Idiomatic Verbs - Essential French Grammar

Essential French Grammar (2012)

Idiomatic Verbs

There are a number of frequently used verbs which are extremely useful and require special discussion. The most important of these verbs have been selected, and idiomatic expressions formed with them are illustrated in the following pages.

Aller (to go)

Aller is very important as the verb used for greeting and inquiring about one’s health.

Comment allez-vous?
[How go you?]
How are you?

Comment ça va? (more popular and familiar)
[How it goes?]
How are you?

Ça va.
[It goes.]
Fine; O. K.

Je vais très bien, merci.
[I go very well, thanks.]
I’m very well, thank you.

Study also the following expressions which use the verb aller.

Nous allons à pied.

(aller à pied—to walk, LIT.: to go on foot)

We walk.

Cette robe vous va bien.
[This dress goes you well.]
This dress looks well on you.

Allons donc!
[Let’s go then!]
Come, now!

Ça va sans dire.
That goes without saying.

Remember also that the present tense of aller plus infinitive is a handy substitute for the future, as discussed on page 48.

Je vais le faire demain.
I am going to (shall) do it tomorrow.

Ils ne vont pas commencer jusqu’à mon retour.
They are not going to (will not) begin until my return.

Avoir (to have)

In addition to its important function as an auxiliary verb used in the formation of compound tenses, the very basic verb avoir (to have) is used in many special constructions.

To be hungry, thirsty, warm, cold, etc. are rendered in French as to have hunger, thirst, warmth, cold, etc.

avoir chaud (to be warm)

avoir peur (to be afraid)

J‘ai chaud.

Avez-vous peur?

[I have warmth.]

[Have you fear?]

I am warm.

Are you afraid?

avoir froid (to be cold)

avoir raison (to be right)

Il a froid.

Qui a raison?

[He has cold.]

[Who has right?]

He is cold.

Who is right?

avoir faim (to be hungry)

avoir tort (to be wrong)

Nous avons faim.

Ils ont tort.

[We have hunger.]

[They have wrong.]

We are hungry.

They are wrong.

avoir soif (to be thirsty)

avoir sommeil (to be sleepy)

Elles ont soif.

J’ai sommeil.

[They have thirst.]

[I have sleep.]

They are thirsty.

I am sleepy.

Note also the following idioms:

Qu‘avez-vous?

La conférence aura lieu ce soir.

[What have you?]

The lecture will take place this evening.

What is the matter with you?

avoir mal à l’estomac (to have a stomach ache)

J‘ai mal à l’estomac (à la tête, aux dents).
[I have ill to the stomach (to the head, to the teeth).]
I have a stomach ache (headache, toothache).

avoir besoin de (to need)

avoir envie de (to feel like)

J‘ai besoin de mon stylo.

J’ai envie de dormir toute la jóurnée.

[I have need of my pen.]

I need my pen.

[I have desire to sleep all day.] I feel like sleeping all day.

avoir de la chance (to be lucky)

Vous avez de la chance.
[You have luck.]
You are lucky.

Age is expressed by avoir followed by the number of years:

Quel age avez-vous?

J‘ai vingt-huit ans.

[What age have you?]

[I have twenty-eight years.]

How old are you?

I am twenty-eight years old.

The useful expression il y a means both there is and ago :

Il n’y a pas d’eau sur la table.
There is no water on the table.

Qu‘est-ce qu’il y a?
[What is there?]
What is the matter?

Il est sorti il y a cinq minutes.
He left five minutes ago.

Do not confuse il y a with voilà (there is, there are), used when you point out something.

Voilà l’Hôtel de Ville.
There is the City Hall.

Note also voici (here is, here are) :

Voici mes papiers.
Here are my papers.

Me voici.
Here I am.

Devoir (to owe; must, ought)

The basic meaning of devoir is “to owe.”

Qu’est-ce que je vous dois ?
What do I owe you?

It is also used (with a following infinitive) to express obligation. The conditional (je devrais) is milder and more polite than the present (je dois).

Je dois partir tout de suite.
I must leave at once.

Vous devriez la voir avant de partir.
You should see her before leaving.

J’aurais dû la voir.
I ought to have seen her.

Devoir also expresses supposition, inference, probability.

Vous devez être fatigué après votre voyage.
You must be (probably are) tired after your trip.

Il doit être malade.
He must be (probably is) sick.

Etre (to be)

The verb être (to be) has been discussed on pages 39 and 51 as the auxiliary verb used in the formation of compound tenses of certain verbs and of all reflexive verbs. It is also used in the following important idiomatic expressions:

être de retour (to be back)

Je serai de retour à neuf heures.
I shall be back at nine o‘clock.

