Auxiliary Verbs (Verbes auxiliaires):
* "Être" (to be) and "avoir" (to have) are the two main auxiliary verbs in French. They are used to form compound tenses, which include:
* Past Participle: The past participle is a form of the verb that indicates an action has been completed.
* Auxiliary Verb: This helps to express the time and aspect of the action.
Examples of Compound Tenses with Auxiliary Verbs:
* Passé composé (Perfect tense): "J'ai mangé" (I ate) - "ai" is the auxiliary verb "avoir" + "mangé" is the past participle of "manger" (to eat).
* Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect tense): "J'avais mangé" (I had eaten) - "avais" is the auxiliary verb "avoir" + "mangé" is the past participle of "manger" (to eat).
* Futur composé (Future perfect tense): "J'aurai mangé" (I will have eaten) - "aurai" is the auxiliary verb "avoir" + "mangé" is the past participle of "manger" (to eat).
* Passé antérieur (Past anterior tense): "J'eus mangé" (I had eaten) - "eus" is the auxiliary verb "avoir" + "mangé" is the past participle of "manger" (to eat).
Choosing the Right Auxiliary Verb:
* "Avoir" (to have) is generally used with most verbs.
* "Être" (to be) is used with:
* Verbs of movement: "aller" (to go), "venir" (to come), "partir" (to leave), "arriver" (to arrive), "retourner" (to return), etc.
* Verbs of change of state: "devenir" (to become), "naître" (to be born), "mourir" (to die), etc.
* Some reflexive verbs: "se lever" (to get up), "se coucher" (to go to bed), etc.
Main Verbs (Verbes principaux):
* These are the verbs that express the action or state of being.
* They are the verbs that are conjugated in different tenses.
* In compound tenses, they take the form of the past participle.
Example:
* "J'ai mangé" (I ate) - "manger" is the main verb, "ai" is the auxiliary verb.
In summary:
* Auxiliary verbs help to form compound tenses.
* Main verbs express the action and are conjugated.
* Together, they create the complex and nuanced tenses of the French language.