Nuts and Bolts
The three most common verb endings in French
What are -er, -ir, and -re?
It describes what's happening now
What is le présent?
One of the most common French verbs, it means "to have"
What is avoir?
The default auxiliary verb in passé composé
What is avoir?
Used to describe actions involving the subject, reflexives verbs come with these little words in front
What are reflexive pronouns?
It's the changing of a verb to agree with subject and tense
What is conjugation?
Formed by combining the verb "aller" and the infinitive, it describes what someone or something is going to do
What is the futur proche?
Étre, meaning "to be," takes this form with or nous in le présent
What is "sommes"?
It's how to say "we danced" in French
What is nous avons dancé?
The five French reflexive pronouns
What are me, te, se, nous, and vous?
The base form a verb - in English, it's the verb preceded by "to"
What is the infinitive?
A compound tense used to describe completed actions in the past, formed with an auxiliary verb and the past participle
What is le passé composé?
A common verb that means "to make" or "to do," also used in many expressions ranging from describing the weather to playing sports
What is faire?
The three most common past participle endings in French
What are -é, -i, and -u?
It's how to say "I wash my hands" in French
What is "je me lave les mains?"
The nine French subject pronouns
What are je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, and elles?
This grammatical mood, in which the subject is omitted, is used to give orders, instructions, or advice
What is l'impératif (the imperative)?
Vais, vont, and allons are all forms of this verb
What is aller?
It's the handy acronym English speakers use to remember which verbs take être in passé composé
What is DR. MRS. VANDERTRAMP?
This reflexive verb means to take oneself for a walk
What is se promener?
These three endings are used with adjectives, and sometimes with verbs, to indicate agreement in gender and number
What are -e, -s, and -es?
It's not perfect, but it can be used to describe circumstances or habitual or ongoing events in the past
What is l'imparfait?
It's the only verb with an irregular formation in l'imparfait
What is être?
It's French for "they (f) arrived," and it has those extra letters because "arriver" is an être verb, which need to agree in passé composé
What is Elles sont arrivées?
It's French for "We are getting (ourselves) dressed."
What is "Nous nous habillons?"