Giáo trình động từ tiếng Pháp - Part II Using Verbs Correctly with Questions, Commands, and Such - Chapter 10 pptx

Chapter 10
Correctly Using Often Misused Verbs
in Daily Conversation
In This Chapter
ᮣ Knowing the verbs connaître and savoir
ᮣ Identifying the differences between jouer à and jouer de
ᮣ Forming expressions with avoir
ᮣ Understanding how to use faire
E
very language has different ways of saying things and of expressing yourself that can’t
be translated into another language word for word. French is no exception. For instance
the phrases
How are you doing? or How are you? are expressed in French not by the verbs
faire (to do, to make) or être (to be), but by the verb aller (to go). To ask these questions in
French, you say
Comment allez-vous? or Comment vas-tu?
In this chapter, I focus on some verbs that have the same meaning in English, but different
usage in French. You want to make sure you use the right verb so that people know what
you’re talking about. I also cover two common verbs:
avoir (to have) and faire (to do, to
make
) and how you can correctly utilize these verbs in your conversations. (You can also
check out Chapter 23, which focuses on ten often-misused verbs.)
Knowing the Difference between
Connaître and Savoir
French has two verbs that mean to know. One is connaître, and the other is savoir. Even
though the English language translates them the same, the French language uses them in
different circumstances. In this section, I show you how to use each verb. Both verbs are
irregular.
connaître (
to know

)
je connais nous connaissons
tu connais vous connaissez
il/elle/on connaît ils/elles connaissent
Je connais Aix-en-Provence. (
I know Aix-en-Provence.
)
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savoir (
to know
)
je sais nous savons
tu sais vous savez
il/elle/on sait ils/elles savent
Nous savons la date de ton anniversaire. (
We know your birthday.
)
So are you wondering what the differences are between the two verbs? Well, you use
the two verbs with different types of information. For example, use
connaître when
you mean
to know or to be acquainted with a person, a place, or a thing. Meanwhile,
use
savoir when you mean to know a fact, to know something by heart, or to know
specific information,
such as a telephone number, an address, or someone’s name.
You can also use savoir with the clauses in Table 10-1.
Table 10-1 Clauses That Use Savoir (
to know
)

Common Clause Translation Example Translation
savoir à quelle
to know
(
at
) Je sais à quelle
I know
(
at
)
what time he is
heure
what time
heure il va venir.
going to come.
savoir combien
to know
Je sais combien
I know how much that
how much
ça coûte.
costs.
savoir comment
to know how
Je sais comment
I know how to conjugate
conjuguer connaître.
connaître.
savoir où
to know where

Je sais où est la
I know where the class is.
classe.
savoir pourquoi
to know why
Je sais pourquoi
I know why Henri is late.
Henri est en retard.
savoir quand
to know when
Je sais quand le
I know when the train is
train part.
leaving.
savoir que
to know that
Je sais que tu aimes
I know that you like
le chocolat.
chocolate.
savoir quel, quelle,
to know which
Je sais quelle heure
I know what time it is.
quels, quelles il est.
savoir qui
to know who
Je sais qui est là.
I know who is there.
savoir si

to know if
Je sais si tu
I know if you’re watching TV.
regardes la télé.
To say I know! or I don’t know, you simply say Je sais or Je ne sais pas.
You can also follow savoir with an infinitive, but you can’t do that with connaître.
In this way, savoir means to know how to do something. For example, Tu sais parler
français
means You know how to speak French, and Nous savons faire du ski means
We know how to ski.
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Which verb, connaître or savoir, do you use in the following sentences? Conjugate
the verbs and translate the sentences.
Q. Les enfants _________________ compter en français.
A. Les enfants savent compter en français. (The children know how to count in French.)
1. Est-ce que tu _________________ New York?
__________________________________________________________________________________
2.
Marie ne _________________ pas parler japonais.
__________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Nous _________________ où il habite.
__________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Ils ne _________________ pas la famille du professeur.
__________________________________________________________________________________
5.
Vous _________________ conduire.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Identifying What to Play
Jouer is a regular -er verb that is used with different prepositions in order to convey
either playing a sport or playing a musical instrument. More specifically,
jouer à is used
with sports and
jouer de with instruments. If the sport or instrument is masculine,
make the necessary contractions:
à + le = au; de + le = du. See the following examples.
Je joue au tennis. (I play tennis.)
Je joue du piano. (I play the piano.)
Check out Table 10-2 for playing other sports and games or playing other instruments.
Table 10-2 The Different Ways to Play
Jouer à
(
+ sports or games
)
Jouer de
(
+ instruments
)
Je joue au basket(ball). (
I play basketball.
) Je joue du saxophone. (
I play the saxophone.
)
Je joue au foot. (
I play soccer.
) Je joue du violon. (
I play the violin.

