French Note 26
Passé composé
Today let us discuss"passée composé " .
In English , you require just one word to express past tense. " spoke", " did" , "worked", " wrote" and so on.
But French requires two words for expressing the past.
What are those two words?
1. Appropriate conjugation of either " être " or " avoir" in the present indicative.
2. Past participle of the relevant verb. In other words, past participle of the verb whose past tense you need.
As regards the first part of " passe composé " , we have no problem. The conjugation of " être" and " avoir " has already been covered.
As regards the second part, one should learn the formation of passé participe or past participle for all regular and irregular verbs.
Formation of past participle
1. The formation of past participle of first group verbs is obtained by removing the ending of the infinitive form and adding " é" . It is quite simple.
Parler - parlé
Aimer- aimé
Manger - mangé
Marcher - marché
Have you got it ?
Remember all the above verbs are conjugated with " avoir".
Let us make simple sentences in past tense. In fact we are going to apply the rule stated above.
J'ai parlé
I spoke
I have spoken
Tu as aimé
You loved
You have loved
Nous avons mangé
We ate
We have eaten
Note that the " passé participe" does not change according to the subject. We say it remains invariable. For all subjects in first, second and third person , both in singular and plural , " passé participe" remains invariable.
In my French Note 21, I have mentioned many first group verbs. Now it is for you to form their " passé participe" and form simple sentences.
Notice that I have given two English forms for passé composé . The English present perfect and the simple past both are expressed in " passé composé " in French .
An event which took place in the past is expressed in " passé composé ".
In both conversation and written form , " passé composé " is used in French .
As regards , literary language , the French use " passé simple" which we shall take up later.
2. Formation of " passé participe" for the second group verbs ending in - IR.
The rule is very simple. Just remove the " R" from the infinitive form. You get the " passé participe ".
Finir - fini
Grandir - grandi
Grossir - grossit
Maigrir - maigri
Agir - agi
Tressaillir - tressailli
All the above verbs are conjugated with " avoir
Vous avez fini ce travail très vite.
You finished this work very quickly.
Elles ont grandi dans un village près de Chennai .
They grew up in a village near Chennai.
Elle a maigri de cinq kilos.
She slimmed by five kilos. ( literal translation )
She lost five kilos. ( Normal usage in English )
In French note 22, I have listed quite a few second group verbs. It is for you to form their " passé participe" and form sentences in " passé composé ".
3. Formation of " passé participe " in respect of regular verbs ending in - RE.
There are certain third group verbs ending in -RE , which have regular " passé participe" form.
The rule is that you remove the ending - " RE" and add " U " . Then you get the passé participe.
Attendre - attendu
Battre - battu
Fondre-fondu
Perdre - perdu
Rompre - rompu
Vaincre - vancu
In my French Note 24 , I have mentioned several verbs conjugated like the above verbs.
All such verbs will have similar endings for passé participe.
All the above verbs are conjugated with " avoir ".
I shall devote a separate note for verbs which are conjugated with " etre".
As regards several irregular verbs, we have to learn their passé participe .
I shall devote the next note for verbs which are conjugated with " etre" and the next one for other important irregular verbs.
Once again I tell you that these notes are mainly for clear understanding of difficult points. In no way , I claim them as substitute for standard text book or other tools of learning. I know the difficulties of English speaking learners in grasping the subtleties of French . These notes are meant for them . I feel one should highlight the differences between the two languages for better appreciation of both . No question of comparing to show that one is superior to the other. Since neither English nor French is my mother tongue , I can be more objective. Language is a medium of communication and it is advisable not to have too much emotional attachment to it. Every language has its own charm and beauty . My aim in learning French is just to understand a culture which has made immense contribution to human civilization in several fields. There is no end to learning . The joy is in our intellectual voyage and never in reaching a destination . Art is long and life is short.
Happy learning.
Sayee Jayaraman
14/12/2014
30/01/2015
Passé composé
Today let us discuss"passée composé " .
