Module 11 – Les études
Deuxième partie: Au Québec, la grammaire
In this section:
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Savoir vs. Connaître
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Irregular -re: Suivre
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Irregular futur: être et les autres
Savoir vs. Connaître
The irregular verbs savoir and connaître both mean ‘to know. Listen first to the pronunciation of their forms in the present.
| savoir ‘to know (a fact)’ | |
| je sais | nous savons |
| tu sais | vous savez |
| il/elle/iel/on sait | ils/elles/iels savent |
| past participle : su | |
| connaître ‘to know, to be acquainted with’ | |
| je connais | nous connaissons |
| tu connais | vous connaissez |
| il/elle/iel/on connaît | ils/elles/iels connaissent |
| past participle : connu | |
Savoir and connaître are used in different contexts or to describe different degrees of knowledge. Savoir is used for facts, things known by heart, or abilities. When followed by an infinitive, savoir indicates knowing how to do something.(Je sais jouer de la guitare.) Connaître is used for people and places and represents a personal acquaintance or familiarity.
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Irregular -re: Suivre
The verbs suivre (to follow), and vivre (to live) are irregular. Listen carefully to their forms in the present tense.
| suivre ‘to follow’ | |
| je suis | nous suivons |
| tu suis | vous suivez |
| il/elle/iel/on suit | ils/elles/iels suivent |
| past participle : suivi | |
Suivre is also used in the expression suivre un cours (to take a course).
Irregular futur: être et les autres
The ‘simple’ future is so-named because it is a one-word tense. In other words, its formation is simple because there is no auxiliary. The stem of the simple future always ends with the letter, which is the characteristic sound of the future and conditional tenses.
For a list of irregular verbs which form their future in the same way as regular verbs do, see future: regular.
irregular future stems
Some irregular verbs also have irregular future stems. Nevertheless, the future endings are the same for all verbs: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. The future stem for the verb être is ser-.
| être ‘to be’ | |
| je serai, I will be | nous serons, we will be |
| tu seras, you will be | vous serez, you will be |
| il/elle/iel/on sera, he, she (it) / one will be | ils/elles/iels seront, they will be |
Here are the most common verbs that have irregular future stems:
| infinitive | stem | future | translation |
| aller | ir- | j’irai | I will go |
| courir | courr- | je courrai | I will run |
| devoir | devr- | je devrai | I will be obliged to |
| envoyer | enverr- | j’enverrai | I will send |
| faire | fer- | je ferai | I will do |
| falloir | faudr- | il faudra | it will be necessary |
| mourir | mourr- | je mourrai | I will die |
| obtenir | obtiendr- | j’obtiendrai | I will obtain |
| pleuvoir | pleuvr- | il pleuvra | it will rain |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrai | I will be able |
| recevoir | recevr- | je recevrai | I will receive |
| savoir | saur- | je saurai | I will know |
| tenir | tiendr- | je tiendrai | I will hold |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrai | I will come |
| voir | verr- | je verrai | I will see |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrai | I will want |
