Grammaire: 1.3 – Les verbes (introduction)

Verbs (introduction)

Infinitives and conjugations

On the next page, you will learn your first French verb, être (‘to be’). You will notice that the verb has:

• an infinitive form (like the concept of infinity, this verb form is not bound by time or person). In English, the infinitive form is preceded by ‘to’. Example: to be
• 6 conjugated forms: conjugated in a specific tense (past, present futur) and conjugated in a specific person (je, tu, eil, nous, etc.)

Verb conjugations are traditionally presented in textbooks according to paradigms, or charts, a grammatical term for pattern. A paradigm always includes the infinitive followed by the conjugations according to person which is divided into first, second and third, as well as number, which is the distinction between singular and plural.