QCAA French cheat sheet

Definite articles: le, la, les; l' before a vowel or mute h; à + le = au, à + les = aux; de + le = du, de + les = des.

Regular present endings: -er → -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent; -ir → -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent; -re → -s, -s, -, -ons, -ez, -ent.

Key irregular presents: être je suis/tu es/il est/nous sommes/vous êtes/ils sont; avoir j'ai/tu as/il a/nous avons/vous avez/ils ont; aller je vais/tu vas/il va/nous allons/vous allez/ils vont; faire je fais/tu fais/il fait/nous faisons/vous faites/ils font.

Adjective agreement: feminine usually adds -e, plural adds -s; irregulars include beau/belle, vieux/vieille, nouveau/nouvelle, blanc/blanche; most adjectives follow the noun except BANGS (beauty, age, number, goodness, size).

Possessives agree with the possessed noun: mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs; use mon/ton/son before a feminine vowel-initial noun.

Reflexive present: pronoun me/te/se/nous/vous/se before verb; negation ne + pronoun + verb + pas; passé composé ne + pronoun + auxiliary + pas + participle.

Questions: intonation, est-ce que, or inversion; inversion adds -t- in il/elle on forms (Parle-t-il ?); question words: qui, que, où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien.

Passé composé: avoir/être + past participle; être verbs agree with subject; direct object preceding avoir causes participle agreement; ne...pas surrounds the auxiliary.

Partitive: du (m.), de la (f.), de l' (vowel/h), des (plural); after negation or quantity words (beaucoup de, trop de) use de/d'.

Object pronouns: me, te, le/la, nous, vous, les; indirect lui/leur; before conjugated verb; before auxiliary in compound tenses; after affirmative imperative with hyphen.

Y replaces à + place/thing; en replaces de + noun or a quantity; both precede the verb (j'y vais, j'en ai).

Imperative: tu form drops -s for -er verbs (mange); nous/vous forms keep endings; pronouns follow affirmative imperative (mange-le) but precede negative (ne le mange pas).

Relative pronouns: qui = subject; que = direct object; où = place/time; dont = de + antecedent; ce qui/ce que/ce dont = what.

Future proche: aller (present) + infinitive; futur simple: infinitive or irregular stem + -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.

Depuis + present = still happening; pendant + past = completed duration; il y a + time = ago; pour + duration = intended length.

Place prepositions: à + city, en + feminine country, au + masculine country, aux + plural country; de + city, de + feminine country, du + masculine, des + plural; chez = at someone's place.

Futur simple endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont; regular stems: infinitive for -er/-ir, drop final e for many -re.

Irregular future stems: être ser-, avoir aur-, aller ir-, faire fer-, pouvoir pourr-, vouloir voudr-, venir viendr-, voir verr-, savoir saur-.

Conditional = future stem + -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient; used for politeness, hypotheses, and future-in-the-past.

Si + present → future; si + imperfect → conditional; si + plus-que-parfait → past conditional; no future/conditional immediately after si.

Present subjunctive: ils/elles stem + -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent; irregulars aller aill-, être soi-, avoir ai-, faire fass-, pouvoir puiss-, savoir sach-.

Infinitive prepositions: commencer à, apprendre à, réussir à, hésiter à; décider de, essayer de, éviter de, oublier de; faire + infinitive causative.

Gerund: en + present participle (nous stem + -ant); same subject as main clause; expresses simultaneity or manner; not used like English -ing after all prepositions.

Depuis + present for ongoing; venir de + infinitive for recent past; être en train de + infinitive for progressive; aller + infinitive for near future.

Passive: être + past participle; participle agrees with subject; agent with par; tense carried by être (La loi a été votée par le parlement).

Plus-que-parfait: avoir/être in imperfect + past participle; marks prior past; with être, agreement with subject.

Reported speech after past verb: present → imperfect; passé composé → plus-que-parfait; future → conditional; demain → le lendemain; hier → la veille.

Subjunctive triggers: il faut que, bien que, quoique, pour que, avant que, à condition que, douter que, il est important que.

Advanced negation: ne...ni...ni, ne...que, ne...aucun(e), ne...personne, ne...rien, ne...jamais; ne...que means only, not none.

Argument connectors: cependant/pourtant (contrast), donc/ainsi (consequence), en effet (confirmation), par ailleurs (addition), d'une part...d'autre part (two sides).

Formal register: vous for one or more addressees; full ne in negation; inversion or est-ce que in questions; formulaic openings/closings in letters and emails.

Francophonie: French is official in France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco, and many African states; la Francophonie also names the community of French speakers, not one uniform culture.