How to Form the Passive Voice
The passive in English (to be with a past participle) is usually similarly formed in French with the auxiliary verb être plus the past participle. This construction occurs most frequently in the passé composé (use passé composé of être plus past participle) and future (use future of être plus past participle).
Ces lettres ont été écrites9 par mon frère.
These letters were written by my brother.
Un grand édifice sera construit ici par le gouvernement.
A tall building will be constructed here by the government.
The English passive sometimes expresses an indefinite idea, such as: it is said that he is rich, meaning “people say,” “one says,” “they say.” In such cases, French does not use the passive construction, but rather the popular pronoun on (one) and the active form of the verb.
On dit qu’il est riche.
On parle anglais ici.
[One says that he is rich.]
[One speaks English here.]
It is said that he is rich.
English is spoken here.
Occasionally the English passive is translated by a reflexive in French:
Cela ne se fait pas.
[That does not do itself.]
That is not done.
The Present Participle
In French, the present participle is formed by adding -ant to the stem of the first person plural of the present tense: nous parlons, parlant; nous finissons, finissant; nous vendons, vendant.
In English we often use the present participle after a preposition, as in phrases like “before leaving,” “after eating,” “without thinking.” The only preposition in French which is followed by the present participle is en (on, upon, while, by):
en entrant (upon entering)
en voyageant (while traveling, by traveling)
All other prepositions are followed by the infinitive form of the verb:
avant de partir (before leaving)
pour travailler (in order to work)
sans parler (without speaking)
Prepositions and Infinitives
Some French verbs require the preposition à or de before a following infinitive, while others are followed by the infinitive directly without an intervening preposition. You will no doubt have noticed this while listening to your Listen & Learn course. Become familiar with the most popular verbs given below, and the preposition they require, if any, before an infinitive.
Verbs Which Require à before the Infinitive
Some of the most frequently used verbs which require the preposition d before an infinitive are:
apprendre (to learn) commencer (to begin)
aider (to help) inviter (to invite)
enseigner (to teach)
Here are some sentences using the above verbs:
Nous apprenons à lire et à écrire.
We are learning to read and write.
Il m’enseigne à nager.
He is teaching me to swim.
Il nous a invités à dîner chez lui.
He invited us to dine at his house.
Nous commençons à comprendre.
We are beginning to understand.
Je vous aiderai à le faire.
I shall help you do it.
Verbs Which Require de before the Infinitive
The following verbs are among the most common which require the preposition de before an infinitive:
cesser (to stop)
tâcher (to try)
décider (to decide)
se garder (to take care not to)
défendre (to forbid)
manquer (to fail)
demander (to ask)
oublier (to forget)
dire (to tell)
promettre (to promise)
empêcher (to prevent)
refuser (to refuse)
essayer (to try)
se souvenir (to remember)
Study the following models:
Est-ce qu’il a cessé de pleuvoir?
Has it stopped raining?
II est défendu de faire cela.
It is forbidden to do that.
Ne manquez pas d’y aller.
Don’t fail to go there.
Je me garderai de le lui dire.
I shall be careful not to tell it to him.
Il a promis qu’il tâcherait de venir.
He promised that he would try to come.
Verbs Followed Directly by the Infinitive
Many verbs in French are followed by the infinitive form of the verb and do not use either à or de. The most important are:
vouloir (to want, wish)
savoir (to know how to)
désirer (to want, desire)
pouvoir (to be able to, can)
aimer (to like)
il faut (it is necessary)
aimer mieux (to prefer)
compter (to intend)
préférer (to prefer)
oser (to dare)
aller (to be going to)
laisser (to let, allow)
devoir (must, ought)
envoyer (to send)
Examine the following examples:
Je compte revenir ici l’année prochaine.
I intend to come back here next year.
Nous ne voulons pas le faire.
We do not want to do it.
Laissez-moi parler.
Let me speak.
Envoyez chercher le médecin.
Send for the doctor.
Je n’oserais pas aller si loin si je ne savais. pas nager.
