Download Chapter 10 Correctly Using Often Misused Verbs in Daily

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Chapter 10
Correctly Using Often Misused Verbs
in Daily Conversation
In This Chapter
Knowing the verbs connaître and savoir
Identifying the differences between jouer à and jouer de
Forming expressions with avoir
Understanding how to use faire
E
very language has different ways of saying things and of expressing yourself that can’t
be translated into another language word for word. French is no exception. For instance
the phrases How are you doing? or How are you? are expressed in French not by the verbs
faire (to do, to make) or être (to be), but by the verb aller (to go). To ask these questions in
French, you say Comment allez-vous? or Comment vas-tu?
In this chapter, I focus on some verbs that have the same meaning in English, but different
usage in French. You want to make sure you use the right verb so that people know what
you’re talking about. I also cover two common verbs: avoir (to have) and faire (to do, to
make) and how you can correctly utilize these verbs in your conversations. (You can also
check out Chapter 23, which focuses on ten often-misused verbs.)
Knowing the Difference between
Connaître and Savoir
French has two verbs that mean to know. One is connaître, and the other is savoir. Even
though the English language translates them the same, the French language uses them in
different circumstances. In this section, I show you how to use each verb. Both verbs are
irregular.
connaître (to know)
je connais
nous connaissons
tu connais
vous connaissez
il/elle/on connaît
ils/elles connaissent
Je connais Aix-en-Provence. (I know Aix-en-Provence.)
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savoir (to know)
je sais
nous savons
tu sais
vous savez
il/elle/on sait
ils/elles savent
Nous savons la date de ton anniversaire. (We know your birthday.)
So are you wondering what the differences are between the two verbs? Well, you use
the two verbs with different types of information. For example, use connaître when
you mean to know or to be acquainted with a person, a place, or a thing. Meanwhile,
use savoir when you mean to know a fact, to know something by heart, or to know
specific information, such as a telephone number, an address, or someone’s name.
You can also use savoir with the clauses in Table 10-1.
Clauses That Use Savoir (to know)
Table 10-1
Common Clause
Translation
Example
Translation
savoir à quelle
heure
to know (at)
what time
Je sais à quelle
heure il va venir.
I know (at) what time he is
going to come.
savoir combien
to know
how much
Je sais combien
ça coûte.
I know how much that
costs.
savoir comment
to know how
Je sais comment
conjuguer connaître.
I know how to conjugate
connaître.
savoir où
to know where
Je sais où est la
classe.
I know where the class is.
savoir pourquoi
to know why
Je sais pourquoi
Henri est en retard.
I know why Henri is late.
savoir quand
to know when
Je sais quand le
train part.
I know when the train is
leaving.
savoir que
to know that
Je sais que tu aimes
le chocolat.
I know that you like
chocolate.
savoir quel, quelle,
quels, quelles
to know which
Je sais quelle heure
il est.
I know what time it is.
savoir qui
to know who
Je sais qui est là.
I know who is there.
savoir si
to know if
Je sais si tu
regardes la télé.
I know if you’re watching TV.
To say I know! or I don’t know, you simply say Je sais or Je ne sais pas.
You can also follow savoir with an infinitive, but you can’t do that with connaître.
In this way, savoir means to know how to do something. For example, Tu sais parler
français means You know how to speak French, and Nous savons faire du ski means
We know how to ski.
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Chapter 10: Correctly Using Often Misused Verbs in Daily Conversation
Which verb, connaître or savoir, do you use in the following sentences? Conjugate
the verbs and translate the sentences.
Q. Les enfants _________________ compter en français.
A. Les enfants savent compter en français. (The children know how to count in French.)
1. Est-ce que tu _________________ New York?
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Marie ne _________________ pas parler japonais.
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Nous _________________ où il habite.
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. Ils ne _________________ pas la famille du professeur.
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. Vous _________________ conduire.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Identifying What to Play
Jouer is a regular -er verb that is used with different prepositions in order to convey
either playing a sport or playing a musical instrument. More specifically, jouer à is used
with sports and jouer de with instruments. If the sport or instrument is masculine,
make the necessary contractions: à + le = au; de + le = du. See the following examples.
Je joue au tennis. (I play tennis.)
Je joue du piano. (I play the piano.)
Check out Table 10-2 for playing other sports and games or playing other instruments.
Table 10-2
The Different Ways to Play
Jouer à (+ sports or games)
Jouer de (+ instruments)
Je joue au basket(ball). (I play basketball.)
Je joue du saxophone. (I play the saxophone.)
Je joue au foot. (I play soccer.)
Je joue du violon. (I play the violin.)
Je joue au volley. (I play volleyball.)
Je joue de la batterie. (I play the drums.)
Je joue au golf. (I play golf.)
Je joue de la flûte. (I play the flute.)
Je joue au hockey. (I play hockey.)
Je joue de la guitare. (I play the guitar.)
Je joue au bridge. (I play bridge.)
Je joue de la trompette. (I play the trumpet.)
(continued)
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Table 10-2 (continued)
Jouer à (+ sports or games)
Jouer de (+ instruments)
Je joue aux cartes. (I play cards.)
Je joue du violoncelle. (I play the cello.)
Je joue aux dames. (I play checkers.)
Je joue de la basse. (I play bass.)
Je joue aux échecs. (I play chess.)
Je joue de la clarinette. (I play the clarinet.)
In the negative, the prepositions à, au, à la, à l’, and aux don’t change. However, du,
de la, de l’, and des do change to de or d’ after the negative, such as Je ne joue pas
de piano, which means I don’t play the piano.