)
Je joue au volley. (
I play volleyball.
) Je joue de la batterie. (
I play the drums.
)
Je joue au golf. (
I play golf.
) Je joue de la flûte. (
I play the flute.
)
Je joue au hockey. (
I play hockey.
) Je joue de la guitare. (
I play the guitar.
)
Je joue au bridge. (
I play bridge.
) Je joue de la trompette. (
I play the trumpet.
)
(continued)
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Table 10-2
(continued)
Jouer à
(
+ sports or games

)
Jouer de
(
+ instruments
)
Je joue aux cartes. (
I play cards.
) Je joue du violoncelle. (
I play the cello.
)
Je joue aux dames. (
I play checkers.
) Je joue de la basse. (
I play bass.
)
Je joue aux échecs. (
I play chess.
) Je joue de la clarinette. (
I play the clarinet.
)
In the negative, the prepositions à, au, à la, à l’, and aux don’t change. However, du,
de la, de l’,
and des do change to de or d’ after the negative, such as Je ne joue pas
de piano,
which means I don’t play the piano.
Now, it’s your turn. Conjugate the verb jouer (to play) and provide the correct prepo-
sitions. Translate the following sentences.
Q. Mon père _________________ (jouer) golf.
A. Mon père joue au golf. My father plays golf.
6. Georges _________________ (jouer) violon.

__________________________________________________________________________________
7.
Ils _________________ (ne pas jouer) batterie.
__________________________________________________________________________________
8.
Je _________________ (jouer) échecs.
__________________________________________________________________________________
9.
Mon frère _________________ (jouer) guitare.
__________________________________________________________________________________
10.
Les enfants _________________ (jouer) basketball.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Keeping Avoir and Faire in Line
French has two very important verbs, avoir (to have) and faire (to do, to make), that
are responsible for many sentence formations. From these two simple verbs you can
form dozens of everyday expressions.
This section looks at each verb,
avoir and faire, and helps you with any questions
you may have. I show you the correct conjugations (you can also find them in
Chapter 4) as well as several common expressions formed with these two verbs.
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Using avoir
The verb avoir is very versatile in French and has several meanings in English. This verb
is living proof that translating literally from one language to another doesn’t always
work. Check out the conjugation in the present tense.
avoir (
to have

)
j’ai nous avons
tu as vous avez
il/elle/on a ils/elles ont
Ils ont trois enfants. (
They have three children.
)
In French, one isn’t a certain age, but has a certain age. Therefore, the question How
old are you?
is What age do you have? In French if someone asks you Quel âge as-tu/
avez-vous?
(How old are you?), you respond as follows: J’ai (your age) ans. For exam-
ple,
J’ai vingt ans (I am 20 years old).
Check out Table 10-3 for other important
avoir expressions.
Table 10-3 Important Avoir Expressions
Avoir Expression Translation
avoir faim
to be hungry
avoir soif
to be thirsty
avoir sommeil
to be sleepy
avoir tort (de)
to be wrong
avoir raison (de)
to be right
avoir chaud
to be hot

avoir froid
to be cold
avoir peur (de)
to be afraid (of)
avoir besoin de
to need
avoir envie de
to want, to feel like
avoir l’intention de
to have the intention of
avoir l’habitude de
to be accustomed to, to be used to
avoir l’occasion de
to have the chance to, to have the opportunity to
avoir de la chance
to be lucky
avoir honte (de)
to be ashamed of
avoir mal (à + a part of the body)
to ache, to have pain in a part of the body
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You can use the expressions in Table 10-3 with the preposition de in parentheses
alone or followed by an infinitive or a noun. For example,
J’ai tort means I am wrong
and J’ai tort de mentir means I am wrong to lie. When these expressions are followed
by an infinitive, you must use the preposition
de in front of the infinitive, as in the fol-
lowing examples:

J’ai l’occasion de voyager cet été. (I have the chance/the opportunity to travel this
summer.
)
Nous avons l’habitude de sortir le samedi soir. (We are used [accustomed] to
going out Saturday evenings.
)
Avoir besoin de and avoir envie de can be followed by an infinitive or a noun. In
either case, the preposition
de is necessary before the infinitive or the noun.
Tu as besoin d’étudier. (You need to study.)
J’ai envie de chanter. (I feel like singing.)
J’ai envie de chocolat. (I feel like chocolate.)
To make these expressions negative, add
ne before the verb and pas or another nega-
tive word after it.
Je n’ai pas envie de chanter. (I don’t feel like singing.)
You can also add adverbs to these sentences. Check out French For Dummies by Dodi-
Katrin Schmidt, Michelle M. Williams, and Dominique Wenzel (Wiley) for more specific
information about French grammar.
The expression
avoir mal is the only one from the list in Table 10-3 that’s followed by
the preposition
à. Conjugate the verb avoir in the present and add mal, the preposi-
tion
à, and the part of the body that’s hurting now. For example, if you have a back-
ache, you say
J’ai mal au dos. The preposition à is followed by the part of the body
that is hurting along with the definite article.
J’ai mal aux pieds. (My feet hurt.)
J’ai mal à l’épaule. (My shoulder hurts.)

