French Grammar Practice for Ambitious Learners - Beginner's Edition II, Tenses and Complex Sentences: French for Ambitious Learners

Table of Contents

Preface: Is this the right book for you?

1. Past

A. Imparfait: form

A1. How to derive the regular forms

A2. Irregular forms and peculiarities

B. Brush up: passé composé

B1. Participe passé and auxiliary verbs

B2. Agreement of the participe passé

B3. Intransitive verbs with transitive usage

C. Usage: imparfait and passé composé

C1. Limits/no limits in time

C2. State/event

C3. Simultaneous/successive

C4. Summary

D. Plus-que-parfait

E. Expansion: sequence of past tenses

2. Future

A. Futur simple

A1. Regular forms

A2. Irregular forms

B. Futur antérieur

C. Sequence of future tenses

3. Conditionnel and conditional clauses

A. Deriving the forms

A1. Conditionnel présent

A2. Conditionnel passé

B. Conditionnel as a mood

B1. Polite statement or request

B2. Expressing a desire

B3. Conjectures, doubtful questions, unconfirmed reports

B4. Polite advice, cautious comments

B5. Considering a possibility

B6. Unreal possibilities in the past

C. Conditionnel as futur du passé

D. Conditional clauses

D1. Type I: real/possible conditional clause, present

D2. Type II: unreal conditional clause, present

D3. Type III: unreal conditional clause, past

D4. Summary

D5. Expansion: variations of Type I

4. Sequence of tenses in indirect speech

A. Brush up: indirect/reported speech

A1. Indirect speech

A2. Indirect questions

B. Sequence of tenses in indirect speech

B1. Shifting tenses

B2. Expressions of time that change

C. Expansion: impératif in indirect speech

5. Passive voice

A. Form

A1. Basics

A2. Tenses

B. Usage

B1. Changing active into passive

B2. Alternative constructions

6. Adverbs

A. Brush up: adjectives

B. Adverbs: forms and formation

B1. How to derive adverbs: basics

B2. Exceptions and special forms

C. Usage: adjectives and adverbs

C1. Adjective or adverb?

C2. Position of adverbs

D. Comparison

E. Expansion: set phrases as exceptions

7. Indefinite adjectives and pronouns

A. tout (every, all, everything)

A1. tout as an adjective

A2. tout as a pronoun

B. Brush up: negation

B1. Basics

B2. Negation and articles

B3. Negation as a subject

C. ne... ni... ni, ne... aucun, ne... pas non plus

C1. ne... ni... ni as subject and object

C2. ne... aucun,e as subject and object

C3. ne... pas non plus

D. Other indefinite adjectives and pronouns

D1. chaque and chacun,e

D2. quelque,s and quelques-un(e)s

D3. certain,e,s and plusieurs

8. Possessive pronouns

A. Brush up: possessive adjectives

B. Possessive pronouns

9. Demonstrative pronouns

A. Brush up: demonstrative adjectives

B. Demonstrative pronouns

B1. With -ci or -là

B2. With a complement

B3. ce, ceci, cela/ça

10. The interrogative pronoun lequel

A. Brush up

A1. Asking questions

A2. The interrogative adjective quel

B. The interrogative pronoun lequel

B1. Basic form

B2. With a preposition

C. quel/lequel and the participe passé

11. Two object pronouns in a sentence

A. Brush up: basic sentences with objects

B. Brush up: objects and their pronouns

B1. Object pronouns

B2. Adverbial pronouns

B3. Disjunctive personal pronouns as objects

B4. Reflexive pronouns

B5. Pronouns and the imperative

C. Two object pronouns in a sentence

C1. Clauses of statement and questions

C2. Affirmative imperative clauses

12. Relative clauses

A. Brush up

A1. Relative clauses with qui and que

A2. Relative clauses with où

A3. Relative clauses with ce qui and ce que

B. Relative clauses with dont

C. Relative clauses with preposition + lequel

C1. Basics

C2. With à or de

C3. Summary

D. Expansion

D1. Prep. + lequel or prep. + qui?

