French/Lessons/Transportation

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Lessons
Level Two
2.01 School
2.02 Culture
2.03 Shopping
2.04 Going out
2.05 Transportation
2.06 Everyday Life
2.07 Rural life
2.08 Food and Drink
2.09 Dining
2.10 Communication
Test • Planning
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( v d e )	French Language Course	(discussion)
Learning the French Language • Downloadable and Print Versions Lessons • Grammar • Appendices • Texts • About • Q&A • Planning Introductory • Level One • Level Two • Level Three • Level Four

[edit] G: -uire Verbs

-uire verbs are conjugated irregularly.

[edit] Formation

French Verb • Present Indicative • audio (upload) conduire to drive (past participle - conduit)
	Singular			Plural
first person	je conduis	jeuh cohndwee	I drive	nous conduisons	noo cohndweezoh	we drive
second person	tu conduis	too cohndwee	you drive	vous conduisez	voo cohndweezay	you drive
third person	il conduit	eel cohndwee	he drives	ils conduisent	eel cohndweez	they drive (masc. or mixed)
	elle conduit	ell cohndwee	she drives	ils conduisent	eel cohndweez	they drive (masc. or mixed)
	on conduit	oh cohndwee	one drives	elles conduisent	ell cohndweez	they drive (fem.)

[edit] Other -uire Verbs

produire - to produce
traduire - to translate
reduire - to reduce

[edit] V: Driving

ouvrir	to open
fermer	to close

[edit] G: -rir Verbs

These verbs are conjugated irregularly, and normally follow the -er conjugation scheme. A common -rir verb is ouvrir.

[edit] Formation

j'ouvre
tu ouvres
il ouvre
nous ouvrons
vous ouvrez
ils ouvrent
past participle: ouvert

[edit] Other Standard -rir verbs

In past participle form, -ir is replaced with -ert for these verbs.

couvrir - to cover
découvrir - to discover
offrir - to offer
souffrir - to suffer

[edit] -rir Verb Exceptions

[edit] Courir - To Run

je cours
tu cours
il court
nous courons
vous courez
ils courent
past participle: couru

[edit] Mourir - To Die

je meurs
tu meurs
il meurt
nous mourons
vous mourez
ils meurent
past participle: mort(e)(s)¹

¹Mourir is the only -ir verb that takes être as its helping verb in perfect tenses (and therefore agrees with the subject as a past participle in a perfect tense).

[edit] Acquérir - To Acquire

j'acquiers
tu acquiers
il acquiert
nous acquérons
vous acquérez
ils acquièrent
past participle: acquis

[edit] V: Traffic Signs and Laws

[edit] G: Passé Composé with Être

Most verbs form the passé composé with avoir, however there are a small number of verbs that are always conjugated with être. In a general case, these verbs indicate a change in state or position.

[edit] List of Verbs

French Grammar • Transportation • audio (upload) Perfect Past with Être Passé composé avec être
Verb	Example
aller	Je suis allé au cinéma.	I went to the cinema.
venir	Je suis venu en France.	I came to France.
arriver	Le train est arrivé.	The train has arrived.
partir	Elle est partie travailler.	She left to go to work.
rester	Je suis resté à la maison.	I stayed home.
retourner	Il est retourné au restaurant.	He returned to the restaurant.
tomber	Je suis tombé dans la piscine.	I fell into the pool.
naître	Je suis né en octobre.	I was born in october.
mourir	Il est mort en 1917.	He died in 1917.
passer	Il est passé devant la maison.	It happened in front of the house.
monter	Je suis monté au sommet.	I climbed to the top.
descendre	Il est descendu du train.	He got out of the train.
sortir	Je suis sorti avec mes amies.	I went out with my friends.
entrer	Je suis entré dans ma chambre.	I entered my room.
rentrer	Il est rentré tôt de l'école.	He came back early from school.

The verbs that take être can be easily remebered by the acronym MRS. DR VANDERTRAMP:
M	R	S		D	R
monté	resté	sorti		devenu	revenu
V	A	N	D	E	R	T	R	A	M	P
venu	arrivé	né	descendu	entré	rentré	tombé	retourné	allé	mort	parti

Moreover, all the pronominal verbs (with se), like se cacher (to hide oneself) or se demander (to wonder), are ALWAYS conjugated with être.

[edit] Direct Objects

One must know that these verbs take their conjugated avoir when they are immediately followed by a direct object

For Example:
- Je suis descendu with the direct object "mes bagages"
  - becomes:
- J'ai descendu mes bagages.

Another example:
- Je suis monté with the direct object "mes bagages"
  - becomes:
- J'ai monté mes bagages.

Yet another example but with ils instead of Je:
- Ils sont sortis with direct object "leur passeport"
  - becomes:
- Ils ont sorti leur passeport.

[edit] Subject-Past Participle Agreement

When conjugating with être, the past participles of the above verbs must agree with the the subject of a sentence in gender and plurality. Note that there is no agreement if these verbs are conjugated with avoir.

If the subject is masculine singular, there is no change in the past participle.
If the subject is feminine singular, an -e is added to the past participle.
If the subject is masculine plural, an -s is added to the past participle.
If the subject is feminine plural, an -es is added to the past participle.

J suis allé(e).	Nous sommes allé(e)s.
Tu es allé(e).	Vous êtes allé(e)(s).
Il est allé.	Ils sont allés.
Elle est allée.	Elles sont allées.