Source: https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-4-1-verbs [Revision notes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes.md) › [Primary](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary.md) › [French](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french.md) › [French: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum.md) › Verbs # 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 ![Infinitive of a verb](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2025-07/bafb6dcc-9d64-4a38-bc75-b1fba3a6f6df/c40ee196-8863-4aae-8496-48dad805ced9.png) - 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 ![Using a verb in a sentence](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2025-07/57f3185e-ffe1-4491-b1f1-f534dc28c5f2/db301fbc-5a5b-41d7-b799-e8a84058e07e.png) - 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 ![Who or what is doing the verb](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2025-07/fee264f3-9eed-4837-be34-ff2895853490/9d09b63b-2241-4964-82a0-d878d5903643.png) - 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 ![Tense of the verb](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2025-07/60825dd8-56e1-40cc-99e5-25a6c3a706a8/32604897-9978-4c1a-ba06-ef377eedf3da.png) - 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.** [Practise this topic for free](https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/2c9b24aa-705c-4eee-9def-f4ab1beb8c03/section/eede1e60-c3d9-4889-9849-4f48a61c3648/session) - Previous topic: [4.3.4 Possessive Adjectives](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-3-4-possessive-adjectives.md) - Next topic: [4.4.2 Verbs Pronouns](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-4-2-verbs-pronouns.md) ## French: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum contents ### 1 Family & Home - 1.1 Family - [1.1.1 My Name](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-1-my-name.md) - [1.1.2 Age](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-2-age.md) - [1.1.3 Talking About Yourself](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-3-talking-about-yourself.md) - [1.1.4 Hair](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-4-hair.md) - [1.1.5 Eyes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-5-eyes.md) - [1.1.6 Describing Myself (1/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-6-describing-myself-12.md) - [1.1.7 Describing Myself (2/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-7-describing-myself-22.md) - [1.1.8 Family Members](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-8-family-members.md) - [1.1.9 Family Members: Examples](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-9-family-members-examples.md) - [1.1.10 Family Members: Eldest, Youngest](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-10-family-members-eldest-youngest.md) - [1.1.11 Extended Family Members (1/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-11-extended-family-members-12.md) - [1.1.12 Extended Family Members (2/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-12-extended-family-members-22.md) - [1.1.13 Pets](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-13-pets.md) - [1.1.14 Other Pets](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-1-14-other-pets.md) - 1.2 Numbers - [1.2.1 Numbers 1-10](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-1-numbers-1-10.md) - [1.2.2 Numbers 11-20](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-2-numbers-11-20.md) - [1.2.3 Numbers 21-29](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-3-numbers-21-29.md) - [1.2.4 Numbers: 30-39](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-4-numbers-30-39.md) - [1.2.5 Numbers: 40-49](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-5-numbers-40-49.md) - [1.2.6 Numbers: 50-59](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-6-numbers-50-59.md) - [1.2.7 Numbers: 60-69](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-7-numbers-60-69.md) - [1.2.8 Numbers: 70-79](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-8-numbers-70-79.md) - [1.2.9 Numbers: 80-89](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-9-numbers-80-89.md) - [1.2.10 Numbers: 90-100](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/1-2-10-numbers-90-100.md) ### 2 Lifestyle - 2.1 Sports and games - [2.1.1 Games](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/2-1-1-games.md) - [2.1.2 Sports: Jouer](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/2-1-2-sports-jouer.md) - [2.1.3 Other Sports: Jouer](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/2-1-3-other-sports-jouer.md) - [2.1.4 Sports: Faire](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/2-1-4-sports-faire.md) - [2.1.5 Other Sports: Faire](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/2-1-5-other-sports-faire.md) ### 3 Education & Future Plans - 3.1 School - [3.1.1 Subjects](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/3-1-1-subjects.md) - [3.1.2 Talking About Subjects (1/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/3-1-2-talking-about-subjects-12.md) - [3.1.3 Talking About Subjects (2/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/3-1-3-talking-about-subjects-22.md) - [3.1.4 School Routine](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/3-1-4-school-routine.md) - [3.1.5 Describing Your School](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/3-1-5-describing-your-school.md) - [3.1.6 School Uniform (1/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/3-1-6-school-uniform-12.md) - [3.1.7 School Uniform (2/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/3-1-7-school-uniform-22.md) ### 4 Grammar - 4.1 Negatives - [4.1.1 Using Not](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-1-1-using-not.md) - 4.2 Nouns - [4.2.1 Nouns: A & The](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-1-nouns-a-and-the.md) - [4.2.2 Proper Nouns](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-2-proper-nouns.md) - [4.2.3 Days of the Week](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-3-days-of-the-week.md) - [4.2.4 Months of the Year](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-4-months-of-the-year.md) - [4.2.5 Masculine Plural](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-5-masculine-plural.md) - [4.2.6 Feminine Plural](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-6-feminine-plural.md) - [4.2.7 The](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-7-the.md) - [4.2.8 A](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-8-a.md) - [4.2.9 De (1/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-9-de-12.md) - [4.2.10 De (2/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-10-de-22.md) - [4.2.11 À](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-2-11-a.md) - 4.3 Adjectives - [4.3.1 French Adjectives](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-3-1-french-adjectives.md) - [4.3.2 Singular Adjectives](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-3-2-singular-adjectives.md) - [4.3.3 Plural Adjectives](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-3-3-plural-adjectives.md) - [4.3.4 Possessive Adjectives](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-3-4-possessive-adjectives.md) - 4.4 Verbs - [4.4.1 Verbs](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-4-1-verbs.md) - [4.4.2 Verbs Pronouns](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-4-2-verbs-pronouns.md) - 4.5 Adverbs - [4.5.1 Adverbials of Manner](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-5-1-adverbials-of-manner.md) - [4.5.2 Adverbials of Manner: Good, Badly, Fast](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-5-2-adverbials-of-manner-good-badly-fast.md) - [4.5.3 Adverbials of Time](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-5-3-adverbials-of-time.md) - [4.5.4 Adverbials of Place](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-5-4-adverbials-of-place.md) - 4.6 Present Tense - [4.6.1 Regular ER Verbs](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-1-regular-er-verbs.md) - [4.6.2 Common ER Verbs: Parler](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-2-common-er-verbs-parler.md) - [4.6.3 Common ER Verbs: Porter](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-3-common-er-verbs-porter.md) - [4.6.4 Common ER Verbs: Rester](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-4-common-er-verbs-rester.md) - [4.6.5 Avoir - To Have](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-5-avoir-to-have.md) - [4.6.6 Être - To Be](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-6-etre-to-be.md) - [4.6.7 Faire - To Do](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-7-faire-to-do.md) - [4.6.8 Aller - To Go](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-6-8-aller-to-go.md) - 4.7 Future Tense - [4.7.1 Future Tense](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-7-1-future-tense.md) - 4.8 Conjunctions - [4.8.1 To Make Sentences Longer](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-8-1-to-make-sentences-longer.md) - [4.8.2 To Add Extra Information (1/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-8-2-to-add-extra-information-12.md) - [4.8.3 To Add Extra Information (2/2)](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/primary/french/french-year-5-and-6-national-curriculum/4-8-3-to-add-extra-information-22.md)