Microsoft Word – FGB§2 verbs

Verbs can be in one of four MOODS: 

VERBS 

[1] indicative - makes statements and asks questions 

[2] imperative - gives orders and makes prohibitions 

[3] subjunctive - implies the influence of feelings (see later) 

[4] conditional - dependence on a condition 

THE INDICATIVE 

THE PRESENT TENSE 

To form the present tense, take the final two letters from the INFINITIVE and add the 

following endings: 

ER verbs: e es e ons ez ent 

RE verbs: s s (t) ons ez ent 

IR verbs: is is it issons issez issent 

VERBS THAT ARE IRREGULAR IN THE PRESENT TENSE 

IR VERBS 

ÊTRE suis es est sommes êtes sont 

AVOIR ai as a avons avez ont 

ALLER vais vas va allons allez vont 

ASSAILLIR to attack assaille assailles assaille assaillons assaillez assaillent 

Also: 

tressaillir to jump (in fright) 

saillir to stick out 

défaillir to weaken 

BOUILLIR to boil bous bous bout bouillons bouillez bouillent 

COURIR to run cours cours court courons courez courent

Also 

accourir to run towards 

concourir to compete 

discourir to discourse, talk 

encourir to incur 

parcourir to cover a distance 

secourir to help, succour 

COUVRIR to cover couvre couvres couvre couvrons couvrez couvrent 

Also 

ouvrir to open 

offrir to offer 

entr’ouvrir to open slightly 

rouvrir to re-open 

souffrir to suffer 

CUEILLIR to gather, pick cueille cueilles cueille cueillons cueillez cueillent 

Also 

accueillir to welcome 

recueillir to gather together 

FUIR to flee fuis fuis fuit fuyons fuyez fuyent 

Also 

s’enfuir to run away 

HAÏR to hate hais hais hait haïssons haïssez haïssent 

SERVIR to serve sers sers sert servons servez servent 

Also 

dormir to sleep 

s’endormir to go to sleep 

se rendormir to go back to sleep 

partir to leave, depart, go away 

repartir to set off again 

consentir to consent 

sentir to feel, smell 

pressentir to sense 

ressentir to resent 

mentir to lie 

démentir to belie 

sortir to go out 

ressortir to go out again 

VETIR to clothe vêts vêts vêt vêtons vêtez vêtent 

Also 

revêtir to cover 

dévêtir to divest 

ACQUÉRIR to acquire acquiers acquiers acquiert acquérons acquérez acquièrent 

Also 

conquérir to conquer 

s’enquérir to make enquiries 

requérir to request, require

TENIR to hold tiens tiens tient tenons tenez tiennent 

Also 

retenir to retain 

s’abstenir to abstain 

appartenir to belong 

contenir to contain 

détenir to detain 

entretenir to maintain (upkeep) 

maintenir to maintain 

obtenir to obtain 

soutenir to uphold, support 

VENIR to come viens viens vient venons venez viennent 

Also 

revenir to come back 

convenir to agree 

devenir to become 

intervenir to intervene 

parvenir to manage 

se souvenir (de) to remember 

Exercise 6 (irregular IR verbs) 

1 They jump when they see a ghost. 

2 The water is boiling. 

3 They are competing for the Cup. 

4 He offers to help us. 

5 They welcome us warmly. 

6 They are running away from the monster. 

7 I hate cheese. 

8 The baby is asleep. 

9 He usually falls asleep in the evenings. 

10 She serves the meal. 

11 The train leaves at nine o’clock. 

12 I feel tired. 

13 The child is lying. 

14 This document belies what he said. 

15 They are covering it in leather. 

16 This book belongs to her mother. 

17 The ancient beam supports the roof. 

18 I don’t remember what the teacher said. 

19 We’re coming back next week. 

20 This student is becoming lazy.

‘OIR’ VERBS 

S’ASSEOIR to sit down assieds assieds assied asseyons asseyez asseyent 

assois assois assoit assoyons assoyez assoient 

(either form may be used) 

also 

se rasseoir to sit back down 

surseoir to suspend 

seoir to suit, be fitting 

DEVOIR must dois dois doit devons devez doivent 

FALLOIR must il faut (only ever in the 3 rd person) 

Also 

s’en falloir to be just short of (il s’en faut de beaucoup = far from it) 

MOUVOIR to drive/propel meus meus meut mouvons mouvez meuvent 

Also 

emouvoir to move emotionally 

PLEUVOIR to rain il pleut 

POURVOIR to provide pourvois pouvois pourvoit pourvoyons pourvoyez pourvoient 

Also 

dépourvoir to deprive 

POUVOIR to be able peux peux peut pouvons pouvez peuvent 

(puis-je? = may I?) 

RECEVOIR to receive reçois reçois reçoit recevons recevez reçoivent 

Also 

décevoir to disappoint 

apercevoir to perceive 

s’apercevoir de to notice 

concevoir to conceive 

SAVOIR to know sais sais sait savons savez savent 

VALOIR to be worth vaux vaux vaut valons valez valent 

Also 

équivaloir to be equal 

prévaloir to prevail 

VOIR to see vois vois voit voyons voyez voient 

Also 

revoir to see again 

entrevoir to glimpse 

prévoir to foresee 

VOULOIR to want, wish veux veux veut voulons voulez veulent

Exercise 7 (irregular OIR verbs) 

RE VERBS 

1 We sit on these chairs every day. 

2 All students must do this exercise. 

3 The sad music moves us deeply. 

4 It is still raining outside. 

5 The government provides all we need. 

6 This law deprives us of our rights. 

7 The children can’t finish it. 

8 Your recent work disappoints me. 

9 The architect is conceiving a new project. 

10 Peace prevails in the classroom at last. 

11 Do you know how to write this? 

12 This old book is worth a lot. 

13 I foresee problems in the future. 

14 We don’t want any more cheese. 

15 May I see that letter? 

ABSOUDRE to absolve absous absous absout absolvons absolvez absolvent 

Also 

résoudre to resolve 

dissoudre to dissolve 

BATTRE to beat bats bats bat battons battez battent 

Also 

combattre to fight (transitive) 

se battre to fight (intransitive) 

abattre to kill, knock down 

rabattre to lower, reduce 

débattre to debate 

se débattre to struggl] 

BOIRE to drink bois bois boit buvons buvez boivent 

CLORE to conclude clos clos clot closons closez closent 

NB ‘fermer’ has replaced this verb in most uses 

Also 

enclore to enclose 

éclore to hatch, blossom 

CONCLURE to conclude conclus conclus conclut concluons concluez concluent 

Also 

exclure to eject 

s’exclure to be incompatible 

inclure to include (rarely used) 

CONDUIRE to lead, drive conduis conduis conduit conduisons conduisez conduisent 

Also 

construire to build, construct 

cuire to cook (intransitive) 

déduire to deduce, infer 

détruire to destroy

instruire to instruct 

induire to induce, infer 

circoncire to circumcise 

enduire to smear 

introduire to introduce (NB not in the sense of a person: use ‘présenter’) 

réduire to reduce 

produire to produce 

séduire to charm, seduce 

traduire to translate 

luire to shine 

reluire to gleam, glitter 

nuire (à) to harm, hurt 

suffire to suffice, be enough 

confire to pickle 

CONNAITRE [to know] connais connais connaît connaissons connaissez connaissent 

Put a circumflex on the I when it is followed by a T 

Also 

reconnaître to recognise 

paraître to seem, appear 

apparaître to appear – physically 

reparaître to reappear 

paître to graze 

repaître to feed on (animals only) 

COUDRE to sew couds couds coud cousons cousez cousent 

Also 

recoudre to sew up, stitch up 

découdre to unpick stitches 

CRAINDRE to fear crains crains craint craignons craignez craignent 

Also 

plaindre to pity 

se plaindre to complain 

contraindre to constrain, force 

PEINDRE to paint peins peins peint peignons peignez peignent 

Also 

atteindre to reach 

éteindre to turn off, extinguish 

feindre to pretend, feign 

enfreindre to infringe, contravene 

astreindre to compel, oblige 

restreindre to restrict, curb 

teindre to dye 

ceindre to gird, wreath, encircle 

enceindre to surround 

empreindre to imprint, stamp 

étreindre to hug, grip 

geindre to moan 

dépeindre to depict 

JOINDRE to join joins joins joint joignons joignez joignent 

Also 

adjoindre to associate 

rejoindre to meet, join 

oindre to anoint

enjoindre to enjoin, call on, order 

disjoindre to disconnect 

CROIRE to believe crois crois croit croyons croyez croient 

CROITRE to grow croîs croîs croît croissons croissez croissent 

A circumflex is used whenever the form is the same as ‘croire’ 

Also 

accroître to increase 

décroître to decrease 

DIRE to say dis dis dit disons dites disent 

Also 

contredire to contradict 

interdire to forbid interdisez 

prédire to predict prédisez 

ÉCRIRE to write écris écris écrit écrivons écrivez écrivent 

Also 

récrire to rewrite 

décrire to describe 

inscrire to inscribe 

s’inscrire to enrol, register 

prescrire to prescribe 

proscrire to outlaw, proscribe, ban 

transcrire to transcribe, transliterate 

souscrire to sign, subscribe, endorse 

FAIRE to do, make fais fais fait faisons faites font 

Also 

défaire to undo 

contrefaire to counterfeit, to pirate 

LIRE to read lis lis lit lisons lisez lisent 

Also 

relire to re-read 

élire to elect 

réélire to re-elect 

METTRE to put mets mets met mettons mettez mettent 

Also 

remettre to put back, replace 

admettre to admit 

commettre to commit 

émettre to emit, give out, broadcast 

compromettre to compromise 

démettre to dislocate 

se démettre to resign 

s’entremettre to intervene, mediate 

omettre to omit 

permettre to permit, allow 

promettre to promise 

soumettre to submit intransitive, to subdue 

se soumettre to submit transitive 

transmettre to transmit, convey

MOUDRE to grind, mill mouds mouds moud moulons moulez moulent 

NAITRE to be born nais nais naît naissons naissez naissent 

Also 

renaître to be born again, reappear 

PLAIRE to please plais plais plaît plaisons plaisez plaisent 

Also 

déplaire to displease 

se plaire à to enjoy 

PRENDRE to take prends prends prend prenons prenez prennent 

Also 

reprendre to retake, resume 

apprendre to learn, teach 

comprendre to understand 

entreprendre to undertake 

se méprendre to be mistaken 

surprendre to surprise 

s’éprendre (de) to fall in love 

RIRE to laugh ris ris rit rions riez rient 

Also 

sourire to smile 

se rire de to mock 

SUIVRE to follow suis suis suit suivons suivez suivent 

Also 

poursuivre to pursue 

s’ensuivre to follow il s’ensuit que … = it follows that … 

TAIRE keep silent about tais tais tait taisons taisez taisent 

Also 

se taire to be silent 

TRAIRE to milk trais trais trait trayons trayez traient 

Also 

abstraire to isolate 

distraire to divert, distract 

extraire to extract, take out 

soustraire to remove, subtract 

VAINCRE to conquer vaincs vaincs vainct vainquons vainquez vainquent 

Also 

convaincre to convince 

VIVRE to live vis vis vit vivons vivez vivent 

Also 

survivre to survive 

revivre to revive

Exercise 8 (irregular RE verbs) 

1 He dissolves the sugar. 

2 They fight for their rights. 

3 The baker is reducing his prices. 

4 Students drink a lot of beer. 

5 The eggs hatch out every year. 

6 We therefore conclude that it is false. 

7 They are building a bridge. 

8 The enemies destroy the city. 

9 We are introducing a new element. 

10 This machine produces thread. 

11 The gold gleams in the sun. 

12 We are translating this into French. 

13 We recognise the book. 

14 The actors appear every evening. 

15 It seems that the work is finished. 

Exercise 9 (irregular ER verbs) 

1 A cloud appears in the sky. 

2 She is sewing up the hole. 

3 We are afraid of the consequences. 

4 I pity those who are suffering. 

5 They all believe in God. 

6 The quantity decreases every day. 

7 This book contradicts my argument. 

8 His father forbids him to go out. 

9 The old lady predicts a happy future. 

10 We are describing our holiday. 

11 I am enrolling for this course. 

12 The police bans this activity. 

13 The children undo their laces. 

14 They meet every afternoon. 

15 The archbishop anoints the king. 


1 We elect a new government in May. 

2 I admit that the answer is wrong. 

3 He omits his name on the document. 

4 I allow you to leave early. 

5 Do you promise to obey your father? 

6 The ancient mill still grinds corn. 

7 This problem crops up regularly. 

8 You can reach the church on foot. 

9 His friends turn off the television. 

10 The weaver does not dye the cloth. 

11 The wind is moaning in the trees. 

12 This novel depicts the life of a thief. 

13 I don’t like this book. 

14 My sister likes this book. 

15 I always enjoy reading.


1 The students catch the last train to Paris. 

2 We are undertaking this new task. 

3 He falls in love with Spanish girls. 

4 Don’t laugh at me. 

5 We smile when she sings. 

6 The policemen pursue the burglar. 

7 It doesn’t follow that the article is true. 

8 The boys are always silent in class. 

9 Your argument convinces me. 

10 We survive the grammar course! 

SEMI-IRREGULAR VERBS 

1 Verbs ending in CER: change c to ç before a and o (commençons) 

2 Verbs ending in GER: add e after g before a and o (mangeais) 

3 Verbs ending in YER: change y to i before mute e (essaie) 

NB Verbs in AYER can retain the y (je paie or je paye) 

4 Verbs in ELER & ETER: there is no hard and fast rule: each verb needs 

to be learnt separately. There are 2 forms: 

[a] change e to è before a mute e (achète – répète) 

[b] double the consonant before a mute e (jette – appelle) 

5 Verbs ending in é + consonant + er: change é to è before a mute e: (espère) 

Reference: these are the most common verbs of type 4: 

Double the consonant: 

amonceler appeler chanceler dépuceler enficeler ensorceler 

épeler étinceler ficeler grommeler harceler jumeler 

niveler rappeler renouveler ruisseler tonneler billeter 

buffeter cacheter décolleter déjeter empaqueter étiqueter 

feuilleter interjeter jeter moucheter paqueter Projeter 

rejeter riveter tacheter trompeter voleter 

Change e to è: 

celer ciseler congeler déceler dégeler écarteler 

geler marteler modeler peler receler acheter 

aleter racheter

Exercise 12 (semi-irregular verbs) 

1 We are at last beginning to understand French verbs. 

2 We are travelling to France tomorrow afternoon. 

3 They neglect their duty. 

4 This bores me. 

5 They are trying to work. 

6 The charlady cleans the floors. 

7 The students are buying writing-paper. 

8 The children throw balls across the wall. 

9 The man is drying his wet clothes. 

10 I hope he arrives safely. 

THE USE OF THE PRESENT TENSE 

[1] to express PRESENT TIME (English present continuous): 

I am eating at the moment Je mange en ce moment 

[2] to express HABIT (English simple present tense): 

I work every day Je travaille tous les jours 

[3] to express the IMMEDIATE FUTURE (as in English): 

We are going to Paris tomorrow On va à Paris demain 

[4] to express FUTURE INTENTION using aller (English future tense): 

You’ll see! Tu vas voir! 

[5] the HISTORIC PRESENT—events are expressed in the present rather than 

in the past to give them greater immediacy (this use is common in colloquial 

English): 

She died at five o’clock Elle meurt à cinq heures 

NB1 — When do, does and don’t are used to emphasise verbs in English, they should 

NEVER be translated into French.: 

We do like cheese nous aimons le fromage 

Don’t they like it? Est-ce qu’ils ne l’aiment pas? 

NB2 — To stress the continuous nature of an event, use en train de: 

He’s doing his homework Il est en train de faire ses devoirs

Exercise 13 (use of the present tense) 

1 We are working in class at the moment. 

2 At the present time there are no real difficulties. 

3 Whenever she sees her mother she gets angry. 

4 We’re going to the theatre this evening. 

5 You’ll see it quite soon. 

6 He’s (in the middle of) doing his homework. 

7 At midnight there was a loud explosion [historic present] 

8 Do you like Camembert? 

9 I don’t go to church very often. 

10 We do approve of your intentions. 

11 I do love writing essays. 

12 I am trying to work. 

13 We are too busy today. 

14 Do you think I ought to tell her? 

15 They are sunbathing outside. 

THE FUTURE TENSE 

Formation: add the following endings to the INFINITIVE: 

ai as a ons ez ont 

IRREGULAR FUTURE FORMS (remember that they have derivatives!): 

être serai courir courrai venir viendrai 

devoir devrai pouvoir pourrai voir verrai 

avoir aurai cueillir cueillerai il faut il faudra 

recevoir recevrai vouloir voudrai aller irai 

acquérir acquerrai tenir tiendrai mouvoir mouvrai 

savoir saurai faire ferai envoyer enverrai 

asseoir assiérai il pleut il pleuvra valoir vaudrai 

Exercise 14 (irregular future forms) 

1 We shall be happy to see you. 

2 They will not go to school next week. 

3 We shall run to the shops. 

4 They will acquire a lot of merit. 

5 I shall be coming later. 

6 He will maintain his innocence. 

7 We shan’t be able to do it this week. 

8 You’ll know tomorrow morning. 

9 You’ll see the café opposite the bakery. 

10 He will have difficulty reading it. 

11 They will do it on Sunday. 

12 You’ll have to check the invoice. [falloir] 

13 I shall sit down here. 

14 Will it rain tomorrow? 

15 They will receive the letter later.


1 We’ll be there at midday. 

2 He will be running in the Olympic Games. 

3 The teacher will be coming later. 

4 I shall have to ring her tomorrow. 

5 We shan’t be able to write it after all. 

6 He’ll be seeing them in two days’ time. 

7 We’ll have three novels to study. 

8 She’ll pick the roses this afternoon. 

9 You’ll have to work much harder. 

10 You will receive my reply at noon. 

11 The judge will want to hear the truth. 

12 They’ll be going to church at Easter. 

13 Good students will acquire a good reputation. 

14 This bag won’t hold all the bread. 

15 We’ll know next week. 


1 John will be writing to you next month. 

2 His father will send for the doctor. 

3 You will all sit down immediately! 

4 Will it be raining tomorrow morning? 

5 That won’t be worth the bother. 

6 They will never agree to it. 

7 The boys will remember this exercise. [se souvenir] 

8 You’ll get tired if you keep doing that. 

9 You’ll notice a big difference. [apercevoir] 

10 This essay will contain all the relevant ideas. 

11 I’m sure that good sense will prevail. 

12 We shan’t intervene in the argument. 

13 They won’t be receiving it yet. 

14 They’ll be sending for the vet tonight. 

15 It won’t be easy for him. 

USE OF THE FUTURE TENSE 

[1] to express FUTURE TIME as in English (note that the FUTURE CONTINUOUS in 

English (I shall be going) is the SIMPLE future in French (j’y irai) 

[2] to express a COMMAND (as in English): 

You will do it this evening Tu le feras ce soir 

[3] the LOGICAL FUTURE (present tense in English), used after conjunctions 

of time (see the section on CONJUNCTIONS OF TIME for a full explanation): 

I shall see him when I AM ready Je le verrai quand je SERAI prêt

Exercise 17 (use of the future tense) 

1 She will write her essay this evening. 

2 You will not go out without your father’s permission. 

3 That man will receive nothing. 

4 You will do it straight away! 

5 I’ll finish the washing up when I’m ready. 

6 He will go to the bank when it opens. 

7 He will read the letter as soon as he can. 

8 While you’re in my class you’ll behave yourselves. 

9 When the lesson ends, close your books. 

10 Let me know when you want to borrow it. 

THE CONDITIONAL TENSE 

Endings: ais ais ait ions iez aient 

These are the same endings as in the IMPERFECT tense. 

