Verbs

Verb Basics in French Grammar

French verbs fundamentally embody action or occurrence within a sentence and are one of the cornerstones of French grammar.
All French verbs are categorised into three groups based on their infinitive ending: -er, -ir, or -re. Examples include “parler” (to speak), “finir” (to finish), and “attendre” (to wait) respectively.
Each French verb has a root and an ending. The root is consistent in all forms, but the ending changes based on the tense and the subject.

Conjugation of French Verbs

All French verbs are conjugated - that is, modified - to indicate tense, mood, voice, and aspect.
The six common tenses in French grammar are: present (présent), past imperfect (imparfait), future (futur simple), conditional (conditionnel), past historic (passé simple), and compound past (passé composé).
French verbs also express four moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive and conditional.

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Regular verbs follow predictable conjugation patterns within each verb group. For example, the “-er” group drops the “-er” for the stem and then adds specific endings based on the subject and tense.
Irregular verbs, however, do not follow standard conjugation rules and must therefore be memorised. Important examples include “être” (to be) and “avoir” (to have).

Use of French Verbs in Sentences

The placement of verbs in a sentence can vary based on the given sentence structure and whether the verb is being used in a question, negative statement, or compound tense.
In a standard French sentence, the verb normally follows the subject, mirroring the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order of English.
The gender and number of the subject can influence the form of the verb in compound tenses and in the past participle when using être as an auxiliary.
In questions, the subject often comes after the verb, unless the inversion structure is used.

Through regular practice, conjugation patterns and irregular forms of French verbs can become ingrained, allowing for more fluid and accurate sentence construction. An understanding of how verbs connect and interact with other elements in the sentence is also crucial.