice of auxiliary is doubtful (accourir, convenir, demeurer, descendre, échapper, passer…):
- Il est passé (il a passé ?) par ici, il repassera par là. (Il court, il court, le furet - popular song)
- J'ai descendu (je suis descendue ?) dans mon jardin. (popular song)
- The choice of one or the other auxiliary sometimes changes the meaning of the verb, but whenever there is a direct object, the auxiliary avoir must be used (except of course for reflexive forms):
- Je suis monté au grenier. J'ai monté de vieux livres au grenier.
Verb forms requiring an auxiliary
Active voice
- For a composite or doubly composite tense that is not passive or reflexive, the appropriate auxiliary (être or avoir) is conjugated according to the tense and mood of the corresponding simple tense (for example, to obtain the perfect tense the corresponding simple tense is the present), followed by the past participle of the verb concerned:
- Il mange. Il a mangé. Nous partirons à Paris. Nous serons partis à Paris.
- For doubly composite tenses, the auxiliary is itself in a composite tense. Thus avoir eu must be substituted for avoir, and avoir été for être:
- Il a mangé. Il a eu mangé. Quand nous sommes partis... Quand nous avons été partis…
Passive voice
- For simple tenses of the passive voice, only the auxiliary être is used, conjugated according to the tense and mood of the corresponding active verb, together with the past participle of the relevant verb:
- Le chat mange la souris. La souris est mangée par le chat.
- In composite tenses (auxiliary avoir été) and in doubly composite tenses (auxiliary avoir eu été) the past participle of the relevant verb is always preceded by the past participle été, which is always invariant:
- Le chat a mangé la souris. La souris a été mangée par le chat.
- Le chat a eu mangé la souris. La souris a eu été mangée par le chat.
Reflexive verbs
- For composite tenses in reflexive verbs, only the auxiliary être is used, conjugated according to the tense and mood of the corresponding simple tense (for example, to obtain the future perfect the corresponding simple tense is the future), followed by the past participle of the verb concerned:
- Elle se lave. Elle s'est lavée. Elle se blottit. Elle s'est blottie.
- For doubly composite tenses (which are not much used in reflexive forms) the composite auxiliary être eu (not avoir été!) is substituted for the simple auxiliary être:
- Quand elle s'est eu lavée… Quand elle s'est eu blottie…
Choice of auxiliary
- (1) And some intransitive verbs (être, paraître...).
- (2) That is, verbs of changing state or of movement, except for those mentioned above.
Formation of simple tenses active
These tenses are not formed with an auxiliary, and their formation is discussed in the following section.
Infinitive
A verb is normally named by its present infinitive. Starting from this infinitive, the conjugations can be classified into three different groups:
- The first group or first conjugation. This contains the verbs with infinitives ending in -er (with the exception of aller, which due to its numerous irregularities is usually classed as being in the third conjugation):
- Aimer, balayer, chanter, envoyer, fermer, manger, passer, payer, promener, regarder, etc.
- For example, for the verb parler, the stem is parl- and the ending is -er.
- The second group or second conjugation. This contains the verbs with infinitives ending in -ir whose present participle ends in -issant:
- Bénir, compatir, déguerpir, fleurir, grandir, haïr, investir, polir, rougir, rugir, salir, etc.
- For example, for the verb finir, the stem is fin- and the ending is -ir.
- The third group or third conjugation. This contains all the other verbs, all considered as to some extent irregular, to wit: the verbs ending in -ir not belonging to the second conjugation, the verbs ending in -oir, the verbs ending in -re and the verb aller:
- Conduire, connaître, dire, dormir, exclure, faire, mettre, plaindre, prendre, résoudre, savoir, vivre, etc.
- For example, for the verb courir, the stem is cour- and the ending is -ir.
- For example, for the verb devoir, the stem is dev- and the ending is -oir.
- For example, for the verb rendre, the stem is rend- and the ending is -re.
- For the verb aller, the stem is all- and the ending is -er.
Note that the auxiliaries être et avoir, although they would naturally seem to belong to the third conjugation, are traditionally classed separately.
Present indicative
The stem of the present indicative is not always regular and not always invariant (especially in the third conjugation), and there are two sets of endings which can be distinguished according to whether the first person singular ends in -e:
- Verbs ending in -e (all verbs of the first group and some from the third): -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.
- Verbs not ending in -e (all verbs of the second group and most of the third) : -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent. But there are numerous irregularities, especially in the third group.
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| je parle | je finis |
| tu parles | tu finis |
| il, elle, on parle | il, elle, on finit |
| nous parlons | nous finissons |
| vous parlez | vous finissez |
| ils, elles parlent | ils, elles finissent |
Imperfect indicative
- The stem of the imperfect indicative is always invariant for a single verb. It is derived from the first person plural of the present indicative (except for the verb être):
- Verb boire, present indicative : je bois, tu bois, il boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils boivent.
