Non-conjugated Verb Forms
Non conjugated verb forms are the ones which don't change according
to the person. There are three sorts: infinitives, and past and
present participles. The present participle with en
is used to form what is sometimes called the gerund.
Infinitive
The infinitive is the form of the verb you look up in a dictionary
Ninety per cent of infinitives in French end in -er.
Other possible endings are -ir, -re and
-oir.
Manger, finir, aller, vendre, vouloir
to eat, to finish, to go, to sell, to want...
Check the Frequency List for the
most common verbs in their infinitive form.
Uses of the infinitive
Three important differences in the way the infinitive is used in French
and in English must be noted. First, the infinitive is used in French
as Subject of the sentence, where a Present Participle is often
found in English:
Signaler tous les cas suspects ne suffit pas.
Reporting all suspicious cases is not enough.
Louer peut sembler moins cher qu'acheter.
Renting may seem cheaper than buying.
Second, the infinitive in French is sometimes better rendered in English
by a Passive:
Les objets à démonter sont énormes.
The objects to be dismantled
are enormous.
Les parties que j'ai vu jouer étaient excellentes.
The games I saw being played
were excellent.
Lequel est à préférer?
Which one is to be preferred?
La réponse ne s'est pas fait attendre.
The reply was not long in coming. (Literally: did not make
itself be waited for).
about the Passive.
Thirdly, and most strikingly, the infinitive is often used in certain
types of texts to give orders, to tell you to do something. This is
especially common in recipes and instruction sheets.
Recette de Poulet au Paprika
Bien essuyer les morceaux de
poulet. Dans une grande poêle, faire
chauffer l'huile à feu moyen-doux. Y cuire
les oignons à couvert pendant 5 minutes en remuant régulièrement,
sans les faire dorer.
Clean the pieces of chicken well. In a large frying pan, warm the
oil on medium-low heat. Cook the onions, covered, for five minutes,
stirring constantly, without browning.
Past Participle
Mangé, fini, allé, vendu
eaten, finished, went, sold...
Endings are usually -é, -i, -u, but there
are a few irregular ones too. Among the 20 most common verbs, irregular
past participles are:
eu - had
fait - done
pris - taken
mis - put
Present Participle
Mangeant, finissant, allant, vendant
eating, finishing, going, selling...
The ending of present participles is always -ant, corresponding
to -ing in English
Use of participles
1. Participles as Adjectives
Both participles are often used as Adjectives, in which case they agree
with the noun they accompany:
les objets inanimés, une
quantité suffisante, une
idée stimulante
inanimate objects, a sufficient quantity, a stimulating idea
2. Participles as phrase or clause centres
Participles are often themselves the centre of a phrase or clause.
The commonest construction involves the present participle, preceded
or not by en, and translated usually by a present participle
in English, preceded or not by by, or on
or while.
Elles s'étaient transformées, devenant
en même temps plus réelles.
( ... becoming at the same time more real)
En pensant
à cette succession des trois conceptions du monde, on
dit que l'animisme lui-même implique déjà toutes
les religions.
(Thinking about this succession... people say that...)
La sorcellerie apparaît comme l'art d'influencer les esprits
en les apaisant, en se les conciliant, en
se les rendant favorables, en les intimidant.
(by pacifying them, by winning them over, by intimidating them...)
Other constructions
Another very common construction is après avoir
or après être + past participle:
L'éleveur masse ses vaches, à la main et au saké,
après avoir ajouté
de la bière à leur ration.
Literally after having added beer = after adding beer
Après avoir fait un versement
initial pouvant aller jusqu'à 20 p. 100 du prix total, vous
payez le solde et les intérêts en quelques années.
After making an initial payment
Other possibilities with participles
Cela dit, il faut considérer
tous les facteurs.
This said ...
Le prix une fois fixé,
vous ne pouvez pas le changer.
Once the price has been set ...
And of course, the past participle is used to form the passé
composé (past) tense:
Il a mis tout son argent dans
Bre-ex.
He put all his money into Bre-ex.
Exercises
|
