Giáo trình động từ tiếng Pháp - Part VI The Part of Tens - Chapter 23 pps

Chapter 23
Ten Most Frequently Mixed-Up Verbs
In This Chapter
ᮣ Deciphering nuances
ᮣ Recognizing false friends
F
rench has many ways a nonnative speaker can mix up verbs or use them incorrectly.
The mix-ups are a result of these three problems:
ߜ These verbs sound like or are spelled similarly to an English verb. An example is
rester. This verb doesn’t mean to rest; it means to stay.
ߜ These verbs have the same meaning in English but are used differently in French. For
example, the verb
visiter means (you guessed it) to visit, but you can’t use it to say that
you’re visiting friends. (Refer to “Visiting a Place or Visiting a Person” in this chapter.)
ߜ Other verbs change their meanings by changing the preposition that follows them. One
common example is the verb
jouer (to play). It can take the preposition à or de, depend-
ing on what you’re playing. (Check out “Playing a Game or Playing an Instrument” later in
this chapter for more info.)
This chapter shows you how to use these verbs correctly and explains the nuances that
they may entail. (Chapter 10 also looks at different types of verbs that nonnatives some-
times mix up.)
Visiting a Place or Visiting a Person
French has two different verbs that mean to visit. One is visiter, which is a regular -er verb
conjugated just like
parler (to speak) — see Chapter 2 for more on regular -er verbs. Use the
verb
visiter to visit places, such as cities, countries, museums, and so on.
Nous avons visité le Louvre l’année dernière. (We visited the Louvre last year.)
Ils visiteront le Tibet au printemps. (They will visit Tibet in the spring.)
To visit a person, use the verbal construction

rendre visite à, which translates as to pay a
visit to
someone. You conjugate the verb rendre, which is a regular -re verb, and keep visite
the way it is. Just remember to add the preposition à before the person or people you’re vis-
iting. The person or people to whom you’re paying a visit are always the indirect object of
this verb.
Il rend visite à ses grands-parents chaque été. (He visits his grandparents every summer.)
Est-ce que tu as rendu visite à tes amis hier? (Did you visit your friends yesterday?)
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Spending Time or Spending Money
English doesn’t have a difference between spending time or spending money because
both constructions use the same verb. In French, the verb to use when you spend
time doing something is
passer.
Je passe mon temps à jardiner
. (I spend my time gardening.)
Les enfants ont passé leur été à jouer à la plage. (The children spent their summer
playing at the beach.
)
In addition to meaning
to spend, you also use passer in the construction passer un
examen,
which means to take an exam, such as with Les étudiants ont passé cinq
examens cette semaine
(The students took five exams this week). In this context, the
verb doesn’t actually tell you anything about whether the students passed the exam
or not.
To express spending money, use the verb
dépenser.
Elle a dépensé tout son salaire.

(She spent her entire salary.)
Nous dépensons beaucoup d’argent au centre commercial. (We spend a lot of
money at the mall.
)
Sometimes you use the verb
dépenser to express other things that you spend (or use),
such as gas, water, or electricity.
La climatisation dépense beaucoup d’électricité. (Air conditioning uses a lot of
electricity.
)
Knowing People or Places
or Knowing Something
French has two different verbs that mean to know. You use one for people and places,
and you use the other for facts and saying that you know how to do something.
Use the verb
connaître with people, places, and things. It expresses the idea that
you’re acquainted with or have a familiarity with someone or something. You need to
follow this verb with a direct object because it’s a transitive verb; it can’t be followed
by a clause or by another verb. (Check out Chapter 1 for more on transitive verbs.)
Je connais le PDG de l’entreprise. (I know the CEO of the company.)
Connaissez-vous l’histoire de la France? (Do you know the history of France?)
Nous connaissons le Quartier Latin. (We know the Latin Quarter.)
On the other hand, the verb
savoir means to know facts, such as dates, names,
addresses, and telephone numbers, or to know something by heart, as well as to
know how to do something.
Il sait le numéro de téléphone de Céline. (He knows Celine’s telephone number.)
Nous savons parler arabe. (We know how to speak Arabic.)
Je sais quand il part. (I know when he’s leaving.)
When you want to say,

I know or I don’t know, you use the verb savoir.
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Savez-vous quelle heure il est? (Do you know what time it is?)
Je ne sais pas. (I don’t know.)
Playing a Game or Playing an Instrument
To play a game, a sport, or an instrument, use the verb jouer (to play), which is a reg-
ular
-er verb (check out Chapter 2). That’s not so confusing, but the preposition that
follows this verb makes all the difference. Use
jouer with the preposition à when play-
ing sports or a game.
Les enfants jouent au football le samedi. (The children play soccer on Saturdays.)
Nous jouons aux échecs. (We play chess.)
When playing a musical instrument, use
jouer with the preposition de.
Mes filles jouent du violon.
(My daughters play violin.)
Il aime jouer de la batterie. (He likes to play the drums.)
Leaving or Leaving Something Behind
The verbs partir, s’en aller, quitter, and laisser all mean to leave, but you use them
differently.
Partir and s’en aller are synonyms. When you want to say quite simply I am leaving
or someone or something is leaving, use these verbs.
Je m’en vais. (I’m leaving.)
Il part. (He is leaving.)
Le train part à dix heures. (The train leaves at 10 o’clock.)
On the other hand, the verb
quitter is always followed by a direct object. In other

