About the Passe Compose, could I get a few notes on that please. I would also like notes on the Terminology.
I'm not too sure what you mean about "notes on the Terminology." IF the question is about the name "passé composé" it is one of two past tenses in telling a story. The other tense is "l'imparfait."
The passé composé is composed of either the auxiliary/helping verb avoir or être in the Present Tense plus the past participle. The endings of the past participle of regular verbs are "é" for -er verbs, "i" for -ir verbs and "u" for -re verbs. There are, however, irregular verbs and I'll be happy to give you a list when you are ready for that. (parler = parlé / finir = fini / répondre = répondu)
Sixteen verbs are conjugated with être and when you are ready, I'll give you a list. Essentially they are verbs of "coming and going" and when you study l'imparfait, no doubt you will meet "Dr & Mrs Vandertramp" plus "The House of être."
The purpose of the passé composé is for an ACTION that has both a beginning and an end. Picture a series of snapshots = / / / / / He woke up, he got up, he got washed, etc. The usual English translation could be 2 things: a) he DID get up, b) he GOT up.
L'imparfait is the easiest tense because to form both regular and many irregular verbs, it is the "nous" stem plus the endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. (boire = buvons = je buvais) What surprises many students is that the verbs that end in -ions in the Present Indicative (étudions) have forms ending in -iions and -iiez in the Imperfect for nous and vous.
Now I want you to picture a movie camera grinding away: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ because the purpose of the l'imparfait is for ONGOING action. Obviously it had a beginning, but as far as you know, it may never have an ending, because we are focusing on the MIDDLE of the event. The usual translation is one of 3 things in English: a) he WAS gettING up, b) he USED TO get up (repeated action over and over) and c) he GOT up. Note that the 3rd meaning is just like the 2nd in the passé composé. That means that you have to set the scene, or paint the backdrop with l'imparfait and then shake it up with the action and the passé composé.
I'll stop here because it may be more information than you need or want just now.
If this did not cover what you wanted, please repost.
Sra (aka Mme)
Thanks very much for the notes=)
By Terminology I meant, whats an infinitive, an auxiliary, and past participle.
Infinitive = The simple or basic form of the verb.
Ex travailler (to work) , partir (to go)
There are two auxiliary verbs in French: avoir (to have) and être (to be), used to conjugate compound tenses.
Ex = J’ai travaillé, je suis parti
The past participle, called le participe passé in French, is very similar in French and English. The French past participle usually ends in -é, -i, or -u, while its English equivalent usually ends in -ed or -en. The past participle has three main uses in French:
1. With an auxiliary verb, the past participle forms compound tenses such as the passé composé:
J'ai travaillé hier.
I worked yesterday.
Il est arrivé à midi.
He arrived at noon.
2. With être, the past participle is used to conjugate the French passive voice.
Le ménage est fait tous les jours.
The housework is done every day.
Ce film sera suivi d'une discussion.
This movie will be followed by a discussion.
3. Standing alone or with être, the French past participle may be an adjective. Note that in some instances, the participe passé must be translated by the English present participle.
Fatigué, je suis rentré à minuit.
Tired, I went home at midnight
Absolutely! I'd be happy to provide you with some notes on the passé composé and the related terminology.
The passé composé is a commonly used past tense in the French language. It is used to express completed actions in the past. To form the passé composé, you typically need two elements: a conjugated auxiliary verb (either "avoir" or "être") and the past participle of the main verb. The choice between "avoir" and "être" depends on the verb you are using and whether it is considered a verb of motion, reflexive verb, or a few other specific cases.
Here's a breakdown of the process for forming the passé composé:
1. Conjugate the auxiliary verb "avoir" or "être" in the present tense, depending on the subject of the sentence.
- For example: J'ai (I have), tu as (you have), il/elle/on a (he/she/one has), nous avons (we have), vous avez (you have), ils/elles ont (they have).
2. Take the past participle of the main verb and add it to the auxiliary verb. The past participle of regular -er verbs is formed by replacing the -er ending with -é.
- For example: parler (to speak) becomes parlé (spoken), manger (to eat) becomes mangé (eaten), finir (to finish) becomes fini (finished).
3. Place the past participle right after the conjugated auxiliary verb.
- For example: J'ai parlé (I spoke), tu as mangé (you ate), il/elle/on a fini (he/she/one finished), nous avons parlé (we spoke), vous avez mangé (you ate), ils/elles ont fini (they finished).
Now let's move on to the terminology related to the passé composé:
1. Auxiliary verb: In the passé composé, the auxiliary verb is either "avoir" or "être". It is conjugated according to the subject in the present tense.
2. Past participle: The past participle is the second part of the passé composé construction. It is the verb form that indicates the completed action in the past. It can have different forms depending on the verb group (-er, -ir, -re) and sometimes irregular verbs.
3. Agreement: In some cases, when using the verb "être" as the auxiliary verb, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence. This agreement occurs with verbs of motion or when the subject is plural.
4. Irregular verbs: There are many irregular verbs in French that have unique past participle forms. Some common examples include "avoir" (eu - had), "être" (été - been), "faire" (fait - done), and "prendre" (pris - taken).
Remember, while these notes should give you a good understanding of how to form the passé composé and its relevant terminology, it is important to practice using it in various sentence constructions to become more comfortable and fluent in using this past tense.