Present forms for all persons
Plural forms of and are very useful: , , ; , , . In spoken French, people often use for we: This means we are going to look!
Use and as subject pronouns: They can also be object pronouns: In this module, adults say to the learner.
The spoken is extremely common in natural French. Grammatically it takes singular verb forms: , , . Meaning: it often means we.
A1 tip: learn whole chunks like and They are very common and productive.
is a polite chunk that means I would like. Learn it as one useful expression. It is not a future form.
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| we are | ||
| we are | ||
| you are | ||
| you are | ||
| we have | ||
| we have | ||
| you have / you need | ||
| you have / you need | ||
| we're going / let's | ||
| we're going / let's | ||
Nous sommes là.We are here.
Vous avez besoin d'un fauteuil.You need an armchair.
On va regarder !Let's go and have a look!
Nous aidons, c'est tout.We are just helping.
Je vous parle.I speak to you.
Mme Martin nous aide.Mrs Martin helps us.
Vous êtes nouveau ici.You are new here.
Vous êtes nouvelle ici.You are new here.
Claire et moi, nous avons deux tasses.Claire and I have two cups.
Je finis mon café.I finish my coffee.
J’attends Zoé.I am waiting for Zoé.
Two useful present-tense patterns complement regular -er verbs. Second-group -ir verbs such as use , , , , , . Not every verb ending in -ir follows this pattern; is learned separately.
A common -re pattern is : , , , , , . Learn these useful patterns without changing them for the speaker’s sex.
| Verb | I | We | You, polite/plural |
|---|---|---|---|
Practice 1/6 · Finding words
Notice the pattern
Tap the form practised in this unit.
.
We are here.
.
You need an armchair.
!
Let's go and have a look!
, .
We are just helping.
Practice 2/6 · The right form
Choose the form
Use the English meaning and the pattern in this unit.
Nous là.
We are here.
Vous besoin d'un fauteuil.
You need an armchair.
va regarder !
Let's go and have a look!
Nous , c'est tout.
We are just helping.
Je parle.
I speak to you.
Mme Martin aide.
Mrs Martin helps us.
Vous êtes ici.
You are new here.
Vous êtes ici.
You are new here.
Claire et moi, nous deux tasses.
Claire and I have two cups.
Je mon café.
I finish my coffee.
J’ Zoé.
I am waiting for Zoé.
Practice 3/6 · Fill the gaps
Complete the messages
Fill the gaps with the words from the box.
Nous là.
We are here.
Vous besoin d'un fauteuil.
You need an armchair.
va regarder !
Let's go and have a look!
Nous , c'est tout.
We are just helping.
Je parle.
I speak to you.
Mme Martin aide.
Mrs Martin helps us.
Vous êtes ici.
You are new here.
Vous êtes ici.
You are new here.
Claire et moi, nous deux tasses.
Claire and I have two cups.
Practice 4/6 · Building sentences
Build a sentence
Put the words in order.
We are here.
You need an armchair.
Let's go and have a look!
We are just helping.
I speak to you.
Mrs Martin helps us.
Practice 5/6 · In situations
What would you say?
Choose the right words for the situation.
We are here.
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
We are here.
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
You need an armchair.
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
You need an armchair.
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
Let's go and have a look!
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
Let's go and have a look!
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
We are just helping.
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
We are just helping.
You say:
Use the meaning and the French form explained in this unit.
Practice 6/6 · Matching
Connect sentences and meanings
Match the pairs.
Unit complete