The STEM is the same as the FUTURE tense — the INFINITIVE and the same irregular 

forms. 

THE USE OF THE CONDITIONAL TENSE 

[1] as in English, to express the future in the past 

I knew that he would come Je savais qu’il viendrait 

[2] to express probability 

He might come Il pourrait venir 

[3] to express conjecture (often where we would use ‘allege’) 

It is alleged that there are fifteen dead Il y aurait quinze morts 

For a fuller explanation of the use of the conditional tense, see COMMON AUXILIARY VERBS. 

Exercise 18 (use of the conditional tense) 

1 We would be happy to see you. 

2 You could do it if you wanted to. 

3 They wouldn’t know the answer. 

4 I would have to explain this to you. 

5 We might want to read it later. 

6 He said he would arrive soon. 

7 That book wouldn’t contain enough chapters. 

8 It would be useful to have some change. 

9 I would have enough milk. 

10 We’d like to see it.

Exercise 19 (irregular conditional forms) 

1 I’d be happier if you worked more diligently. 

2 He’d be running the risk of losing his money. 

3 I’d come straight away if I could. 

4 They ought to start off soon. 

5 We could fetch him next week. 

6 If you opened your eyes you would see it. 

7 I would be rich if I worked harder. 

8 You’d have to buy a new pen. [falloir] 

9 We would receive the money if we asked for it. 

10 Would you like to see my photos? 

11 They would go to school if they weren’t so bored. 

12 He said he would obtain the best examples. 

13 I wouldn’t know what to say. 

14 He would write a book if he knew how to. 

15 I would send it to you if you paid for it. 

Exercise 20 (irregular conditional forms) 

1 If the chairs were more comfortable they’d sit down. 

2 He hadn’t the slightest idea if it would rain or not. 

3 You’d better start thinking now! 

4 They would agree if they knew the facts. 

5 He said he’d never remember the vocabulary. [se souvenir] 

6 If you drank any more beer you’d fall over! 

7 The teacher said she wouldn’t receive the letter. 

8 He said the dictionary would contain the necessary words. 

9 If you were to fight, the police would intervene. 

10 If you spent more time working you’d get better marks.

PAST TENSES 

There are two simple past tenses in French, the IMPERFECT and the PAST HISTORIC 

(sometimes called the ‘preterite’). The past historic is now used only in formal writing, 

usually only in the 3 rd person. Today the PERFECT is normally used instead. 

The PAST HISTORIC / PERFECT is used to recount events in the past, whereas the 

IMPERFECT is used for states and habits. 

A rule of thumb when deciding on which to use is to ask “Did it occur?” If the answer is ‘yes’, use 

the past historic (perfect). If the answer is ‘yes’ to the questions “Was it going on at the time?” or 

“Did it happen regularly?”, use the imperfect. 

THE IMPERFECT TENSE 

Formation: add the following endings to the present stem: 

ais ais ait ions iez aient 

These are the same endings as in the conditional tense. 

To find the PRESENT STEM, take the ending ons away from the 1 st person plural of the 

present tense: 

Nous commençons - commenç- nous prenons - pren- 

ÊTRE is the only verb that is irregular in the imperfect: 

[1] to express a state of being in the past: 

étais étais était étions étiez étaient 

THE USE OF THE IMPERFECT: 

There was a book on the table Il y avait un livre sur la table 

[2] to express a habit in the past: 

He went to church every week Il allait à l’église toutes les semaines 

[3] to express what was happening at a particular time in the past: 

He was reading when she entered Il lisait quand elle est entrée 

[4] to translate the English simple past after IF: 

If I had a book I would read it Si j’avais un livre je le lirais

Exercise 21 (the use of the imperfect tense) 

1 There was a crowd of people waiting for the bus. 

2 A large church stood on the hill. 

3 At the end of the street the thieves waited. 

4 He was scratching his nose. 

5 He got the train to school every day. 

6 We used to play in the street when we were children. 

7 The anglers went fishing every Saturday. 

8 When I was younger I used to run a lot. 

9 He was washing up when his mother walked in. 

10 She saw what he was doing. 

11 The boy sat in a chair doing nothing. 

12 As I passed along the street I saw an open café. 

13 If I had plenty of money I would buy a large house. 

14 If you gave me your essay I would correct it. 

15 If you knew him better you would like him. 

THE PAST HISTORIC (preterite) 

The STEM on which the endings are placed is formed from the PAST PARTICIPLE: take 

away the final letter of the past participle and you have the past historic stem: 

donn – é vend – u fin – i 

Add the following endings to the stems: 

ER verbs (‘A-stem’) ai as a âmes âtes èrent 

RE & IR verbs (‘I-stem’) is is it îmes îtes irent 

Certain irregulars (‘U-stem’) us us ut ûmes ûtes urent 

IRREGULAR FORMS (remember their derivatives!): 

être fus avoir eus tenir tins 

absoudre absolus écrire écrivis venir vins 

craindre craignis faire fis joindre joignis 

mourir mourus naître naquis peindre peignis 

vaincre vainquis conduire conduisis 

USE OF THE PAST HISTORIC 

In practice, this tense is used mainly in formal written French, and then usually only in the 

3 rd person singular, though you will hear it in formal speech from time to time, especially 

with avoir or être, or see it in newspapers. In literature you will meet it regularly in all 

persons, although the second person fell out of use after the 18 th century. You should 

therefore know the tense well enough in order to recognise it. It is used to express an 

event in the past.

Exercise 22 (use of the past historic) 

1 He finished his work this morning. 

2 Queen Victoria reigned for sixty years. 

3 He was shocked at the news. 

4 There was a loud explosion. 

5 He came at three o’clock. 

6 I gave the book to my colleague. 

7 He wrote several letters. 

8 Christopher Columbus was born in Spain. 

9 His argument convinced me. 

10 The mountaineer reached the summit. 

11 She drove the car to the town. 

12 The bishop read the document. 

13 Dali painted this surrealist picture. 

14 The king died in 1952. 

15 He did the work rapidly. 

COMPOUND TENSES 

Compound tenses are all formed with an AUXILIARY VERB (avoir or être) and a PAST 

PARTICIPLE. The tenses are as follows: 

perfect pluperfect 

future perfect conditional perfect 

past anterior passé surcomposé 

perfect subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive 

FORMATION OF THE PAST PARTICIPLE 

For all regular verbs, take the final TWO letters from the infinitive and add: 

ER verbs: é donner - donné 

RE verbs: u vendre - vendu 

IR verbs: i finir - fini

There is a large number of irregular past participles (with their derivatives – marked*) as 

follows: 

être été avoir eu 

couvrir* couvert offrir offert 

souffrir souffert acquérir acquis 

conquérir conquis venir* venu 

devenir devenu devoir dû 

pourvoir pourvu recevoir reçu 

apercevoir aperçu décevoir déçu 

valoir valu boire bu 

conclure conclu connaître* connu 

craindre* craint plaindre plaint 

dire* dit écrire* écrit 

décrire décrit joindre joint 

mettre* mis admettre admis 

permettre permis promettre promis 

naître né peindre* peint 

prendre* pris apprendre appris 

suffire suffi taire tu 

vêtir* vêtu tenir* tenu 

asseoir assis falloir fallu 

pleuvoir plu plaire plu 

pouvoir pu savoir su 

voir* vu absoudre* absous 

clore* clos conduire* conduit 

coudre* cousu croire* cru 

croître* crû faire* fait 

lire* lu moudre moulu 

nuire nui rire* ri 

suivre* suivi vivre* vécu 

Note that most verbs of movement take être as their auxiliary. 

Exercise 23 (irregular past participles) 

1 The wall has been knocked down by a lorry. 

2 You have all acquired an excellent reputation. 

3 He has conquered his fear of French essays. 

4 We were all moved by their misery. 

5 He had known many famous people. 

6 I did not recognise his face. 

7 Have you rewritten that important letter? 

8 John described the murderer’s clothes. 

9 He has concluded his speech. 

10 Her second son was born this morning. 

11 There was enough to fill the bucket. 

12 It has been raining all day. 

13 We have seen so many changes in Europe. 

14 He did not foresee such an event. 

15 They have suffered a great deal.


1 Has he constructed a convincing argument? 

2 They have destroyed all the documents. 

3 You have produced superb results this year. 

4 Did the students translate that passage? 

5 “I’ve done my best,” he murmured. 

6 They all laughed at his embarrassment. 

7 The teacher just smiled. 

8 We have received so many invitations. 

9 I’ve come to tell you what to do. 

10 Has the nurse come back yet? 

11 Did he eventually become a lawyer? 

12 They all agreed to it. 

13 She did not remember to send the bill. [se souvenir] 

14 We have provided everything you need. 

15 They have been drinking brandy. 


1 The dissatisfied customed complained to the manager. 

2 The priest anointed the dying man. 

3 Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the chapel. 

4 They never reached the top of the mountain. 

5 He put out the fire. 

6 The robbers surrounded their victim. 

7 He moaned pitifully because his tooth hurt. 

8 The sculptor depicted a powerful athlete. 

9 The pupils suddenly became silent. 

10 The girl sat down by the window. 

11 I have not been able to mark your essays. 

12 Mabel resolved to meet him again. 

13 The sugar dissolved quickly in the hot tea. 

14 Your mother has sewn up the hole. 

15 I have never read a Japanese newspaper. 


1 The new president has been elected. 

2 Such lies have harmed his reputation. 

3 The duchess pursued her cherished dream. 

4 The goat followed its mistress. 

5 Have you covered the whole page? 

6 She opened both windows. 

7 We offered her the job. 

8 Throughout his childhood he suffered from colds. 

9 They have had to sell their sheep. 

10 I have received worrying news. 

11 He noticed a stain on his shirt. 

12 The boy’s reply disappointed him. 

13 I have concluded my investigation. 

14 The student contradicted the teacher. 

15 The teacher cursed his bad luck.


1 The headmaster has forbidden this magazine. 

2 They forced him to obey. [contraindre] 

3 I predicted that this would occur. 

4 We have put the cat outside. 

5 The young man admitted his error. 

6 Who committed this dreadful crime? 

7 You have compromised my position. 

8 The Prime Minister resigned last night. 

9 The chimney emitted a cloud of smoke. 

10 You have omitted to write your name. 

11 His father has allowed him to go out. 

12 You promised her that you wouldn’t be late. 

13 He submitted his work to the teacher. 

14 We’ve learned so many verbs this year. 

15 His essay was not legible, so he rewrote it. 


[1] all reflexive verbs 

[2] the following verbs: 

1 We were taught to conjugate verbs. 

2 I did not understand what the Russian said. 

3 I have fallen in love with this picture. 

4 The widow was dressed in black. 

5 It has been necessary to restrict your freedom. [falloir] 

6 We did not believe his excuse. 

7 Their work has increased tremendously. 

8 Your careless writing displeased me. 

9 He has lived through two world wars. 

10 In spite of the cold weather, they survived. 

VERBS THAT TAKE ÊTRE 

aller arriver décéder devenir échoir éclore 

entrer mourir naître partir repartir rentrer 

rester revenir retourner sortir tomber venir 

intervenir parvenir survenir monter descendre 

When the following verbs are TRANSITIVE (i.e., they take an object) they are conjugated with 

AVOIR: 

entrer to bring in rentrer to bring back in 

sortir to take out tomber to kill 

monter to take up descendre to fetch down

e.g. On a entré le piano par la fenêtre They brought the piano in through the window 

Il a sorti son pistolet He got out his gun 

Nous avons rentré les chaises We’ve brought the chairs back in 

Le matador a tombé le taureau The matador brought the bull down 

Some verbs are conjugated with either avoir or être, depending on their meaning: 

avoir: for an action which took place at a certain point in the past; 

être: for a present state resulting from a previous action. 

e.g. On a augmenté les impôts They raised the taxes 

Les impôts sont augmentés The taxes have been raised 

J’ai passé devant l’église I walked past the church 

Ces jours sont passés These days are past 

The following are the most common verbs used in this way: 

accroître apparaître atterrir augmenter baisser camper 

cesser changer chavirer crever croître crouler 

décroître dégeler déménager diminuer disparaître échapper 

échouer embellir empirer expier grandir grossir 

maigrir paraître passer pourrir résulter ressusciter 

sonner trépasser vieillir 

Note also convenir. When it means ‘to suit’ or ‘to be suitable’ it takes avoir: 

Cette décision m’a convenu This decision suited me 

When it means ‘to agree’ it takes être: 

Ils sont convenus de passer un an en France They agreed to spend a year in France.

Exercise 29 (verbs that take être) 

1 The girls went to the cinema yesterday. 

2 I have become lazy. 

3 The roses bloomed this morning. 

4 The teacher entered the room. 

5 His parrot died last week. 

6 The baby was born this afternoon. 

7 They left the station at 2 o’clock. 

8 The travellers set off again. 

9 He came home very late last night. 

10 I have come back. 

11 They went back to Germany. 

12 The children went out through the window. 

13 We went out again after the film. 

14 That tie didn’t suit him. 

15 They agreed to meet the minister. 

Exercise 30 (verbs that take être) 

1 The child has fallen over. 

2 The hunter brought down the deer. 

3 We have come at last. 

4 We managed to decipher the text. 

5 He went up to bed at 2am. 

6 Did you take the coffee up to your mother? 

7 They took their handkerchiefs out of their pockets. 

8 The bus went down the hill. 

9 He has brought down the empty glasses. 

10 The thief disappeared into the woods. 

11 Old values have now disappeared. 

12 His laziness has resulted in failure. 

13 A new enquiry has resulted from this decision. 

14 She defrosted the meat. 

15 The meat is defrosted at last. 

THE INDIVIDUAL COMPOUND TENSES 

THE PERFECT TENSE 

Formation: use the PRESENT of avoir or être and the past participle 

Use: to express events in the past, to say what occurred or has occurred 

It translates the English simple past when it refers to an EVENT 

It translates the English present perfect (‘I have gone’) 

It is used in speech instead of the past historic. 

NB When an expression of TIME with for or since is used with the perfect tense 

in English, use the PRESENT TENSE in French:

I have been waiting FOR three hours J’attends depuis trois heures 

We’ve been living here SINCE 1963 Nous habitons ici depuis 1963 

When this tense is expressed by the PLUPERFECT in English, use the IMPERFECT in French: 

I had been waiting FOR three hours J’attendais depuis trois heures 

We had been living there SINCE 1963 Nous y habitions depuis 1963I 

Exercise 31 (use of the perfect tense) 

1 I wrote a book. 

2 I’ve written a book. 

3 I did write a book. 

4 Have they come? 

5 When did she die? 

6 A son has been born. 

7 I was born in 1885. 

8 Have they returned? 

9 I have been ill. 

10 She lived from 1900 to 1980. 

11 He drove to London. 

12 We did follow him. 

13 Did you see the queen? 

14 He said he drank two litres. 

15 They have provided a tent. 

16 We have been writing a letter. 

17 Have they been to Paris? 

18 Haven’t you been working? 

19 I’ve been running. 

20 We’ve been learning French. 

21 I’ve been here since 2 o’clock. 

22 We’ve been studying for five hours. 

23 They’ve been waiting since this morning. 

24 He’s been reading it for hours. 

25 We didn’t learn it. 

THE PLUPERFECT TENSE 

Formation: use the IMPERFECT of avoir or être and the past participle: 

J’avais fini I had finished j’étais venu I had come 

Use: [a] to express the English pluperfect [I had finished] 

[b] to express the English continuous pluperfect [I had been making] 

For the use of the pluperfect in temporal clauses, see the section on CONJUNCTIONS OF TIME

Exercise 32 [use of the pluperfect tense] 

1 They had finished. 

2 They had been working. 

3 I had seen her earlier. 

4 He had already come. 

5 They had arrived before their friends. 

6 We had had considerable difficulties. 

7 The students had made good progress. 

8 The artist had been painting a portrait. 

9 They had taken the necessary measures. 

10 We had received several parcels. 

11 Had the boy seen his father that day? 

12 If I had known, I would have written it. 

13 The genius had been born too soon. 

14 The little girl had fallen over. 

15 They had become very rich. 

Exercise 33 [use of the pluperfect tense] 

1 They had all gone. 

2 The eggs had hatched. 

3 The teacher had already entered the classroom. 

4 He had died before he reached home. 

5 We had come back home. 

6 The eagle had landed. 

7 We had managed to read it all. 

8 The naughty boy had gone upstairs. 

9 The mistake had not pleased the teacher. 

10 His folly had harmed his future. 

11 It had rained the previous night. 

12 She had been dressed in black. 

13 They hadn’t understood the passage. 

14 He had joined the two ends. 

15 He had allowed his son to go to the football match. 

THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE 

Formation: use the FUTURE of avoir or être with the past participle. 

