Putting It TogetherAn ER verb assembly kit
Karin White – French teacherC&I 401 – Fall 2005 Dr. Cheri ToledoCurriculum Web- Middle School FrenchOctober 28, 2005
Putting It TogetherAn ER verb assembly kit
A do-it-yourself program for constructing complete thoughts and actions using regular ER verbs
Setup
Getting Started
Projects
FAQ’s
Owner’s Manual
Setup
The process of verb conjugationParts and accessories
La Conjugaison des VerbesVerb Conjugation
So what is conjugation? What does “conjugate” mean?
In grammatical terms, it’s…Taking the regular form of the verb (such as: to have, to eat, to dance, to speak, etc) and changing it to agree with the subject of the verb (the person/object performing the action)
Lost? Don’t you worry. We conjugate verbs in English every day! How???
La Conjugaison des VerbesVerb Conjugation
Watch carefully as our verb repair specialty crew conjugates an English verb in the present tense.
to be
I am We areYou are You (pl) areHe/She is They are
La Conjugaison des VerbesVerb Conjugation
Don’t they do excellent work? Here are some other familiar projects:
to dance to eat
I dance We danceYou dance You (pl) danceHe/She dances They dance
I eat We eatYou eat You (pl) eatHe/She eats They eat
Is it making sense yet? We change “to dance” to “dance” or “dances” depending on who we’re talking about (I, You, They). The same goes for “to eat.” Try a few on your own:
La Conjugaison des VerbesVerb Conjugation
Here are a few verbs try. Remember to use the present tense!
to watch
I watch We watchYou watch You (pl) watchHe/She watches They watch
to work
I work We workYou work You (pl) workHe/She works They work
How did you do?C’est facile, n’est-ce pas?
Now that you are experts, lets check out the nuts and bolts of conjugating French verbs.
La Conjugaison des VerbesVerb Conjugation
Would you say… (click on each one)
I is? You be? He are?
She work?
They watches? I to be?
You to work?
Oops! Of course not! Conjugated verbs are not interchangeable! It sounds ridiculous! It’s the same way with the French language.
La Conjugaison des VerbesParts and Accessories
In order to be a successful verb conjugator, you will need to know the following 4 terms:
Stem-
Infinitive-
The verb by itself: danser, parler, inviter, regarderWhat others can you name?
The verb without the er: dans, parl, invit, regard
Subject-The person or thing doing the action (je, vous, la télé)
travailler
habiter organiser
écouter chanter
Ending-
La Conjugaison des VerbesParts and Accessories
And most importantly:
The combination of letters that we put in place of the “er” that we dropped earlier. Each pronoun has it’s own ending to be used.Below is a chart that gives these endings
-ER Endings
Je e [—] Nous
ons [ohn]
Tu es [—] Vous
ez [eh]
Il/ Elle e [—] Ils/
Elles ent [—]
La Conjugaison des VerbesParts and Accessories
Subject Infinitive Stem Ending
The worker: The drill packaging:
The drill: (packaging removed)
The drill bits:
Or think of it this way:
aimer, danser, chanter, parler
er
Je, Tu, Nous, la fille, Ils
aim, dans, chant, parl
e, es, e, ons, ez, ent
The worker chooses the bit for each drill!!!
La Conjugaison des VerbesParts and Accessories
Ok, here’s the drill : Try to conjugate these French verbs by following the 4 simple step:
1. Take note of the worker2. Choose your drill package3. Remove ALL er packaging from the drill
(how else are you going to use it?)4. Select the correct bit for the worker given *Notice, there are 6 workers for each verb!*
JeTu
Il/Elle
parlerNousVousIls/Elles
JeTu
Il/Elle
parlerNousVousIls/Elles
JeTu
Il/Elle
jouerNousVousIls/Elles
JeTu
Il/Elle
habiterNousVousIls/Elles
JeTu
Il/Elle
aimerNousVousIls/Elles
La Conjugaison des VerbesParts and Accessories
Go to the next page to see how you did!
Je parleTu parles
Il/Elle parle
parlerNous parlons
Vous parlezIls/Elles parlent
Je joueTu joues
Il/Elle joue
jouerNous
jouonsVous jouezIls/Elles jouent
J’habiteTu habites
Il/Elle habite
habiterNous
habitonsVous habitezIls/Elles habitent
J’aimeTu aimesIl/Elle aime
aimerNous aimonsVous aimez
Ils/Elles aiment
La Conjugaison des VerbesParts and Accessories
How did you do? Ready for a new twist?
Getting Started
Parts ReviewThe Rule of THREE
Parts ReviewSurveying the Foundation
You should know the following terms before proceeding:
-conjugate-subject-infinitive-stem-ending
Remember, when putting something together, it’s always better to have a strong foundation than a weak one. You want what you are making to last, right? Make sure your foundation is strong before you begin further building.
La Règle de TROISThe Rule of THREE
1
2
3
Most conjugated forms of an ER verb sound the same (even though their spellings are different), so you only have to learn THREE pronunciations!
There are THREE “Special G” verbs that break the rules for conjugating the nous form:-nager -voyager -manger
Each conjugated form of an ER verb in the present tense has THREE meanings.
