Opinion

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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on June 25, 2009 at 5:24pm

Yes, sorry for the typo-- obviously a Freudian slip as I was typing the English, where it's definitely "e"!

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Permalink Reply by Frank on June 23, 2009 at 1:20pm

Indeed, "j'ai" and "j'aie" sound exactly the same.

The subjunctive tense is quite difficult, even for native speakers.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on June 24, 2009 at 11:12am

It seems you could always avoid the subjunctive form and write the indicative form.

Do the French always avoid the subjunctive and use the indicative?

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Permalink Reply by Frank on June 24, 2009 at 11:20am

Unfortunately not :)

The subjonctive present is actually used a lot. The example above ("C'est le meilleur repas que j'ai jamsie mangé") is a good one.

However :

- There's always a way to say the same thing using the indicative. So if the subjonctive pisses you off, you can work around it and speak/write without it.

- However, you will hear it and read it for sure. But if you know the verb, you're likely to understand the meaning even in the subjonctive form.

- Other subjonctive tenses do exist, but they're never used. If you want to learn the subjonctive, you can learn only the present variant. Trust me, the other ones are still in grammar book, but nowhere else.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on June 24, 2009 at 11:34am

You should always write 'French'.
You should not write 'french'.

My french teacher is ... (wrong)
My French teacher i ... ( correct)

I studied french some 10 years ago. (wrong)
I studied French some 10 years ago. ( correct)

I have learnt it is incorrect to write the following sentences in French without using the subjunctive form.

He is the best French teacher I have ever had.

Could you write it in French using both subjunctive and indicative forms?

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Permalink Reply by Frank on June 24, 2009 at 11:40am

Subjunctive :
Il est le meilleur professeur de français que j'aie jamais eu.

Indicative ("passé composé) :
Je n'ai jamais eu de meilleur professeur de français.

The meaning is 100% the same.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on June 24, 2009 at 11:50am

Frank

Indicative ("passé composé) :
Je n'ai jamais eu de meilleur professeur de français.
............................................................................

I have learnt 'le passé composé' equals to English past tense.

'Frank is the best French teacher I have ever had' is present perfect.

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Permalink Reply by Frank on June 24, 2009 at 12:00pm

"Je n'ai jamais eu de meilleur professeur de français." -> the verb is "j'ai eu". And it's definitely passé composé.

A direct translation would be "I've never had ..."

It's continous, the statement is still true nowadays. So use the passé composé.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on June 24, 2009 at 2:25pm

Thanks Frank

So 'le passé composé' can be used both 'the simple past' and 'the present perfect'. I didn't know this.

Il est le meilleur professeur de français que j'aie jamais rencontré.
Is the above correct?
He is the best French teacher I have ever met.

Permalink Reply by Frank on June 24, 2009 at 2:28pm

Hello Crack1,

(for some reason, replying to your answer doesn't seem to be an option?)

Anyway, "Il est le meilleur professeur de français que j'aie jamais rencontré" is absolutely correct.

Bravo !

Permalink Reply by Frank on June 24, 2009 at 2:51pm

The passé composé is used a lot is French. I'd say the simple present is obviously the most common tense, the passé composé comes next, then the futur, then the imparfait, then the present conditionnel, then the subjonctif, then the passé simple (which, in spite of its name, is quite complex), then... the rest :)
I'd suggest you learn conjugation in this order. Focus on tenses that are actually useful most of the time.

You should use the passé composé in this context:
- You're describing something that happened in the past
- What you're describing is still relevant today or it can still happen again

You should use the imparfait in this context:
- You're describing something that happened in the past
- But it's over now. It's not relevant any more.
- OR what you are saying is actually an introduction to the real story. Like "While I was doing ..." (...something happened). It can be used as an alternative to the past continuous.

Here's an example. "Fumer" means "to smoke". "Le mois dernier" means "last month".

"Le mois dernier, j'ai fumé des cigarettes" => last month, you smoke. And today, you're (probably) still a smoker.

"Le mois dernier, je fumais des cigarettes" => last month, you smoke. But you've quit smoking.

With this simple example, you can understand why the passé composé is very frequent. You describe something from the past, but that has no reason not to happen again. What happened is not unusual.

Here's another example:

"Hier j'ai joué au basketball"
"Hier, je jouais au basketball"

Can you explain the difference between both sentences?

Permalink Reply by Crack1 on June 24, 2009 at 3:09pm

Thanks Frank

"Hier j'ai joué au basketball"
"Hier, je jouais au basketball"
.............................................................................
Yesterday I played basketball.
I played basketball yesterday.

Yesterday I have played basketball. (wrong)
I have played basketball yesterday. (wrong)

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