Learn French

[Twitch]

My understanding is a tréma is used for pronunciation. It shows that the letter it is on is pronounced separately (ie ma-ïs, as opposed to mais). But it has been dropped for common usage on e's now except for some historical names, like Noël, and now a ligature (œ) is used when the vowel sound run together and it is not used (oe) when they are separate. But that ligature is not always typed, but in formal writing it would be.

[HibyPrime]

Originally Posted by Rocket

'i' before 'e' except after 'c'. Except for words like THEIR then it all goes out the window.

It's a guideline, not a rule..

[Seapaddler]

Mon, Ton, Son and Ma, Ta, Sa and Mes, Tes, Ses all are forms of Moi. No wonder the French have such good food. They spend their time eating instead of talking because talking causes brain tumors he-he. When I start speaking French fluently I'm going to sound like a genius!

[aFrenchie]

Originally Posted by Seapaddler

Mon, Ton, Son and Ma, Ta, Sa and Mes, Tes, Ses all are forms of Moi.

...of "my"
"Moi" is "me" (and sometimes "I")

[Cooney]

Technically, of "My," "Your," and "His/Her/Their/Its." If you're going to include those, one also needs "Notre" and "Nos" (our) and "Votre" and "Vos" (your for groups, or politely).

They're just the possessive pronouns - the difference between French and English being the gender issue, of course, which we don't have, and the addition of a plural "You." While English doesn't change the pronoun itself for plurals, it does change the auxilliary verb and more, when present (for example: "This is my..." for singular, "These are my..." for plural), which I don't believe French does ("Voici mon..." for singular, "Voici mes..." for plural).

Mon/Ma/Mes = my
Ton/Ta/Tes = your
Son/Sa/Ses = his/her/their/its
Notre/Nos = our
Votre/Vos = your (plural or respectful)

[aFrenchie]

Originally Posted by Cooney

While English doesn't change the pronoun itself for plurals, it does change the auxilliary verb and more, when present (for example: "This is my..." for singular, "These are my..." for plural), which I don't believe French does ("Voici mon..." for singular, "Voici mes..." for plural).

Yes it does! Since your example actually is:
Ceci est mon... (singular)
Ceux-ci sont mes... (plural)

Mon/Ma/Mes = my
Ton/Ta/Tes = your
Son/Sa/Ses = his/her/their/its
Notre/Nos = our
Votre/Vos = your (plural or respectful)

You forgot the last line:
Leur/Leurs = their

[Seapaddler]

I picked up a nice hard cover French verb book, I was hoping it would help but I'm more confused.

English Indicative has Present Past and Future. Why does French have 1 extra and what is the point? Présent (Present), Imparfait (imperfect past?), Passé Simple (simple past) and Futur Simple. Isn't "imperfect" the same as "simple"? Isn't J'étais the same as J'etis or Je fus.

My book says Passé Simple for être is Je fus, Tu fus, il fut etc. But other online conjugation sites say j'etis, tu etis, il etit etc. Which is correct and why the discrepancy?

Thanks guys.

[garçoncanadien]

the usage of Passé Simple is reserved for literature, like science textbooks and novels and such. You don't speak Passé Simple unless you need to be extra extra formal

Passé Simple has exactly the same meaning as the Passé Composé.

And Passé Simple conjugation is indeed Je fus, tu fus. Etis is not a word

[Seapaddler]

Tremendous help, thanks.

Maybe its a very old form. It's not in my French dictionary anyway.
http://verbix.easycgi.com/cache/webv...3%5Cetre.shtml

[garçoncanadien]

wow!! There are toooooo many mistakes on that webpage. Here are the correct conjugations for the verb être

Passé Simple

Je fus
Tu fus
Il/Elle/On fut
Nous fûmes
Vous fûtes
Ils/Elles furent

Passé Composé
J’ai été

Imparfait

J’étais
Tu étais
Il/Elle/On était
Nous étions
Vous étiez
Ils/Elles étaient

Plus-que-parfait
J’avais été

Futur

Je serai
Tu seras
Il/Elle/On sera
Nous serons
Vous serez
Ils/Elles seront

Futur antérieur

J’aurai été
Tu auras été
Il/Elle/On aura été
Nous aurons été
Vous aurez été
Ils/Elles auront été

Conditionnel Présent
Je serais
Tu serais
Il/Elle/On serait
Nous serions
Vous seriez
Ils/Elles seraient

Conditionnel Passé
J’aurais été
Tu aurais été
Il/Elle/On aurait été
Nous aurions été
Vous auriez été
Ils/Elles auraient été

Subjonctif Présent

Que je sois
Que tu sois
Qu’il/elle/on soit
Que nous soyons
Que vous soyez
Qu’ils/elles soient

Subjonctif Passé

Que j’aie été
Que tu aies été
Qu’il/elle/on ait été
Que nous ayons été
Que vous ayez été
Qu’ils/elles aient été

Subjonctif imparfait (qui s’appartient à la langue littéraire)

Que je fusse
Que tu fusses
Qu’il/elle/on fût
Que nous fussions
Que vous fussiez
Qu’ils/elles fussent