IRREGULAR VERBS

Irregular verbs have to be learnt by heart, they have more oral forms than other regular verbs:

1. THE VERB ‘BE’ IMPERATIVE MOOD – PRESENT TENSE

Familiar form: Sois sympathique! Be nice!

Polite form: Soyez sympathique!

Plural form: Soyez sympathiques!

Inclusive form: Soyons sympathiques! Let’s be nice!

3 oral forms : Sois, soyez, soyons.

2. THE VERB ‘BE’ INDICATIVE MOOD – PRESENT TENSE

Je suis sympathique I am nice

Tu es sympathique You are nice

Il est sympathique He is nice

Elle est sympathique She is nice

On est sympathique People are nice

Nous sommes sympathiques We are nice

Vous êtes sympathiques You are nice

Ils sont sympathiques They are nice

Elles sont sympathiques They are nice

Five oral forms and 6 different spellings :

suis

es, est (sounds like è)

sommes

êtes

sont

Impersonal:

It’s stupid! - C’est stupide!

It isn’t nice! Ce n’est pas sympathique!

As you have probably noticed the adjective ‘sympathique’ takes an ‘s’ for the plural form.

The ‘s’ is mute though so orally there is only one form for the adjective. Adjectives agree in number (you add an ‘s’ if the noun or pronoun it qualifies is plural).

> Listen & repeat & translate in English orally both the question and the answer:

• Vous êtes Russes? Are you Russians?
• Non, nous sommes Belges. No, we are Belgians.
• Tu es Suisse? Are you Swiss?
• Non je suis Belge! No, I’m Belgian!
• Il est journaliste? Is he a journalist?
• Non, il est architecte! No, he is an architect!
• Elle est secrétaire? Is she a secretary?
• Non, elle est architecte! No, she is an architect!

Note : In French we don’t say : She is a secretary but: *she is _ secretary : Elle est secrétaire.

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