D2. ce dont

13. Infinitive clauses

A. Brush up: verbs with infinitives

B. Infinitive clauses with pour, avant de, après, sans

C. Infinitive clause or other subordinate clause?

14. Subjonctif

A. Basics

A1. Main clauses and subordinate clauses

A2. Brush up: mood

B. Subjonctif: basics and forms

B1. Subjonctif présent

B2. Subjonctif passé and sequence of tenses

C. Subjonctif: triggers and usage

C1. Expressions of will

C2. Subjectivity: emotion and judgement

C3. Conjunctions with the subjonctif

C4. Doubt

C5. Some impersonal expressions

D. Mixed exercises

15. Gérondif and participe présent

A. Basics

A1. Forms

A2. Position of negations and pronouns

A3. About the sequence of tenses

B. Gérondif: usage

B1. Modal clauses (manner, means)

B2. Temporal clauses of simultaneity

B3. Condition or possibility

B4. Mixed exercises

C. Participe présent: usage

C1. Causal clauses

C2. Relative clauses with qui

C3. Mixed exercises

D. Distinguish: l’adjectif verbal

Appendix

Questions: complex inversion

Passé simple

Some verbs and their complements

Verbs and their objects

Verbs with infinitives as complements

Some reflexive verbs

Table of verbs

A. How to derive verb forms

B. Table of most commonly used verbs

Abbreviations

Impressum

Preface: Is this the right book for you?

This book is meant for beginners who have started to learn verb tenses and moods and want to practise on their own or for people who want to reactivate their skills step by step. Although it is a follow-up to Beginner’s Edition I, Basics, it can be used independently, as required basic knowlegde such as the passé composé gets refreshed.

This book offers:

=> tenses, moods, complex sentences and other more advanced topics;

=> step-by-step explanations;

=> exercises with solution keys;

=> gradually increasing difficulty in each chapter; and

=> translations of the examples and vocabulary for each exercise.

An exercise for each learning step:

The level of difficulty of exercises in this book increases slowly in each chapter. Choose which exercises suit your level!

A. = Basic explanations, easy exercises.

B. = Explanations and exercises building on those in A., a bit more difficult.

C. = Even more difficult.

And so on.

Are you just starting out or do you have large gaps in your knowledge?

This book covers more advanced topics. You may want to take a look first at the book French Grammar Practice for Ambitious Learners – Beginner’s Edition I, Basics. Your bookseller should have a free preview of the first few pages of the book for you to decide which one best suits your needs.

Are you an advanced learner?

The Beginner’s Edition books follow a step-by-step approach. If you are an advanced learner and would prefer a one-volume book which offers a condensed yet complete overview of French grammar, take a look at French Grammar Practice for Ambitious Learners – Advanced Learner’s Edition. It contains a proficiency test to determine which topic to improve first, an overview of the fundamentals, additional paragraphs to extend your knowledge and lots of exercises along with their solutions.

About the e-book:

The e-book contains links so that you can jump directly to chapters or from exercises directly to the solution. If tables are not displayed correctly on your reader, try reducing the font size. Also, try using very small devices horizontally (landscape mode).

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Already available in this series of books:

French Grammar Practice for Ambitious Learners – Beginner’s Edition I, Basics

This book offers beginner level knowledge explained step by step, exercises with solution keys, a gradual increase in difficulty in each chapter and translations of the examples and vocabulary for each exercise. For real beginners or for a fresh start.

French Grammar Practice for Ambitious Learners – Advanced Learner’s Edition

This large volume offers a proficiency test, a complete overview of the basics, additional paragraphs to extend your knowledge and lots of exercises along with their solutions.

In progress:

A large table of verbs for quick reference and a book to acquire and practise basic vocabulary.