1 Most conjugated forms of an ER verb sound the same (even though their spellings are different), so you only have to learn THREE pronunciations!
TROIS PrononciationsThree Pronunciations
TROIS PrononciationsThree Pronunciations
For example, let’s conjugate:
Say them to yourself: danse = [dawnss] danses = [dawnss] danse = [dawnss]
dansons = [dawnss-ohn]dansez = [dawnss-eh]dansent = [dawnss]
danser
Nous dansons Tu danses Il/Elle danse
Je danseVous dansezIls/Elles dansent
danser Je danse Nous dansons Tu danses Vous dansez
Il/Elle danse Ils/Elles dansent
TROIS PrononciationsThree Pronunciations
Trois Pononciations! 1. [dawnss] 2. [dawnss-ohn] 3. [dawnss-eh]
How does it work?
TROIS PrononciationsThree Pronunciations
When you take off the packaging (er), you get the stem (the drill).
The stem is pronounced just like it looks. It’s like saying the infinitive form without the ER sound at the end:Infinitive drop ER = Stem-étudier [ay] = étudi [ay-tew-dee]-inviter [ay] = invit [aahn-veet]-habiter [ay] = habit [ah-beet]
And then…
TROIS PrononciationsThree Pronunciations
Add the bit! As a quick reminder, here are the pronunciations of each bit (ending)
Do you see the 4 bits that have the same pronunciation?
-ER Endings
Je e [—] Nous ons [ohn]
Tu es [—] Vous ez [eh]
Il/ Elle e [—] Ils/Elles ent [—]
TROIS PrononciationsThree Pronunciations
Let’s try it with dîner:Subject(worker) + Stem
(drill) + Ending(bit) Result
Je + dîn [deen] + e [-] dîne [deen]Tu + dîn [deen] + es [-] dînes [deen]
Il/Elle + dîn [deen] + e [-] dîne [deen]
Nous + dîn [deen] + ons[ohn] dînons [deen-ohn]
Vous + dîn [deen] + ez[eh] dînez [deen-eh]Ils/Elles + dîn [deen] + ent [-] dînent [deen]
TROIS PrononciationsThree Pronunciations
Subject(worker) + Stem
(drill) + Ending(bit) Result
Je + dîn [deen] + e [-] dîne [deen]Tu + dîn [deen] + es [-] dînes [deen]
Il/Elle + dîn [deen] + e [-] dîne [deen]
Nous + dîn [deen] + ons[ohn] dînons [deen-ohn]
Vous + dîn [deen] + ez[eh] dînez [deen-eh]Ils/Elles + dîn [deen] + ent [-] dînent [deen]
Do you see the 4 bits that have the same pronunciation?
Les exemples au WebMore examples: (click on links to hear
an authentic pronunciation)
http://www.frenchtutorial.com/standard/present/group1.php
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/ver1.html
The above links are the internet examples (described in your packet)
2There are THREE “Special G” verbs that break the rules for conjugating the nous form:
Les verbes du “G” specialSpecial G verbs
These three “special G” verbs are:
Les verbes du “G” specialSpecial G verbs
nagervoyagermanger
They are all three ER verbs with a “G” before the –er.
Les verbes du “G” specialSpecial G verbs
voyager
Je voyage Nous voyageons
Tu voyages Vous voyagez
Il/Elle voyage
Ils/Elles voyagent
nager
Je nage Nous nageons
Tu nages Vous nagez
Il/Elle nage Ils/Elles nagent
mangerJe mange Nous
mangeonsTu manges Vous
mangezIl/Elle mange Ils/Elles
mangent
For these “special G” verbs, the “Nous” form is different. What changes?
Why? (think pronunciation)
Something about the spelling has changed…
Les verbes du “G” specialSpecial G verbs
-We’ve added an “e” between the “g” and “ons”-Why?
-So we can keep the [zsh] sound in all the verb forms (je, tu, nous, vous, etc) consistently.
And if we didn’t?-We’d have: nagons [nah –
gohn] voyagons [voy –a-
gohn] mangon [mah –
gohn]
And the French
would say…
So what changes?
[nah-gohn]??? NON!!! C’est horrible! Quelle horreur!!!! Et [voy-a-gohn]?!? Quelle mauvaise prononciation!!!!
Oh là là! Fermez les oreilles!!! [mahn-gohn]??? Zut! C’est un massacre de la langue française! NON! NON! NON!!!
Les verbes du “G” specialSpecial G verbs
So… in the interest of positive foreign relations, let’s remember:
-The “NOUS” form is special for nager, voyager, and manger
-In the “NOUS” form of these three verbs, we need to insert and “e” after the “g” to make the pronunciation sound nice
SPECIAL “G” needs an “E” to sound “JOLI!” (pretty)
3 pronunciations, 3 special “G” verbs, and now…
TROIS SensThree Meanings
3Each conjugated form of an ER verb in the present tense has THREE meanings.