J’aurai donné I shall have given je serai venu I shall have come 

Use: [a] to translate the English future perfect [He will have given] 

[b] to translate the English continuous future perfect [He will have been giving] 

NB for the use of the future perfect and and future in temporal clauses, see the section on 

CONJUNCTIONS OF TIME.

Exercise 34 [use of the future perfect tense] 

1 They’ll have returned by two o’clock. 

2 We shall have been working for hours. 

3 I shan’t have completed this by this evening. 

4 Will you have finished your dinner? 

5 They will have become lazier. 

6 We shall have received them all by then. 

7 I shall have seen her by tomorrow morning. 

8 They’ll have been waiting for us. 

9 Next year I’ll have been learning French for 5 years. 

10 They will have provided it. 

THE CONDITIONAL PERFECT TENSE 

Formation: use the CONDITIONAL of avoir or être and the past participle. 

J’aurais fini I would have finished je serais venu I would have come 

Use: [1] to translate the English conditional perfect [I would have done] 

[2] to translate the English continuous conditional perfect [I would have been doing] 

[3] with devoir to translate should have and ought to have 

Tu aurais dû le faire You should have done it 

[4] with pouvoir to translate might have and could have 

Tu aurais pu le faire You could have done it 

For a fuller description of the use of these modal verbs (pouvoir, devoir, etc.), see the explanation 

under COMMON AUXILIARY VERBS. 

Exercise 35 [use of the perfect conditional] 

1 We could have been waiting for hours. 

2 If you gave me it, I would pay for it. 

3 You would have given her everything. 

4 It would never have been written. 

5 I would have come if you’d asked me to. 

6 She would have fallen. 

7 If we hadn’t told them, they wouldn’t have come back. 

8 He wouldn’t have seen it. 

9 She wouldn’t have left without telling me. 

10 The baker would have lowered his prices. 

11 The ship would have sunk. 

12 The child would have grown. 

13 The noise would have died down. 

14 He would have gone upstairs. 

15 He wouldn’t have noticed the mistake.

THE PAST ANTERIOR 

Formation: use the PAST HISTORIC of avoir or être and the past participle 

Use: 

J’eus fini I had finished je fus venu I had come 

Like the PAST HISTORIC (on which it is based) this tense is used only in formal 

writing. It replaces the PLUPERFECT after a conjunction of time when the tense of 

the main clause is past historic. When the subjects of the two clauses are the same, 

it can always be avoided by using a non-finite verb or a non-verbal expression. 

When the two subjects are different, it has to be used. You should know it well 

enough to recognise it. 

There is a more comprehensive description of its use in the section on 

CONJUNCTIONS OF TIME 

Examples: When his mother had spoken, he went out 

Quand sa mère eut parlé, il sortit 

As soon as the policeman saw her, she ran away 

Dès que le gendarme l’eut vu, elle s’enfuit 

After his sister finished, he bought some flowers 

Après que sa sœur eut fini, il acheta des fleurs 

Exercise 36 [use of the past anterior] 

1 When he had written the essay, the teacher marked it. 

2 As soon as she had woken up, her mother gave her her breakfast. 

3 Scarcely had he opened the door than I realised what had happened. 

4 After he had completed the book, the publisher accepted it. 

5 When she had calmed down, the doctor treated her. 

6 When the dog had finished eating, his master took him for a walk. 

7 Hardly had the teacher spoken than the pupil misbehaved again. 

8 After she had seen the answer, she copied it in her book. 

9 When the car had turned the bend the brakes failed. 

10 As soon as the plane had landed, the passengers disembarked.

THE PASSÉ SURCOMPOSÉ 

Formation: use the PERFECT of avoir or être and the past participle 

Use: 

Examples: 

J’ai eu fini I had finished (the passé surcomposé is rarely found with être) 

instead of the PAST ANTERIOR in non-formal speech and writing. It is therefore 

used after a conjunction of time when the subjects of both clauses are different. If 

they are the same, then you should use avoir or ayant with a past participle. Both 

the PAST ANTERIOR and the PASSÉ SURCOMPOSÉ are used instead of the 

PLUPERFECT, which cannot be used after a conjunction of time. 

A fuller description of this will be found in the section on CONJUNCTIONS OF TIME 

[1] when the subjects are the same (past anterior avoided) 

When he had finished, he went out. 

Après avoir fini, il est sorti / Ayant fini, il est sorti 

[2] When the subjects are different: 

When his mother had finished, he went out. 

Quand sa mère a eu fini, il est sorti 

NB: the passé surcomposé is also found with other tenses of the auxiliary (j’avais eu fini, j’aurai eu 

fini). For a comprehensive survey of its use, look it up in LE BON USAGE. 

Exercise 37 [use of the passé surcomposé] 

1 When he had finished the essay the teacher marked it. 

2 As soon as she had woken up, her mother gave her her breakfast. 

3 Scarcely had I opened the door than I realised what had occurred. 

4 When he had written the book, the publisher accepted it. 

5 When she had calmed down, the doctor treated her. 

6 After the dog had finished eating, his master took him for a walk. 

7 Hardly had the teacher spoken than the pupil misbehaved again. 

8 After she had seen the answer, she copied it into her book. 

9 When the car had turned the bend, it braked suddenly. 

10 As soon as the plane had landed, the passengers disembarked.

AGREEMENT OF THE PAST PARTICIPLE 

There are three simple rules: 

[1] When the verb takes avoir the past participle agrees with the PRECEDING 

DIRECT OBJECT 

[2] When the verb takes être the past participle agrees with the SUBJECT 

[3] When the verb is reflexive the past participle agrees with the PRECEDING 

DIRECT OBJECT 

a preceding direct object is either: 

Examples: 

[a] an OBJECT PRONOUN (me te se nous vous le la les) 

[b] QUE – a relative pronoun that refers back to an antecedent 

Je les ai vus the preceding direct object (les) is masculine plural 

Je les ai vues the preceding direct object (les) is feminine plural 

La femme que j’ai vue the preceding direct object (que) is feminine singular 

Les fleurs que j’ai achetées the preceding direct object (que) is masculine singular 

Notes: 

When the verb is reflexive be careful to find out whether or not the preceding object is direct or 

indirect. Does me, for example, mean me or to me? 

When it is direct, a man will write je me suis lavé, but a woman will write je me suis lavée. 

If the pronoun is indirect, there will be NO agreement: 

Elle s’est lavé les mains—the object (se) means to herself. 

This is very important to remember in verbs that take à (such as se demander and se rappeler), 

when the object pronoun is indirect and there is no agreement: 

Nous nous sommes demandé we wondered 

Elle s’est rappelé she remembered 

Elle s’est dit she said to herself 

With normal transitive reflexive verbs, however, the past participle will agree with the preceding 

object because it is direct: 

Elle s’est souvenue she remembered 

Ils se sont lavés they got washed 

Elle s’est coupée she cut herself

Exercise 38 [agreement of the past participle] 

1 She sat down. 

2 We all sat down. 

3 The flowers that the lady picked. 

4 The teacher saw us. 

5 The teacher spoke to us. 

6 The teacher asked us to write an essay. 

7 She cut herself. 

8 She cut her finger. 

9 She injured her hand. 

10 He combed her hair. 

11 The boy wondered what it was. 

12 Mrs Smith remembered the date. [se rappeler] 

13 Mrs Smith remembered the date. [se souvenir] 

14 The books which the students read. 

15 The snails that the Frenchmen ate. 

Exercise 39 [agreement of the past participle] 

1 She threw herself into the sea. 

2 The town developed rapidly. 

3 The children washed their hands. 

4 They had got up at 7 o’clock. 

5 You would have cut your hand. 

6 The girl had injured her knee. 

7 The boy had grazed his leg. 

8 They were born at the beginning of this century. 

9 ‘I had wondered,’ she said. 

10 She had her hair cut. 

GENERAL EXERCISES ON THE USE OF IRREGULAR VERBS 

Exercise 40 give the correct form of the verb in brackets: 

Exercise 41 

1 Il a été [ASSAILLIR] par trois écureuils. 

2 Ils ont [TRESSAILLIR] quand le revenant est [APPARAITRE] 

3 L’eau [BOUILLIR]. Present tense 

4 Il [COURIR] tous les matins. Present tense 

5 Sa figure était [COUVRIR] de boue. 

6 Elle a [ENTR’OUVRIR] la porte. 

7 On [OFFRIR] un prix spécial. Imperfect 

8 Nous avons [SOUFFRIR] d’un rhume. 

9 La cuisinière [CUEILLIR] des légumes au jardin. Imperfect 

10 [AVOIR] vu son visage, ils se sont tous [ENFUIR]. 

1 We hate this kind of exercise. [haïr] 

2 I used a handkerchief to staunch the blood. [se servir] 

3 I will use it now. [se servir] 

4 This bucket is used for washing the floor. [servir] 

5 This word is used as an adverb. [servir] 

6 Go back to sleep! [se rendormir]

Exercise 42 

Exercise 43 

7 If the train doesn’t leave on time we’ll be late. [partir] 

8 I felt a pain as the adder bit me. [sentir] 

9 They would agree if they knew the reason. [consentir] 

10 They welcomed this idea. [accueillir] 

1 He was always telling lies. [mentir] 

2 We’ve been out. [sortir] 

3 She was dressed in an apple-green frock. [vêtir] 

4 William I conquered England in 1066. [conquérir] 

5 You will acquire a good reputation. [acquérir] 

6 We retain [retenir] our honour even if you don’t believe us. [croire] 

7 We abstained from alcohol. [s’abstenir] 

8 These books belong to the library. [appartenir] 

9 What does this box contain? [contenir] 

10 She maintains the building in good order. [entretenir] 

1 He maintained that he was right. [maintenir] 

2 We’ve got hold of a new copy. [obtenir] 

3 The beams supported the roof. [soutenir] 

4 I was coming when you called me. [venir – appeler] 

5 He will return shortly. [revenir] 

6 We all agree. [convenir] 

7 He rapidly became ill. [devenir] 

8 The girl became happy again. [redevenir] 

9 We managed to finish the essay. [parvenir] 

10 He remembered the answer. [se souvenir] 

Exercise 44 [give the correct form of the verb in brackets] 

1 Quand nous [ARRIVER] nous lirons le journal. 

2 [AVOIR] terminé son travail, il [SORTIR]. 

3 Il finirait la tâche s’il [POUVOIR]. 

4 Elle y a [CONSENTIR]. 

5 Aussitôt qu’il a [ECRIRE] la lettre, il l’a postée. 

6 Il se baignait tout en [CHANTER]. 

7 J’ai [LIRE] que le ministre [ALLER] se démissionner. 

8 Selon ce journal, il [VOIR] le président ce matin. 

9 Ne [FAIRE] pas de bêtises en classe. 

10 Si j’ [AVOIR] assez d’argent, j’ [ACHETER] des fraises. 

Exercise 45 [give the correct form of the verb in brackets] 

1 On [APPRENDRE] une langue en [ECOUTER]. 

2 J’ai [DECOUVRIR] cette lettre dans mon casier. 

3 Ces pays ont [SOUFFRIR] d’une épidémie. 

4 On lui avait [OFFRIR] quelques bonbons. 

5 Il a [APERCEVOIR] un petit nuage au ciel. 

6 À l’avenir nous [ESPÉRER] vous revoir. 

7 Sa mère a [OUVRIR] la porte. 

8 [DIRE]-lui de se taire. 

9 C’est la meilleure rédaction que j’[AVOIR] jamais lue! 

10 Est-ce qu’on [VOULOIR] m’enseigner le français?

Exercise 46 

Exercise 47 

Exercise 48 

1 They will call the doctor tomorrow. 

2 He had already called the doctor. 

3 We’re going straight to the cinema. 

4 She was going to the chemist’s. 

5 We’ll be going out this afternoon. 

6 We went there last month. 

7 I would have had trouble doing that. 

8 Is it true that you’ve had serious problems? 

9 He drove the car to the garage. 

10 He would have behaved better if you’d told him to. 

1 He knows my grandfather very well. 

2 I had known the town for a long time. 

3 In his youth he had known poverty. 

4 I’m afraid I don’t know your sister-in-law. 

5 You’ll believe it when you see it. 

6 He’s had to punish the naughty children. 

7 We don’t need to finish the whole chapter. 

8 I ought to have told you before. 

9 Yes, you should have told me. 

10 You say that I didn’t understand. 

1 We’ll have to write to them soon. [falloir] 

2 Had he written the essay when you saw him? 

3 We shall hope that nothing bad has happened. 

4 You’d have done better to admit it. 

5 Is it necessary to put the book back on the shelf? [falloir] 

6 It took me four hours to get there. 

7 He had been able to speak to the queen. 

8 I could have helped you. 

9 You could be more patient. 

10 You’ll have to speak more slowly. 

11 We receive letters every day. 

12 He wouldn’t have run away if he’d known. 

13 I didn’t realise that he’d come. 

14 I’ve just had a pleasant surprise. 

15 If you were to come early, you’d be welcome.

THE USE OF S’EN ALLER 

The verb means ‘to go away’ and is very common. Remember that because it is reflexive 

the past participle in the compound tenses must agree with the preceding direct object. 

Remember too that the object pronoun must be the same person and number as the 

subject. This is particularly important to remember when you use the infinitive. 

Examples: 

Present tense: je m’en vais - tu t’en vas - il s’en va - nous nous en allons - 

vous vous en allez - ils s’en vont 

future: je m’en irai 

perfect: je m’en suis allé - elle s’en est allée - ils s’en sont allés 

pluperfect: je m’en étais allé - elle s’en était allée - ils s’en étaient allés 

imperative: va-t-en! Allez-vous-en! 

Negative: je ne m’en vais pas - je ne m’en suis pas allé - ils ne s’en sont pas allés 

Interrogative: s’en est-il allé? - t’en étais-tu allé? 

Negative ?: ne s’en est-il pas allé? - ne t’en étais-tu pas allé? 

With aux: je dois m’en aller - tu ne peux pas t’en aller 

Exercise 49 [use of s’en aller] 

1 I’m not going away. 

2 Did she go away? 

3 Didn’t they go away? 

4 Hadn’t they gone away? 

5 They will go away. 

6 We won’t be able to go away. 

7 They went away quickly. 

8 Go away! [plural] 

9 Let’s go away now! 

10 You didn’t go away.

DEFECTIVE VERBS 

A number of these verbs are now rare, and are included here purely for reference. 

However, you will often find a part of one, or a particular tense, used in everyday language. 

There are five different types: 

[1] verbs which have either persons or tenses missing 

[2] verbs used only in certain idiomatic expressions 

[3] verbs possessing only an infinitive and past participle 

[4] verbs possessing only a past participle 

[5] verbs possessing only an infinitive 

It should also be noted that even French experts do not always agree on how defective 

some of these verbs are. Some grammarians list all or most of their tenses. 

