French verbs

🧠 Lesson Goal

To understand French verbs, how they are categorized, how they change with conjugation, and how they're used in everyday sentences.

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📚 1. What Is a Verb?

A verb is a word that expresses an action (to run), a state (to be), or a possession (to have).
Examples in French:

• marcher (to walk)
• être (to be)
• avoir (to have)

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🗂️ 2. Types of Verbs in French

🔹 a) Regular Verbs

These follow predictable patterns when conjugated.
French verbs are grouped based on their endings:

Group	Ending	Examples
1st	-er	parler (to speak), aimer (to love)
2nd	-ir (with –issons pattern)	finir (to finish), choisir (to choose)
3rd	-re, -oir, and irregular -ir	prendre (to take), venir (to come)

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🔹 b) Irregular Verbs

These verbs change unpredictably across different tenses.
Examples: être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), faire (to do/make)

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🔹 c) Reflexive Verbs

These include a pronoun and describe actions you do to yourself.
Examples:

• se lever (to get up) → “Je me lève”
• s’appeler (to be called) → “Je m’appelle Teddy”

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🧱 3. Conjugation in Present Tense

Here are examples of how regular and irregular verbs are conjugated:

🔸 “Parler” (Regular – 1st group)

Je parle      I speak  
Tu parles     You speak  
Il/elle parle He/she speaks  
Nous parlons  We speak  
Vous parlez   You (formal/plural) speak  
Ils/elles parlent They speak

🔸 “Finir” (Regular – 2nd group)

Je finis      I finish  
Tu finis      You finish  
Il/elle finit He/she finishes  
Nous finissons We finish  
Vous finissez You (formal/plural) finish  
Ils/elles finissent They finish

🔸 “Être” (Irregular)

Je suis       I am  
Tu es         You are  
Il/elle est   He/she is  
Nous sommes   We are  
Vous êtes     You (formal/plural) are  
Ils/elles sont They are

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🧠 4. Verbs in Real-Life Context

Verb	Example Sentence
parler	We speak French and Amharic. → Nous parlons français et amharique.
avoir	He has a very interesting book. → Il a un livre très intéressant.
faire	She does sport every morning. → Elle fait du sport chaque matin.
aller	I go to school by bus. → Je vais à l’école en bus.

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📝 5. Practice Exercises

🔤 Exercise 1: Fill in the blank with the correct present tense form

Choose from: être, avoir, aller, parler

1. We ________ happy to learn French.
2. I ________ two children.
3. They (feminine) ________ to university.
4. You (plural) ________ French very well!

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✏️ Exercise 2: Classify the verbs into their correct group

Verbs: choisir, manger, prendre, venir, danser

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✅ Answer Key

Exercise 1:

1. are → sommes
2. have → ai
3. go → vont
4. speak → parlez

Exercise 2:

Group	Verbs
1st	manger, danser
2nd	choisir
3rd	prendre, venir