TROIS SensThree Meanings
For example, let’s conjugate:voyager
Je voyage Nous voyageonsTu voyages Vous voyagezIl/Elle voyage Ils/Elles voyagent
“Je voyage” has three meanings: I travel, I am traveling, I do travel
“Ils/Elles voyagent” has three meanings: They travel, they are traveling, and they do travel
TROIS SensThree Meanings
Need a few more examples?
Nous jouonsWe playWe are playingWe do play
Elles empruntentThey borrowThey are borrowingThey do borrow
Je gagneI winI am winningI do win
La Règle de TROISThe Rule of THREE
Et
VOILÀ!Conjugate while remembering these three rules and
you’ll create a masterpiece every time!
And speaking of masterpieces… lets put it all together and try your handiwork…
Projects
Les ProjetsProjects
Visit the following sites and try to activities to test your newfound skills and knowledge:
1. be sure to following instructions in parentheses! http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/rgshiwyc/school/curric/HotPotatoes/index.htm (click on “Français, scroll down and select Present Tense, click on Regular –ER Verbs)2. http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa101199t.htm3. http://www.quia.com/mc/66100.html (you may play several times)4. http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/ver1.html (scroll down towards the bottom, starting with “fill in the blanks”)Be sure to record your scores on the activity sheet!
FAQ’s
Les Questions FréquentesFrequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions:Instead of dropping the “er” when conjugating a verb, can’t I just drop the “r”? What you’re really asking:Can’t I leave some of the packaging and still use the drill without any problems?Answer:NO! It may seem like it doesn’t make a difference, but it is a bad habit to start! Some -er verbs have fancier endings and cannot be conjugated by just dropping the “r”. Conjugation will not turn out properly… nor will your project if you leave the packaging on the drill!
Les Questions FréquentesFrequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions:Why is the “e” missing in “Je” when I conjugate verbs like “aimer, habiter, écouter, inviter, etc.” What you’re really asking:Is the “Je” worker picky about certain drills?
Answer:Yes, the “Je” worker is picky. If the drill it wants to use begins with the vowels “a,e, or i” or a vowel sound, it likes to eliminate the “e” in “Je” and put an apostrophe in it’s place. For example: J’habite, J’aime, J’invite.
Les Questions FréquentesFrequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions:Will “je suis parle” or “je suis parler” work instead of saying “je parle” to mean “I am speaking”?What you’re really asking:Can’t a worker use two drills at the same time with or without the correct bit?Answer:NO! It’s dangerous and makes no sense! “Je parle” already means “I am speaking.” “Je suis parle,”translates to “I am am speaking.” “Je suis parler,” means “I am to speak.” Do not put any form of être (suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, sont) in front of any verb!!! (you’d be using two drills… être and another verb)
Owner’s Manual(Teaching Guide)
Introduction: This curriculum web introduces students to the process of verb conjugation. It is limited to one specific form of verbs (regular ER), but goes fairly in-depth with what conjugation, is, means, and looks like in English and French. By the end of the curriculum, students should be able to identify and apply the basic steps to conjugating a regular ER verb in French.Aim: This curriculum web enables students to conjugate ER verbs so that they can create complete sentences to express actions, their thoughts, etc. In doing so they will greatly expand their grammatical base because the rules and patterns they learn can be applied to so many other aspects of the language.
Owner’s Manual(Teaching Guide)
Rationale: This activity a partial introductory but supplementary part of the curriculum.
Audience: Middle School French or High School French I.
Prerequisites: Students will need to recognize and know the meaning of ER verbs, as well as be family with the usage of ER verbs in every day expressions before starting this activity.
Owner’s Manual(Teaching Guide)
National Learning Standards:-Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.-Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language.-Standard 4.1: Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
Owner’s Manual(Teaching Guide)
Goals:-Students will be able to apply the concept of verb conjugation to their own language and to ER verbs in French-Students will be able to list the steps necessary in conjugating and French ER verb_Students will be able to correctly conjugate French ER verbs and identify the differences and similarities between conjugated verb forms.
Owner’s Manual(Teaching Guide)
Instructional Plan:-Review what we know of “LUNDI,” our Monday stretch activity. (Quizzes over “LUNDI” material will have been given prior to this entire unit as means of reinforcement)-As a class, break down the concepts from “LUNDI” so that the students begin to see what “conjugation” is in its finished form. -From there, we will discuss how these conjugation patterns that we have noticed arrived at their finished form (the steps necessary).-Introduce curriculum web and go over activity instructions. Spend two-three days in computer lab (40 min periods).
Owner’s Manual(Teaching Guide)
Instruction Plan con’t:-Students will work individually.
Materials:-Activity packet-computer with internet access-headphones-pencil
Owner’s Manual(Teaching Guide)
Assessment and Evaluation Plan:-Assessment is contained within the curriculum web. Students will complete the “projects” with their new knowledge and skills.-For further oral assessment, students will create dialogs (in groups) based on prompts. Pronunciation quizzes will also be given on a weekly basis.Special Note: French grammar can be a very tedious and tiresome topic. In order to maintain interest and simplify the seemingly ambiguous concepts for my young audience, I’ve added animation, music, and partial assessments along the way. This project is designed around a construction/work project theme.