1 VERBS WITH TENSES OR PERSONS MISSING 

paître to graze 3 rd person only, no past participle 

braire to bray 3 rd person singular only [l’âne brait] 

échoir to fall due 3 rd person all tenses + past participle [échu] 

frire to fry 3 rd person singular, no past participle, no imperfect 

bruire to rustle 3 rd person singular only, all tenses 

falloir to be necessary 3 rd person singular only, all tenses 

gésir to lie il gît, ci-gît, il gisait, gisant (some grammars admit all tenses) 

poindre to dawn only il poindra and past participle [point] 

advenir to happen 3 rd person singular only, all tenses 

apparoir to appear 3 rd person singular only, all tenses (legal term) 

béer to gape present and past participles only [béant, bé] 

choir to fall present, past historic and past participle only [chu] 

importer to be important 3 rd person singular only, all tenses, + past participle 

pleuvoir to rain 3 rd person singular only, all tenses, + past participle 

puer to stink no past historic or imperfect subjunctive 

raire to bell [deer] no past historic or imperfect subjunctive 

2 VERBS FOUND ONLY IN CERTAIN EXPRESSIONS 

férir to strike sans coup férir without striking a blow 

ouïr to hear j’ai ouï dire que I heard that … 

chaloir to matter peu m’en chaut it matters little to me 

ardre/arder to burn le feu de St Antoine vous arde may St Antony’s fire burn you 

3 VERBS FOUND ONLY IN THE INFINITIVE AND PAST PARTICIPLE 

avérer to verify avéré 

dépourvoir to deprive dépourvu 

honnir to shame honni 

forfaire to forfeit forfait 

forclore to forclose forclos 

parfaire to complete parfait 

occire to slay occis 

promouvoir to promote promu

4 VERBS FOUND ONLY IN THE PAST PARTICIPLE 

transi chilled from transire 

issu stemming from issire 

imbu imbued from imboire 

reclus shut in from reclure 

perclus crippled from perclure 

tissu tissue from tistre (to weave) 

intrus intruder from intrure 

éclopé crippled from écloper 

5 VERBS FOUND ONLY IN THE INFINITIVE 

accroire to make … believe faire accroire à quelqu’un 

chauvir to prick up (ears) chauvir des oreilles 

comparoir to appear in court comparoir devant le tribunal 

courre to hunt courre le cerf 

ester to go to court ester en justice 

quérir to fetch used after aller, venir, envoyer 

attraire to attract, charm

COMMON AUXILIARY VERBS 

The most common are DEVOIR, POUVOIR, VOULOIR and Y AVOIR 

DEVOIR 

je dois I must, I have to, I am to, I’ve got to 

je devais I had to (at that time), I was to, I was supposed to 

j’ai dû I had to (and I did), I must have, I’ve had to 

j’avais dû I had had to 

je dus I had to (literary context only) 

je devrai I shall have to 

je devrais I would have to, I ought to, I should (obligation) 

j’aurai dû I shall have had to 

j’aurais dû I ought to have, I should have (obligation), I would have had to 

SUBJUNCTIVE FORMS FOR REFERENCE: 

il doive il ait dû il dût il eût dû dussé-je 

Exercise 50 [use of devoir] 

1 He says I’m to read the last chapter. 

2 I’ve got to be home by ten o’clock. 

3 We were to be outside the station at nine. 

4 I was supposed to write an essay. 

5 I must have left my textbook on the coach. 

6 I had to do eight hours’ work yesterday. 

7 I’ve had to give you a zero for your essay. 

8 Before he went out he had to lock the house. 

9 You shouldn’t get angry. 

10 You ought to consider it carefully. 

11 We’d have to take this into consideration. 

12 You should have told me. 

13 We ought to have run faster. 

14 For a better salary I’d have had to work harder. 

15 We’ll have to find another way to do it.

POUVOIR 

je peux I can, I may, I’m able to (question: puis-je?) 

je pouvais I could (in the past), I was able to (at that time) 

j’ai pu I was able to, I could (and I did) 

je pus I was able to, I could (literary context) 

je pourrai I shall be able to, I can (in the future) 

je pourrais I could (in the future), I might, I’d be able to 

j’aurai pu I shall have been able to 

j’aurais pu I could have, I might have, I’d have been able to 

j’avais pu I had been able to 


il puisse il ait pu il pût il eût pu 

Exercise 51 [use of pouvoir] 

1 We can all be quite reasonable. 

2 You may leave now. 

3 I think we’re able to see your point of view. 

4 I was not able to answer it. 

5 I couldn’t get up so early yesterday. 

6 I wasn’t able to find a seat. 

7 Fortunately, I was able to read the entire chapter. 

8 But I couldn’t finish the book. 

9 I could help you tomorrow. 

10 He would be able to depart tomorrow. 

11 You might like to see another example. 

12 I could have helped you if you’d asked me. 

13 I might have been able to help you. 

14 He won’t be able to come. 

15 They’ll have been able to get the next train.

VOULOIR 

je veux I want to, I wish to, I’m willing to, I will (intend) 

je ne veux pas I won’t, I don’t want to 

je voulais I wanted to, I was willing to 

j’ai voulu I wanted to (and I tried to) 

je ne voulais pas I wouldn’t (at that time), I was unwilling to 

voulez-vous? will you … ? 

voudriez-vous? would you … ? 

je voudrais I’d like to, I’d want to 

j’aurais voulu I’d have like to, I’d like to have 

je voudrai I shall want to, I shall be wanting to 

j’avais voulu I had wanted to 

veuillez … please … (+ infinitive) 


il veuille il ait voulu il voulût il eût voulu 

Exercise 52 [use of vouloir] 

1 I want to see your homework. 

2 I’m not willing to listen to your excuses. 

3 When he was young he wanted to be a lawyer. 

4 He wanted to cross the road but there was too much traffic. 

5 He was unwilling to take his teacher’s advice. 

6 The child didn’t want to play any more. 

7 His brother wouldn’t pay attention. 

8 I won’t let you say that! 

9 Will you help me lift this box? 

10 Please help me lift this box. 

11 Would you open the windows, please? 

12 I’d like to, but my arm is broken. 

13 He would have like to explain the next scene. 

14 I shall want to see your essays this afternoon. 

15 They had all wanted to express their sorrow.

Y AVOIR 

The verb is used [a] on its own, [b] with devoir, [c] with pouvoir and [d] with aller 

There are also the appropriate subjunctive forms. 

il y a there is, there are 

y a-t-il? is there, are there? 

il y avait there was, there were (at that time) 

il y a eu there was (event), there has been 

il y eut there was (literary context) 

il y aura there will be 

il y aura eu there will have been 

il y aurait there would be 

il y aurait eu there would have been 

il y avait eu there had been 

il y ait present subjunctive 

il y eût imperfect subjunctive 

il y ait eu perfect subjunctive 

il y eût eu pluperfect subjunctive 

il doit y avoir there must be, there has to be 

il devait y avoir there was to be, there had to be 

il a dû y avoir there must have been 

il devra y avoir there will have to be 

il aura dû y avoir there will have had to be 

il devrait y avoir there ought to be, there should be, there would have to be 

il aurait dû y avoir there ought to have been, there should have been 

il doive y avoir present subjunctive 

il ait dû y avoir perfect subjunctive 

il dût y avoir imperfect subjunctive 

il peut y avoir there may be, there can be 

il pouvait y avoir there may have been (at that time) 

il a pu y avoir there may have been, can have been (event) 

il pourra y avoir there may be (in the future) 

il pourrait y avoir there might be, there could be 

il aurait pu y avoir there might have been, could have been 

il puisse y avoir present subjunctive 

il ait pu y avoir perfect subjunctive 

il pût y avoir imperfect subjunctive 

il va y avoir there is going to be 

il allait y avoir there was going to be 

il aille y avoir present subjunctive 

il allât y avoir imperfect subjunctive

Exercise 53 [use of y avoir] 

1 There is an unpleasant smell in this room. 

2 Is there a reason for studying this book? 

3 There aren’t any more words to learn. 

4 Isn’t there another question? 

5 There was a man chasing a cow. 

6 There were three different ways of looking at it. 

7 Was there a house on the hill? 

8 There was a sudden noise. 

9 There has been a serious error. 

10 There have been a lot of complaints. 

11 There will be a sheet of paper on each desk. 

12 There will have been consultations. 

13 There would be several problems if he came. 

14 There would have been a long delay. 

15 There would have been three questions to consider. 


1 There must be a reason. 

2 There has to be some sense in their argument. 

3 There is to be an inspection tomorrow morning. 

4 There was to be an inspection last week. 

5 There must have been a mistake. 

6 There must have been a lot of people there. 

7 There have had to be some changes. 

8 There will have to be a change of attitude on your part. 

9 There ought to be several windows in this wall. 

10 There ought to be an easier way of learning grammar. 

11 There should be an obvious answer. 

12 There ought to have been more bread. 

13 There ought to have been a better response. 

14 There should have been three essays on my desk. 

15 There would have to be prior consultation. 


1 There may be something we can do to improve it. 

2 There can be times when you get on my nerves. 

3 There may have been an error. 

4 There can’t be a better person. 

5 There can have been no question of his honesty. 

6 There may be more time next week. 

7 There could have been serious consequences. 

8 There might have been a thunderstorm in the night. 

9 There is going to be a new play next week. 

10 There was going to be a statue erected in his memory.

VERBS WITH MORE THAN ONE MEANING 

The following verbs differ in their meanings depending on the preposition which follows 

them. They also change meaning when there is no preposition. They are all common verbs 

and need to be learnt. 

attendre to wait for 

s’attendre à to expect 

nous attendons le train 

je m’attends à ce que tu fasses tes devoirs 

demander to ask for 

demander à to ask to 

demander de to ask someone to do something 

j’ai demandé du thé 

il a demandé à voir mon passeport 

je lui ai demandé de sortir 

abuser de to misuse, abuse 

s’abuser de to be mistaken 

elle a abusé de la situation 

si je ne m’abuse pas … 

assister to assist, help 

assister à to be present at 

approcher to bring closer 

approcher de to approach 

s’approcher to get closer 

assister les pauvres 

nous avons assisté à cet événement 

approchez votre chaise 

nous approchons du but 

il s’approcha de moi 

connaître to know, to be acquainted with 

s’y connaître en to be a good judge of 

je connais sa mere 

il s’y connaît en voitures 

changer to alter 

changer de to change, exchange 

il ne veut rien changer 

il a changé de pantalon 

jouer to play 

jouer à to play games 

jouer de to play an instrument 

se jouer de to mock 

jouer avec to play with

les enfants jouaient dans la cour 

nous jouons au football 

il joue du violon 

ils se sont joués de moi 

l’enfant jouait avec sa poupée 

manquer de to be short of 

manquer to miss 

manquer à to miss 

manquer à to fail in, fall short 

elle manque d’argent 

j’ai manqué le train 

sa mère lui manque 

il a manqué à son devoir 

penser de to think of/about = have an opinion 

penser à to think about (mental process) 

qu’est-ce que tu penses de ce livre ? 

il pense souvent à ses amis 

croire to believe (Je ne vous crois pas) 

croire à to believe in (Il ne croit plus au Père Noël) 

croire en to have faith in (Il croit en Dieu) 

réussir to bring off 

réussir à to succeed in 

je ne crois pas ce qu’il dit 

nous ne croyons plus au Père Noël 

elle croit en Dieu 

il a réussi deux belles photos 

je n’ai pas réussi à finir ce travail 

servir to serve (general sense) 

servir à to be used for 

servir de to be used as 

se servir de to use 

se servir to help oneself 

il nous a servi le petit déjeuner 

cela ne sert à rien 

cela sert de prétexte simplement 

je me sers d’un stylo pour écrire 

servez-vous ! 

tenir to hold 

tenir à to be anxious to 

tenir à to be the result of 

tenir de to resemble 

elle tenait un mouchoir à la main 

je tiens à vous dire que … 

cela tient à son éducation 

cela tient de la famille

s’user to wear out 

user de to use 

son manteau est vraiment usé / son manteau s’use 

il a usé de moyens peu honnêtes 

décider de to decide to 

se décider à to make up one’s mind to 

refuser de to refuse to 

se refuser à to reject 

nous avons décidé de partir 

il s’est décidé à refaire le travail 

essayer de to try to 

s’essayer à to try one’s hand at 

il a toujours refusé d’accepter cet avis 

le premier ministre s’est refusé à tout commentaire 

il a essayé d’ouvrir la porte 

je me suis essayé à faire une omelette 

répondre à to answer, reply to 

répondre de to answer for, be responsible for 

on a répondu à ma lettre 

il doit répondre de ses crimes 

s’occuper à to be busy (doing something) 

s’occuper de to look after, care for 

il s’occupe à faire ses devoirs 

elle s’est occupée des enfants 

se mêler à to mingle with 

se mêler de to interfere in, dabble in 

il s’est mêlé à la foule 

se mêler des affaires des autres 

adresser to address, refer to 

s’adresser à to apply to 

il m’a adressé un Remarque 

s’adresser au secrétariat 

apercevoir to notice, perceive 

s’apercevoir de to become aware of 

j’aperçois des problèmes 

je m’apercevais d’une tour à l’horizon

vanter to praise 

se vanter de to boast of / pride oneself on 

il vante sa merchandise 

il se vante de pouvoir le finir 

rendre to give back 

se rendre to surrender 

établir to establish 

s’établir to settle 

rendez-moi mon livre! 

les soldats de l’ennemi se sont rendus hier 

l’ennemi a établi son camp ici 

une usine s’est établie ici 

étonner to surprise 

s’étonner de to be surprised at 

ses nouvelles m’ont étonné 

je me suis étonné de ses nouvelles 

ennuyer to bore, annoy 

s’ennuyer à to be bored [by] 

lever to raise 

se lever to get up 

sa voix m’ennuie 

je m’ennuie à faire un tel travail 

levez vos bras! 

il s’est levé de bonne heure 

dresser to train [animals], to place in an upright position 

se dresser to sit up [straight] 

il a dressé les boeufs à tirer la charrue 

il s’est dressé dans son lit 

élever to raise, rear [animals] 

s’élever to rise up 

c’est ici qu’on élève les moutons 

la fumée s’élevait au-dessus des toits 

chauffer to warm, heat up 

se chauffer to get warm 

elle a chauffé la viande au four 

on peut se chauffer au soleil

Exercise 56 [verbs with differing meanings] 

1 We are waiting for the train. 

2 I am expecting him to find the treasure. 

3 The teacher asked for her books. 

4 We asked to see his work. 

5 I asked you to give me your homework. 

6 He deceived his best friend. 

7 You must be mistaken. 

8 The children were all present at the rehearsal. 

9 Please bring that table here. 

10 We approached the bull cautiously. 

11 I know the town very well. 

12 She is a good judge of cheese. 

13 My mother altered the size of my jacket. 

14 You’ll have to change your tie. 

15 The children played in the park. 


1 Do you play basketball? 

2 She plays the cello beautifully. 

3 I know they were mocking the old man. 

4 The poor man was short of money. 

5 I’ve no room left in this exercise-book. 

6 I’m afraid we missed the flight. 

7 She misses her father. 

8 Soldiers must never fail in their duty. 

9 He told me what he thought of my manuscript. 

10 The exiles were thinking of their homeland. 


1 I never believe what she tells me. 

2 My teacher believes in ghosts and fairies. 

3 You must believe in your son’s honesty. 

4 They made a success of the play. 

5 We succeeded in convincing her. 

6 He was successful in his exam. 

7 The waiter served the meal. 

8 This fountain-pen is used for signing documents. 

9 What is this cloth used for? 

10 It’s used as a duster. 


1 I use a red pen to make corrections. 

2 I am keen to let you know my decision. 

3 His laziness is the result of his parents’ indifference. 

4 He looks like his grandfather. 

5 He wore his shoes out quickly. 

6 You can use that hammer if you like. 

7 They all decided to go out. 

8 I have made up my mind to say nothing. 

9 The girls refused to behave properly. 

10 The magistrate rejected the thief’s evidence.


1 Do try to be quiet in class! 

2 Would you like to try your hand at painting? 

3 The pupil answered the teacher’s question. 

4 She is busy milking the cows. 

5 The maid will look after the children tonight. 

6 The spy mingled with the crowd. 

7 The doctor referred me to a specialist. 

8 Please apply to the manager. 

9 We noticed a strange man on the pavement. 

10 We became aware of an unpleasant smell. 

11 I must praise your achievements. 

12 The student boasted of his results. 

13 Have we established a motive in this case? 

14 The pilgrims settled in the New World. 

15 You surprise me. 


1 I was surprised at his efforts. 

2 Your essay, I’m afraid, bored me. 

3 I’m very bored in this class. 

4 He trains horses to plough the fields. 

5 He put the planks upright against the wall. 

6 The invalid sat up in bed. 

7 I believe they breed ostriches on that farm. 

8 The smoke rose slowly into the sky. 

9 Heat the potatoes in the oven. 

10 I haven’t been able to get warm all day.

VERBS THAT TAKE AN INDIRECT OBJECT 

These verbs are usually transitive in English (i.e., they take a direct object), so it is very 

important to remember that in French they must be followed by à before their object, or 

have an indirect object pronoun (lui or leur) before the verb. 

aller à to suit Cette robe vous va bien 

succéder à to succeed La Reine succéda à son père 

plaire à to please Cela n’a pas plu au gouvernement 

déplaire à to displease Le gâteau a déplu au client 

obéir à to obey Il faut obéir à ses aînés 

désobéir à to disobey Ne désobéissez pas au professeur 

échouer à to fail Il a échoué à son examen 

ressembler à to resemble Le garçon ressemblait à son père 

répondre à to answer Répondez à la question 

nuire à to harm, hurt Le tabac nuit gravement à la santé 

résister à to resist Qui peut résister à la tentation? 

ordonner à to order Il a ordonné aux soldats de le suivre 

commander à to order Il a commandé aux soldats de la suivre 

promettre à to promise Il promit à sa mère de rentrer avant minuit 

dire à to tell, say Elle a dit à sa sœur de l’écouter 

donner à to give Il leur a donné son adresse 

conseiller à to advise On lui a conseillé de se cacher 

interdire à to forbid Il a interdit à son fils de sortir le soir 

défendre à to forbid Il a défendu à son fils de sortir le soir 

convenir à to be suitable/apt Il lui convient de dire la vérité 

permettre à to allow, permit Elle a permis à sa fille de sortir 

pardonner à to forgive Il a pardonné à son fils de l’avoir trompé 

donner à to give On lui a donné un nouveau livre 

NB1 None of these verbs can ever be used in the passive, i.e., it is impossible to say in French “I was 

given,” “I was told,” “I was allowed,” etc. Instead you must use on and make the verb active: “one told 

me,” “one gave me,” “one allowed me,” etc. 

NB2 With pardonner, the following infinitive is PERFECT rather than present: in French you 

forgive someone for having done something, not for doing something. Note the example given with the 

verb. 

