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English Conjugation

The conjugation English is characterized by a limited number of verb forms and some complexity, for the French, about the use of time. Their use is in fact no longer guided by the appearance that the situation of the action on the timeline. Thus, the use of modes and times of French do not necessarily cover the modes and corresponding English weather.

This article examines these two aspects of conjugation in English: the verb forms and usage of time. To avoid confusion the names of English modes and time are kept.

Summary

/ / General

The English language knows:

  • 3 persons, singular and plural. The subjects are personal pronouns I, you, he / she / it in the singular and we, you, They in the plural;
  • 4 modes: indicative , participates , infinitive and conditional ;
  • 2 votes (the active and passive).

The type and number are never marked in the verb form: the personal pronoun or the context that determine them.

Various auxiliaries are used: be (be), have (have), do, "shall / will (make a future action)," should / would (make conditional), etc..

Verb forms

Throughout its conjugation, the verb regularly meets only four forms. This makes the combination quite simple in appearance. The difficulty comes from the subtleties of the use of time is marked by auxiliaries, context, etc..

Verbal
Health Construction Example
Radical book
3 rd pers. This radical + - s s book
Present participle radical + - Eng ing book
Past participle radical + - ed ed book

The rules of spelling

Adding a suffix (- ed or - ing) sometimes leads to the application of spelling rules aiming, in general, to maintain the pronunciation of the radical.

Verbs whose base ends in a vowel silent generally lose that vowel when we add the suffix - or -

  • love loved and loving
  • APPROVED Agreed and agreeing

This rule does not apply when the result is confusing.

  • given age to aging British English: the expected form aging is ambiguous as to its pronunciation: hard g or soft.
  • to monkey (brown) gives the expected shape as singeing singing confusing with the verb to sing (sing) which also singing.''

The i before e becomes final y before-ing.

  • lying bound

The final y preceded by a consonant becomes i before-ed.

  • deny denied
  • allied ally.

If the radical ends with a series consonant - vowel - consonant and the last syllable of the verb is accented, then the final consonant is doubled before adding the suffix to maintain the pronunciation of the vowel.

  • set setting
  • Occurring Occur

There are some exceptions, such as diagramming, kidnapping, programming, Worshipping ... Moreover, this rule does not apply in American English : yodeling, traveling, ...

Verbs whose root ends in a k-c s'adjoignent before the suffix-ing.

  • panicking panic

Irregular forms

Some verbs form the simple past and past participle of irregular need to memorize. The full list of irregular verbs is available in the .

The infinitive

The English infinitive is said

The infinitive is found in several aspects (past and present, active and passive):

  • present active infinitive (to) adjust (set)
  • active past infinitive (to) Have Adjusted (be set)
  • This passive infinitive (to) Be Adjusted (be set)
  • the perfect passive infinitive (to) Have Been Adjusted (being set)

The infinitive is obtained by placing negative to if not before the infinitive is complete before the base word if it is incomplete:

  • present active infinitive: not (to) adjust (not set)
  • past infinitive active: not (to) Have Adjusted (not paying)
  • present infinitive passive: not (to) Be Adjusted (not to be set)
  • perfect passive infinitive: not (to) Have Been Adjusted (not having been set)

In American English, and rarely in British English where the turn is bad news Participle

Present participle

The present participle (present participle) is formed by adding the suffix - ing to the radical and if necessary by applying the rules of spelling.

  • go going
  • book booking
  • set setting

Past participle

The past participle (past participle) of regular verbs is formed by adding the suffix - ed to the radical and applying, if necessary, rules of spelling. It is invariable in gender and number.

  • work WORKED

Many verbs, the most common does not comply with these rules and have an irregular shape. The complete list of these verbs and their forms is available in the ' .

Area code

Simple present

This simple (simple present) is formed by adding, for the 3rd person singular, the ending to the verbal base. All other forms are invariable.