words, use this verb when you’re leaving a place or a person. When
quitter is used
with people, it usually means
to abandon.
Elle a quitté la salle. (She left the room.)
Il a quitté sa femme. (He left his wife.)
The verb
laisser means that you’re leaving something behind.
J’ai laissé mes clés dans la voiture. (I left my keys in the car.)
Ils laissent leurs affaires partout. (They leave their things everywhere.)
You also use the verb
laisser to mean to allow or to let someone do something when
it’s followed by an infinitive.
Je laisse jouer les enfants. (I let the children play.)
Il me laisse partir. (He’s letting me leave.)
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Returning Home, Returning Something,
or Just Returning
French has four verbs that mean to return or to come back. They are retourner, rentrer,
revenir,
and rendre. You use retourner for coming back to a place other than home.
Le chien retourne à son endroit favori. (The dog returns to his favorite spot.)
Les étudiants retournent à l’école. (The students return to school.)
You use the verb
revenir (to come back) like the verb retourner (to return), but
revenir implies to come back to the same place you set off from. The verbs retourner
and revenir take the auxiliary être when used in a compound past tense like the
passé composé. (See Chapter 12 for more on the passé composé.) Unlike

revenir,
retourner
can be followed by a direct object, in which case it takes the auxiliary avoir.
Je reviendrai dans un quart d’heure.
(I’ll be back in 15 minutes.)
You use the verb
rentrer to mean to return home. Remember that this verb, like the
verbs
revenir and retourner, takes the auxiliary être when you use it in a compound
past tense like the passé composé.
Nous sommes rentrés tard hier soir. (We came back [home] late last night.)
Elle rentre toujours à sept heures. (She always comes home at 7 o’clock.)
You use
rendre when you return something, usually a borrowed object, or when you
give something back.
Il a rendu les livres à la bibliothèque. (He returned the books to the library.)
Le professeur rend les compositions. (The professor is giving back the compositions.)
Leading, Bringing, or Taking Someone
The verbs amener, ramener, emmener, and remmener are all compounds of the
verb
mener (to lead).
Le Maire mène le défilé. (The Mayor is leading the parade.)
Elle mène une vie privée. (She leads a private life.)
Amener means to bring someone somewhere, and ramener means to bring someone back.
Elle amène ses enfants à l’école. (She brings her children to school.)
Elle ramène ses enfants de l’école. (She brings back her children from school.)
Emmener means to take someone along, and remmener means to take someone back.
Quand nous allons en vacances, nous emmenons notre fille. (When we go on
vacation, we take our daughter along.
)

Il doit remmener sa petite amie. (He has to take his girlfriend back.)
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Carrying, Bringing, Taking,
or Taking Back Something
Apporter, rapporter, emporter, and remporter are compounds of porter (to wear).
You can use these verbs with things. You also use the verb
porter when you carry
something.
Nous portons notre sac à dos. (We are carrying our book bag.)
Le petit chaperon rouge porte une corbeille. (Little Red Riding Hood is carrying a
basket.
)
The verb
apporter means to bring something, and rapporter is to bring something back.
Je vais apporter une bouteille de vin. (I am going to bring a bottle of wine.)
Papa, rapporte des chocolats de Suisse. (Dad, bring some chocolates back from
Switzerland.
)
To take something along with you, use the verb
emporter.
Nous emportons des vêtements chauds pour notre voyage en Alaska.
(We are
taking warm clothes for our trip to Alaska.
)
Also, use
emporter when you take out or carry out food.
Ce restaurant a des plats délicieux à emporter. (This restaurant has delicious
meals to/for takeout.

)
Remporter means to take back or to take away.
Remportez le bifteck, ce n’est pas assez cuit. (Take back the steak; it’s not cooked
enough.
)
Les étudiants remportent leurs cahiers à la fin du semestre. (The students take
back their notebooks at the end of the semester.
)
Thinking or Thinking About
In French, the verb penser (to think) is a regular -er verb. However, you can follow this
verb with either the preposition
à or the preposition de. How do you choose between
these two prepositions? Well, if you want to say that you’re
thinking about someone or
something,
use the preposition à.
Il pense à ses enfants.
(He’s thinking of/about his children.)
Nous pensons à notre avenir. (We’re thinking about our future.)
You use
penser de to ask the question What do you think about someone or something?
Qu’est-ce que tu penses de ton patron? (What do you think of your boss?)
Que pensent-ils du film? (What do they think about the film?)
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Don’t use the preposition de to answer these questions. Instead, use penser que in
your response.
Qu’est-ce que tu penses de ton patron? (What do you think of your boss?)
You answer:

Je pense qu’il est gentil. (I think he is nice.)
Waiting or Attending
French has many false friends, or faux amis. These false friends are words that may
look the same as a word in English but have a different meaning. This is the case with
the verbs
attendre and assister à. Keep in mind that attendre doesn’t mean to attend
and assister à doesn’t mean to assist. In fact, assister à means to attend. Don’t forget to
use the preposition
à after this verb.
Nous assisterons à la conference. (We will attend the lecture/conference.)
Ils assistent au match. (They are attending the game.)
Attendre means to wait for and is a transitive verb in French that’s followed by a
direct object. (Refer to Chapter 1 for more on transitive verbs.)
Elle attend ses amies. (She’s waiting for her friends.)
J’attends les résultats. (I’m waiting for the results.)
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