Exercise 62 [verbs that take an indirect object] 

1 Those trousers don’t suit you. 

2 Her new dress didn’t suit her at all. 

3 The Third Republic succeeded the reign of Napoléon III. 

4 I liked your third paragraph. 

5 You will displease her mother if you don’t tell her. 

6 Children should always obey their parents. 

7 Never disobey a teacher! 

8 The lazy student failed his A levels. 

9 This essay looks like Simon’s. 

10 Were you able to answer all the questions? 

11 Don’t answer the question! 

12 His attitude harmed his chances of success.

Exercise 63 [verbs that take an indirect object] 

1 We were told that the money had been paid. 

2 You must try and resist such temptations. 

3 He ordered the soldiers to fire on the enemy. 

4 I shall order the children to be silent. 

5 Promise your father that you’ll work hard. 

6 I advised him to tell the police everything. 

7 He forbade his son to see his new friends. 

8 We have been forbidden to go out tonight. 

9 I will let my students relax this evening. 

10 We’re not allowed to use that book. 

11 She forgave her son for deceiving her. 

12 We were given a bank account. 

13 I was told not to say anything. 

14 She told him to look for his lost books. 

15 I’m not going to tell him this again. 

VERBS THAT TAKE A DIRECT OBJECT 

These verbs take a preposition in English, but not in French. 

regarder to look at Nous regardons le chat 

augmenter to put up Le boucher a augmenté ses prix 

chercher to look for Nous cherchons la solution 

marchander to haggle over Il faut marchander les prix 

siffler to whistle at Ne sifflez pas les jeunes filles! 

ajouter to add up Aidez-moi à ajouter ces factures 

méditer to think over Elle médite ses problèmes 

sonner to ring for Elle a sonné sa femme de chambre 

fournir to supply with Le boulanger m’a fourni du pain 

raser to shave off Il vient de raser sa moustache 

écouter to listen to Il passe son temps à écouter la radio 

approuver to approve of Je n’approuve pas ta conduite 

désapprouver to disapprove of Je désapprouve ton nouvel ami 

percer to make a hole in J’ai percé ce morceau de bois 

payer to pay for On va payer les chambres 

prier to pray to Le moine priait les saints 

fuir to flee from Fuyez la colère de Dieu! 

appeler to ring up Je vais appeler mon avocat 

expier to atone for Pourras-tu jamais expier tes péchés? 

attendre to wait for Ils attendaient le train

Exercise 64 [verbs that take a direct object] 

1 Look at that cat in the tree. 

2 Look at the teacher when he’s talking. 

3 He just looked at his watch. 

4 Don’t haggle over the prices. 

5 Can you add up these large sums? 

6 I’m looking for a way to resolve this dilemma. 

7 The woman was looking for the hardware shop. 

8 We were waiting for the coach. 

9 The workmen whistled at the young lady. 

10 We must think over these new ideas. 

11 He was thinking about his situation. 

12 The duchess rang for her butler. 

13 You ought to shave off your beard. 

14 Can you supply me with a list? 

15 He supplied an account of all the purchases. 

Exercise 65 [verbs that take a direct object] 

1 Listen to the teacher’s explanation. 

2 I do not approve of your new friends. 

3 I disapprove of your recent behaviour. 

4 The adolescent had a hole made in his nose. 

5 We shall have to pay for all these repairs. 

6 If you are worried about it, pray to God. 

7 The refugees fled from the battle-zone. 

8 Can I ring up my girlfriend now? 

9 We always have to atone for our mistakes. 

10 The grocer has put his prices up again.

VERBS NOT FOLLOWED BY A PREPOSITION 

These verbs are following by an INFINITIVE without any preposition between them. Most of 

them are followed by ‘to’ in English. 

sembler to seem to Il semble ne pas vouloir le faire 

daigner to deign to Elle a daigné nous parler 

aimer autant to like just as much to J’aime autant le lire 

avouer to admit to Il a avoué en être coupable 

aller to go to Nous allons le faire maintenant 

savoir to know how to Ils ne savaient pas le traduire 

retourner to go back to Il est retourné payer la facture 

croire to believe Je crois pouvoir le faire 

courir to run to Il a couru prendre le train 

revenir to come back to Il est revenu me le dire 

envoyer to send to Je l’ai envoyer chercher le médecin 

venir to come to Je suis venu vous voir 

faire to have something done Elle s’est fait couper les cheveux 

aimer to like J’aime lire les journaux 

prétendre to claim Il prétendait être l’héritier 

oser to dare to Vous n’oserez pas le lui dire! 

faire bon to be nice Il fait bon s’asseoir au soleil 

penser to intend to Je pense le revoir demain 

pouvoir to be able to Je pourrai vous le dire plus tard 

avoir beau to be of no use Vous avez beau vous plaindre 

falloir to be necessary Il faut finir l’exercice 

aimer mieux to prefer to J’aime mieux partir tout de suite 

préférer to prefer to Je préfère partir tout de suite 

être censé to be supposed to Vous êtes censé étudier ce soir 

devoir to have to Nous avons dû le finir 

laisser to allow to Laissez-moi le faire tout seul 

paraître to appear to Cela paraît être facile 

faillir to be close to/nearly Il a failli tomber (he nearly fell) 

Exercise 66 [verbs not followed by a preposition] 

1 He seems to be pleased with the news. 

2 They deigned to admit us to their house. 

3 We might as well write it now. 

4 The teacher admitted to being wrong. 

5 We are going to tell her. 

6 I know how to translate this. 

7 The boy couldn’t swim. 

8 They went back to apologise. 

9 We think we’re right. 

10 The woman ran to catch the bus. 

11 He’s come back to let us know. 

12 They sent for the vet. 

13 I’ve come to inform you of our decision. 

14 We’re having a new garage built. 

15 You must get your hair cut.

Exercise 67 [verbs not followed by a preposition] 

1 She likes to knit in the evenings. 

2 The man claimed to be the rightful king. 

3 You wouldn’t dare say that to your father. 

4 It would be nice to sit in the sunshine. 

5 I intend to explain it to you. 

6 It’s no use your complaining. 

7 I prefer to stay outside. 

8 It was necessary to punish them. 

9 Aren’t you supposed to be studying? 

10 We nearly fell into the river. 

NOTE THE PREPOSITIONS WHICH FOLLOW THESE VERBS: 

se fier à to trust Vous pouvez vous fier à ses conseils 

se défier de to distrust Il se défiait de son chien 

se méfier de to be wary of Il faut vous méfier de cet homme-là 

trébucher contre to trip over Il a trébuché contre la marche 

s’élancer sur to throw oneself at Il s’est élancé sur les gâteaux 

aimer à to take pleasure in Il aimait à visiter les églises 

devoir … de to owe it to … to Tu dois à tes parents de leur obéir 

venir à to happen to Je venais à passer ce café … 

venir de to have just Je viens de voir ta mère 

Exercise 68 [special prepositional use after verbs] 

1 The student distrusted what he read in the book. 

2 Never trust what you see in the papers. 

3 Always be wary of strangers. 

4 They were wary of his explanation. 

5 You might trip over those large stones. 

6 She threw herself at her long-lost fiancé. 

7 He threw himself into his work. 

8 We take great pleasure in reading such essays. 

9 You owe it to your teachers to work much harder. 

10 I owe it to you to give you an explanation. 

11 I happened to be visiting your aunt last week. 

12 I have just got off the train. 

13 They’ve just finished writing their report. 

14 He had just seen an elephant in the park. 

15 She had just put out the light when the bell rang.

VERBS FOLLOWED BY ÂDEÊ 

This is a long list, but many of the verbs are common and need to be learnt. 

féliciter de to congratulate on convenir de to agree to 

redouter de to dread to se lasser de to get tired of 

s’enorgueiller de to pride oneself on se fâcher de to get angry about 

louer de to praise for blâmer de to blame for 

regretter de to be sorry to dédaigner de to disdain to 

plaindre de to pity for se réjouir de to be glad about 

se plaindre de to complain about se flatter de to flatter oneself on 

faire bien de to do well do remercier de to thank for 

gronder de to grumble about accuser d’avoir to accuse of 

désespérer de to despair of se consoler de to get over 

se piquer de to pride oneself on s’inquiéter de to worry about 

mériter de to deserve faire mieux de to do better to 

reprocher de to reproach with rougir de to blush with 

frémir de to tremble with se contenter de to make do with 

s’attrister de to be sad about se soucier de to worry about 

soupçonner de to suspect of souffrir de to suffer from 

s’étonner de to be surprised at se vanter de to boast about 

se désoler de to be upset about se repentir de to repent of 

charger de to load with ordonner de to order to 

prier de to beg to recommander de to recommend to 

conjurer de to entreat, beg to enjoindre de to entreat to 

conseiller de to advise to supplier de to beg to 

défendre de to forbid to interdire de to forbid to 

exempter de to exempt from défier de to challenge to 

craindre de to fear to menacer de to threaten to, with 

promettre de to promise to persuader de to persuade to 

empêcher de to prevent from dispenser de to dispense with 

punir d’avoir to punish for excuser de to excuse from, for 

se presser de to hurry to achever de to finish 

se hâter de to hasten to se dépêcher de to hurry to 

s’empresser de to hasten to s’excuser de to apologise for 

cesser de to stop feindre de to pretend to 

risquer de to risk mourir de to die of 

affecter de to pretend to s’aviser de to decide to 

choisir de to choose to finir de to finish 

négliger de to neglect to suffire de to suffice to 

s’agir de to be about avertir de to warn about 

omettre de to omit to présumer de to presume to 

tenter de to attempt to essayer de to try to 

arrêter de to stop s’arrêter de to stop 

se souvenir de to remember décider de to decide to 

oublier de to forget to prévenir de to warn about 

se garder de to take care not to brûler de to be eager to 

éviter de to avoid méditer de to contemplate 

pardonner de to forgive for s’abstenir de to abstain from 

se fatiguer de to tire of se moquer de to laugh at 

couvrir de to cover with, in combler de to fill up with 

s’ennuyer de to get bored with se satisfaire de to be satisfied with 

entourer de to surround with dépendre de to depend on 

se passer de to go without dépouiller de to strip of 

vivre de to live on se venger de to get revenge on

Exercise 69 [verbs that take de] 

1 We congratulate you on your success 

2 They agreed to take the necessary measures. 

3 The pupil dreaded seeing the headmaster. 

4 We’re getting tired of doing all this work. 

5 I pride myself on my good grammar. 

6 I get angry about your lack of care. 

7 I’d like to praise you for your efforts. 

8 Don’t blame me for trying to change it. 

9 I’m sorry not to be able to answer your question. 

10 The manager disdained to discuss it with me. 


1 I’m glad to see your recent progress. 

2 The woman was complaining about the service. 

3 You’d do well to read that again. 

4 We’d like to thank you for welcoming us. 

5 The policeman accused him of stealing the cigarettes. 

6 I despair of completing this exercise. 

7 She prided herself on being able to sew. 

8 Never worry about facing the future. 

9 You deserve to earn a higher salary. 

10 You’d do better to turn the page. 


1 She was trembling with fury. 

2 We are very sad to hear your bad news. 

3 The girl was surprised to get such a letter. 

4 I’m most upset to learn of your sad loss. 

5 The wicked man repents of having sinned. 

6 They ordered the young man to sit down. 

7 I beg you to reconsider your decision. 

8 We entreat you to listen to our demands. 

9 The teacher advised him strongly to study. 

10 We’ll have to hurry to catch the last train. 


1 He was exempted from paying the tax. 

2 He challenged his enemy to fight him. 

3 I’m afraid to enter that house. 

4 They threatened to punish us. 

5 We were threatened with death. 

6 You must promise to come home early. 

7 We persuaded him to change his mind. 

8 Try to prevent the horse from escaping. 

9 The teacher punished the boy for cheating. 

10 We’ll have to hurry to post the letters.


1 They hastened to collect their mail. 

2 You must apologise for hurting him. 

3 He stopped the man from departing. 

4 I stopped talking. 

5 Don’t pretend to be asleep. 

6 You risk making a serious error. 

7 He decided not to go to Australia. 

8 We’ll have to go without breakfast today. 

9 The robbers stripped him of his clothes. 

10 He got revenge on his old enemy. 


1 I suspected him of lying. 

2 We’re very surprised to see you here again. 

3 You must promise to obey me. 

4 The barrier prevented us from reaching the other side. 

5 You risk losing your licence. 

6 We remembered to thank our hosts. 

7 Try to avoid making this mistake. 

8 We were surrounded by an angry mob. 

9 I beg you to read it again. 

10 She finished cleaning the bedroom.

VERBS FOLLOWED BY Â¤Ê 

autoriser à to authorise to contribuer à to contribute to 

persévérer à to persevere in s’épuiser à to exhaust oneself 

avoir peine à to have difficulty in condamner à to condemn to 

persister à to persist in se forcer à to strive to 

s’obstiner à to persist in travailler à to work on 

condescendre à to condescend to se résigner à to resign oneself to 

s’acharner à to try very hard to consentir à to agree to 

s’accoutumer a to get used to s’adonner à to get addicted to 

s’habituer à to get used to s’opiniâtrer à to persist in 

s’appliquer à to apply oneself to conspirer à to conspire to 

s’étudier à to strive to s’efforcer à to strive to 

apprendre à to learn, teach to s’évertuer à to do one’s utmost 

dresser à to train to amener à to lead to 

convier à to invite to pousser à to urge to 

chercher à to seek to s’apprêter à to get ready to 

enseigner à to teach to exceller à to excel in 

destiner à to intend for parvenir à to manage to 

tendre à to tend to instruire à to instruct 

aboutir à to end up …ing viser à to aim to 

se mettre à to start …ing aspirer à to aspire to 

arriver à to manage to se prendre à to begin to 

animer à to rouse to exhorter à to urge to 

hésiter à to hesitate to montrer à to show how to 

aider à to help to encourager à to encourage to 

se divertir à to amuse onself s’amuser à to enjoy …ing 

se plaire à to like …ing prendre plaisir à to take pleasure in 

s’abaisser à to stoop to avoir à to have to 

penser à to think about songer à to reflect on 

employer à to use for rester à to remain to 

se soumettre à to submit to passer le temps à to spend time on 

provoquer à to provoke to réduire à to reduce to 

se borner à to confine oneself to perdre le temps à to waste time 

renoncer à to give up s’intéresser à to be interested in 

obéir à to obey désobéir à to disobey 

se fier à to trust rémédier à to remedy 

résister à to resist nuire à to harm 

survivre à to survive ressembler à to resemble 

arracher à to snatch from dérober à to hide from 

cacher à to hide from emprunter à to borrow from 

voler à to steal from prendre à to take from 

enlever à to take away from ôter à to take away from 

s’unir à to join with substituer à to substitute for 

se décider à to decide to commencer à† to begin to 

continuer à* to continue …ing réfléchir à to reflect on 

There are other verbs which take à, but these are the most common 

continuer can take either à or de, depending on its meaning: 

[1] regular happening: à [elle a continué à le voir tous les jours] 

[2] continuous action: de [elle a continué de chanter toute la soirée] 

† commencer is sometimes found with de

Exercise 75 [verbs that take à] 

1 He was authorised to draw out the money. 

2 You must persevere in your studies. 

3 Don’t exhaust yourself sawing those logs. 

4 We often have difficulty finding the right word. 

5 They persisted in believing his lies. 

6 The young man strove to improve his French. 

7 The archbishop condescended to speak to me. 

8 He tried desperately to learn all his vocabulary. 

9 One can easily get addicted to chocolate. 

10 You really must apply yourself to learning this. 


1 The emperor taught him to speak Japanese. 

2 They did their utmost to reach the summit. 

3 The farmer used to train bullocks to pull the plough. 

4 Such ridiculous behaviour will lead to problems. 

5 We sought to discover the answer. 

6 The girls got ready to go to the theatre. 

7 Fortunately we managed to escape his clutches. 

8 The author tends to disagree with this interpretation. 

9 We ended up trying to avoid doing the exercise. 

10 Do you aim to get to university? 


1 They started walking to the bus stop. 

2 They all began to sing. 

3 Please don’t hesitate to ask me. 

4 He persisted in refusing to see them. 

5 He helped his brother climb over the wall. 

6 The teacher encouraged us to read more widely. 

7 I enjoy sunbathing in the summer. 

8 I would never stoop to gossip with her. 

9 I’ve got twelve books to read this month. 

10 Think about your future.


1 It only remains to thank you all sincerely. 

2 I submitted to his judgment. 

3 He spends all his time playing the piano. 

4 Please confine yourself to the facts. 

5 Don’t waste time watching too much television. 

6 When are you going to give up smoking? 

7 I am very interested in oriental languages. 

8 He refused to obey the teacher. 

9 I’m sure you can trust that person. 


1 This effect did not please the artist. 

2 Try to resist such temptations. 

3 This essay looks like one I marked earlier. 

4 He snatched the bag from the old lady. 

5 He hid the magazines from his parents. 

6 Can you borrow the money from your uncle? 

7 They stole ten pounds from the till. 

8 He took the book away from his sister. 

9 The boy was taken away from his family. 

10 I would like to join with you in thanking them. 


1 You’ll get used to learning French grammar soon. 

2 I’m trying to teach you to speak good French. 

3 We were invited to spend a day at the beach. 

4 This spoon is meant to stir the soup. 

5 He was amusing himself playing on the computer. 

6 They exhausted themselves lifting the weights. 

7 He’s working on his technique. 

8 The girl excelled in making cakes. 

9 His words provoked me to reply. 

10 I’m reflecting on my change of attitude.

VERBS THAT TAKE ¤ WITH THE PERSON OBJECT AND DE DE 

DE 

BEFORE THE FOLLOWING INFINITIVE 

Remember that none of these verbs can ever be passive! ‘I was promised’ , for example, becomes ‘One 

promised me’ [On m’a promis] 

ordonner to order Il a ordonné à son fils de le suivre 

commander to order Il a commandé au garçon de se lever tôt 

promettre to promise Il a promis à sa mère de ne jamais mentir 

dire to tell Il a dit aux enfants de se taire 

interdire to forbid Il a interdit aux enfants de parler en classe 

défendre to forbid Il a défendu aux enfants de parler en classe 

pardonner to forgive Il a pardonné à son ami de l’avoir trompé 

conseiller to advise Il a conseillé au voleur de dire la vérité 

permettre to allow Il a permis à son fils de sortir 

persuader to persuade Il a persuadé à sa sœur de l’y accompagner 

demander to ask Il a demandé à son ami de l’aider 

NOTE ALSO THE FOLLOWING VERBS: 

commencer par to begin by Il a commencé par nous dire la vérité 

finir par to end by Il a fini par remercier l’assistance 

apprendre à … à to teach Il a appris à ses élèves à parler espagnol 

oublier à to forget how J’ai oublié à parler allemand 

oublier de to forget to J’ai oublié de poster la lettre 

Exercise 81 

1 He ordered the boys to form a line. 

2 I promised my mother to be in early. 

3 I told them to be quiet. 

4 They forbade their sons to go fishing. 

5 She forgave her friend for destroying her car. 

6 We advised them to try again. 

7 You’re not allowed to write that. 

8 She persuaded her father to lend her some money. 

9 I asked the driver to show me his licence. 

10 We’ll begin by studying the third chapter. 

11 He ended by singing a song. 

12 I’ll teach them to write poetry. 

13 He’s forgotten how to conjugate être. 

14 Don’t forget to write to me. 

15 I’ll finish by quoting this proverb.

THE FORM AND USE OF THE IMPERATIVE 

The imperative form is usually the same as the 2 nd person singular and the 1 st and 2 nd 

persons plural of the present indicative. 