=> When books are available, they will be listed at https://ambitiouslearners.jimdo.com, where you also can sign up to be on a mailing list to get notified about new releases.

1. Past

A. Imparfait: form

The imparfait is an important past tense.

Example:

Quand Pierre était petit, il n’aimait pas les épinards.

(When Pierre was little, he didn’t like spinach.)

A1. How to derive the regular forms

Like the présent, the imparfait is made of a stem and an ending. It is a simple tense, not a compound one (see B1.).

Do you remember the verb forms of the présent? You can derive the regular forms of the imparfait from them.

Stem: 1st person pl. (présent)

+

Endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient

This is how you do it:

Step 1: Conjugate your verb in the présent until you reach nous.

Example: finir (présent)

je finis

tu finis

il/elle/on finit

nous finissons

(vous finissez, ils/elles finissent)

Step 2: Remove the ending of the présent; this way you get the stem you will need for the imparfait.

Example:

finiss-

Step 3: Attach the suitable ending of the imparfait.

Example: finir (imparfait)

je finissais

tu finissais

il/elle/on finissait

nous finissions

vous finissiez

ils/elles finissaient

Exercise A1.

(a) Derive the imparfait of avoir in three steps:

(1) Conjugate the présent of the verb.

(2) Determine the stem of the imparfait.

(3) Conjugate the imparfait of the verb. (solution)

This derivation works for almost every verb:

etc.

Vocabulary:

finir qc. (to end, to finish s.th.), avoir qc. (to have s.th.), faire qc. (to do s.th.), aller (to go), regarder qn./qc. (to look at s.o./s.th., to watch), entendre qn./qc. (to hear s.o./s.th.), sortir (to go out), réussir qc. (to succeed in s.th.), acheter qc. à qn. (to buy s.o. s.th.), appeler qn. (to call s.o.), préférer qc. (to prefer s.th., to like s.th. better), envoyer qn./qc. (to send s.o./s.th.), prendre qc. (to take s.th.), venir (to come), boire qc. (to drink s.th.), croire qn. (to believe s.o.)

Exercise A1. (b)

Conjugate the verbs (a) in the présent and (b) in the imparfait. (solution)

Note: There is a table of verbs in the appendix for you to learn even more verbs.

1. faire

2. aller

3. écouter

4. répondre

5. dormir

6. agir

7. écrire

8. vouloir

9. devoir

10. envoyer

Vocabulary:

écouter qn./qc. (to listen to s.o./s.th.), répondre à qn./qc. (to reply to s.o., to answer), dormir (to sleep), agir (to act), écrire qc. à qn. (to write s.o. s.th.), vouloir qc. (to want s.th.), devoir faire qc. (to have to do s.th.), envoyer qc. à qn. (to send s.o. s.th.)

A2. Irregular forms and peculiarities

These are the only irregular forms:

Vocabulary: être (to be), falloir => il faut qc., (one needs s.th., it takes s.th. to ...; il faut faire qc. = one needs to do s.th., it is necessary to do s.th.), pleuvoir (to rain)

Verbs ending in -ger or -cer need an e or ç respectively to maintain the right pronunciation (only before a, o and u):

manger: nous mangeons

je mangeais

tu mangeais

il mangeait

nous mangions (!)

vous mangiez (!)

ils mangeaient

commencer: nous commençons

je commençais

tu commençais

il commençait

nous commencions (!)

vous commenciez (!)

ils commençaient

Vocabulary: manger qc. (to eat s.th.), commencer qc. (to start s.th.)

Exercise A2.