I wouldn’t dare (to) go so far if I did not know how to swim.
The Subjunctive
Though little used in English, the subjunctive is frequent and important in French. We are presenting briefly its formation and main uses, primarily for recognition when you see it or hear it rather than for active use.
The Present Subjunctive
The present subjunctive for most verbs is formed by taking the third person plural (the ils and elles form) of the present indicative (pp. 30-33), dropping the -ent, and adding -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent:
INFINITIVE
3RD PERS. PL.
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
parler (to speak)
parlent
parle, parles, parle, parlions, parliez, parlent
finir (to finish)
finissent
finisse, finisses, finisse, finissions, finissiez, finissent
vendre (to sell)
vendent
vende, vendes, vende, vendions, vendiez, vendent
The following important verbs, although using the standard endings, do not follow the rule. When one is first beginning to speak French, it is probably best not to try to memorize these forms, but only to become familiar with them so that one recognizes them when one hears them.
aller (to go)
aille, ailles, aille, allions, alliez, aillent
faire (to do, make)
fasse, fasses, fasse, fassions, fassiez, fassent
pouvoir (to be able)
puisse, puisses, puisse, puissions, puissiez, puissent
prendre (to take)
prenne, prennes, prenne, prenions, preniez, prennent
recevoir (to receive)
reçoive, reçoives, reçoive, recevions, receviez, reçoivent
savoir (to know)
sache, saches, sache, sachions, sachiez, sachent
venir (to come)
vienne, viennes, vienne, venions, veniez, viennent
The Past Subjunctive
The past subjunctive, for a completed action, is formed by using the present subjunctive of avoir or être (see p. 39 for être verbs) before the past participle of the main verb:10
Uses of the Subjunctive
The main uses of the subjunctive are as follows:
1. After the verb “to want” (vouloir, désirer) when there is a change of subject in the subordinate clause:
Je
veux que vous le fassiez.
[I want that you do it.]
I want you to do it.
But not when the subject is the same:
Je veux faire ceci.
I want to do this.
2. After expressions of emotion (regretter, to be sorry; être content, to be glad; être surpris, to be surprised; etc.):
Nous sommes surpris qu’elle ait dit cela.
We are surprised that she said that.
Je regrette qu’ils soient partis.
I am sorry that they left.
3. After the verb “to doubt” (douter) :
Je doute qu’il le sache.
I doubt that he knows it.
4. After certain impersonal expressions (il faut, it is necessary; il est possible, it is possible; etc.) :
II faut que vous y alliez ce soir.
[It is necessary that you go there this evening.]
You must go there this evening.
5. After certain conjunctions (bien que or quoique, although; pour que, so that; avant que, before; pourvu que, provided; etc.):
Dites-moi tout avant qu’il vienne.
Tell me everything before he comes.
Personal Pronouns
In French, as in English, pronouns11 have different forms according to their use or position in a sentence. We have already seen many times in the Verb Section the subject pronouns (je, tu, ii, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles) and the reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous, se). We shall now take up the other important pronoun forms.
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns
The English object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) are either direct (He takes it) or indirect (He gives me the book, or, He gives the book to me).12 In French, the object pronouns are as follows:
DIRECT
INDIRECT
me (me)
me (to me)
te (you)
te (to you)
le (him, it masc.)
lui (to him, her, it)
la (her, it fem.)
nous (us)
nous (to us)
vous (you)
vous (to you)
les (them)
leur (to them)
Their normal position is before the verb. However, in an affirmative command they follow the verb and are attached to it by a hyphen, just as we have seen with the reflexive pronouns (page 51). Study the following sentences:
Ils m‘ont donné l’argent.
They gave me the money.
Elle l’a trouvé.
She found it.
Je lui ai expliqué le problème.
I explained the problem to him.
Je ne la vois pas maintenant, mais je lui ai parlé il y a quelques
minutes.
I don’t see her now, but I spoke to her a few minutes ago.
Dites-moi la vérité.
Tell me the truth.
Ne me dérangez pas.