Exceptions: 

[1] in ER verbs the final s of the second person singular is dropped (including 

aller 

[2] it is also dropped in the following IR verbs (because they are conjugated like 

ER verbs in the present): 

assaillir - couvrir - cueillir - défaillir - offrir - ouvrir - souffrir - tressaillir 

[3] this s is replaced before y and en 

The imperative has no subject pronoun. 

Formation: 

ER verbs: donne donnons donnez 

RE verbs: vends vendons vendez 

IR verbs: finis finissons finissez 

The following have irregular imperative forms: 

ÊTRE sois soyons soyez 

AVOIR aie ayons ayez 

SAVOIR sache sachons sachez 

VOULOIR veuille - veuillez 

Position of pronouns: 

[a] when the verb is AFFIRMATIVE they come after it 

me and te become moi and toi, but revert to m’ and t’ when followed 

by y or en. 

The s is replaced on the 2 nd person singular when y or en follows. 

donnez-moi essayons-le lave-toi parlez-m’en vas-y 

[b] When the verb is NEGATIVE the pronouns come before it in the same 

form and order as normal: 

ne me donnez pas ne l’essayons pas ne te lave pas n’y va pas

THIRD PERSON IMPERATIVE 

As there is no form of the imperative for the third person, the subjunctive is used instead, 

preceded by QUE. This has the sense of the English ‘let’ or ‘may’ to express a wish or a 

command. 

Qu’il meure! Let him die! May he die! 

Qu’on le lui dise! Let him be told. 

Que le garçon vienne seul! Let the boy come alone. 

Qu’ils soient traduits en justice! May they be brought to justice. 

Qu’ils passent une bonne soirée! May they have a pleasant evening. 

Exercise 82 [form & use of imperative] 

1 Give me a book. [pl] 

2 Don’t give me a book. [pl] 

3 Let’s give him a book. 

4 Give me it. [s] 

5 Don’t give me it. [s] 

6 Open the door. [s] 

7 Don’t open the door. [s] 

8 Give me some. [pl] 

9 Don’t give me any. [pl] 

10 Ask [s] the man to open it. 

11 Be aware that this is true. [use savoir] 

12 Have pity! [pl] 

13 Put it there. [s] 

14 Don’t put it there. [pl] 

15 Come here. [s] 

Exercise 83 [form & use of imperative] 

1 Never say that. [pl] 

2 Look at them. [s] 

3 Don’t look at them. [s] 

4 Let’s consider the question. 

5 Don’t let’s consider the question. 

6 Let them be given their money. 

7 Let the prisoners go. 

8 May he be blessed. 

9 Let her take what she wants. 

10 Don’t let them be punished.

THE SUBJUNCTIVE 

The subjunctive is the mood of feeling, doubt and hypothesis. It is used in most cases where 

a fact is not in consideration. It is used as follows: 

To express a wish 

When the speaker’s feelings influence what he says 

Where there is any doubt 

When the existence of something is not known 

After certain prepositions 

THE FORMATION OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE 

Take the PRESENT STEM (first person plural of present tense without ONS) and add the following 

endings for all verbs: 

e es e ions iez ent 

The following verbs are irregular in the present subjunctive (remember that many of them have 

derivatives, which are also irregular—check the list of irregular verbs in the present tense to find 

the derivatives): 

AVOIR aie aies ait ayons ayez aient 

ETRE sois sois soit soyons soyez soient 

ALLER aille ailles aille allions alliez aillent 

ACQUÉRIR acquière acquières acquière acquérions acquériez acquièrent 

TENIR tienne tiennes tienne tenions teniez tiennent 

VENIR vienne viennes vienne venions veniez viennent 

ASSEOIR asseye asseyes asseye asseyions asseyiez asseyent 

assoie assoies assoie assoyions assoyiez assoient 

DEVOIR doive doives doive devions deviez doivent 

FALLOIR il faille 

MOUVOIR meuve meuves meuve mouvions mouviez meuvent 

POUVOIR puisse puisses puisse puissions puissiez puissent 

RECEVOIR reçoive reçoives reçoive recevions receviez reçoivent 

SAVOIR sache saches sache sachions sachiez sachent 

VALOIR vaille vailles vaille valions valiez vaillent 

VOULOIR veuille veuilles veuille voulions vouliez veuillent 

BOIRE boive boives boive buvions buviez boivent 

FAIRE fasse fasses fasse fassions fassiez fassent 

PRENDRE prenne prennes prenne prenions preniez prennent 

All other verbs, except the compounds of the above, are regular in the present subjunctive.

[1] IN MAIN CLAUSES 

[a] to express a wish: 

THE USE OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE 

Vive la Reine! Long live the Queen! 

[b] instead of the past conditional: 

Qui l’eût cru? Who would have believed it? 

L’eusses-tu cru? Would you have believed it? 

[2] After verbs of WANTING or DESIRING: 

vouloir to want désirer to desire 

souhaiter to wish aimer to like 

préférer to prefer demander to ask 

Je veux que vous fassiez vos devoirs I want you to do your homework 

J’aime mieux que tu viennes tout de suite I prefer you to come straight away 

Il demande que vous alliez le voir He asks that you go and see him 

[3] After verbs of ORDERING 

commander to order ordonner to order 

exiger to demand prier to beg 

supplier to beg 

Il a ordonné que le garçon vienne He ordered the boy to come 

Il exige que nous buvions le café He demands that we drink the coffee 

[4] After verbs of ATTITUDE 

approuver to approve of désapprouver to disapprove of 

Je ne’approuve pas que tu écrives ça I don’t approve of your writing that

[5] After verbs of PERMISSION 

défendre to forbid empêcher to prevent 

tolérer to tolerate permettre to allow 

supporter to put up with 

Il a défendu que sa fille sorte le soir He forbade his daughter to go out at night 

Ils ont empêché qu’on passe le film They prevented the film from being shown 

Je ne tolère pas que tu fasses des bêtises I will not put up with you messing about 

Exercise 84 [use of the subjunctive] 

1 I want you to read this letter. 

2 I’d like them to write an essay. 

3 We’d prefer you to come in the morning. 

4 He asked that the student should read the book. 

5 He ordered the man to leave the room. 

6 He demands that his situation be considered. 

7 We insist that the work should be started. 

8 He begged that his problems should be taken into account. 

9 The officer commanded that the soldiers fire. 

10 I don’t approve of your reading such magazines. 

11 He forbade the people to enter the building. 

12 We must prevent these men from hurting us. 

13 I will not tolerate you speaking to me like that. 

14 We allow young people to say what they like. 

15 I won’t put up with that woman telling me what to do. 

[6] After verbs of FEELING & EMOTION 

This is probably the most common use of the subjunctive. There are many other verbs and expressions in 

addition to those listed below, which are just a sample. To these you should also add all expressions of feeling 

composed of être and an adjective, as well as expressions of feeling composed of trouver and and adjective 

(trouver drôle, étrange, etc.) 

être content to be pleased être heureux to be happy 

se plaindre to complain être ravi to be delighted 

regretter to be sorry s’affliger to be upset 

se fâcher to get angry être fâché to be angry 

être triste to be sad avoir honte to be ashamed 

être désolé to be very sorry s’attrister to be sad 

être vexé to be annoyed être mécontent to be displeased 

être outré to be outraged être navré to be very upset 

s’étonner to be surprised se réjouir to be delighted 

Je suis content que tu sois venu I am pleased that you have come 

Nous sommes outrés qu’il n’ait pas répondu We are outraged that he hasn’t replied 

Elle trouve étrange qu’il ait écrit la lettre She finds it strange that he’s written the letter 

Je suis navré que sa mère soit morte I’m very sorry that his mother has died


1 I am so pleased that your work has improved. 

2 We’re sorry that your cat has died. 

3 We’re very sorry that he can’t see you today. 

4 I find it strange that you should say that. 

5 We’re furious that the letter hasn’t arrived. 

6 I’m delighted that your son passed his exams. 

7 I’m surprised that you don’t understand. 

8 She’s ashamed that her daughter stole the money. 

9 I find it interesting that he believes such stories. 

10 Your teacher is delighted that you can understand this. 

[7] After verbs of FEARING & DOUBT 

craindre to fear avoir peur to be afraid 

redouter to dread éviter to avoid 

risquer to risk courir le risque to run the risk 

douter to doubt nier to deny 

soupçonner to suspect se pouvoir to be possible 

être possible to be possible ne pas être probable to be improbable 

Je crains qu’elle ne soit blessée I fear she may be wounded 

Nous doutons qu’il vienne We doubt that he’ll come 

Il redoutait que la police le trouvât He dreaded the police finding it 

Il évitait que la police le découvrât He avoided the police finding it out 

Nous soupçonnons qu’il soit bien connu We suspect that he’s well known 

Elle a nié que la lettre soit arrivée She denied that the letter had arrived 

Il se peut que vous ayez raison It’s possible that you’re right 


1 I fear he may have to leave early. 

2 I’m afraid you can’t put bad language in an essay. 

3 You risk your mother finding out that you did it. 

4 I doubt if she’s interested in it. 

5 He’s afraid someone might steal his wallet. 

6 They dreaded the examiners’ finding the error. 

7 You run the risk of the train being early. 

8 I deny strongly that I’m the guilty party. 

9 I suspect this man stole the furniture. 

10 Try and avoid your father noticing it.

[8] After IMPERSONAL VERBS (unless they state a fact) 

There are many of these verbs, and they take the subjunctive if the adjective or infinitive 

that follows il est shows feeling or attitude on the part of the speaker. The following are 

just a few examples: 

il faut it’s necessary il suffit it’s enough 

il importe it’s important il convient it’s fitting 

il est à désirer it’s to be desired il est nécessaire it’s necessary 

il est important it’s important il est suffisant it’s enough 

il est convenable it’s appropriate il est juste it’s right 

il est faux it’s false il est à craindre it’s to be feared 

il est rare it’s rare il est impossible it’s impossible 

c’est dommage it’s a pity il est fâcheux it’s annoying 

il est à regretter it’s to be regretted il est à espérer it’s to be hoped 


1 It will be necessary for you to write three pages. 

2 It’s possible that he’ll come tomorrow. [use se pouvoir] 

3 It’s to be feared that she’s run away. 

4 You’d better see the manager. [use il vaut mieux que] 

5 What a pity the film-star has such a tiny nose! 

6 It seems inevitable that they’ll do it. 

7 It’s very important that you finish this exercise. 

8 You’d better go now. 

9 It’s right that he should earn a high salary. 

10 It’s completely false that I said that! 

11 It’s appropriate that he’s been punished. 

12 It’s rare that those geese come to England. 

13 It’s a pity you’re not rich. 

14 It’s so annoying that he writes so carelessly. 

15 It’s to be regretted that they’ve made this decision. 

[9] After the following verbs and expressions when they are 

NEGATIVE or INTERROGATIVE: 

croire to think/believe penser to think 

trouver to find juger to judge 

déclarer to state soutenir to maintain 

convenir to agree jurer to swear 

prévoir to foresee promettre to promise 

espérer to hope se douter to suspect 

se souvenir to remember paraître to appear 

s’ensuivre to follow être certain to be certain 

être vrai to be true être evident to be obvious 

être prouvé to be proved dire to say 

être probable to be probable

Je ne crois pas que cela soit vrai I don’t think that’s true 

Il ne soutient pas que le livre soit intéressant He doesn’t maintain that the book is interesting 

Il n’a pas promis que je puisse sortir He hasn’t promised that I can go out. 

Est-il certain qu’il ait dit ça? Is it certain he said that? 

Je n’ai pas dit que ce soit possible I didn’t say it was possible. 

Est-ce qu’ils sont convenus qu’il doive revenir? Did they agree that he’s got to come back? 

Il n’a pas prévu que la neige soit si lourde He didn’t foresee that the snow would be so heavy. 

Espérez-vous qu’elle revienne? Are you hoping she’ll return? 

Il n’est pas évident que ce soit possible. It’s not obvious that it’s possible. 

Il ne s’ensuit pas qu’il soit coupable It doesn’t follow that he’s guilty. 

On n’a pas prouvé que le livre existe It hasn’t been proved that the book exists. 


1 I don’t think you’re old enough to read that. 

2 I didn’t say John is an idiot. 

3 It doesn’t follow that he’ll know the answer. 

4 Do you still maintain that he’s right? 

5 Did he state that the minister had resigned? 

6 We don’t agree that these plans should be accepted. 

7 They didn’t foresee that the building would collapse. 

8 Did she promise that her mother would meet you? 

9 We no longer hope that she’ll recover. 

10 I don’t remember his agreeing to it. 

11 It doesn’t appear that the judge understands the evidence. 

12 It’s not certain that this book is worth reading. 

13 Is it really true that she wants to see me? 

14 It’s hardly obvious that your work is carefully written. 

15 It’s not probable that there are more questions. 

[10] After a SUPERLATIVE with a RELATIVE PRONOUN 

There are many of these and all take the subjunctive when followed by a relative pronoun 

(e.g., qui, que). The following are only examples: 

le dernier the last le seul the only 

le premier the first le plus grand the biggest 

le pire the worst le meilleur the best

C’est le seul homme qui soit venu He’s the only person to come 

C’est le meilleur livre que j’aie jamais lu It’s the best book I’ve ever read 

C’est la plus grande maison que je connaisse It’s the biggest house I know 


1 He’s the only one who has studied the book. 

2 This is the most beautiful picture I’ve ever seen. 

3 She’s the fattest woman I know. 

4 This is the most difficult work I can imagine. 

5 That is the most interesting article I’ve ever read. 

[11] After SEMBLER and PARAÎTRE 

If there is an indirect object pronoun with sembler it takes the indicative rather than the 

subjunctive. In colloquial speech both verbs often take the indicative. 

Il semble qu’il ne puisse pas venir It seems that he can’t come 

But Il me semble que vous êtes paresseux It seems to me that you’re lazy 

Il paraît que le travail soit terminé It seems that the work is finished 

[12] After the following RELATIVES 

qui que whoever quoi que whatever [pronoun]obj. 

quel … que whatever [adj.] quoi qui whatever [pronoun]sub. 

si … que however quelque …que however 

qui qu’il soit whoever he may be 

qui que vous ayez vu whoever you saw 

quoi que l’on fasse whatever one may do 

quel que soit son problème whatever his problem may be 

quelque difficile que ce soit however difficult it may be 

si difficile que ce soit however difficult it may be


1 It seems that the parcel has been sent. 

2 It appears that the cat may have disappeared. 

3 It seems to me that this is the right answer. 

4 Whoever you are, you are welcome. 

5 Whoever you see, tell the truth. 

6 Whatever happens, remain calm. 

7 Whatever you do, try to finish it. 

8 However interesting the book may appear … 

9 However pleasant the programme may be … 

10 However long the journey may be … 

11 Whatever he says, he is wrong. 

12 Read this chapter, however boring it may be. 

13 Whatever his views are, I don’t accept them. 

14 Whatever your teacher says, always listen to it. 

15 However lazy the boy may have become … 

[13] After the following VERBS that take À CE QUE 

This is not a complete list of the verbs that take à ce que. There are more and the use is 

becoming more common. 

consentir à ce que to consent to 

veiller à ce que to see to it that 

voir à ce que to see to it that 

s’attendre à ce que to expect that 

s’opposer à ce que to oppose 

aider à ce que to help … so that 

prendre garde à ce que to take care that 

Le directeur a consenti à ce que l’élève parte de bonne heure. 

The headmaster consented to the pupil’s leaving early. 

Veillez à ce que votre rédaction soit bien construite. 

Make sure that your essay is well constructed. 

Il s’attend à ce que son père revienne de Paris. 

He’s expecting his father to return from Paris. 

Nous nous opposons à ce que le prisonnier soit libéré. 

We are opposed to the prisoner’s being released. 

Prenez garde à ce que vous ne trébuchiez pas. 

Be careful not to trip up/ Mind you don’t trip up.


1 We all consented to his being elected. 

2 They won’t consent to the book’s being published. 

3 Please see to it that your work is finished on time. 

4 Make sure that all the sentences are understandable. 

5 I am not expecting your essays to be perfect. 

6 He is expecting his mother to arrive this evening. 

7 We strongly oppose their taking part in this game. 

8 The government opposes teachers’ getting pay rises. 

9 Take care that your cheques are all signed. 

10 They take care that the vocabulary is carefully learnt. 

[14] After the following CONJUNCTIONS 

Sometimes, when an established FACT follows the conjunction, the indicative is used instead of the 

subjunctive. 

