Module 03: Les vacances

Quatrième Partie: L’Hexagone et les destinations francophones, Explication de grammaire

La Grammaire

In this section:

  • Le vocabulaire – learn the vocabulary about L’Hexagone
  • Le vocabulaire en contexte
  • Verbs in -ER stem changing

Le vocabulaire – learn the vocabulary about L’Hexagone

Image of a map
Illustration via Pixabay
L’Hexagone France
l’Alsace (f)

la Bourgogne

la Bretagne

la Côte d’Azur

la Corse

l’Ile de France (f)

(la région parisienne)

la Lorraine

la Normandie

la Provence

la Vallée de la Loire

 

Alsace

Burgundy

Brittany

the Riviera

Corsica

Ile de France

(Parisian region)

Lorraine

Normandy

Provence

the Loire Valley

 


Le vocabulaire en contexte

Verbs in -ER stem changing


Review the conjugations and explanations. Do both exercises

Spelling changes occur in the stems of several groups of -er verbs in the present tense. These spelling changes reflect the pronunciation of the present tense forms.

You may have already noticed the spelling change in the verb s’appeler (Je m’appelle, My name is …). For verbs like appeler (to call), rappeler (to call back) and jeter (to throw), the consonant –l or –t in the the stem doubles in all forms of the present tense, except in the first and second person plural (nous and vous). This follows the traditional boot pattern of -er verb conjugations in the present tense.

appeler  ‘to call’
j’appelle nous appelons
tu appelles vous appelez
il/elle/iel/on appelle ils/elles/iels appellent
past participle : appelé


This same “boot” pattern is repeated in spelling change verbs like préférer (to prefer). In these verbs the é in the last syllable of the stem changes to an è, except in the first and second person plural (nous and vous). Listen carefully to the different pronunciations of é and è in the conjugations below.

préférer  ‘to prefer’
je préfère nous préférons
tu préfères vous préférez
il/elle/iel/on préfère ils/elles/iels préfèrent
past participle : préfé


Verbs conjugated like préférer include:

considérer, to consider
espérer, to hope
régler, to regulate, pay, settle, adjust
répéter, to repeat
sécher, to dry, skip (a class)


In verbs which are conjugated like acheter (to buy), the e in the last syllable of the stem also changes to an è, again with the exception of the first and second person plural forms.

acheter  ‘to buy’
j’achète nous achetons
tu achètes vous achetez
il/elle/iel/on achète ils/elles/iels achètent
past participle : acheté


Verbs conjugated like acheter include:

amener, to bring somebody (along)
emmener, to take somebody (along)
lever, to lift, raise
mener, to take, lead
peser, to weigh


Another group of stem-changing verbs include those ending in ayer, including essayer (to try) and payer (to pay). In these verbs the y changes to i in all persons except the first and second person plural (nous and vous).

essayer  ‘to try’
j’essaie nous essayons
tu essaies vous essayez
il/elle/iel/on essaie ils/elles/iels essaient


Finally, verbs ending in ger like voyager (to travel) add an e after the g in the nous form of the present tense, so that the g is pronounced as a soft sound before the –ons ending (i.e. nous voyageons). Similarly, in verbs ending in –cercommencer (to start), for example, the c in the nous form changes to ç to keep the soft c sound (nous commençons).

voyager  ‘to travel
je voyage nous voyageons
tu voyages vous voyagez
il/elle/iel/on voyage ils/elles/iels voyagent
past participle: voyagé


Other verbs in this category include:

corriger, to correct
exiger, to demand, require
manger, to eat
nager, to swim
partager, to share
ranger, to tidy up, arrange
rédiger, to write, compose
songer, to dream, reflect

 

Quelle activité est-ce que vous préférez en été? What activity do you prefer in the summer?
Rita: J’emmène mes enfants à la piscine. Rita: I take my children to the pool.
Ses enfants: Nous nageons et nous mangeons de la glace. Her children: We swim and we eat ice cream.
Sacha: Moi, je préfère lire dehors. Je lit beaucoup. Sacha: Me, I prefer reading outside. I read lots.

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Français inclusif: An Interactive Textbook for French 101 Copyright © 2022 by Department of World Languages, Boise State University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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