Live French Lesson on Passé Composé

Oct 9, 2024

Lecture Notes: Live French Lesson

Introduction

  • The speaker begins with an informal greeting and mentions technical issues before starting the live session.
  • Mentions a significant following on social media:
    • Instagram: 171,000 followers
    • TikTok: nearly 300,000 followers
    • Facebook: 350,000 followers
    • Overall: over 2 million followers across platforms
  • Acknowledges the contribution of a talented team to achieve these milestones.
  • Announces this session as an open live lesson, with exclusive content available for paying subscribers.

Importance of Teamwork

  • Emphasizes the value of teamwork and surrounding oneself with intelligent individuals.
  • Advises young entrepreneurs to trust and listen to their teams to foster better business outcomes.

French Lesson Focus: Passé Composé

Introduction to Passé Composé

  • Definition: A past tense used to describe completed actions.
  • Formation: Composed of three parts:
    • Subject pronoun
    • Auxiliary verb (avoir or être)
    • Past participle

Auxiliary Verbs

  • Être (To be): Used for reflexive and movement verbs.
  • Avoir (To have): Used for most other verbs.
  • Examples of conjugation in present:
    • Être: je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont
    • Avoir: j'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont

Forming the Passé Composé

  • Regular verbs:
    • ER verbs: drop 'R', add accent (e.g., manger -> mangé)
    • IR verbs: drop 'R' (e.g., finir -> fini)
  • Irregular verbs: Must memorize past participles (e.g., prendre -> pris, boire -> bu)

Verb Agreement with Être

  • Past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject when using être.
  • Example: "Elle est allée" (feminine singular)

Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp Verbs

  • List of verbs that use être:
    • Devenir, Revenir, Monter, Rester, Sortir, Venir, Aller, Naître, Descendre, Entrer, Retourner, Tomber, Rentrer, Arriver, Mourir, Partir
  • Reflexive verbs also use être.

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Venir

  • Example subject: Joséphine et son fils
  • Conjugation: "sont venus"
    • Explanation: Mixed gender group, masculine takes precedence, plural requires 's'.

Exercise 2: Démissionner

  • Example subject: Le gardien de l'immeuble
  • Conjugation: "a démissionné"
    • Explanation: ER verb, uses avoir, no agreement needed.

Exercise 3: Prendre

  • Example subject: Mon cousin et moi
  • Conjugation: "avons pris"
    • Explanation: Nous form, uses avoir, third group verb past participle is "pris".

Additional Resources

  • Mention of various exercises and support guides available for members.
  • Encouragement to learn past participles, especially irregular ones, by heart.

Conclusion

  • Encourages students to join exclusive lessons and masterclasses for more tailored content.
  • Offers a humorous sign-off with French farewell: "Au revoir, à bientôt, bisous, bisous."