- Verb boire, imperfect indicative : je buvais, tu buvais, il buvait, nous buvions, vous buviez, ils buvaient.
- The endings of this tense are for any of the three groups always: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
- For the 1st and 3rd groups, the -i- of the first and second persons plural must always be kept even though it may not be reflected in the pronunciation of certain verbs:
- Nous travaillions, vous travailliez, nous riions, vous riiez, nous essuyions, vous essuyiez, nous gagnions, vous gagniez, nous tressaillions, vous tressailliez, nous priions, vous priiez...
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| je parlais | je finissais |
| tu parlais | tu finissais |
| il, elle, on parlait | il, elle, on finissait |
| nous parlions | nous finissions |
| vous parliez | vous finissiez |
| ils parlaient | ils, elles finissaient |
Past historic
The stem of the past historic tense is not always regular but is always invariant for a single verb. There are four sets of endings for this tense:
- Past historic in -a- : -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent. [1st group and aller]
- Past historic in -i- : -is, -is, -it, -îmes, -îtes, -irent. [2nd and 3rd groups]
- Past historic in -u- : -us, -us, -ut, -ûmes, -ûtes, -urent. [3rd group]
- Past historic in -in- : -ins, -ins, -int, -înmes, -întes, -inrent. [3rd group]
- Je chantai, je finis, je bus, je vins…
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| je parlai | je finis |
| tu parlas | tu finis |
| il, elle, on parla | il, elle, on finit |
| nous parlâmes | nous finîmes |
| vous parlâtes | vous finîtes |
| ils, elles parlèrent | ils, elles finirent |
Future
The future endings correspond to the present indicative of the verb avoir. They are always regular: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
- Between the future stem and these endings the infinitive ending is inserted. In other words, to form the future tense these endings are appended to the infinitive:
- Je finirai, tu parleras, elle sortira, nous travaillerons, vous rougirez, ils partiront.
- But there are several irregular future stems, especially in the third group.
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| je parlerai | je finirai |
| tu parleras | tu finiras |
| il, elle, on parlera | il, elle, on finira |
| nous parlerons | nous finirons |
| vous parlerez | vous finirez |
| ils, elles parleront | ils, elles finiront |
Present conditional
The conditional endings correspond to those of the imperfect indicative. They too are always regular: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
- The conditional stem is always the same as the future stem:
- Je finirais, tu parlerais, elle sortirait, nous travaillerions, vous rougiriez, ils partiraient.
- Consequently, if the future stem is irregular, so will the conditional be, and vice versa. Moreover, if the future does not exist (defective verbs) neither will the conditional.
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| je parlerais | je finirais |
| tu parlerais | tu finirais |
| il, elle, on parlerait | il, elle, on finirait |
| nous parlerions | nous finirions |
| vous parleriez | vous finiriez |
| ils, elles parleraient | ils, elles finiraient |
Present subjunctive
- The present subjunctive endings are for all three groups (except the verbs être et avoir): -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent.
- For the 1st and 3rd groups, the -i- of the first and second persons plural must always be kept even though it may not be reflected in the pronunciation of certain verbs:
- (Il faut) que nous travaillions, que vous travailliez, que nous riions, que vous riiez, que nous essuyions, que vous essuyiez, que nous gagnions, que vous gagniez, que nous tressaillions, que nous tressailliez, que nous priions, que vous priiez, que nous ayons, que vous ayez, que nous soyons, que vous soyez...
- The present subjunctive stem is generally derived from the third person plural of the present indicative (except for the verbs aller, avoir, être, faire, falloir, pouvoir, savoir, traire, valoir, and vouloir, which have irregular stems):
- Verb craindre, present indicative: je crains, tu crains, il craint, nous craignons, vous craignez, ils craignent.
- Verb craindre, present subjunctive: (que) je craigne, tu craignes, il craigne, nous craignions, vous craigniez, ils craignent.
- Verb faire, present indicative: je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font.
- Verb faire, present subjunctive: (que) je fasse, tu fasses, il fasse, nous fassions, vous fassiez, ils fassent.
- But when in the present indicative, the stem used for the first and second persons plural differs from that used for the other four persons, the present subjunctive also uses this stem for these two persons:
- Verb recevoir, present indicative: je reçois, tu reçois, il reçoit, nous recevons, vous recevez, ils reçoivent.
- Verb recevoir, present subjunctive: (que) je reçoive, tu reçoives, il reçoive, nous recevions, vous receviez, ils reçoivent.