être en retard (to be late)

J’espère que le train ne sera pas en retard.
I hope the train won’t be late.

être sur le point de (to be about to)

Nous étions sur le point de sortir.
We were about to leave.

être en train de (to be in the act of)

Nous sommes en train de le décider.
We are (in the act of) deciding it.

être enrhumé (to have a cold)

Marie est enrhumée et ne pourra pas nous accompagner.
Mary has a cold and will not be able to accompany us.

Note also:

Ce n’est pas la peine.
It is not worth the effort.

The verb être is also used to tell time in French. Its usage in expressions of time is discussed on page 88.

Faire (to make, do)

In addition to being one of the most common verbs in the language, faire (to do, make) is also used in a variety of idiomatic expressions. Most expressions of weather in French use faire.

Quel temps fait-il?

Il fait chaud.

[What weather makes it?]

[It makes warm.]

How is the weather?

It’s warm.

Il fait beau (temps).

Il fait froid.

[It makes good (weather).]

[It makes cold.]

The weather is fine.

It’s cold.

Il fait mauvais (temps).

Il fait du vent.

[It makes bad (weather).]

[It makes some wind.]

The weather is bad.

It’s windy.

Il fait doux.

Il fait du soleil.

[It makes mild.]

[It makes some sun.]

It’s mild.

It’s sunny.

Other common expressions using the verb faire:

Cela ne fait rien.

Cela ne me fait rien.

That doesn’t matter.

I don’t care.

faire un voyage (to take a trip)

J‘aimerais faire un voyage.
I would like to take a trip.

faire une promenade (to take a walk)

Nous faisons une promenade.
We take a walk.

faire des emplettes (to go shopping)

Je dois faire des emplettes cet après-midi.
I must go shopping this afternoon.

faire mal (to hurt, be painful)

Est-ce que cela vous fait mal?
Does that hurt you ?

Falloir (to be necessary)

The verb falloir (to be necessary) is used only in the third person singular form, and usually occurs either in the present (il faut) or future (il faudra) tenses. It is generally followed by an infinitive, and is translated as “one must,” “one should,” “one ought,” “it is necessary,” or, in the future, as “one will have to,” “it will be necessary,” etc. The verb devoir discussed on page 82, expresses a similar idea.

Il faut étudier pour apprendre.
It is necessary to (one must) study in order to learn.

Il faudra passer au moins quinze jours en Provence.
It will be necessary to spend at least two weeks in Provence.

Penser (to think)

“To think of, or about” a person or thing is expressed by penser à, but if we mean “to have an opinion of” we must use penser de.

À quoi pensez-vous ?

Je pense à mes amis.

What are you thinking about?

I am thinking of my friends.

À qui pensez-vous?

Que pensez-vous de mes amis?

Whom are you thinking about?

What do you think of my friends?

Savoir (to know) and Connaître (to meet, be acquainted with)

In English, we use the same verb, “to know,” for both knowing facts and knowing people. In French, however, these ideas are separated. Savoir means to know facts, to have information, to know how to. Connaître means to know or be acquainted with persons and places.

Savez-vous ce qu’il a dit?
Do you know what he said?

Je voudrais savoir tout ce qui s’est passé.
I would like to know everything that happened.

Est-ce qu’elle sait nager?
Does she know how to swim?

Je connais ce monsieur mais je ne sais pas son nom.
I know that gentleman but I don’t know his name.

Connaissez-vous Bruxelles?
Are you acquainted with Brussels?

Note the expression faire la connaissance (de) which means to meet, make the acquaintance (of).

Enchanté de faire votre connaissance, madame.
I am delighted to meet you, madam.

Valoir (to be worth)

Valoir (to be worth) is used in the third person singular in a number of expressions.

Il ne vaut pas la peine d’y aller.
It’s not worth while going there.

Il vaudra mieux se taire.
It will be better to keep quiet.

Venir (to come)

The present tense of venir + de and infinitive means “to have just” + past participle.

Nous venons d’arriver.

II vient de partir.

We have just arrived.

He has just left.

Vouloir (to want, wish)

Vouloir may translate “ to want,” “wish,” “be willing,” and is also used in a number of important expressions.

vouloir dire (to mean)

Que veut dire ce mot?

Que voulez-vous dire?

What does this word mean?

What do you mean?

Voulez-vous (bien) and voudriez-vous (bien) very often are used to express a polite command, and may be used as a substitute for the imperative or command form, as explained on page 36. Veuillez plus infinitive may also be so used, but is not so common.

Veuillez fermer les fenetres s’il commence à pleuvoir.
Please close the windows if it begins to rain.