French Grammer From Chapter 2 Of Sur Le Vif

Front 1

Present Indicative of Décrire (écrire, inscrire, etc.)

Back 1

je décris
tu décris
il décrit
nous décrivons
vous décrivez
ils décrivent

Front 2

Past Participle of Décrire (écrire, inscrire, etc.)

Back 2

décrit

Front 3

Imperfect Stem of Décrire (écrire, inscrire, etc.)

Back 3

-stem of present indicative nous form
décriv-

Front 4

Future/Conditional stem of Décrire (écrire, inscrire, etc.)

Back 4

-Drop the final e of the infinitive
décrir-

Front 5

Subjunctive stem of Décrire (écrire, inscrire, etc.)

Back 5

-Stem of present indicative ils/elles form
décriv-

Front 6

Present of s'asseoir

Back 6

-has two stems for the conjugation of the present indicative, present subjunctive, imperfect, future and the conditional
je m'assieds
tu t'assieds
il s'assied
nous nous asseyons
vous vous asseyez
ils s'asseyent

Front 7

Future of s'asseoir

Back 7

je m'assiérai
tu t'assiéras
il s'assiéra
nous nous assiérons
vous vous assiérez
ils s'assiéront

Front 8

Imperfect Stem of s'asseoir

Back 8

nous nous assey-

Front 9

Conditional stem of s'asseoir

Back 9

je m'assiér-

Front 10

Subjunctive stem of s'asseoir

Back 10

ils/elles s'assey-

Front 11

Past Participle of s'asseoir

Back 11

assis

Front 12

Descriptive Adjective Formation

Back 12

-adjectives agree in gender and number w/ the nouns or pronouns they modify, generally-
-Masc. sing. form + s=masc. pl. form
-Masc. sing. form + e=fem. sing. form
-Masc. sing. form + es=fem. pl. form
-if masc. sing. form ends in e, the fem. sing. form is the same
-if masc. sing. form. already ends in s, the masc. pl. form is the same.

Front 13

Descriptive Adjective Formation: Content

Back 13

-Masculine Singular: ends in a consonant or a vowel other than e=content
-Feminine Singular: +e, contente
-Masculine Plural: +s, contents
-Feminine Plural: +es, contentes

Front 14

Descriptive Adjective Formation:
Mince

Back 14

-Masculine Singular: ends in e=mince
-Feminine Singular: mince
-Masculine Plural: +s, minces
-Feminine Plural: +s, minces

Front 15

Descriptive Adjective Formation:
français

Back 15

-Masculine Singular: ends in s=français
-Feminine Singular: +e, française
-Masculine Plural: français
-Feminine Plural: +es, françaises

Front 16

Adjectives that end in -er

Back 16

Masculine Ending: -er
Feminine Ending: -ère
EX: premier-première

Front 17

Adjectives that end in -f

Back 17

Masculine Ending: -f
Feminine Ending: -ve
EX: actif-active

Front 18

Adjectives that end in -x: heureux

Back 18

Masc.=heureux
Fem.=heureuse

Front 19

Adjectives that end in -x: faux

Back 19

Masc.=faux
Fem.=fausse

Front 20

Adjectives that end in -x: doux

Back 20

Masc.=doux
Fem.=douce

Front 21

Adjectives that end in -x: roux

Back 21

Masc.=roux
Fem.=rousse

Front 22

Adjectives that end in -x: vieux

Back 22

Masc.=vieux
Fem.=vieille

Front 23

Adjectives that end in -eur: Majority

Back 23

-most adjectives with -eur ending change to the the fem. sing. ending -euse
-flatteur=flatteuse
-moqueur=moqueuse
-travailleur=travailleuse
-trompeur=trompeuse

Front 24

Adjectives that end in -eur: Exceptions-extérieur/intérieur

Back 24

extérieur/intérieur=
extérieure/intérieure

Front 25

Adjectives that end in -eur: Exceptions-supérieur/inférieur

Back 25

supérieur/inféreur=
supérieure/inférieure

Front 26

Adjectives that end in -eur: Exceptions-majeur/mineur

Back 26

majeur/mineur=
majeure/mineure

Front 27

Adjectives that end in -eur: Exceptions-meilleur

Back 27

meilleur=
meilleure

Front 28

Adjectives ending in -teur

Back 28

-most end in -trice
créateur=créatrice
conservateur=conservatrice
Exceptions:
menteur=menteuse

Front 29

Adjectives w/ Masc. Sing. form ending in vowel + consonant

Back 29

-form the feminine by doubling the consonant before adding -e
-bon=bonne
-gentil=gentille
-gras=grasse
-gros=grosse
-italien=italienne
-naturel=naturelle
-net=nette
-pareil=pareille

