Education, Languages
The verb etre: conjugation and use
In almost all languages, verbs vary in terms of persons and numbers. This is called conjugation. Sometimes this happens according to general rules, but often the most used of them have to learn by heart, because the formation of certain forms does not lend itself to any logic. And among them, of course, is "etre".
Conjugation of regular verbs in French
Modern man can not do without the knowledge of English, even at an elementary level. Any trip, meeting with foreigners, interesting highly specialized articles - for all this you need to learn a foreign language. Most often in schools are English, although French is no less important - it duplicates information in the driver's license. He is also one of the working languages of the UN and his secretariat, finally, he is simply beautiful and romantic. But to learn it is not an easy task, primarily because of grammar.
Remember how the so-called "correct" verbs change, does not constitute difficulties. There are two main groups with different endings, which are conjugated according to different principles. The easiest way to illustrate this is using the table:
Nowadays | ||
Group I | Group II | |
Form of the infinitive | Parl er (speak) | Fin ir (finish) |
Je | Parle | Finis |
Tu | Parles | Finis |
Il / Elle | Parle | Finit |
Nous | Parlons | Finissons |
Vous | Parlez | Finissez |
Ils / Elles | Parlent | Finissent |
Obviously, remembering these rules is not so difficult. But unfortunately,
Conjugation of basic irregular verbs
It would seem that the French grammar has no special difficulties. But this is not entirely true. The main verbs - etre (to be) and avoir (to have) belong to the category of wrong. That is, their forms can only be learned, they can not be built on the basis of general rules of conjugation. The problem is that these verbs often act as "bundles", that is, they participate in the formation of more complex grammatical constructions. But do not immediately delve into the question, first you need to find out how all the same these two verbs are changing.
Nowadays | |
Etre (to be) | Avoir (to have) |
Je suis (I am, I exist) | J'ai (I have) |
Tu es (You are, you exist) | Tu as (You have) |
Il / Elle / On est (He / she is, he / she exists) | Il / Elle / On a (He / she has one) |
Nous sommes (We are, we exist) | Nous avons (We have) |
Vous êtes (You are, you exist) | Vous avez (You have, you have) |
Ils / Elles sont (They are, they exist) | Ils / Elles ont (They have) |
So, after learning the conjugation of the French verb etre, can we assume that the study of the grammar of this language is over? No matter how it is! After all, there are still forms that denote actions in the past and the future. And there at this verb
Past and future time
In French, there are eight forms of time, two of which are used only in writing. There are 4 more moods: indicative, conditional, subjunctive and imperative, as well as participles and constructs that designate a compassionate pledge. That is, there are 21 forms of each verb, including the infinitive. This number is a little scary. And all this must be mastered if one wants to know French well. The conjugation of the verb etre, as already mentioned, does not obey the general rules, and, therefore, all its forms have to be learned by heart
The complete table will look like this:
Insignificant inclination (Indicatif) | |||
Time | The verb form in French | Possible translation | |
Forms of past tense | Passé simple (Simple past) | Je fus | I was / I existed |
Tu fus | You were / existed | ||
Il / elle / on fut | He / she / was / existed | ||
Nous fûmes | We were / existed | ||
Vous fûtes | you were | ||
Ils / elles furent | they were | ||
Passé composé (Past completed) | J'ai été | I was / I existed | |
Tu as été | You were / existed | ||
Il / elle / on a été | He / she / was / existed | ||
Nous avons été | we were | ||
Vous avez été | you were | ||
Ils / elles ont été | they were | ||
Imparfait (The Unfinished Past) | J'étais | I was / I existed | |
Tu étais | You were / existed | ||
Il / elle / on était | He / she / was / existed | ||
Nous étions | we were | ||
Vous étiez | you were | ||
Ils / elles étaient | They were / existed | ||
Plus-que-parfait (Perfect long ago, preceding another action) | J'avais été | I was / I existed | |
Tu avais été | You were / existed | ||
Il / elle / on avait été | He / she was / was / was | ||
Nous avions été | we were | ||
Vous aviez été | you were | ||
Ils / elles avaient été | They were / existed | ||
Passé antérieur (Preceding past) | J'eus été | I was | |
Tu eus été | you was | ||
Il / elle / on eut été | He / she / was / existed | ||
Nous eûmes été | we were | ||
Vous eûtes été | you were | ||
Ils / elles eurent été | they were | ||
Forms of the present time | Présent | Je suis | I am / I exist |
Tu es | You exist / exist | ||
Il / elle / on est | He / she is / exists | ||
Nous sommes | We are / we are | ||
Vous êtes | You are / there are | ||
Ils / elles sont | They exist / exist | ||
Forms of the future tense | Futur simple (Simple form) | Je serai | I will |
Tu seras | you will | ||
Il / elle / on sera | He / she will | ||
Nous serons | we will | ||
Vous serez | You will | ||