In English , you require just one word to express past tense. " spoke", " did" , "worked", " wrote" and so on.
But French requires two words for expressing the past.
What are those two words?
1. Appropriate conjugation of either " être " or " avoir" in the present indicative.
2. Past participle of the relevant verb. In other words, past participle of the verb whose past tense you need.
As regards the first part of " passe composé " , we have no problem. The conjugation of " être" and " avoir " has already been covered.
As regards the second part, one should learn the formation of passé participe or past participle for all regular and irregular verbs.
Formation of past participle
1. The formation of past participle of first group verbs is obtained by removing the ending of the infinitive form and adding " é" . It is quite simple.
Parler - parlé
Aimer- aimé
Manger - mangé
Marcher - marché
Have you got it ?
Remember all the above verbs are conjugated with " avoir".
Let us make simple sentences in past tense. In fact we are going to apply the rule stated above.
J'ai parlé
I spoke
I have spoken
Tu as aimé
You loved
You have loved
Nous avons mangé
We ate
We have eaten
Note that the " passé participe" does not change according to the subject. We say it remains invariable. For all subjects in first, second and third person , both in singular and plural , " passé participe" remains invariable.
In my French Note 21, I have mentioned many first group verbs. Now it is for you to form their " passé participe" and form simple sentences.
Notice that I have given two English forms for passé composé . The English present perfect and the simple past both are expressed in " passé composé " in French .
An event which took place in the past is expressed in " passé composé ".
In both conversation and written form , " passé composé " is used in French .
As regards , literary language , the French use " passé simple" which we shall take up later.
2. Formation of " passé participe" for the second group verbs ending in - IR.
The rule is very simple. Just remove the " R" from the infinitive form. You get the " passé participe ".
Finir - fini
Grandir - grandi
Grossir - grossit
Maigrir - maigri
Agir - agi
Tressaillir - tressailli
All the above verbs are conjugated with " avoir
Vous avez fini ce travail très vite.
You finished this work very quickly.
Elles ont grandi dans un village près de Chennai .
They grew up in a village near Chennai.
Elle a maigri de cinq kilos.
She slimmed by five kilos. ( literal translation )
She lost five kilos. ( Normal usage in English )
In French note 22, I have listed quite a few second group verbs. It is for you to form their " passé participe" and form sentences in " passé composé ".
3. Formation of " passé participe " in respect of regular verbs ending in - RE.
There are certain third group verbs ending in -RE , which have regular " passé participe" form.
The rule is that you remove the ending - " RE" and add " U " . Then you get the passé participe.
Attendre - attendu
Battre - battu
Fondre-fondu
Perdre - perdu
Rompre - rompu
Vaincre - vancu
In my French Note 24 , I have mentioned several verbs conjugated like the above verbs.
All such verbs will have similar endings for passé participe.
All the above verbs are conjugated with " avoir ".
I shall devote a separate note for verbs which are conjugated with " etre".
As regards several irregular verbs, we have to learn their passé participe .
I shall devote the next note for verbs which are conjugated with " etre" and the next one for other important irregular verbs.
Once again I tell you that these notes are mainly for clear understanding of difficult points. In no way , I claim them as substitute for standard text book or other tools of learning. I know the difficulties of English speaking learners in grasping the subtleties of French . These notes are meant for them . I feel one should highlight the differences between the two languages for better appreciation of both . No question of comparing to show that one is superior to the other. Since neither English nor French is my mother tongue , I can be more objective. Language is a medium of communication and it is advisable not to have too much emotional attachment to it. Every language has its own charm and beauty . My aim in learning French is just to understand a culture which has made immense contribution to human civilization in several fields. There is no end to learning . The joy is in our intellectual voyage and never in reaching a destination . Art is long and life is short.
Happy learning.
Sayee Jayaraman
14/12/2014
30/01/2015
No comments:
Post a Comment