Front 30

Adjectives w/ Masc. Sing. form ending in vowel + consonant ending in -et

Back 30

-add accent instead of doubling the consonant:
-complet=complète
-discret=discrète
-inquiet=inquiète
-secret=secrète

Front 31

Irregular Adjectives

Back 31

blanc=blanche
favori=favorite
long=longue
public=publique
sec=sèche

Front 32

Adjectives w/ ending -al

Back 32

-Pattern for final only used for fatal, glacial, natal, and naval as well
Masculine Singular: normal, final
Feminine Singular: normale, finale
Masculine Plural: normaux, finals
Feminine Plural: normales, finales

Front 33

Invariable Adjectives

Back 33

-same form used to modify all nouns-fem, masc, sing, pl
-bordeaux
-cerise
-marron
-orange
-bon marché
-chic
-snob

Front 34

5 Adjectives that use alternate masc. sing. forms before vowel or h: beau

Back 34

Masculine Singular: beau (bel)
Feminine Singular: belle
Masculine Plural: beaux
Feminine Plural: belles

Front 35

5 Adjectives that use alternate masc. sing. forms before vowel or h: fou

Back 35

=crazy
Masculine Singular: fou (fol)
Feminine Singular: folle
Masculine Plural: fous
Feminine Plural: folles

Front 36

5 Adjectives that use alternate masc. sing. forms before vowel or h: mou

Back 36

=soft
Masculine Singular: mou (mol)
Feminine Singular: molle
Masculine Plural: mous
Feminine Plural: molles

Front 37

5 Adjectives that use alternate masc. sing. forms before vowel or h: nouveau

Back 37

Masculine Singular: nouveau (nouvel)
Feminine Singular: nouvelle
Masculine Plural: nouveaux
Feminine Plural: nouvelles

Front 38

5 Adjectives that use alternate masc. sing. forms before vowel or h: vieux

Back 38

Masculine Singular: vieux (vieil)
Feminine Singular: vieille
Masculine Plural: vieux
Feminine Plural: vieilles

Front 39

Adjective Position

Back 39

-most adjective usually follow the noun
-some adjectives that normally precede the noun are: autre, beau, bon, gentil, jeune, joli, mauvais, nouveau, petit, vieux

Front 40

Adjective Position: Ancien

Back 40

-mon ancienne maison=my former house

-une maison ancienne=an old house

Front 41

Adjective Position: Cher

Back 41

-Mon cher ami=my dear friend

-un blouson cher=an expensive jacket

Front 42

Adjective Position: Dernier

Back 42

-le dernier train=the last train (in a series)

-la semaine dernier=last week (=preceding)

Front 43

Adjective Position: Grand

Back 43

-Un grand homme=a great man

-Un homme grand=a tall man

Front 44

Adjective Position: Même

Back 44

-le même jour=the same day

-le jour même=the very day

Front 45

Adjective Position: Pauvre

Back 45

-le pauvre homme=the poor man (=deserving to be pitied)

-l'homme pauvre=the poor man (=not rich)

Front 46

Adjective Position: Propre

Back 46

-Sa propre chambre=her own room

-des draps propres=clean sheets

Front 47

Comparative Adjectives: Equality

Back 47

-aussi + adjective + que
EX: Ton tee-shirt est aussi sale que ton jean!=Your T-shirt is as dirty as your jeans!

Front 48

Comparative Adjectives: Superiority

Back 48

-plus + adjective +que
EX: Mon père est plus conservateur que ma mère=My father is more conservative than my mother.

Front 49

Comparative Adjectives: Inferiority

Back 49

-moins + adjective + que
EX: Je suis moins chic que ma soeur=I'm less chic than my sister.

Front 50

Comparative Adjectives: bon

Back 50

-bon (bonne) becomes meilleur(e) in comparisons of superiority.
EX: Est-Ce que son deuxième CD est meilleur que le premier?=Is his second CD better than the first one?

Front 51

Superlative Adjectives: Most

Back 51

-to describe someone or something as being better than all others
-le/la/les plus + adjective (+de)
EX: Michel est la plus sympathique (des enfants)=Michel is the nicest (of the children).

Front 52

Superlative Adjectives: Least

Back 52

-To describe someone or something as being worse than all others
-le/la/les moins + adjective (+de)
EX: Sophie est la moins paresseuse (des filles)=Sophie is the least lazy (of the girls).

Front 53

Superlative Adjectives: bon

Back 53

-bon (bonne) becomes le/la/les meilleur(e)(s) in superlative
EX: C'est la meilleure description du style "punk"=It's the best description of the "punk" style.