To play To think
I play I think
You play You think
He, she, it s play He, she, it think s
We play We think
You play You think
THEY play THEY think
  • At the 3rd pers. sg. verbs to do and to go take the ending - es: She Does, he goes.
  • Negative form: I do not play / think (contracted form: I do not play / think)
  • Interrogative: do I play / think
  • Interro-negative form: I do not play / think (contracted form: I do not play / think)

Future Simple

The simple future (simple future) uses the modal auxiliary "shall" and "will to all people and followed by the verbal base:

To play To think
I Shall / will play I Shall / will think
You Shall / will play You Shall / will think
He, she, it "shall / will play He, she, it "shall / will think
We Shall / will play We Shall / will think
You Shall / will play You will / shall "think
Theys "shall / will play Theys "shall / will think
  • Negative form: I Shall / will not play / think (contractions: I shan't / Will not play / think)
  • Interrogative form: shall / will I play / think

The future can be expressed in different ways (see below: Expression of the future), especially using the present conjugation (be + ing) or phrases to be going or about to BE.

Future Perfect

The future perfect (future perfect) uses the auxiliary "shall" and "will monitor the past infinitive without to:

To play To think
I Shall / Will Have Played I Shall / Will Have Thought
You Shall / Will Have Played You Shall / Will Have Thought
He, she, it "shall / will Have Played He, she, it "shall / will Have Thought
We Shall / Will Have Played We Shall / Will Have Thought
You Shall / Will Have Played You Shall / Will Have Thought
Theys Shall / Will Have Played Theys Shall / Will Have Thought
  • Negative form: I Shall / Will not Have played / Thought (contractions: I shan't / Will not Have played / Thought)
  • Interrogative form: shall / will I Have played / Thought
  • Examples of use:
    • I Will Have finished my essay by Thursday: I will finish my dissertation by Thursday
    • By Then She Will Have Been There For Three Weeks: That will be three weeks when she comes / She will be there for three weeks then

Simple Past

The past simple (simple past) of regular verbs in the same form to all people, the past participle (see above).

The simple past form of irregular verbs is to study by heart.

  • to eat, ate
  • to Think, Thought
  • to set, set

The full list of irregular verbs is available in the .

To play To think
I play ed I Thought
You play ed You Thought
He, she, it play ed He, she, it Thought
We play ed We Thought
You play ed You Thought
THEY play ed Theys Thought

The simple past verbs are used differently in French than in English (see below).

Present perfect

The past tense (present perfect) is constructed with the auxiliary in this conjugated Have and follow the past participle (see the construction of the past tense in French).

To play To think
I Have play ed I Have Thought
Have you play ed You Have Thought
He, she, it has play ed He, she, it has Thought
We Have play ed We Have Thought
Have you play ed You Have Thought
Have THEY play ed THEY Have Thought
  • Negative form: I Have not played / Thought (contracted form: I have not played / Thought)
  • Interrogative: have I played / Thought
  • Interro-negative form: have I not played / Thought (contracted form: I Have not played / Thought)

Past perfect

The more-than-perfect (pluperfect or past perfect) is constructed with the auxiliary Have conjugate the simple past and past participle followed (see the construction of more-than-perfect French).

To play To think
I Had play ed I Had Thought
You Had play ed Thought You Had
He, she, it HAD play ed He, She, It Had Thought
We Had play ed We Had Thought
You Had play ed Thought You Had
THEY HAD play ed THEY HAD Thought
  • Negative: I had not played / Thought (contracted form: I Had not played / Thought)
  • Interrogative form: HAD I played / Thought
  • Interro-negative form: I HAD not played / Thought (contracted form: I Had not played / Thought)

The conditional

Like the present shall and Will used to form periphrastic future value of the preterite Would should and are used to form periphrastic value conditional. Should and Would unaccented and are then often reduced to 's in the language spoken.

The British contingent has two times the conditional (present conditional) and the past conditional (past conditional).

Present conditional

To play
I "should / would play
You "should / would play
He, she, it "should / would play
We "should / would play
You "should / would play
THEY "should / would play
  • Negative form: I Should / would not play (contracted form: I Should / Would not play)
  • Interrogative form: should / would I Have Played

Conditional perfect

To play
I Should / Would Have Played
You Should / Would Have Played
He, She, It Should / Would Have Played
We Should / Would Have Played
You Should / Would Have Played
Theys Should / Would Have Played
  • Negative form: I Should / Would not Have Played (contracted form: I Should / Would not Have played)
  • Interrogative form: should / would I Have Played

Imperative

The imperative is found mainly in the 2nd person in two forms, yes and no.

