Grammaire: 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 (similar to the concept of infinity, an infinitive verb form is “unbounded” by time or person): in English, the infinitive form is preceded by ‘to’. Example: to be
• 6 conjugated forms: conjugations are produced as a function of a specific tense (past, present futur) and specific person (je, tu, nous, etc.)

Verb conjugations are traditionally presented in textbooks in charts or what are called paradigms, which is a grammatical term for “pattern.” A paradigm always includes the verb infinitive followed by a chart of conjugations which are divided according to person (first, second, and third) and number (singular or plural).