Note that conjunctions such as afin que, pour que, avant que, de peur que and jusqu’à ce que 

are used only when the subject of the main clause and the subject of the subordinate clause are 

different. When they are the same, an infinitive is used instead. 

e.g. before going - avant de partir; in order to make - pour faire 

afin que in order that 

pour que in order that 

jusqu’à ce que until 

avant que before (also ‘until’ after a negative) 

en attendant que while 

de crainte que for fear that 

de peur que for fear that 

pourvu que provided that 

au cas que in case 

non que not that 

à supposer que supposing that 

supposé que supposing that 

quoique although 

bien que although 

ce n’est pas que it’s not that 

à moins que unless 

sans que without 

malgré que in spite of the fact that 

à condition que on condition that 

de façon que* so that 

de manière que* so that 

de sorte que* so that 

*These take the subjunctive when they express purpose and the indicative when they 

express result:

PURPOSE: He raised his hand so that the teacher would notice him 

Il a levé la main de sorte que le professeur lui fasse attention 

RESULT: The bus left early, so that he missed it 

Le car est parti tôt de sorte qu’il l’a manqué 

Examples: 

Cache les livres afin que le prof ne les voie 

Hide the books so the teacher doesn’t see them 

Il travaillera jusqu’à ce que son ami vienne 

He’ll work till his friend arrives 

Ne pars pas avant que je ne t’en aie parlé 

Don’t go before I’ve spoken to you about it 

Il a couru de peur que le monstre ne le prenne 

He ran for fear that the monster would catch him 

Pourvu que tu sois sage … 

Provided you’re good … 

Non que je crois que tu sois paresseux … 

Not that I think you’re lazy … 

Supposé qu’il les aperçoive? 

Supposing he notices them? 

Il l’a vendu sans que je le sache 

He sold it without my knowledge 

Bien qu’il soit riche, il est avare 

Although he’s rich, he’s a miser 

À moins que tu ne fasses tes devoirs … 

Unless you do your homework … 


1 He wrote the book in order that they might understand his views. 

2 You will remain here until you’ve finished your essay. 

3 He arrived before the teacher entered the classroom. 

4 We ran fast for fear that the train might be early. 

5 Provided your work is reasonably good, I’ll mark it straight away. 

6 In case the inspector comes in, keep your books on the table. 

7 Not that this language can be translated easily. 

8 Supposing I make a mistake? 

9 Although he wants to earn a lot, he doesn’t like work. 

10 It’s not that I need to do it. 

11 Unless you write two pages you won’t get a mark. 

12 In spite of the fact that he’s never ready … 

13 Don’t speak unless I say you can. 

14 Don’t leave the room till the bell rings. 

15 They put the light on so that they could see the room properly.

AVOIDING THE SUBJUNCTIVE 

The subjunctive can always be avoided when the subjects of the main clause and the 

subordinate clause are the same. You can use an infinitive, a past participle, an adjective or 

a phrase: 

I’m working hard so that I can earn more money 

Je travaille dur pour gagner plus d’argent 

Although he is old, he is still active 

Quoique vieux, il est toujours actif 

I’m pleased I’m able to pay you 

Je suis content de pouvoir vous payer 

I shall finish the essay before I go out 

Je vais finir la rédaction avant de sortir 

We’ll do the work before he arrives 

Nous ferons le travail avant son arrivée 

I don’t think I’m in a position to do that 

Je ne crois pas être à même de faire ça 

THE IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE 

You have already been using the perfect subjunctive as well as the present—whenever you 

have used avoir or être in the subjunctive with a past participle (Sans qu’il l’ait vu, for 

example). The present and perfect will suffice for almost all your subjunctive needs, yet 

you are bound to meet the imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive in your reading of 

literature and sometimes quality newspapers. You should therefore be familiar with it. 

USE: When the verb in the main clause is imperfect, pluperfect or past historic. 

FORMATION OF THE IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE 

It is formed from exactly the same stem as the PAST HISTORIC, so if you know your past 

historic stems you also know the imperfect subjunctive stems.

A-stem verbs: asse asses ât assions assiez assent 

I-stem verbs: isse isses ît issions issiez issent 

U-stem verbs: usse usses ût ussions ussiez ussent 

Thus, for example: 

donner past historic - il donna imp.subj. - il donnât 

faire past historic - il fit imp.subj. - il fît 

être past historic - il fut imp.subj. - il fût 

avoir past historic - il eut imp.subj. - il eût 

In practice, you will find that today only the 3 rd person singular is normally used. 

USE OF THE IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE 

It is used in exactly the same circumstances as the present subjunctive, after certain verbs 

and prepositions (see use of present subjunctive). It should be used, as mentioned already, 

when the main verb of the sentence is in an ‘historic’ tense: imperfect, pluperfect or past 

historic. You may also find it used when the main verb of the sentence is in the conditional 

tense, but this is optional. 

The pluperfect subjunctive is formed with avoir or être in the imperfect, followed by a 

past participle. 

EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF THE IMPERFECT & PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE 

He was happy that his mother had gone out 

Il était content que sa mère fût sortie 

He always let his pupils leave early 

Il permettait toujours que ses élèves partissent tôt 

She wanted her father to give her some money 

Elle voulait que son père lui donnât de l’argent 

Although he was rich, his friends never received money from him 

Bien qu’il fût riche, ses amis ne recevaient jamais de l’argent 

He found it strange that she should write such a letter 

Il trouvait étrange qu’elle écrivît une telle lettre 

It was necessary for the teacher to mark the exercises 

Il fallait que le professeur corrigeât les exercices 

Whatever his problem was … 

Quel que fût son problème …

He worked hard in order that his family should not starve 

Il travaillait dur afin que sa famille ne mourût pas de faim 

Although he had been punished, the boy refused to be quiet 

Bien qu’il eût été puni, le garçon refusait de se taire 

He was pleased that his friend had arrived 

Il était content que son ami fût arrivé 

I met the author before he had become famous 

Je rencontrai l’auteur avant qu’il ne devînt célèbre 

He went out without his mother knowing 

Il sortit sans que sa mère le sût 

I had expected him to phone me earlier 

Je m’étais attendu à ce qu’il me téléphonât plus tôt 

A further (literary and elegant) use of the imperfect subjunctive is in a conditional clause, 

where IF (SI) would normally be used. It corresponds to the English inverted condition, in 

which, instead of saying ‘if he had written’, we say ‘had he written’: 

Had he contacted me earlier, I could have paid the bill 

M’eût-il contacté plus tôt, j’aurais pu régler le compte 

You will also meet the following uses in literature: 

eussé-je had I … for if I had – si j’avais 

fussé-je were I … for if I were – si j’étais 

dussé-je had I to … for if I had to – si je devais 

Exercise 93 [use of the imperfect & pluperfect subjunctive] 

1 He was angry that the taxi was late. 

2 I never approved of the boy avoiding his homework. 

3 They wanted me to know the truth. 

4 Although the girl had a lot of friends. 

5 I found it odd that he had said such things. 

6 It was necessary that the bill should be settled. 

7 Whoever he met, he never said a word. 

8 We worked hard so that the teachers would be pleased. 

9 Although he had arrived early, he started work straight away. 

10 I was so pleased that you had succeeded. 

11 We finished the work before his father came in. 

12 Had I written this later, I would not have forgotten it. 

13 Whatever problems he had, he remained cheerful. 

14 He was afraid that she would not understand. 

15 I was delighted that they had decided to accept my book.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE MOST COMMON IRREGULAR VERBS AND THEIR 

TENSES. THESE ARE THE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS! 

Infinitive Meaning Present tense Future Past 

part. 

être to be suis es est sommes êtes 

sont 

Pres.subj. 

serai été sois soyons 

avoir to have ai as a avons avez ont aurai eu aie ayons 

aller to go vais vas va allons allez vont irai allé aille allions 

courir 

couvrir 

offrir 

ouvrir 

souffrir 

cueillir 

accueillir 

fuir 

s’enfuir 

to run cours cours court 

courons courez courent 

to cover 

to offer 

to open 

to suffer 

to gather 

to welcome 

to flee 

to run away 

couvre couvres couvre 

couvrons couvrez couvrent 

cueille cueilles cueille 

cueillons cueillez cueillent 

fuis fuis fuit 

fuyons fuyez fuient 

haïr to hate hais hais hait 

haïssons haïssez haïssent 

servir to serve sers sers sert 

servons servez servent 

dormir 

s’endormir 

to sleep 

go to sleep 

dors dors dort 

dormons dormez dorment 

partir to leave pars pars part 

partons partez partent 

sentir 

mentir 

to feel 

to lie 

sens sens sent 

sentons sentez sentent 

sortir to go out sors sors sort 

sortons sortez sortent 

tenir 

appartenir 

contenir 

maintenir 

obtenir 

venir 

revenir 

convenir 

devenir 

se souvenir 

to hold 

to belong 

to contain 

to maintain 

to obtain 

to come 

come back 

agree 

become 

remember 

tiens tiens tient 

tenons tenez tiennent 

viens viens vient 

venons venez viennent 

s’asseoir to sit assieds assieds assied 

asseyons asseyez asseyent 

courrai couru coure 

courions 

couvrai couvert couvre 

couvrions 

cueillerai cueilli cueille 

cueillions 

fuirai fui fuie 

fuyions 

haïrai haï haïsse 

haïssions 

servirai servi serve 

servions 

dormirai dormi dorme 

dormions 

partirai parti parte 

partions 

sentirai senti sente 

sentions 

sortirai sorti sorte 

sortions 

tiendrai tenu tienne 

tenions 

viendrai venu vienne 

venions 

assiérai assis asseye 

asseyions

falloir be 

necessary 

devoir to have to dois dois doit 

devons devez doivent 

pouvoir to be able peux peux peut 

pouvons pouvez peuvent 

savoir to know sais sais sait 

savons savez savent 

recevoir 

décevoir 

apercevoir 

to receive 

disappoint 

notice 

il faut il faudra fallu il faille 

reçois reçois reçoit 

recevons recevez reçoivent 

valoir be worth vaux vaux vaut 

valons valez valent 

battre 

combattre 

abattre 

to beat 

fight 

knock down 

bats bats bat 

battons battez battent 

boire to drink bois bois boit 

buvons buvez boivent 

conclure to conclude conclus conclus conclut 

concluons concluez 

concluent 

conduire 

construire 

cuire 

détruire 

instruire 

introduire 

réduire 

produire 

luire 

traduire 

séduire 

nuire 

connaître 

reconnaître 

paraître 

apparaître 

to drive 

build 

cook 

destroy 

instruct 

introduce 

reduce 

produce 

shine 

translate 

seduce 

harm 

to know 

recognise 

seem 

appear 

conduis conduis conduit 

conduisons conduisez 

conduisent 

connais connais connaît 

connaissons -ez -ent 

devrai dû doive 

devions 

pourrai pu puisse 

puissions 

saurai su sache 

sachions 

recevrai reçu reçoive 

recevions 

vaudrai valu vaille 

vallions 

battrai battu batte 

battions 

boirai bu boive 

buvions 

conclurai conclu conclue 

concluions 

conduirai conduit conduise 

conduisions 

connaîtrai connu connaisse

craindre 

peindre 

dépeindre 

joindre 

plaindre 

rejoindre 

atteindre 

éteindre 

feindre 

restreindre 

geindre 

accroître 

décroître 

to fear 

paint 

depict 

join 

pity 

meet 

reach 

put out 

pretend 

restrict 

moan 

increase 

decrease 

crains crains craint 

craignons craignez 

craignent 

this is the form of all verbs in 

aindre, eindre, oindre 

croire believe crois crois croit 

croyons croyez croient 

croître grow croîs croîs croît 

croissons croissez 

croissent 

dire 

contredire 

interdire 

prédire 

admettre 

commettre 

omettre 

émettre 

permettre 

promettre 

soumettre 

say 

contradict 

forbid 

predict 

admit 

commit 

omit 

emit 

permit 

promise 

submit 

conjugated as croître 

dis dis dis disons dites 

disent 

craindrai craint craigne 

craignions 

croirai cru croie 

croyions 

croîtrai crû croisse 

croissions 

dirai dit dise disions 

faire to do fais fais fait faisons faites ferai fait fasse 

font 

fassions 

écrire to write écris écris écrit 

écrirai écrit écrive 

écrivons écrivez écrivent 

écrivions 

décrire describe 

lire to read lis lis lit lisons lisez lisent lirai lu lise lisions 

élire elect 

mettre to put mets mets met 

mettrai mis mette 

mettons mettez mettent 

mettions 

plaire to please plais plais plaît 

plairai plu plaise 

plaisons plaisez plaisent 

plaisions 

pleuvoir to rain il pleut pleuvra plu pleuve 

prendre to take prends prends prend prendrai pris prenne 

prenons prenez prennent 

prenions 

reprendre 

apprendre 

comprendre 

surprendre 

rire 

sourire 

start again 

learn 

understand 

surprise 

to laugh 

to smile 

suffire be enough suffis suffis suffit 

suffisons suffisez suffisent 

ris ris rit rions riez rient rirai ri rie rions 

suffirai suffi suffise 

suffisions

suivre to follow suis suis suit 

suivons suivez suivent 

s’ensuivre to follow 

se taire be quiet tais tais tait 

taisons taisez taisent 

vaincre to win vaincs vaincs vainc 

vainquons vainquez 

convaincre convince vainquent 

vivre to live vis vis vit vivons vivez 

revivre revive vivent 

survivre survive 

suivrai suivi suive 

suivions 

tairai tu taise 

taisions 

vaincrai vaincu vainque 

vainquions 

vivrai vécu vive vivions

IDIOMATIC USE OF COMMON IRREGULAR VERBS 

AVOIR 

j’ai besoin de I need 

j’ai envie de I feel like 

avoir lieu to take place 

il a quelquechose there’s something the matter with him 

j’en ai assez de … I’m fed up with/ I’ve had enough of 

j’en ai marre I’m fed up 

tu n’as pas à … you don’t have to 

tu as beau + infinitive it’s no use your —ing … 

on n’a qu’à all you have to do is … 

avoir de la chance to be lucky 

avoir affaire à to have dealings with 

avoir du mal à to have trouble —ing 

avoir de la peine à to have trouble —ing 

j’en ai pour deux heures it will take me two hours 

il y en a qui … some people … / there are some who … 

avoir quelquechose en horreur to have a horror of something 

avoir quelquechose à faire to have something to do 

j’ai à travailler I’ve got work to do 

combien y a-t-il d’ici à …? how far is it from here to …? 

Exercise 94 [idiomatic use of avoir] 

1 I need a further paragraph to make this essay coherent. 

2 He felt like writing it again. 

3 Their meeting takes place during the third chapter. 

4 I’ve had enough of these interminable exercises. 

5 You don’t need to study every poem in the book. 

6 It’s no use your making feeble excuses. 

7 All you have to do is read it three times. 

8 His friend was lucky to win so much money. 

9 I have trouble learning French grammar. 

10 There’s no point in the manager complaining. 

11 Some people will never understand this. 

12 I realised that she had a horror of spiders. 

13 Haven’t you got anything better to do? 

14 I’ve got several newspapers to read. 

15 How far is it from Paris to Calais?

ÊTRE 

être bien avec to be on good terms with 

il est de leurs amis he’s a friend of theirs 

comme si de rien n’était as if nothing had happened 

je n’en suis pas encore là I haven’t got to that yet 

je ne sais plus où j’en suis I’m in a complete muddle 

il en est qui … there are some people who 

c’est à vous de …[+ inf.] it’s up to you to … 

soit … soit … either … or … 

cela étant that being the case … 

c’en est trop! that’s the limit! 

puisqu’il en est ainsi as that’s the way things are 

ça y est! that’s it! done it! [expression of success] 

être de retour to be back 

ils sont toujours à … they’re always —ing 

il était une fois … once upon a time there was … 

s’il en fut if there ever was one 

où en étais-je? where was I? 

je suis à même de I’m in a position to 

je suis en mesure de I’m in a position to 

Exercise 95 [idiomatic use of être] 

1 They’re both on good terms with each other. 

2 But the duchess is not a friend of theirs. 

3 They continued to act as though nothing had happened. 

4 I haven’t got to that yet. 

5 She is in a complete muddle. 

6 She was always in a complete muddle. 

7 There are some who consider this play to be a farce. 

8 It’s up to her to make her own decisions. 

9 Either he loves her or he hates her. 

10 That really is the limit! 

Exercise 96 [idiomatic use of être] 

1 As that’s the way things are, I’ll go now. 

2 Such being the case, what follows is hardly surprising. 

3 That’s it! You’ve finished it all! 

4 Let him know that she’ll be back tomorrow. 

5 They’re always complaining. 

6 Once upon a time there was an handsome prince … 

7 I don’t believe he saw a fairy—if there ever was one. 

8 Where was I when you interrupted me? 

9 We aren’t in a position to tell you at the moment. 

10 I was then in a position to study the facts objectively.

FAIRE 

je ne sais que faire I don’t know what to do 

toute réflexion faite … all things considered 

c’est bien fait it serves you right 

qu’est-ce que ça fait? what does it matter? 

