In French, there are many verbs that must be accompanied by a preposition—most commonly à (at, to) or de (from, of). Finally, this quiz from Tex’s French Grammar is a great way to brush up on your translation skills while you fine-tune your understanding of the infinitive. infinitif présent examples Hear about what's new at the LLL French Academy, and receive updates on new blog posts and other learning resources that you're going to love! infinitive mood. "I want that you come", with come being in the subjunctive mood). The past infinitive is used in four instances. Even though the French infinitive translates as "to + verb," the French infinitive sometimes needs to be preceded by a preposition. Check out my full course which includes examples in French and… All Rights Reserved. In French there are several phrases, words and structures that are followed by the infinitive. 6. Download and study the list with examples in French and English. Download your test and see how you do. French infinitives are generally equivalent to "to" + verb in English. Check out these flashcards from Quizlet to practice determining whether verbs are followed by the preposition à (to from), de (from, of) or the infinitive. The following French verbs can be followed immediately by verbs in the infinitive form. The infinitive mood is used when the infinitive of a verb is the subject of a sentences. A note on word order and the past infinitive: In day-to-day French, negative constructions precede the infinitive. Click here to get a copy. When the subject of the main clause and the subordinate clause is the same: The sentence Elise est contente qu’elle soit à l’heure (Elise is happy that she is on time) can be rewritten using the infinitive as Elise est contente d’être à l’heure (Elise is happy to be on time). It will not be helpful to translate from English to French because many times we don’t need prepositions in English even though they’re essential in French. you can also use the preposition "le fait de" when you want to use the past or present infinitive as a subject or to state a fact. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. For example, in French the sentence "I want you to come" translates to Je veux que vous veniez (lit. (I am sorry for not having arrived on time.). In short, the infinitive appears pretty basic. In French, an infinitive has one of three endings: -er, -ir, or -re. The best thing to do is work on memorizing these lists. There are even some surprise cards which include other ways to use these difficult prepositions! The construction is known as the causative, and as its name suggests, it's used whenever the subject is causing something to happen. Example: penser In the affirmative, the French verb penser expresses a firm opinion: the dependent clause does not therefore normally have a verb in the subjunctive. Infinitive form We usually categorize a verb into different groups by its present infinitive: ¨ Examples : Nathan joue de la flûte → jouer Charlotte fait du théâtre. "Frire" means "to fry" because it is in infinitive. In French, infinitives end in -er, -ir or -re, which gives an indication of the verb family (or conjugation) that they belong to. (Caroline must wash her hands.). Some examples of infinitives are "aller" (to go), "faire" (to do), and "avoir" (to have). (Preventing is healing. (In a case like this, you’re actually required to use the infinitive because in the first example, elle would refer to someone else, not Elise.). (Reading is traveling. Sign up for a free FluentU trial to watch that video—and more than 1,000 other authentic French videos—with all the learning features. When the subject is implied but not explicitly stated: The sentence Il faut que tu dormes (You must sleep) can be written using the infinitive as Il faut dormir (You must sleep). (I would have preferred to have eaten earlier.). Show always the foreign infinitive if possible. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. In ordinary French, the use of the infinitive as subject is infrequent; it is more usual to use the infinitive as a dislocated term. The infinitive is used as a noun, but not like a noun. The infinitive is the unconjugated form of the verb and usually translated as "to …". Learn when to use the infinitive with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to … (Pour the flour in the mixing bowl.). The French infinitive is a single word with one of the following endings: -er, -ir, or -re: parler, voir, rendre. Because the infinitive has no number or person marker, it’s known as an impersonal verb mood. 2. After having spent time using your practice cards…. Click here for an A2 level lesson on verbs followed directly by infinitives or prepositions and enroll in my full course for free @ LLL French Academy. The infinitive form of a verb in French translates roughly as 'to + verb' in English. In English, the word to always precedes the infinitive; for example, to speak and to dance are infinitives. Over 100,000 French translations of English words and phrases. The next step for us is to see how these infinitive forms are used. These verbs have irregular conjugations. Telekinetic motion is occurring with an infinitive velocity. Dual-verb constructions are constructions that are formed with a semi-auxiliary verb such as aller (to go), devoir [faire quelque chose] (to have to [do something]), espérer (to wish), promettre (to promise) or vouloir (to want to), followed by another verb in the infinitive: Nicole voudrait dormir. In the negation ne…pas precedes the infinitive. (Before eating, I wash my hands.). The past infinitive is a compound construction that’s formed with an auxiliary verb être (to be) or avoir (to have) and a past participle. You like going for a walk. Examples: When you put a modal verb and an infinitive together this is what happens…. It’s time to test yourself! this slightly odd video about what the filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet likes and dislikes, get intimate with French sentence structure, How to Choose Your Own French Learning Tools, 10 Awesome French Podcasts For French Learners, 9 Great Channels to Learn French on YouTube, 10 Tasty Tips for Teaching Yourself French, 7 Awesome Songs to Help You Learn French Through Music, 15 French Idioms You Should Know But Don’t, 15 French Slang Words Every French Learner Should Know. Avoir invité ( e ) à l ’ heure a course about verbs followed. Noun form of a dilemma: Quelle couleur choisir fact of its?... 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