The article with the list of important irregular verbs in French has just been updated. New information has been added. Errors have been corrected. If you haven’t already read it, it’s worth checking out. I suggest you memorise at least the first nine (9) verbs on the list. These are être, avoir, faire, aller, venir, devoir, pouvoir, vouloir and savoir.
Read the article at this link.
The French idiom “passer au caviar” means literally “to pass to the caviar” or “to switch to the caviar.” This expression comes from Russia. Under the rule of Tsar Nicholas I (1825-1855), censorship was common. In books and journals, areas that had been censored were covered in black ink. This black ink was the same…
“Mettre les pouces” is a French idiom that literally means “to put the thumbs.” What it really means is to stop resisting, to give in, to admit defeat or to abandon something. It dates from the end of the 18th century. In that same era, a similar expression “coucher les pouces” (to put the thumbs to…
Some French verbs require the preposition à before their object, whether that object is a noun or an infinitive. Learning these verbs as fixed expressions is necessary because the preposition is not optional. Verbs followed by “à” before a person or thing These verbs require à when the object is a person or thing. Verbs…
The French verb “provenir” means “to come from.” So don’t be tempted to say “venir de” which means “to have just (done something).” Instead, you should use “provenir.” Etymology of provenir Latin Origin: Meaning: Evolution into French: Present Tense (Présent) Passé Composé In the passé composé, “provenir” is conjugated with the auxiliary verb “être” and…
The French saying “marquer d’une pierre blanche” literally means “to mark with a white stone.” It means to write down a date so as to remember it for a long time, or to identify a period of time as being especially memorable and auspicious because a happy or favourable event took place then. This idiom…
French verbs that end in “ir” follow a regular pattern for their conjugation in the present tense and the passé composé. A good example is the verb “finir,” which means “to finish.” Regular -ir verbs present tense endings Person Ending je -is tu -is il/elle/on -it nous -issons vous -issez ils/elles -issent Finir conjugated Present…