s’asseoir means “to sit down” or “to take a seat.” It is a reflexive verb, so it is used with a reflexive pronoun such as me, te, se, nous, vous, se. The verb has two accepted ways of forming many of its present tense and related forms. Both are standard. One is older in form,…
The French past infinitive (infinitif passé) is a verb form used to show that one action happened before another action. It is the infinitive equivalent of a completed action. In English, it is often translated with forms such as: For example: The past infinitive is common in both spoken and written French. It is especially…
Many English verbs ending in -ate have close French matches ending in -er. This is one of the most useful links between English and French verbs. In many cases the words come from the same Latin root, but French usually kept a simpler verb ending while English later developed -ate forms. Examples such as operate…
Many English adjectives ending in -ous have close French matches ending in -eux. This is one of the most useful word patterns in French. It can help with reading and guessing meaning, because a large number of English and French words come from the same Latin roots. Examples such as dangerous → dangereux and curious…
French has two large families of verbs that often cause trouble for learners: verbs built on mener and verbs built on porter. They often look alike because they take the same prefixes such as ap-, em-, ra-, and re-. Yet the basic split is simple. Verbs based on mener usually mean to lead, guide, take,…
Most French verbs use the ending -ez with vous in the present tense. Examples: Yet three very common verbs do not follow this pattern: These forms end in -tes instead of -ez. This is not a random quirk of modern French. These forms are very old. They come from Latin forms that already contained a…
French has two common ways to say “we”: Both can mean the same thing in many cases. Yet they do not sound the same. The choice changes the tone, the level of formality, and sometimes the sense of the sentence. In modern spoken French, on is far more common than nous. In formal writing, speeches,…
French speakers shorten long words by cutting off the end and adding o or os.This makes speech faster and more casual.The style started in working-class slang and spread to everyday talk.It works like saying “rhino” for “rhinoceros” in English. Most of these words are masculine. Plural often adds s, but some stay the same. pronunciation…
meanings Arriver means “to happen” or “to occur.” It points to a single event or result.Se passer also means “to happen,” but it focuses on how something unfolds or goes. Arriver can also mean “to arrive” at a place. Se passer never has that meaning. usage of arriver for events Use arriver for a specific…
Sitôt que is a fixed phrase that links two actions in time. It means “as soon as” or “no sooner than.” It shows that one action follows another with no delay. It is used in both spoken and written French, though it has a slightly formal tone. In everyday speech, other phrases are more common….