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| (il faut que) je parle | (il faut que) je finisse |
| (que) tu parles | (que) tu finisses |
| (qu') il, elle, on parle | (qu') il, elle, on finisse |
| (que) nous parlions | (que) nous finissions |
| (que) vous parliez | (que) vous finissiez |
| (qu') ils, elles parlent | (qu') ils, elles finissent |
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is always constructed from the past historic; hence, if the past historic does not exist (defective verbs) neither will the imperfect subjunctive. To be more exact, the imperfect subjunctive stem consists of the second person singular of the past historic, except that in the third person singular of the imperfect subjunctive the final -s- of the stem is replaced with a circumflex over the preceding vowel. The stem is otherwise stable for a single verb, and the endings are always: -se, -ses, -t, -sions, -siez, -sent.
- (Il fallait) que je chantasse, que tu finisses, qu'il bût, que nous vinssions, que vous parlassiez, qu'elles rougissent…
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| (il faut que) je parlasse | (il faut que) je finisse |
| (que) tu parlasses | (que) tu finisses |
| (qu') il, elle, on parlât | (qu') il, elle, on finît |
| (que) nous parlassions | (que) nous finissions |
| (que) vous parlassiez | (que) vous finissiez |
| (qu') ils, elles parlassent | (qu') ils, elles finissent |
Imperative
Recall two unusual features of the imperative: it exists only in three persons (second singular, first plural and second plural) and its subject pronoun is always omitted.
- Most often, the present imperative is copied from the indicative present (this is always true for verbs from the first two groups). Thus when the present indicative has two alternate forms, so does the present imperative:
- Asseoir : assieds (assois), asseyons (assoyons), asseyez (assoyez).
- Payer : paye (paie), payons, payez.
- The imperatives of avoir and être are based on the present subjunctive, and those of savoir and vouloir are irregular:
- Aie, ayons, ayez. Sois, soyons, soyez. Sache, sachons, sachez. Veuille, veuillons, veuillez.
- Note that the singular of verbs ending in -e or in -a in the imperative has no final -s. This applies to all verbs from the 1st group and to some from the 3rd (assaillir, couvrir, cueillir, défaillir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrir, tressaillir and verbs derived from them, as well as the verbs aller, avoir, savoir et vouloir) :
- Parle, cueille, va, aie, sache, veuille, finis, sors...
- However, for euphonic reasons this -s reappears if the imperative is immediately followed by one of the indirect object pronouns en and y:
- Cueille (cueilles-en). Pense (penses-y)...
- Example:
| 1st group | 2nd group |
| parle | finis |
| parlons | finissons |
| parlez | finissez |
Present participle and gerundive
- The ending for the present participle and the gerundive (recall that these two forms are invariant) is always -ant.
- The stem is generally derived from that of the first person plural of the present indicative (except for the verbs avoir, être and savoir). But it may be irregular (usually in the third conjugation):
- Parler : (en) parlant. Voir : (en) voyant. Savoir : (en) sachant…
Past participle
The stem of the past participle may be irregular, but is in principle stable. Its ending, unlike the present participle and gerundive which are invariant, may be inflected to show number and gender.
- Whether the past participle is used as a true verbal form (with or without auxiliary) or as an attributive adjective, its stem is stable for a single verb, but its ending may be inflected according to the rules of agreement for an attributive adjective. Thus from the masculine singular form, the feminine singular is obtained by appending an -e, the masculine plural by appending an -s and the feminine plural by appending -es:
- Un fruit confit, une poire confite / Des fruits confits, des poires confites.
- However, certain past participles are invariant:
- Agi [verb s'agir]; dormi; été; fallu; neigé; nui; plu; pu; ri; suffi...
- The masculine singular form of a past participle may end in -é, -i, -u, -s or -t, depending on which group it belongs to:
- - Past participle ending in -é : parlé [parler, 1st group]; né [naître, 3rd group];
- - Past participle ending in -i : fini [finir, 2nd group]; sorti [sortir, 3rd group];
- - Past participle ending in -u : entendu [entendre, 3rd group];
- - Past participle ending in -s : pris [prendre, 3rd group];
- - Past participle ending in -t : ouvert [ouvrir, 3rd group];
Defective verbs
Some conjugations can be incomplete: certain tenses, certain moods or certain persons do not exist. Such conjugations are said to be defective. The so-called defective verbs include:
- Some archaic verbs which are only used in certain persons or in certain fixed expressions (accroire, choir, clore, ester, férir, gésir, occire, ouïr, poindre, quérir, etc.)
- Ci-gît un homme irremplaçable. Oyez, oyez, braves gens ! Je l'ai obtenu sans coup férir.
- Some intrinsically impersonal verbs (falloir, pleuvoir, s'agir, importer, etc.):
- Il fallait que tu viennes. Il tonne. Il s'agit de réussir.
- Verbs for which some forms are useless (barrir, éclore, pulluler, etc.):
- Les moustiques pullulent. Les fleurs éclosent. L'âne brait.
See also
References
- This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the French Wikipedia, accessed 21 April 2005.