Now, it’s your turn. Conjugate the verb jouer (to play) and provide the correct prepositions. Translate the following sentences.
Q. Mon père _________________ (jouer) golf.
A. Mon père joue au golf. My father plays golf.
6. Georges _________________ (jouer) violon.
__________________________________________________________________________________
7. Ils _________________ (ne pas jouer) batterie.
__________________________________________________________________________________
8. Je _________________ (jouer) échecs.
__________________________________________________________________________________
9. Mon frère _________________ (jouer) guitare.
__________________________________________________________________________________
10. Les enfants _________________ (jouer) basketball.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Keeping Avoir and Faire in Line
French has two very important verbs, avoir (to have) and faire (to do, to make), that
are responsible for many sentence formations. From these two simple verbs you can
form dozens of everyday expressions.
This section looks at each verb, avoir and faire, and helps you with any questions
you may have. I show you the correct conjugations (you can also find them in
Chapter 4) as well as several common expressions formed with these two verbs.
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Using avoir
The verb avoir is very versatile in French and has several meanings in English. This verb
is living proof that translating literally from one language to another doesn’t always
work. Check out the conjugation in the present tense.
avoir (to have)
j’ai
nous avons
tu as
vous avez
il/elle/on a
ils/elles ont
Ils ont trois enfants. (They have three children.)
In French, one isn’t a certain age, but has a certain age. Therefore, the question How
old are you? is What age do you have? In French if someone asks you Quel âge as-tu/
avez-vous? (How old are you?), you respond as follows: J’ai (your age) ans. For example, J’ai vingt ans (I am 20 years old).
Check out Table 10-3 for other important avoir expressions.
Table 10-3
Important Avoir Expressions
Avoir Expression
Translation
avoir faim
to be hungry
avoir soif
to be thirsty
avoir sommeil
to be sleepy
avoir tort (de)
to be wrong
avoir raison (de)
to be right
avoir chaud
to be hot
avoir froid
to be cold
avoir peur (de)
to be afraid (of)
avoir besoin de
to need
avoir envie de
to want, to feel like
avoir l’intention de
to have the intention of
avoir l’habitude de
to be accustomed to, to be used to
avoir l’occasion de
to have the chance to, to have the opportunity to
avoir de la chance
to be lucky
avoir honte (de)
to be ashamed of
avoir mal (à + a part of the body)
to ache, to have pain in a part of the body
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You can use the expressions in Table 10-3 with the preposition de in parentheses
alone or followed by an infinitive or a noun. For example, J’ai tort means I am wrong
and J’ai tort de mentir means I am wrong to lie. When these expressions are followed
by an infinitive, you must use the preposition de in front of the infinitive, as in the following examples:
J’ai l’occasion de voyager cet été. (I have the chance/the opportunity to travel this
summer.)
Nous avons l’habitude de sortir le samedi soir. (We are used [accustomed] to
going out Saturday evenings.)
Avoir besoin de and avoir envie de can be followed by an infinitive or a noun. In
either case, the preposition de is necessary before the infinitive or the noun.
Tu as besoin d’étudier. (You need to study.)
J’ai envie de chanter. (I feel like singing.)
J’ai envie de chocolat. (I feel like chocolate.)
To make these expressions negative, add ne before the verb and pas or another negative word after it.
Je n’ai pas envie de chanter. (I don’t feel like singing.)
You can also add adverbs to these sentences. Check out French For Dummies by DodiKatrin Schmidt, Michelle M. Williams, and Dominique Wenzel (Wiley) for more specific
information about French grammar.
The expression avoir mal is the only one from the list in Table 10-3 that’s followed by
the preposition à. Conjugate the verb avoir in the present and add mal, the preposition à, and the part of the body that’s hurting now. For example, if you have a backache, you say J’ai mal au dos. The preposition à is followed by the part of the body
that is hurting along with the definite article.
J’ai mal aux pieds. (My feet hurt.)
J’ai mal à l’épaule. (My shoulder hurts.)
Now translate some of these expressions into French.
Q. He doesn’t feel like going out.
A. Il n’a pas envie de sortir.
11. We are thirsty.
__________________________________________________________________________________
12. They are right.
__________________________________________________________________________________
13. You need to read.
__________________________________________________________________________________
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Chapter 10: Correctly Using Often Misused Verbs in Daily Conversation
14. Michael is lucky.
__________________________________________________________________________________
15. Her head hurts.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Trying faire
Another important verb used in many common expressions is faire (to do, to make).
You need to know how to correctly use it because it’s very versatile and can be used
to express playing both an instrument and a sport without switching prepositions.
This section shows you how to conjugate it and then provides numerous expressions
using this verb.
faire (to do, to make)
je fais
nous faisons
tu fais
vous faites
il/elle/on fait
ils/elles font
Il fait du tennis. (He plays tennis.)
Table 10-4 shows many of the ways that you can use faire when talking about sports
as well as instruments. When you use faire with sports and instruments, remember
that it has the same meaning as the verb jouer à or de (to play). These two verbs are
used interchangeably. However, remember to use the correct prepositions. Unlike
jouer, faire is followed by the preposition de whether you’re talking about a sport or
an instrument.
Table 10-4
Using Faire with Sports and Instruments
Faire Expression
Translation
faire de l’alpinisme
to mountain climb
faire de la planche à voile
to windsurf
faire de la voile
to sail, sailing
faire des randonnées
to hike
faire du baseball
to play baseball
faire du foot, football
to play soccer
faire du football américan
to play football
faire du karaté
to do karate
faire du ski
to ski
faire du tennis
to play tennis
(continued)
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