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Verbes d’état
State-of-being verbs have various names* but no action. These verbs create a link between their subject and a noun or adjective that describes or defines it.
Par exemple…
Je suis médicin. | I’m a doctor. | |
Océane semble triste. | Océane seems sad. |
State-of-being verbs never have direct objects. Any noun that directly follows the verb is something called a "subject complement": a word that can basically replace the subject because they are one and the same.
You can always recognize a state-of-being verb by the fact that it can be replaced by "be" – the meaning might change slightly, but the essence is the same and the sentence is grammatical.
Il paraît heureux. Il est heureux. |
He seems happy. (He is happy.) |
|
Le temps s’annonce orageux. Le temps fait orageux. |
The weather looks stormy. (The weather is stormy.) |
State-of-being verbs can introduce
- appearances
- definitions
- descriptions
- feelings and moods
- states of being (changing, temporary, or permanent)
French State-of-Being Verbs
Here are the most common French state-of-being verbs with links to conjugations.
s’affirmer (comme) | to assert oneself (as) | |
s’annoncer | to look, shape up (to be) | |
apparaître | to appear, seem | |
s’appeler | to be called/named | |
s’avérer | to turn out (to be) | |
avoir l’air | to seem | |
composer | to make up, form | |
consister en | to consist of, be made up of | |
constituer | to constitute, make up | |
demeurer | to remain | |
devenir | to become | |
être | to be | |
être considéré comme | to be considered | |
se faire | to get, become | |
former | to form, make up | |
se montrer | to show/prove oneself to be | |
paraître | to appear | |
passer pour | to pass for, be regarded as | |
redevenir | to become again | |
représenter | to depict, portray | |
rester + adjective | to stay | |
se révéler | to reveal / show oneself | |
sembler | to seem | |
se sentir | to feel | |
servir de | to act / serve as | |
tomber + adjective | to fall / get | |
se trouver | to find oneself |
Note that some of these are only part-time state-of-being verbs, depending on how they’re used.
Par exemple…
Il est tombé malade. | He got sick. | (state-of-being verb) | ||
Il est tombé par terre. | He fell on the ground. | (action verb) |
* Other names for state-of-being verbs:
une copule | copula | |
un verbe copulatif | copular verb | |
un verbe de liaison | linking verb |
Related lessons
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