Now translate some of these expressions into French.
Q. He doesn’t feel like going out.
A. Il n’a pas envie de sortir.
11.
We are thirsty.
__________________________________________________________________________________
12.
They are right.
__________________________________________________________________________________
13.
You need to read.
__________________________________________________________________________________
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14. Michael is lucky.
__________________________________________________________________________________
15.
Her head hurts.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Trying faire
Another important verb used in many common expressions is faire (to do, to make).
You need to know how to correctly use it because it’s very versatile and can be used
to express playing both an instrument and a sport without switching prepositions.
This section shows you how to conjugate it and then provides numerous expressions
using this verb.
faire (
to do, to make
)
je fais nous faisons

tu fais vous faites
il/elle/on fait ils/elles font
Il fait du tennis. (
He plays tennis.
)
Table 10-4 shows many of the ways that you can use faire when talking about sports
as well as instruments. When you use
faire with sports and instruments, remember
that it has the same meaning as the verb
jouer à or de (to play). These two verbs are
used interchangeably. However, remember to use the correct prepositions. Unlike
jouer, faire is followed by the preposition de whether you’re talking about a sport or
an instrument.
Table 10-4 Using Faire with Sports and Instruments
Faire Expression Translation
faire de l’alpinisme
to mountain climb
faire de la planche à voile
to windsurf
faire de la voile
to sail, sailing
faire des randonnées
to hike
faire du baseball
to play baseball
faire du foot, football
to play soccer
faire du football américan
to play football
faire du karaté

to do karate
faire du ski
to ski
faire du tennis
to play tennis
(continued)
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Table 10-4
(continued)
Faire Expression Translation
faire du vélo
to ride a bike
faire du volley
to play volleyball
faire de la batterie
to play the drums
faire de la flûte
to play the flute
faire de la guitare
to play the guitar
faire de la trompette
to play the trumpet
faire du piano
to play the piano
faire du saxophone
to play the saxophone
faire du violon
to play the violin

In addition to sports and instruments, you can also use faire in other ways. Table 10-5
shows many common expressions that utilize
faire.
Table 10-5 Faire in Everyday Conversation
Faire Expression Translation
faire attention
to pay attention
faire la connaissance de
to make someone’s acquaintance
faire la cuisine
to cook, to do the cooking
faire la grasse matinée
to sleep in late
faire la lessive
to do laundry
faire la liste
to make a list
faire la queue
to form a line, to wait in line
faire la sieste
to take a nap
faire la vaisselle
to do the dishes
faire le marché
to do the shopping
faire le ménage
to do the housework
faire les courses
to run errands, to do the shopping
faire les devoirs

to do the homework
faire les provisions
to do the grocery shopping
faire les valises/bagages
to pack
faire un voyage
to take a trip
faire une promenade
to take a walk/stroll
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Translate the following sentences and correctly conjugate faire in the appropriate
form. Remember that some may have more than one answer. (I provide the most
common answer in the answer key.)
Q. The baby is taking a nap.
A. Le bébé fait la sieste.
16.
My mother does the cooking.
__________________________________________________________________________________
17.
The children do the dishes.
__________________________________________________________________________________
18.
I play tennis.
__________________________________________________________________________________
19.
We pay attention.
__________________________________________________________________________________
20.

You sleep in late.
__________________________________________________________________________________
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Part II: Using Verbs Correctly with Questions, Commands, and Such
Answer Key
This section contains all the answers for the practice problems in this chapter.
Compare your answers to the correct answers to see how you fared.
a
Est-ce que tu connais New York? Do you know New York?
b
Marie ne sait pas parler japonais. Marie doesn’t know how to speak Japanese.
c
Nous savons où il habite. We know where he lives.
d
Ils ne connaissent pas la famille du professeur. They don’t know the professor’s family.
e
Vous savez conduire. You know how to drive.
f
Georges joue du violon. Georges plays the violin.
g
Ils ne jouent pas de batterie. They don’t play the drums.
h
Je joue aux échecs. I play chess.
i
Mon frère joue de la guitare. My brother plays the guitar.
j
Les enfants jouent au basketball. The children play basketball.

k
Nous avons soif.
l
Ils ont raison.
m
Tu as besoin de lire.
n
Michael a de la chance.
o
Elle a mal à la tête.
p
Ma mère fait la cuisine.
q
Les enfants font la vaisselle.
r
Je fais du tennis.
s
Nous faisons attention.
t
Tu fais la grasse matinée.
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