The shape is so similar to the infinitive without to:

  • Play!: Play / Play!

The negative form is preceded by do not (or contraction do not):

  • Do not play!: Do not Play / Do not play!

Other persons:
- In the affirmative, is preceded by the verbal base letter followed by the personal pronoun object:

  • Let me think!: Let me think!
  • Let him go!: Let him go!
  • Let us leave! (Let's contracted): Let's go!
  • Let them speak! (Commonly contracted Let'em in the spoken language): That he / she speak!

- In the negative, or is preceded by the verbal base not or do not you add (or contraction do not) to let:

  • Let's not stay here! Or Do not let's stay here!: Do not stay here!

The passive voice

The auxiliary of the passive voice is the verb to be.

To construct the passive voice, have combined to Be on time and in the desired fashion and is followed by the past participle.

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream Was Written by Shakespeare

Conjugation of the auxiliary to be and To Have

In the present

To be To Have
I am I Have
You are You Have
He, She, It Is He, she, it has
We are We Have
You are You Have
They Are Have Theys

In the past

To be To Have
I Was I Had
You Were You Had
He, She, It Was He, She, It Had
We Were We Had
You Were You Had
They Were THEY HAD

On this basis, the training of others is proper time:

  • I Have Been: I was - I have HAD: I had
  • I Had Been: I was - I HAD HAD: I had

Usage patterns and time aspects of the verb

The use of moods and tenses in English is related to the situation of the action in time, duration of action and the sequence of tenses. That is why a French time did not necessarily lead to its natural counterpart in English.

Aspects

The progressive aspect

Using the aspect be + - ing, the speaker makes a greenhouse staging. The event is seen in its accomplishment, as on a theater stage, or is stressed and discussed by the speaker to mark disapproval, annoyance, etc.. :

  • They Are HAVING breakfast.

It focuses on the unfolding scene, the scene is set.
Gloss : Right now, before our eyes, they eat breakfast.

  • She Was Waiting for the bus When the rain started "

The first part of the proposal provides a scenic setting in which an event occurred.
Gloss: As she waited for her bus, suddenly the rain began to fall.

  • He Is Always Complaining about The Noise

The event is common, it does not unfold in front of the speakers, but it is staged with an evocative power that makes it instantly recognizable.
Gloss: He spends his time complaining about the noise (it becomes tedious).

If you can, for some time, advance translation, others are untranslatable into French: their use in English is based on the sequence of tenses and time imposed by the aspect that we want to give to the verb.

The following examples are well aware of a number of cases:

  • The Earth revolve around the sun: The Earth orbits the sun
  • I work on Saturday: I work on Saturdays
  • Often it Snows in January: It often snows in January

illustrate the use of this simple.

  • What are you reading?: What are you reading?
  • Look, it's snowing!: Look, it's snowing!
  • Be quiet, I'm working!: Shut up, I'm working!

illustrate the use of present progressive.

The appearance record

The structure consists of the auxiliary To Have followed the past participle present the result of an action, the focus is on the outcome, the consequences of the action rather than action itself. We also talk about assessment:

  • I've lost my glasses

It emphasizes the frustration at not being able to read rather than the loss itself.
Gloss: I lost my glasses (I can not do anything)

There is often a cause and consequence between a statement and a statement to this the present perfect:

  • I Have found a job: I Feel Relieved

Expression of this

This is expressed in two ways:

  • this is simple: I speak French,
  • either the present continuous: I am playing.

The present simple is used to the certainty or statements whose validity is permanent:

  • Water boils at 100 C: water boils at 100 C.

This expresses a continuous action in this way:

  • I am playing I'm playing

Expression of future

There are 7 ways to express the future in English, depending on the grade that you want to make.

