Verbs
French: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum, topic 4.4.1
Verbs
Verbs tell us what is happening in a sentence. This could be an action (e.g. to walk, to play) or a ‘state of being’ (e.g. I am tired).
Infinitive of a verb
- You will find the infinitive of a verb in the dictionary.
- In English, the infinitive of a verb starts with ‘to’.
- In French, the infinitive of a verb is just one word:
- manger – to eat
- regarder – to watch
- être – to be
- avoir – to have
Using a verb in a sentence
- To use a verb in a sentence, we have to change the infinitive.
- Two things tell us how to change the infinitive:
- Who or what is doing the verb (the subject of the verb).
- The tense of the verb (when the verb is happening).
Who or what is doing the verb
- In French, you change the verb depending on who or what is doing the verb.
- Je joue. – I am playing.
- Nous jouons. – We are playing.
Tense of the verb
- In French, you change the verb depending on the tense of the verb.
- The tense can be past, present or future.
- For example:
- Je joue. – I play. (present simple)
- J’ai joué. – I played. (simple past)
Test yourself on Verbs
What is a verb?
Which one of these verbs is an infinitive?
Who or what is doing the verb in this sentence?
Nous aimons regarder la télé.