Front 54

Adjective Tout

Back 54

-means the entire, the whole, all, every
Masculine Singular: tout
Feminine Singular: toute
Masculine Plural: tous
Feminine Plural: toutes
EX: Toute la famille est désagréable=The whole family is unpleasant.

Front 55

Pronoun Tout

Back 55

-Singular form means everything
-Plural form means everyone
Masculine Singular: tout
Masculine Pluarl: tous
Feminine Plural: toutes
EX: Tout est moche dans cette boutique=Everything is tacky in this shop.

Front 56

Questions that require a simple affirmative or negative answer: Est-ce que

Back 56

Est-ce que tu aimes cette robe?= Do you like this dress?

Front 57

Questions that require a simple affirmative or negative answer: Inversion (of subject pronoun and verb)

Back 57

-Aimes-tu cette robe?=Do you like this dress?
-if the verb is negative, ne precedes the verb as usual, and pas follows the verb-pronoun group
EX: N'aimes-tu pas cette robe?=Do you not like this dress?
-if the verb is in a compound tense, the auxiliary verb and the subject pronoun are inverted
EX: As-tu acheté cette robe?=Did you buy this dress?
-if the subject is a nound, the noun remains in its normal place in the sentence, and a corresponding pronoun is inverted with the verb
EX: Monique aime cette robe=Monique aime-t-elle cette robe?

Front 58

Questions that require a simple affirmative or negative answer: Addition of n'est-ce pas

Back 58

Tu aimes cette robe, n'est-ce pas? Non.=You like this dress, don't you? No.

Front 59

Interrogative Adverbs:
Combien
Comment
Où
Pourquoi
Quand

Back 59

-How many
-How
-Where
-Why
-When

Front 60

Questions that ask for specific information: Interrogative Adverbs

Back 60

-following an interrogative adverb, use either est-ce que or inversion to form question
EX: Combien avez-vous payé ce collier? or Combien est-ce que vous avez payé ce collier?=How much did you pay for this necklace?
-with any adverb, except pourquoi, when asking a question made up of only a verb in a simple tense and a noun subject, invert the verb and subject
EX: Où est mon chapeau?=Where is my hat?
-With pourquoi, the noun subject remains in its normal position and the verb is inverted with the corresponding subject pronoun
EX: Pourquoi Françoise porte-t-elle un chapeau?=Why is François wearing a hat?

Front 61

Interrogative Adjectives: quel, quelle, quels, quelles

Back 61

-quel (quelle, quels, quelles) is the equivalent of which or what
-can only be followed by a noun or by a conjugated form of the verb être
EX:Quel maillot préfères-tu?=Which swimsuit do you prefer?
EX: Quelle est la différence entre un manteau et un blouson?=What is the difference between a coat and a jacket?

Front 62

Invariable Interrogative Pronouns: People

Back 62

-Qui is always used to ask a question about a person
-Subject: qui-Qui aime MC Solaar?=Who likes MC Solaar?
-Direct Object: qui (+inversion)-Qui as-tu vu au concert?=Who (Whom) did you see at the concert?
-Object of Prepostition: qui (+ inversion)-Avec qui sors-tu ce soir?=With whom are you going out tonight?

Front 63

Invariable Interrogative Pronouns: Things

Back 63

-Subject: Qu'est-ce qui: Qu'est-ce qui t'intéresse?=What interests you?
-Direct Object: Que/qu' (+inversion) or qu'est-ce que: Que fais-tu?=What are you doing. Qu'est-ce que tu as acheté?=What did you buy?
-Object of Preposition: Quoi (+ inversion) or Quoi est-ce que: De quoi parles-tu?=What are you talking about? Avec quoi est-ce qu'elle se teint les cheveux?=What is she dying her hair with?

Front 64

Variable Interrogative Pronoun Lequel

Back 64

-Lequel (laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles) is placed at the beginning of a question
-indicates a choice
-contracts with à and de in the same way that the definite article le and les do.
EX: Lequel de ces jeunes hommes joue de la guitare?=Which one of thes young men plays the guitar.
EX: Il y a deux concerts de rock ce soir. Auquel veux-tu aller?=There are two rock concerts tonight. Which one do you want to go to?

Front 65

Il (Elle) est

Back 65

-generally followed by and adjective
EX: Il est sympathique=He is nice
EX: Il est triste d'être victime de la mode=It is sad to be a victim of fashion.

Front 66

C'est

Back 66

-generally followed by a noun
EX: C'est le copain de Vincent au téléphone=It's Vincent's friend on the phone.
-Also used to refer to previously mentioned idea or situation.
EX: Tu n'as pas aimé le concert? C'est vraiment dommage!=You didn't like the concert? That's really too bad!