Ils seront | they will | ||
Futur antérieur (Future with a sequence of actions) | J'aurai été | I will | |
Tu auras été | you will | ||
Il / elle / on aura été | He / she will | ||
Nous aurons été | we will | ||
Vous aurez été | You will | ||
Ils / elles auront été | they will | ||
Subjunctive mood (Subjonctif) | |||
Passé | Que j'aie été | Is transmitted by the subordinate "... that I was / existed" | |
Que tu aies été | Is transmitted by the subordinate "... that you were / existed" | ||
Qu'il / elle / on ait été | Is transmitted by the subordinate "... that he / she was / was / existed (oh, oh)" | ||
Que nous ayons été | Is transmitted by the subordinate "... that we were / existed" | ||
Que vous ayez été | Is transmitted by the subordinate "... that you were / existed" | ||
Qu'ils / elles aient été | Is transmitted by the subordinate "... that they were / existed" | ||
Plus-que-parfait (almost not used) | Que j'eusse été | That I was / existed | |
Que tu eusses été | That you were / existed | ||
Qu'il / elle / on eût été | That he / she / was / existed / | ||
Que nous eussions été | That we were / existed | ||
Que vous eussiez été | That you were / existed | ||
Qu'ils / qu'elles eussent été | That they were / existed | ||
Imparfait (almost not used) | Que je fusse | That I was / existed | |
Que tu fusses | That you were / existed | ||
Qu'il / elle / on fût | That he / she / was / existed / | ||
Que nous fussions | That we were / existed | ||
Que vous fussiez | That you were / existed | ||
Qu'ils / elles fussent | That they were / existed | ||
Présent |
Que je sois | That I am / I exist | |
Que tu sois | What are you / exist | ||
Qu'il / elle / on soit | That he / she is / exists | ||
Que nous soyons | What we are / we are | ||
Que vous soyez | That you exist / exist | ||
Qu'ils / elles soient | That they exist / exist | ||
Conditional mood (Conditionnel) | |||
Passé 1re forme | J'aurais été | I would / exist | |
Tu aurais été | You would be / exist | ||
Il / elle / on aurait été | He / she / was / existed | ||
Nous aurions été | We would have existed | ||
Vous auriez été | You would be | ||
Ils / elles auraient été | They would be | ||
Passé 2e forme (almost not used, book form, plus-que-parfait) | J'eusse été | I would have existed (in the designation of an unrealized action in the past) | |
Tu eusses été | You would be / exist | ||
Il / elle / on eût été |
He / she would have existed | ||
Nous eussions été | We would have existed | ||
Vous eussiez été | You would have existed | ||
Ils / elles eussent été | They would be | ||
Présent | Je serais | I would be (action in the present) | |
Tu serais | You would be / exist | ||
Il / elle / on serait | He / she would have existed | ||
Nous serions | We would have existed | ||
Vous seriez | You would be | ||
Ils / elles seraient | They would have existed | ||
Imperative mood (Impératif) | |||
Passé (used to describe the motivation for action, which must be completed before a certain moment) | Aie été | Whether | |
Ayons été | Let's be / come on | ||
Ayez été | Be | ||
Présent | Sois | Whether | |
Soyons | Come / let's be | ||
Soyez | Be | ||
Initial form (Infinitif) | |||
Passé | Avoir été | be | |
Présent | Être | be | |
Participle Form | |||
Passé | Été | Which was | |
Présent | Étant | Being | |
Yes, the variety of forms of French verbs is amazing. And all this will have to be learned. The table shows only etre, the conjugation of which is an excellent example of how unpredictable the incorrect
Verbs. But there are a lot of them. In fact, the fear of irregular verbs should not stop those who want to learn French. Far from all these forms are actively used even by carriers, and everything that is necessary can be remembered by regularly practicing.
Using etre
The conjugation of this verb may seem complicated - that's the way it is. But you will have to learn all its forms, since you will have to use it all the time.
First, it is present in phrases denoting the occupation, nationality or other qualities of any person:
Je suis étudiante. I am a student.
Secondly, it is used in the designation of states:
Je suis malade. I am sick.
Finally, it is used to form the past tense of some verbs:
Je suis allé. I went.
So to neglect the study of such an important verb does not exactly follow. And its forms can be remembered in the process of mastering certain times, inclinations and other grammatical constructions. Then the conjugation of the verb etre is not so
Examples from other languages
French is not an exception in the sense of irregularity of verbal forms. For European languages, this is probably even the rule. English to be, German sein, even Russian "to be"! The latter is not used as often as its counterparts in other languages, but it is unquestionably incorrect. This is easy to verify by trying to conjugate it. In the present time, it completely changes the basis for "is," in the past and the future it returns, and the change seems to follow the rules. Nevertheless, it is more correct to refer it to the category of "wrong". So before you think about how you have to suffer, studying foreign languages, you should understand that your native Russian is hardly easy.
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