BASIC GRAMMAR


05/ Conjugation of first group verbs.


First-group conjugation tenses

SIMPLE TENSES.

02-"Le passé simple" and "L'imparfait" (simple past) :

The simple past or the imparfait is the same in English. However, they are conjugated differently in French. Let's check this out!

02-a "Le passé simple" (simple past) :

When conjugating the first group verbs in the simple past tense, we replace er with the following endings :


Subject pronouns Endings
je ai
tu as
il a
elle a
nous âmes
vous âtes
ils èrent
elles èrent

Example
Paler : (to speak).

Affirmative form :
Je parlai : I spoke.
tu parlas : you spoke.
il parla : he spoke.
elle parla : she spoke.
nous parlâmes : we spoke.
vous parlâtes : you spoke.
ils parlèrent : they spoke.
elles parlèrent : they spoke.

Negative form :
Je ne parlai pas : I did not speak.
tu ne parlas pas : you did not speak.
il ne parla pas : he did not speak.
elle ne parla pas : she did not speak.
nous ne parlâmes pas : we did not speak.
vous ne parlâtes pas : you did not speak.
ils ne parlèrent pas : they did not speak.
elles ne parlèrent pas : they did not speak.

Interrogative form :
parlai-je ? : did I speak ?
parlas-tu ? : did you speak ?
parla-t-il ? : did he speak ?
parla-t-elle ? : did she speak ?
parlâmes-nous ? : did we speak ?
parlâtes-vous ? : did you speak ?
parlèrent-ils ? : did they speak ?
parlèrent-elles ? : did they speak ?

Interronegative form :
ne parlai-je pas ? : did I not speak ?
ne parlas-tu pas ? : did you not speak ?
ne parla-t-il pas ? : did he not speak ?
ne parla-t-elle pas ? : did she not speak ?
ne parlâmes-nous pas ? : did we not speak ?
ne parlâtes-vous pas ? : did you not speak ?
ne parlèrent-ils pas ? : did they not speak ?
ne parlèrent-elles pas ? : did they not speak ?

Notice :
We use the "passé simple", when the action occuried only once. Example :
tu parlas en français ce jour là : you spoke French that day.

For pronunciation problems, Some verbs change spelling.

For verbs ending in ger, at "I, you, he, she, we", we add "e" before the ending. Example :
je mangeai : I ate.
tu mangeas... : you ate...

For verbs ending in cer, at "I, you, he, she, we", we change "c" to "ç". Example :
je commençai : I began.
tu commenças... : you began...

For verbs ending in yer, at "all pronouns", we keep "y". Example, the verb nettoyer (to clean), we shall say:
Je nettoyai : I cleaned. Je nettoyas... : you cleaned...

For verbs ending in "eler" and "eter", we no longer double the consonnant . Example, the verbs "appeler" (to call) and "jeter" (to cast / to throw), we shall say:

Appeler :
J'appelai : I called.
tu appelas : you called.
il appela : he called.
elle appela : she called.
nous appelâmes : we called.
vous appelâtes : you called.
ils appelèrent : they called.
elles appelèrent : they called.

Jeter :
Je jetai : I cast.
tu jetas : you cast.
il jeta : he cast.
elle jeta : she cast.
nous jetâmes : we cast.
vous jetâtes : you cast.
ils jetèrent : they cast.
elles jetèrent : they cast.

02-b "L'imparfait" (simple past) :

When conjugating the first group verbs in imparfait tense, we replace er with the following endings :


Subject pronouns Endings
je ais
tu ais
il ait
elle ait
nous ions
vous iez
ils aient
elles aient

Example
Paler : (to speak).

Affirmative form :
Je parlais : I spoke.
tu parlais : you spoke.
il parlait : he spoke.
elle parlait : she spoke.
nous parlions : we spoke.
vous parliez : you spoke.
ils parlaient : they spoke.
elles parlaient : they spoke.

Negative form :
Je ne parlais pas : I did not speak.
tu ne parlais pas : you did not speak.
il ne parlait pas : he did not speak.
elle ne parlait pas : she did not speak.
nous ne parlions pas : we did not speak.
vous ne parliez pas : you did not speak.
ils ne parlaient pas : they did not speak.
elles ne parlaient pas : they did not speak.

Interrogative form :
parlais-je ? : did I speak ?
parlais-tu ? : did you speak ?
parlait-t-il ? : did he speak ?
parlais-t-elle ? : did she speak ?
parlions-nous ? : did we speak ?
parliez-vous ? : did you speak ?
parlaient-ils ? : did they speak ?
parlaient-elles ? : did they speak ?

Interronegative form :
ne parlais-je pas ? : did I not speak ?
ne parlais-tu pas ? : did you not speak ?
ne parlait-t-il pas ? : did he not speak ?
ne parlait-t-elle pas ? : did she not speak ?
ne parlions-nous pas ? : did we not speak ?
ne parliez-vous pas ? : did you not speak ?
ne parlaient-ils pas ? : did they not speak ?
ne parlaient-elles pas ? : did they not speak ?

Notice :
We use the "imparfait", when the action occuried many times. Example :
tu parlais français quand tu étais petit : you were speaking French when you were young.

For pronunciation problems, Some verbs change spelling.

For verbs ending in ger, at "I, you, he, she, we", we add "e" before the ending. Example :
je mangeais : I ate.
tu mangeais... : you ate...

For verbs ending in cer, at "I, you, he, she, we", we change "c" to "ç". Example :
je commençais : I began.
tu commençais... : you began...

For verbs ending in yer, at "all pronouns", we keep "y". Example, the verb nettoyer (to clean), we shall say:
Je nettoyais : I cleaned. Je nettoyais... : you cleaned...

For verbs ending in "eler" and "eter", we no longer double the consonnant . Example, the verbs "appeler" (to call) and "jeter" (to cast / to throw), we shall say:

Appeler :
J'appelais : I called.
tu appelais : you called.
il appelait : he called.
elle appelait : she called.
nous appelionss : we called.
vous appeliez : you called.
ils appelaient : they called.
elles appelaient : they called.

Jeter :
Je jetais : I cast.
tu jetais : you cast.
il jetait : he cast.
elle jetait : she cast.
nous jetions : we cast.
vous jetiez : you cast.
ils jetaient : they cast.
elles jetaient : they cast.

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