Don’t bother me.
Observations on direct and indirect object pronouns:
1. The singular object pronouns (me, te, le, la) become m‘, t’, and l’ before a word beginning with a vowel.
2. In a negative sentence, the ne comes before the object pronoun, the pas is in its usual position after the verb.
3. The me becomes moi when attached to the verb (in the affirmative command).
Sequence of Pronouns
When there are two object pronouns, the following order is observed in most cases:
Nous le lui avons donné.
We gave it to him.
II me l’a dit.
He told it to me.
In an affirmative command, however, the le, la and les come between the verb and the indirect object.
Donnez-les-moi.
Give them to me.
Apportez-le-leur.
Bring it to them.
How to Avoid Difficult Pronoun Constructions
If you find the double object construction somewhat complicated, try to avoid it in this way. Instead of saying, “We gave it to him” (Nous le lui avons donné), say “We gave the book to him” (Nous lui avons donné le livre) or “We gave it to John” (Nous l’avons donné à fean). In other words, eliminate one of the object pronouns and substitute a noun. It is even possible to avoid the object pronouns entirely in some cases by saying “We gave the book to John” (Nous avons donné le livre à Jean).
Prepositional Forms of the Personal Pronouns
The pronouns used after prepositions are known technically as disjunctive personal pronouns. They are: moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles. Study the following examples:
The prepositional form of the personal pronoun is also used when it stands alone without a verb.
Qui sait la réponse? Moi.
Who knows the answer? I (do).
Table of Personal Pronouns
The following table will be a useful reference in reviewing the personal pronouns. The familiar singular forms (tu) have been placed in parentheses to help remind you that you rarely need to use them. As has been pointed out on page 31, these forms are generally reserved for addressing close friends and close relatives, children, and animals.
Expressing Possession
Comparison of Possessives in English and French
In English, you can say either “the teacher’s book” or “the book of the teacher.” There is no form corresponding to the apostrophe s in French to express possession. Instead a form comparable to “the book of the teacher” is used.
le palais du roi
les rues de Paris
[the palace of the king]
the streets of Paris
the king’s palace
la plume de ma tante
la chambre de Marie
[the pen of my aunt]
[the room of Mary]
my aunt’s pen
Mary’s room
Possessive Adjectives
The French possessive adjectives are as follows:13
These words, like other adjectives, agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. Thus, son père may mean his father or her father, and sa sœur may mean his sister or her sister.
Je cherche mon passeport.
I am looking for my passport.
Où sont nos valises?
Where are our valises?
Quelle est votre adresse?
What is your address?
Elle cherche son frère.
She is looking for her brother.
Expressing Possession after the Verb être
The usual way of showing ownership after the verb être (to be), is to use à plus the prepositional form of the pronoun.
Cette place est à moi.
This seat is mine.
Ces papiers sont à nous.
These papers are ours.
We may also express ownership after être by using the proper form of the possessive pronoun, given in the following table.
Cette place est la mienne.
This seat is mine.
Ces papiers sont les nôtres.
These papers are ours.
It should be pointed out that this construction is more emphatic than the use of à moi, etc., discussed above.
Contraction of à or de and the Definite Article
The prepositions à (to, at) and de (from, of) combine with the definite articles le and les as follows:
à + le becomes au
de + le becomes du
à + les becomes aux
de + les becomes des
There is no contraction of à or de plus la or l’.
J‘ai envoyé un télégramme au président du pays.
I sent a telegram to the president of the country.
Je vais aux États-Unis.
I am going to the United States.
La couleur des maisons était rouge.
The color of the houses was red.
Il a perdu la balle de l‘enfant.
He lost the child’s ball.
The Partitive Construction
Comparison between French and English
In English we frequently say: “Do you want coffee?” or “We have bananas and apples.” The words “some” or “any” are understood in these sentences (i.e. “Do you want some coffee?”, “We have some bananas,” etc.). French requires the partitive construction, which means that the words “some” or “any” must be expressed.
Essential French Grammar Page 5