ça ne fait rien it doesn’t matter 

si ça ne te fait rien if you don’t mind 

ça fait jeune [any adjective] that makes you look young [any adjective] 

faire l’idiot to act the fool 

faire des bêtises to mess about 

ne vous en faites pas don’t worry about it 

je me suis fait comprendre I made myself understood 

cela fait que … consequently … 

se faire entendre to make oneself heard 

il se faisait tard it was getting late 

un faire-part a notification 

ça ne se fait pas that isn’t done 

il ne faisait que / il n’a fait que… all he did was … 

se faire des amis to make friends 

l’argent ne fait pas tout money isn’t everything 

qu’est-ce que ça fait? who cares? 

se faire une opinion sur to form an opinion about 

faire le gros monsieur to “act big” 

comment se fait-il que …? how is it that …? 

on m’a fait croire que … I was led to believe that … 

Exercise 97 [idiomatic use of faire] 

1 I don’t know what to do. 

2 All things considered, these are my plans. 

3 He was always acting big in front of the girls. 

4 If you don’t mind, I’d rather stay at home. 

5 You’ve had your hair cut: it makes you look young. 

6 He was always acting the fool. 

7 I will not tolerate you messing about in class! 

8 Don’t worry about it: you’ll do better next time. 

9 I managed to make myself understood in Germany. 

10 Consequently, he has put an end to their friendship. 

11 The teacher couldn’t make himself heard. 

12 We’ve received a notification from the bank. 

13 All he did was watch the TV. 

14 Did you make any friends today? 

15 Money isn’t everything: you also need luck. 

16 Who cares if they never find it? 

17 For all I care they can do as they like. 

18 Try to form an opinion of the author’s style. 

19 How is it that this character succeeds in life? 

20 I was led to believe that you were interested in it.

ALLER 

les affaires vont bien business is good 

ça va sans dire that goes without saying 

il va sans dire que … it goes without saying that … 

il va de soi que … it stands to reason that … 

va-t-en! get lost! 

il faut que je m’en aille I’ve got to go 

aller jusqu’au bout to see it through 

et s’il allait refuser? what if he refuses? 

il en va de même pour … the same goes for … 

aller à grands pas to stride 

ça ira it’ll be all right 

ça n’irait pas du tout that wouldn’t do at all 

ça te va it suits you 

ça ira comme ça we’ll leave it like that 

y aller de tout son cœur to put one’s heart and soul into it 

ça fait aller it makes you go [ie to the toilet] 

aller sur ses 50 ans to be getting on for 50 

aller en empirant to get worse and worse [+ any pres.part.] 

il y va de votre santé your health is at stake 

il s’en est allé hier he passed away yesterday 

à l’aller on the way there 

Exercise 98 [idiomatic use of aller] 

1 As business is good, I’ll buy a new BMW. 

2 It goes without saying that the hero of this novel is dishonest. 

3 It stands to reason that you can’t study more than three books. 

4 The prime minister said that he had to go. 

5 Once you’ve begun the job, you’ve got to see it through. 

6 The same goes for the heroine: she deserves her fate. 

7 He strode across the field in pursuit of the sheep. 

8 It seems hard today, but it’ll be all right tomorrow. 

9 I like your pink tie—it suits you. 

10 But what if he refuses? 

11 She’s getting on for 70 now! 

12 His results are getting better and better. 

13 If you smoke, your health is at stake. 

14 I’ll meet you on the way there. 

15 Her grandmother passed away last week.

VENIR 

d’où vient-il? where does he come from? 

dans les mois à venir in the coming months (weeks, days, etc.) 

d’où vient-il que …? how does it happen that …? 

je serais mal venu à … it would be ungracious of me to … 

je viens vous voir I’ve come to see you 

cela vient de ce que … that was the result of … 

il me vient à l’esprit que … it occurs to me that … 

où voulez-vous en venir? what are you getting at? 

le voici qui vient here he comes 

venir à rien to come to nothing 

l’heure est venue [de] the time has come [to] 

la semaine qui vient the coming week 

j’en viens à la conclusion que I’ve come to the conclusion that 

en venir aux mains to come to blows 

venir de to have just … 

Exercise 99 [idiomatic use of venir] 

1 We asked the stranger where he came from. 

2 In the years to come you’ll realise its importance. 

3 How does it happen that he hates your uncle? 

4 It would be ungracious of me not to reply. 

5 I’ve come to tell you he’s ready to start. 

6 This is the result of the fact that he’s obsessed with it. 

7 It occurred to me that I should mention this problem. 

8 What are you driving at in this paragraph? 

9 Here he comes—he looks sad. 

10 All our noble efforts have come to nothing. 

11 The two boys came to blows. 

12 He had just got up.

PRENDRE 

prendre un bain / une douche to have a bath / shower 

prendre un billet to buy a ticket 

prends garde! be careful! 

où a-t-il pris cela? where did he get that idea? 

à tout prendre on the whole 

comment s’y prendre how to set about it 

il s’y prend mal he’s going the wrong way about it 

prendre la mouche to take offence 

cela prendra longtemps it’ll take a long time 

prendre sur soi de to take it upon oneself to 

à bien prendre les choses rightly speaking 

prenons qu’il en soit ainsi let’s assume that this is so 

prendre feu to catch fire 

prendre racine to take root 

prendre du poids to put on weight 

prendre de l’âge to be getting on in years 

prendre un rendezvous to make an appointment 

Exercise 100 [idiomatic use of prendre] 

1 I’d like to buy a theatre ticket. 

2 Be careful! This is harder than it seems. 

3 Where did you get that strange idea? 

4 That’s my suggestion—take it or leave it. 

5 On the whole, I agree with you. 

6 The problem is how to set about it. 

7 You’re going the wrong way about it. 

8 Don’t take offence if I speak to you frankly. 

9 Read the whole novel? That will take a long time. 

10 The heroine takes it upon herself to murder the king. 

11 Rightly speaking, he should have been imprisoned. 

12 Let’s assume that this is so, and continue. 

13 The dry wood soon caught fire. 

14 The idea took root and began to develop. 

15 I’ll make an appointment later today.

DIRE 

je dis ce que je pense I speak my mind 

dire que oui – dire que non to say yes – to say no 

à vrai dire to tell the truth 

c’est tout dit I need say no more 

tout n’est pas dit we haven’t heard the last of it 

à ce qu’il dit according to him 

on aurait dit que … it seemed as though … 

on se dirait en France you’d think you were in France 

cela ne me dit rien I don’t fancy it 

ce n’est pas à dire que … that is not to say [takes subjunctive] 

à l’heure dite at the appointed time 

soi-disant so-called 

pour ainsi dire so to speak 

que voulez-vous dire par là? what do you mean by that? 

je ne sais comment dire I don’t know how to put it 

pour tout dire in a word 

sitôt dit, sitôt fait no sooner said than done 

et dire que … and to think that … 

cela en dit long sur … that speaks volumes about … 

si le cœur vous en dit if you feel like it 

Exercise 101 [idiomatic use of dire] 

1 When they asked him, he said no. 

2 To tell you the truth, I don’t believe a single word of it. 

3 They think it’s over, but we haven’t heard the last of it. 

4 According to him, the author is wrong. 

5 It seemed as though they were all opposed to his plan. 

6 You’d think you were in heaven in this class! 

7 He offered me a new job, but I don’t fancy it. 

8 That’s not to say he could have acted otherwise. 

9 She arrived at the appointed time. 

10 This so-called teacher was useless. 

11 I want to write this, but I don’t know how to put it. 

12 In a word, that’s how it all ended. 

13 And to think that I trusted them! 

14 His behaviour speaks volumes about his commitment. 

15 Go out for a drink tonight if you feel like it.

VOIR & VOULOIR 

faites voir let me see it 

ça se voit it’s obvious 

ils se voient souvent they see a lot of each other 

à ce que je vois as far as I can see 

cela n’a rien à voir avec that’s got nothing to do with 

vu considering 

à perte de vue as far as the eye can see 

on verra we’ll see 

vu de près close up 

il aime à se faire voir he likes to be noticed 

laisser voir to reveal 

voir quelque chose à fond to examine something closely 

c’est à voir that remains to be seen 

qu’il le veuille ou non whether he likes it or not 

que voulez-vous que j’y fasse? what do you expect me to do about it? 

tant que vous voudrez as much as you like 

il m’en veut he bears a grudge against me 

j’aurais bien voulu I’d quite like to have … 

je veux bien I don’t mind if I do 

que voulez-vous? what do you expect? 

Dieu le veuille please God 

il sait ce qu’il veut he knows his own mind 

combien en voulez-vous? how much are you asking for it? 

sans le vouloir unintentionally 

je veux absolument que … I insist that … 

Exercise 102 [idiomatic use of voir and vouloir] 

1 What’s that on your desk? Let me see it! 

2 He’s rather sad: yes, that’s obvious. 

3 These two characters see a lot of each other. 

4 As far as I can see, this is the most important aspect. 

5 That’s got nothing to do with his unpleasant attitude. 

6 The hills stretched as far as the eye could see. 

7 Can we go to the circus tomorrow? We’ll see. 

8 Close up, she seems much older. 

9 That young man likes to be noticed. 

10 Her expression revealed her horror. 

11 Whether he likes it or not, he has to support her position. 

12 Too much work? What do you expect me to do about it? 

13 You can grumble as much as you like. 

14 The king bears a grudge against the queen. 

15 I’d quite like to have read his other works. 

16 Would you like to go? I don’t mind if I do. 

17 This character knows his own mind. 

18 He unintentionally omitted the final paragraph. 

19 Please God they’ll survive. 

20 I insist that you follow my advice.

FALLOIR & METTRE 

il faut absolument it is absolutely vital 

il me faut deux livres I need two books 

il lui faudra deux jours pour… he’ll need two days to … 

comme il faut properly 

il fallait le dire you should have told me 

il s’en faut de beaucoup que… it’s far from being… 

tant s’en faut not by a long way 

faut-il vraiment? do I really have to? 

s’il le faut if necessary 

se mettre à to begin 

se mettre en route to set off 

mettre la main sur to lay hands on 

mettre à la porte to throw out 

mettre le tout pour le tout to risk everything 

mettre sur le mauvais cheval to back the wrong horse 

mettre du temps à to take time over 

mettre en marche to start up 

se mettre en colère to get angry 

se mettre au pas to fall into step 

mettre en œuvre to set in motion, implement 

Exercise 103 [idiomatic use of falloir and mettre] 

1 I need three more ideas for this introduction. 

2 He needed €50 to buy the dictionary. 

3 You have everything you need in your notes. 

4 He needs an hour to write two sentences. 

5 I needed that book! You should have said so. 

6 This method is far from being the best one. 

7 You’ve not answered the question—not be a long way. 

8 Does he really have to see the manager? 

9 Speak properly! 

10 If necessary he’ll repeat it. 

11 We can now begin to study the works of Molière. 

12 They set off for the coast. 

13 I can’t lay my hands on the money at the moment. 

14 If you don’t shut up I’ll throw you out! 

15 The poor man risked everything at the races. 

16 If you believe that, you’re backing the wrong horse. 

17 Please take time over your written work. 

18 The engine started up and the bus moved off. 

19 It’s not surprising that she lost her temper. 

20 We’ll set everything in motion to find the murderer.

VALOIR & MOURIR 

il vaudrait mieux que [+ subj.] you’d better … 

Il vaudrait mieux [+ inf.] it would be better to … 

mieux vaut tard que jamais better late than never 

cela vaut la peine de … it’s worth —ing 

ça ne vaut pas la peine it’s not worth it 

faire valoir quelque chose to make the most of something 

je meurs de faim I’m starving 

il mourait de peur he was frightened to death 

cela m’ennuie à mourir it bores me to death 

je meurs d’envie de … I’m dying to … 

mort et enterré dead and buried 

faire le mort to lie low 

elle m’aime à en mourir she’s madly in love with me 

s’en aller en mourant to die away 

mourir de sa belle mort to die a natural death 

Exercise 104 [idiomatic use of valoir and mourir] 

1 You’d better take advantage of this opportunity. 

2 It would be better to begin it now. 

3 Here he comes: better late than never. 

4 It’s worth spending some time studying this theme. 

5 Don’t read this chapter: it’s not worth it. 

6 Make the most of your years at school. 

7 The poor orphans were starving. 

8 He was frightened to death when he saw the ghost. 

9 That books bores me to death. 

10 I’m dying to see the result of your efforts. 

11 Those ideas are now dead and buried. 

12 He lay low behind the curtain. 

13 This gentleman is madly in love with me. 

14 The children’s happy voices died away. 

15 We should let this attitude die a natural death.

SAVOIR & TENIR 

savoir par cœur to know by heart 

il ne sait rien de rien he knows nothing at all 

sans le savoir unwittingly 

pas que je sache not that I know of 

sachez bien que … bear it in mind that … 

on ne sait jamais you never know 

vous n’êtes pas sans savoir que you are probably aware that … 

reste à savoir si … it remains to be seen whether … 

je n’en sais rien I can’t tell 

faites-moi savoir let me know 

il m’a fait savoir que … he informed me that … 

Dieu sait … God alone knows … 

ça ne tient pas debout that doesn’t ring true / hold water 

tenez bon! hold tight! 

tenir sous clef to keep under lock and key 

tenir le lit to be confined to bed 

je n’y tiens plus I can’t stand it any longer 

tenir à l’œil to keep an eye on 

ça tient de la famille it runs in the family 

s’en tenir à to confine oneself to 

Exercise 105 [idiomatic use of savoir and tenir] 

1 I hope you’ve learnt these expressions by heart. 

2 The student knows absolutely nothing. 

3 He chose the right book unwittingly. 

4 Are there other interpretations? Not that I know of. 

5 Bear it in mind that it was his enemy that said it. 

6 You should realise that this is the last attempt. 

7 You never know—it might be true! 

8 You are probably aware that this novel was written in 1901. 

9 It remains to be seen whether this influenced the writer. 

10 Are there other aspects? I can’t tell. 

11 Let me know if you want to buy another one. 

12 He informed me that the parcel had arrived. 

13 Heaven alone knows what he’ll say next! 

14 That argument doesn’t hold water. 

15 They kept the naughty girl under lock and key. 

16 Being so ill, he was confined to bed. 

17 The noise is unbearable: I can’t stand it any longer. 

18 Keep an eye on your finances. 

19 Such pale skin runs in his family. 

20 Please confine yourself to the relevant facts.

SERVIR & SENTIR 

cela ne sert à rien de [+ inf.] it’s no use —ing 

cela sert à faire la vaisselle it’s used for doing the washing up 

cela sert de mouchoir it’s used as a handkerchief 

à quoi sert-il de [+ inf.] what’s the use of —ing? 

prêt à servir ready for use 

à quoi sert ce couteau? what’s this knife for? 

en quoi puis-je vous servir? how can I help you? 

je sens que … I feel that … 

je me sens malade I feel ill 

sentir bon to smell nice 

ça sent le poisson it smells of fish 

je ne peux pas le sentir I can’t stand it 

je me suis senti idiot I felt like an idiot 

je sens vivement que … I feel very hurt that … 

Exercise 106 [idiomatic use of servir and sentir] 

1 It’s no use worrying about your exams. 

2 It was no use trying to open the window. 

3 This cloth is used for cleaning the car. 

4 The gun was used to frighten the old lady. 

5 What’s the use of studying all day? 

6 What’s this tool for? 

7 His sleeve is used as a handkerchief. 

8 These instruments are used for cutting meat. 

9 I feel you’ve made a reasonable effort. 

10 He said he felt much happier. 

11 She felt so sad when she heard the news. 

12 Your aftershave smells exotic. 

13 Her kitchen smells of garlic. 

14 We can’t stand this boring writer. 

15 I feel very hurt that you’ve ignored my advice.

HOW TO TRANSLATE THE CONDITIONAL WORDS 

COULD COULD WOULD WOULD SHOULD SHOULD OUGHT OUGHT MIGHT 

MIGHT 

WOULD 

would indicates that the main verb should be conditional: 

He said that he would run Il a dit qu’il courrait 

with have, use the past conditional: 

He would have caught the train Il aurait pris le train 

remember that some verbs take être : 

He would have died Il serait mort 

indicates a habit in the past: 

He would never ask questions Il ne posait jamais de questions 

indicates willingness and unwillingness (∴ use vouloir) 

Would you help me? Voudriez-vous m’aider? 

He would not obey Il ne voulait pas obéir 

Exercise 107 [use of WOULD] 

1 I would go there if I had enough money. 

2 We would not be happy if you didn’t reply to our letters. 

3 He would have bought that car if he had like the colour. 

4 I would have arrived earlier if the train had not been late. 

5 I don’t know if he would have accepted your decision. 

6 I would be pleased to see you tomorrow. 

7 The boy would never finish his homework. 

8 We would pass that tree every day on our way to school. 

9 Would you please open the window? 

10 He would never obey his father.

As these show obligation, use devoir : 

SHOULD & OUGHT 

You should work harder Tu devrais travailler plus dur 

We ought to work harder Nous devrions travailler plus dur 

Exercise 108 [use of SHOULD and OUGHT] 

1 He should pay his workers better. 

2 No one should accept this as true. 

3 You should have seen me yesterday! 

4 We should have arrived earlier. 

5 You ought to consider your parents. 

6 That boy ought to obey his father. 

7 They ought to have paid the invoice. 

8 I ought to have come back yesterday. 

These always require the use of pouvoir 

future time requires the conditional: 

COULD & MIGHT 

You could do it tomorrow tu pourrais le faire demain 

past time requires the past conditional: 

You could have done it yesterday tu aurais pu le faire hier 

could is often replaced with might: 

I might be ready Je pourrais être prêt 

He might have told me Il aurait pu me le dire 

could in the past requires the imperfect or perfect: 

He couldn’t find the book Il n’a pas pu trouver le livre 

Exercise 109 [use of COULD and MIGHT] 

1 We could see them later. 

2 It might be a good idea. 

3 They could have gone to Paris. 

4 I might be able to come tomorrow. 

5 You might have told me earlier! 

6 I looked for my passport but I couldn’t find it. 

7 Could you tell me when he will arrive? 

8 That man over there could have stolen the wallet.

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