  • For a project organized, planned: present continuous
    • Tonight I am eating at The Restaurant: Tonight, I eat at the restaurant (I've already booked a table)
  • For an intention to be going to
    • This evening I am going to eat at The Restaurant: Tonight, I'll eat at the restaurant (at least that's my intent).
  • For a decision now and immediate implementation: future friendly
    • I Will leave: I'm (I take my coat at the moment and I'm leaving)
  • for a prediction: future friendly
    • Will it rain: it will rain (no doubt)
  • Shalla. The auxiliary modality Will and "shall refer to the field of probability.
  • The imminent future: to be about to
    • We are about to land: we will end up in an instant
  • To express the future when there is a time adverbial in the sentence. This is particularly true when discussing a future plan and whose implementation is almost certain (particularly transport timetables): this simple.
    • The train leaves at 4:16 pm: The train leaves at 16:16 and sometimes (like every day)

The simple past

The simple past is two values:

  • a lag in terms of time: the past
  • or "modal stall": the "preterit modal," which involves the hypothetical, unreal, imaginary)

Past

The simple past is used when the predicative relation is in the past

  • or by an adverb of time, additional time:
    • He Went to Paris yesterday: He went to Paris yesterday (literally it went)
    • I Lived in Toronto from 1992 to 1997: I lived in Toronto from 1992 to 1997 (I lived literally)
  • or, in the absence of any time stamp, by the context:
    • Napoleon Died at St Helena, Napoleon died on St. Helena (Napoleon died lit.)
    • I was born in Scotland: I was born in Scotland (literally, I was brought into the world / I was born)
    • Where did you buy your car?: Where did you buy your car? (Lit. Where do you buy)

The first two sentences indicate explicitly a past context. The next two involve a clear context past (Napoleon's death, the birth of the speaker). In the past we used a past tense as each time one looks at the conditions under which the trial took place (here, "where").

This value is the simple past simple past in French (written literary language) or tense (language "ordinary").

Icon to highlight the importance of text It is common for French use a present perfect instead of simple past by French Layer:
  • it arrived yesterday: he has arrived yesterday No No
  • he arrived yesterday he Arrived yesterday Yes check.svg Yes

It must be remembered that past context necessarily entails the use of simple past.

The simple past may also correspond to the imperfect French in the following cases:

  • the verb describes a state or characteristic (age) of the subject:
    • Mozart Was a Genius: Mozart was a genius
    • Mrs. Morland Was a very good woman ( Jane Austen , Northanger Abbey ): Her mother was a very brave woman
    • He Looked very tired: he looked very tired
    • Rene Dumont Always Wore Red jumpers: Rene Dumont always wore a red sweater
  • we place ourselves in a historical perspective:
    • On May 10, Churchill WAS Appointed Prime Minister: On 10 May, Churchill was appointed Prime Minister
  • an iteration (repetition) is implied by the context:
    • Seeing Her Always made me feel like I Was catching a rarity ( John Fowles , The Collector ): The always made me see the effect of surprise is something rare

The preterit modal

The simple past or modal is also used to express the hypothetical, what is desirable, in short any situation which is not reality:

  • If I Knew, I Would answer (goal I do not know): If I knew, I would say
  • I Wish You Were Careful more in the future (you are not, or have-nots beens, careful): It would be nice if you were / I wish you to be more careful in the future
  • I'd Rather Would not he come (but I'm afraid he Will Come): I'd rather it not come
  • Suppose We Had a Million dollars ... (however We Do not Have a Million dollars): If we had a million dollars

In this use the preterit is in French

  • in the imperfect ("if I were rich ...)
  • or the subjunctive ("I'd like you ...").

The present participle

The present participle (present participle) is used to build the progressive form , :

  • He Is Another writing book about beavers: He is writing / writes another book about beavers
  • I Have Been writing all afternoon: I wrote the whole afternoon

The past participle

The past participle (past participle) is used for training of compound tenses and the passive voice :

  • I Have Written a letter.
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream Was Written by Shakespeare

References

  • Jean-Claude SOUESME, English Grammar in Context, Ophrys, 1992.
  • Henri Adamczewski and Jean-Pierre Gabilan, The Keys of English grammar, Armand Colin, 1992.
  • S. Berland-Delepine, English grammar at school in the 2nd degree, with the collaboration of R. Butler, Ophrys, 1985.

Notes

  1. See The New Fowler's Modern Usage Franais, third edition, edited by RW Burchfield, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996 737: "First, all the Evidence Points Towards the reality of The Feeling That It is" wrong "to split infinitives See also

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