Put the verb in the imparfait. (solution)

1. Aujourd’hui, le train est en retard. => Hier, le train...

2. Au petit déjeuner, Victor mange un croissant et il boit du café. Nous, nous mangeons du pain complet.

3. Quand les routes sont gelées, il faut faire attention.

4. Une conversation au téléphone: «Nous voulons faire du ski, mais il pleut.» «Ah bon? Chez nous, il neige.»

5. Je ne commence jamais mes devoirs avant sept heures. Vous les commencez quand, vous?

6. Qu’est-ce qu’il veut, ce type? Il vend des assurances? C’est louche!

7. M. Lenormand sait faire la cuisine. Mais il connaît aussi beaucoup de bons restaurants ...

8. Cet explorateur voit des choses extraordinaires tous les jours.

9. Mme Crozet met toujours des chapeaux ridicules. Elle tient un magasin de mode.

10. Nous sommes contents de notre nouvelle voiture.

Vocabulary:

aujourd’hui (today), être en retard (to be late), hier (yesterday), le petit déjeuner (the breakfast), le pain complet (wholemeal bread), quand (when), la route (the road), gelé (frozen), faire attention (to be careful), faire du ski (to ski), mais (but), neiger (to snow), ne... jamais (never), les devoirs (m.; the homework), avant sept heures (before seven o’clock), ce type (coll.; this guy), vendre qc. (to sell s.th.), une assurance (an insurance), c’est louche (this is suspicious), faire la cuisine (to cook), beaucoup de ... (many, much ...), bon /f. bonne (good), un explorateur /f. -trice (an explorer), la chose (the thing), tous les jours (every day), toujours (always), le chapeau /pl. -x (the hat), ridicule (ridiculous), tenir un magasin (to run a shop), être content de qc. (to be pleased with s.th.), la voiture (the car)

B. Brush up: passé composé

The passé composé is a past tense you probably already know at this point. The usage of the imparfait and the passé composé is closely linked. You must keep in mind the agreement of the participe passé, which is relevant to every compound tense you have yet to learn.

The purpose of this chapter is for you to brush up on your knowledge – use it or skip it according to your needs.

Note: This is a brief review of what is explained step by step in Beginner’s Edition I.

B1. Participe passé and auxiliary verbs

The passé composé (passé = past, composé = compound) consists, like most compound tenses, of a conjugated auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and a participle, the participe passé.

avoir/être + participe passé

With the passé composé, the auxiliary is in the présent.

Example:

j’ai + regardé

je suis + arrivé(e)

The participe passé can be derived like this:

Regular forms:

Verbs in -er: regarder => j’ai regardé (-er => -é)

Verbs in -dre: entendre => j’ai entendu (-re => -u)

Verbs in -ir: sortir => je suis sorti (-ir => -i)

Many frequently used verbs are irregular though, so you have to learn them.

Some irregular forms:

(table of verbs)

Auxiliary verbs:

Almost all verbs require avoir as the auxiliary. Memorize the few verbs that require être.

Verbs with être:

aller (to go) <=> venir (to come)

entrer (to enter) <=> sortir (to leave /go out)

partir (to go away) <=> arriver (to arrive)

monter (to go up) <=> descendre (to go down)

naître (to be born) <=> mourir (to die)

rester (to stay, to remain)

tomber (to fall)

devenir (to become)

revenir (to come back /again)

rentrer (to return, to go back home)

retourner (to return, to go back)

All reflexive verbs require être as well:

Examples: se lever (to get up, to stand up), s’habiller (to dress, to get dressed), ...

Note: See the passive (chapter 5).

Examples:

Example for a reflexive verb:

se lever => Je me suis levé(e). (I got up.)

Exercise B1.

Add the verb in the passé composé. (solution)

1. Ce matin, M. Arnaud ______ (aller) s’acheter une nouvelle paire de chaussures.

2. Il _______ (prendre) son portefeuille, il _______ (mettre) son manteau et il _______ (sortir).

3. Quand il _______ (monter) dans la voiture, son portefeuille _______ (tomber) par terre. M. Arnaud _______ (ne rien remarquer).

