91 Que la force soit avec vous

interrogative

Raised-intonation

This is the simplest and most informal way to form questions in French:

• Structure: Use the same word order as a statement, but raise the intonation at the end.
• Example: “Tu aimes le chocolat?” (You like chocolate?)
• Usage: Common in casual conversations and everyday speech.
• Advantage: Easy to construct and sounds natural in informal settings.

Est-ce que

This is a versatile and widely used method for forming questions in both spoken and written French:

• Structure: Add “est-ce que” (literally “is it that”) at the beginning of a statement.
• Example: “Est-ce que tu aimes le chocolat?” (Do you like chocolate?)
• Usage: Suitable for both formal and informal contexts, often used in writing.
• Advantage: Doesn’t require changing word order and works with all types of questions.

Inverted

This is the most formal way to ask questions in French and is commonly used in writing and formal speech:

• Structure: Invert the subject pronoun and verb, connecting them with a hyphen.
• Example: “Aimes-tu le chocolat?” (Do you like chocolate?)
• Usage: Formal writing, literature, and polite speech.
• Advantage: Considered more elegant and is essential in formal French.

causative

The French causative structure with “faire” is used when one person causes another to do something. It can express different shades of meaning depending on context, including making, letting, or having someone do something.

1. Basic Structure

The core structure is:

Faire + infinitive + (agent/doer of the action, if needed)

📔 Examples:

• Je fais laver ma voiture.
  → I am having my car washed.
  (Someone else does the washing, not me.)

• Elle fait réparer son téléphone.
  → She has her phone repaired.
  (Someone else repairs it.)

• Le professeur fait lire un livre aux élèves.
  → The teacher makes the students read a book.
  (The students do the reading.)

2. Expressing Who Performs the Action

When you mention who actually does the action, you usually introduce them with “par” (for things done by professionals) or “à” (when someone is made to do something). However, in spoken French, this is often left out.

📔 Examples:

• Je fais nettoyer la maison par une femme de ménage.
  → I have the house cleaned by a housekeeper.

• Il fait écrire la lettre à son assistant.
  → He has his assistant write the letter.

• Elle a fait réparer son ordinateur par un technicien.
  → She had her computer repaired by a technician.

3. Reflexive Verbs in the Causative

When the action affects the subject themselves, “se faire” is used.

📔 Examples:

• Je me fais couper les cheveux.
  → I am getting my hair cut.

• Elle s’est fait tatouer.
  → She got a tattoo.

💡 Important: In the passé composé, the past participle of “faire” never agrees in gender/number with the subject when used in the causative structure.

• Elle s’est fait couper les cheveux. (✅ Correct)
• Elle s’est faite couper les cheveux. (❌ Incorrect)

4. Causative in Different Tenses

The verb “faire” can be conjugated in different tenses, while the second verb remains in the infinitive.

5. Causative vs. Passive

Sometimes, “faire + infinitive” can resemble the passive voice because the subject isn’t doing the action directly.

• Il a fait arrêter le voleur.
  → He had the thief arrested. (He didn’t arrest the thief himself.)

Compare with the passive:

• Le voleur a été arrêté par la police.
  → The thief was arrested by the police.

The causative emphasizes that someone caused the action, while the passive just states that it happened.

6. Difference Between “Faire” and “Laisser”

• Faire + infinitive → Someone causes an action to happen.
• Laisser + infinitive → Someone allows an action to happen.

Summary

• “Faire + infinitive” means to make/have someone do something.
• The actual doer of the action can be introduced with “par” (professional) or “à” (person made to do something).
• Reflexive verbs use “se faire” (e.g., se faire couper les cheveux).
• Tense applies to “faire”, not the second verb.
• Causative differs from passive in that it shows who caused the action.

subjunctive

Dont

Main Uses of “Dont”

1. 👉 Replacing “de” + noun “Dont” replaces both the preposition “de” and the noun it refers to[1][2]. For example:

• Le livre dont je parle (The book I’m talking about)
• La fille dont j’ai oublié le nom (The girl whose name I’ve forgotten)

2. 🏠 Expressing possession “Dont” can be used to indicate possession, similar to “whose” in English[1][4]:

• L’homme dont le chapeau est rouge (The man whose hat is red)
• Je cherche la maison dont la porte est jaune (I’m looking for the house with a yellow door)

3. 🗣️ With verbs requiring “de” Use “dont” after verbs that typically use the preposition “de”[1][2]:

• Le film dont nous avons parlé (The movie we talked about)
• La soirée dont tout le monde parle (The party everyone is talking about)

4. 👥 Referring to members of a group “Dont” can mean “of which” or “including”[4][7]:

• J’ai beaucoup d’amis, dont deux poètes (I have many friends, two of whom are poets)

Important Rules

1. 🔄 “Dont” is invariable It doesn’t change form to agree with gender or number[2].

2. ❌ Avoid double prepositions Never use “de” and “dont” together in the same sentence[2].

3. 🚫 Not for subjects “Dont” cannot replace the subject of a sentence[1].

The Pluperfect Tense (Le Plus-que-parfait)

The pluperfect tense (plus-que-parfait) is used to describe an action that took place before another past action. It is the equivalent of “had + past participle” in English (e.g., I had finished).

1. Formation of the Pluperfect

The plus-que-parfait is formed with:
✅ Imperfect tense of “avoir” or “être” + past participle of the main verb

Avoir as the Auxiliary (Most Verbs)

Être as the Auxiliary (For Reflexive and Certain Verbs)

Some verbs use être instead of avoir, mainly:

• Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp verbs (verbs of motion like aller, venir, partir)
• Reflexive verbs (se lever, se réveiller)

2. Agreement Rules

✅ Verbs that use être must agree in gender and number with the subject.
✅ Reflexive verbs always take être and follow the same agreement rules.

🔹 Example (With Agreement)

• Elle était allée au musée. (She had gone to the museum.)
• Nous étions partis tôt. (We had left early.)

3. When to Use the Pluperfect

✅ To Describe an Action Completed Before Another Past Action

• J’avais déjà mangé quand tu es arrivé. (I had already eaten when you arrived.)

✅ To Explain a Cause or Background in the Past

• Il pleurait parce qu’il avait perdu son portefeuille. (He was crying because he had lost his wallet.)

✅ To Express Regret or a Missed Opportunity

• Si j’avais su, je serais venu plus tôt. (If I had known, I would have come earlier.)

4. Comparison with Other Past Tenses

Summary

Vocabulaire