00a-T3722-FM 5/4/06 11:57 AM Page i French Verbs Made Simple(r) THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 00a-T3722-FM 5/4/06 11:57 AM Page iii David Brodsky French V E R B S M A D E Simple(r) University of Texas Press Austin 00a-T3722-FM 5/4/06 11:57 AM Page iv Copyright © 2006 by the University of Texas Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First edition, 2006 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions, University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819 www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html (cid:1)(cid:2) The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/ NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brodsky, David, 1950– French verbs made simple(r) / David Brodsky.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-292-71472-4 ISBN-10: 0-292-71472-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. French language—Verb. 2. French language—Textbooks for foreign speakers— English. I. Title: French verbs made simple. II. Title: French verbs made simpler. III. Title. PC2271.B76 2006 448.2(cid:1)421—dc22 2005030902 00a-T3722-FM 5/4/06 11:57 AM Page v For Daniel, Michael, and Beatriz THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 00a-T3722-FM 5/4/06 11:57 AM Page vii Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 PART I. FORMS OF VERBS 1. Present Tense 11 2. Imperfect Tense and Present Participle 39 3. Past Participle 45 4. Simple Past (Passé Simple) 55 5. Future and Conditional Tenses 63 6. Subjunctive and Imperative 69 7. Compound Verb Forms 77 8. Orthographic Modifications 83 9. Summary 96 PART II. USES OF VERBS 10. Indicative 103 11. Present and Past Subjunctive 137 12. Simple Past and Imperfect Subjunctive 163 PART III. ANNEXES A. Model Verbs, with Complete Conjugations 175 B. Alphabetical Listing of 6,200 Verbs by Model Number 245 C. Defective Verbs 319 Selected References 329 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 00a-T3722-FM 5/4/06 11:57 AM Page ix Preface The fundamental aim of this book is to provide: (a) easily understood—yet comprehensive—tools to recognize and learn the patterns that govern the large majority of “irregular”verbs in French;and (b) clear and systematic illustrations of the use of all the principal French verb forms,with particular emphasis on the subjunctive. It is intended both for the relatively new student grappling with the apparent complexities of French verbs and for the more advanced practitioner seeking to “perfect” his or her understanding. Thebookisdividedintothreeparts,whichtoacertainextentareindependent: Part Iprovides a description of the various verb tenses and forms, with a fo- cus on establishing patterns and rules which can assist in learning (and remem- bering) the conjugations of the so-called Class III (irregular) verbs. Chapter 8 provides a comprehensive treatment of theregular orthographic changes which affect approximately 15 percent of-er(Class I) verbs. For example: tu appelles versus tu appelais je cède versus nous cédons je pèse versus nous pesons je lance versus nous lançons il emploie versus vous employez Chapter 9 provides an overall summary of verb forms and shows that (at most) six key conjugations determine the complete conjugation of any verb. The few exceptions are specifically highlighted. PartIIillustratestheuseofthevariousverbtensesandforms.Specialconsid- eration is given to two of the thorniest problems for students of French: (1) whetheraverbistobeconjugatedwithavoirorêtre;and(2)theconditionsunder which the past participle is variable (e.g., Marie s’est lavée, Marie s’est lavé les mains,lesmainsqueMaries’estlavées).Chapter11isdevotedtotheuseofthesub- junctive.WhilenolongeranelementofspokenFrench,thepassésimpleremains animportantelementofthewrittenlanguage,anditsuseiscoveredinChapter12. Annexes: By reviewing Annex A, the student can become familiar with the various “model” verbs (or classes) and their unifying features. Complete