4. Il ______ (partir) en ville où il _______ (garer) sa voiture sur la place publique.

5. Il en _______ (descendre) et il _______ (entrer) dans le magasin.

6. M. Arnaud _______ (regarder) les chaussures sur les étagères. Un vendeur _______ (s’approcher) et lui _______ (dire): «Vous _______ (trouver) quelque chose qui vous _______ (plaire)?»

7. Oui. Une belle paire de bottes. Mais quand M. Arnaud _______ (vouloir) payer... pas de portefeuille!

8. Résultat: Les bottes _______ (devoir) rester au magasin. Et M. Arnaud, très inquiet, _______ (être) voir la police.

9. Quand il _______ (retourner) à la maison, il _______ (commencer) à sortir de la voiture. Il _______ (poser) un pied dehors.

10. Et, sous son pied, il _______ (sentir) quelque chose. Bien sûr, quand il _______ (regarder), il _______ (trouver) son portefeuille.

Vocabulary:

ce matin (this morning), s’acheter qc. (to buy s.th. for oneself), la paire de chaussures (the pair of shoes), le portefeuille (the wallet), mettre qc. (here: to put on s.th.), le manteau /pl. -x (the coat), quand (when), dans (in, into), la voiture (the car), par terre (on the ground; la terre = earth, the soil), ne... rien (nothing), remarquer qc. (to notice s.th.), partir en ville (to go into town), garer une voiture (to park a car), la place publique (the square), le magasin (the shop), une étagère (a shelf), le vendeur /f. -euse (the shop assistant, the salesperson), s’approcher de qn./qc. (to come up to s.o., to approach), quelque chose (something), plaire à qn. (to please s.o.; ça me plaît = I like it/this), une botte (a boot), une paire de bottes (a pair of boots), payer qc. (to pay s.th.), le résultat (the result), inquiet/f. inquiète (worried), commencer à faire qc. (to start to do s.th.), le pied (the foot), dehors (outside), sous (under), sentir qc. (to feel s.th.), bien sûr (of course)

B2. Agreement of the participe passé

(a) With être

A participe passé with être agrees in gender and number with its subject:

feminine: + e

plural: + s*

(* Not if the participe passé already ends in -s, e.g., pris, mis.)

Examples:

m.pl.: Les garçons sont venus. (The boys came.)

f.sg.: Isabelle est tombée. (Isabelle fell.)

f.pl.: Les filles sont parties en voyage. (The girls left for a trip.)

m. and f. mixed: Julien et Isabelle sont partis. (Julien and Isabelle went away.)

Note: For reflexive verbs, see (c)!

Exercise B2. (a)

Add the verb in the passé composé. (solution)

1. Ginette ________ (aller) au zoo avec Marcel.

2. Ils ________ (rester) un moment devant la cage des panthères (f.). Puis, Ginette _______ (entrer) dans le resto du zoo pour s’acheter une glace.

3. Marcel _________ (ne pas venir) avec elle parce que d’autres amis à lui ________ (arriver), Nina et Luc.

4. Marcel a discuté avec eux, et quand Ginette ________ (sortir) du resto, il a fait les présentations. Ils ont continué la visite à quatre.

5. Quand la nuit ________ (tomber), ils ________ (partir).

Vocabulary:

devant (in front of, before), la panthère (the panther), puis (then), le resto (coll. abbreviation of restaurant), une glace (an ice cream), parce que (because), d’autres amis à lui (other friends of his), faire les présentations (to make introductions; présenter qn. à qn. = to introduce s.o. to s.o.), à quatre (here: together, the four of them), la nuit tombe (night is falling)

(b) With avoir

A participe passé with avoir normally is invariable.

Example:

Amélie a mangé une salade. (Amélie ate a salad.)

However, if there is a direct object BEFORE the verb, the participe passé has to agree with it. A direct object before the verb may be a direct object pronoun (me, te, le/la, nous, vous, les; chapter 11 B1.), the relative pronoun que (chapter 12 A1.), the interrogative adjective quel + noun and its pronoun lequel (chapter