In Grade 9 you learned the present tense: the regular -er, -ir and -re endings and a core set of irregular verbs such as être, avoir, aller and faire. That is enough to be understood. Grade 10 is about being precise — writing nous mangeons rather than nous mangons, j'achète rather than j'achete, and j'attends le bus rather than a word-for-word j'attends pour le bus. These are small details, but they are exactly what separates French that is understood from French that is correct. They also come back in every tense you will learn this year: the imparfait, the futur and the conditionnel are all built on the stems you practise here.
| Grade 9 recap | parler (to speak) | finir (to finish) | vendre (to sell) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | parle | finis | vends |
| tu | parles | finis | vends |
| il / elle / on | parle | finit | vend |
| nous | parlons | finissons | vendons |
| vous | parlez | finissez | vendez |
| ils / elles | parlent | finissent | vendent |
Spelling-change verbs: why the spelling moves
| Type | Example | What changes | Why | Other verbs like it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ger | manger (to eat) → nous mangeons | add e before -ons | g before o would sound hard, as in go; the e keeps the soft zh sound of manger | nager, voyager, partager, changer, ranger |
| -cer | commencer (to begin) → nous commençons | c becomes ç before -ons | c before o would sound like k; the cédille keeps the s sound | lancer, avancer, placer, prononcer |
| e + consonant + er | acheter (to buy) → j'achète | e becomes è in the silent-ending forms | the stressed e opens to the è sound, and the grave accent shows it | lever, se lever, amener, emmener, se promener |
| é + consonant + er | préférer (to prefer) → je préfère | é becomes è in the silent-ending forms | same reason: the stressed vowel opens | espérer, répéter, célébrer, compléter, posséder |
| -eler / -eter | appeler (to call) → j'appelle; jeter (to throw) → je jette | double the l or t in the silent-ending forms | the double consonant does the job the grave accent does for acheter | s'appeler, rappeler, épeler, rejeter |
| -yer | envoyer (to send) → j'envoie; payer (to pay) → je paie | y becomes i in the silent-ending forms | before a silent e, French writes i | nettoyer, employer, s'ennuyer, essayer |
| Subject | acheter | préférer | appeler | envoyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | j'achète | je préfère | j'appelle | j'envoie |
| tu | tu achètes | tu préfères | tu appelles | tu envoies |
| il / elle / on | il achète | elle préfère | on appelle | il envoie |
| nous | nous achetons | nous préférons | nous appelons | nous envoyons |
| vous | vous achetez | vous préférez | vous appelez | vous envoyez |
| ils / elles | ils achètent | elles préfèrent | ils appellent | elles envoient |
More irregular verbs
| Verb | je / tu / il | nous / vous / ils | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| boire (to drink) | bois, bois, boit | buvons, buvez, boivent | three different stems: boi-, buv-, boiv- |
| devoir (must, to have to; to owe) | dois, dois, doit | devons, devez, doivent | Je dois partir = I have to leave; Je te dois dix dollars = I owe you ten dollars |
| croire (to believe) | crois, crois, croit | croyons, croyez, croient | the y appears only in nous and vous, like voir (voyons, voyez) |
| recevoir (to receive) | reçois, reçois, reçoit | recevons, recevez, reçoivent | ç before o keeps the s sound; apercevoir works the same way |
| connaître (to know, be familiar with) | connais, connais, connaît | connaissons, connaissez, connaissent | the circumflex sits on the i before t (il connaît); reconnaître works the same way |
| partir (to leave) | pars, pars, part | partons, partez, partent | singular drops the t of the stem |
| sortir (to go out) | sors, sors, sort | sortons, sortez, sortent | singular drops the t of the stem |
| dormir (to sleep) | dors, dors, dort | dormons, dormez, dorment | singular drops the m of the stem |
Verbs and their prepositions
In Grade 9 you met jouer à and jouer de, penser à and essayer de. In Grade 10 you need the full picture, because when one verb is followed by another, French decides whether a little word sits between them — and the choice does not follow English. I'm learning to drive uses à (j'apprends à conduire), I decide to leave uses de (je décide de partir), and I hope to travel uses nothing at all (j'espère voyager). These have to be learned with the verb, the way you learn a noun with its gender.
| Pattern | Common verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb + infinitive (no preposition) | aimer, adorer, détester, préférer, vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, savoir, aller, espérer | J'espère voyager en Belgique. (I hope to travel to Belgium.) |
| verb + à + infinitive | commencer à, continuer à, apprendre à, réussir à, aider quelqu'un à, hésiter à, s'habituer à | J'apprends à conduire. (I'm learning to drive.) |
| verb + de + infinitive | décider de, essayer de, oublier de, refuser de, choisir de, finir de, arrêter de, rêver de | Elle essaie de dormir. (She is trying to sleep.) |
- chercher — to look for: Je cherche mes clés.
- attendre — to wait for: J'attends le bus.
- écouter — to listen to: Tu écoutes la radio ?
- regarder — to look at: Il regarde la carte.
- payer — to pay for: Nous payons les billets.
- demander — to ask for: Elle demande l'addition.
- téléphoner à — to phone: Je téléphone à ma tante.
- répondre à — to answer: Il répond au courriel.
- ressembler à — to resemble: Tu ressembles à ton père.
- obéir à — to obey: Le chien obéit à Léa.
- entrer dans — to enter: Nous entrons dans le musée.
- changer de — to change: Elle change d'avis.
Translation: Hi everyone! This summer I'm working in a café in Moncton. In the morning I leave the house at six-thirty and buy a croissant on the way. At the café we start at seven. My co-worker Samuel cleans the tables and I make the drinks. The customers mostly drink iced coffee. I have to be patient, but I'm learning to talk with everyone. I get my pay every two weeks and I hope to buy a bike in August. At night I sleep like a baby! And you — do you prefer tea or coffee? Look at how much the passage relies on this lesson: two boot verbs (j'achète, j'espère), a -cer verb (commençons), an -oyer verb (nettoie), five irregulars (pars, boivent, dois, reçois, dors), apprendre à before an infinitive, and espérer with no preposition. Notice too that vous préférez keeps its é: vous is outside the boot.