In the French language, semi-auxiliaries are the same as in the English language.\u00a0 They are multi-word verbs that occur before main verbs.\u00a0 In English, these semi-auxiliaries include: have to, get to, be about to, used to, mean to, be going to, etc.<\/p>\n
In French, many of the semi-auxiliaries are the same as the English ones.<\/p>\n
To express the future:<\/span> ***Be careful though as aller<\/em> + infinitive can be used to express movement and in that case, it is not considered a semi-auxiliary.\u00a0 Ex: El b\u00e9b\u00e9 va marcher.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00caTRE SUR LE POINT DE<\/em><\/strong> + infinitive (immediate future) DEVOIR<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>+ infinitive To express the past: To express duration: To express the beginning of an action<\/span>: To express the end of an action:<\/span> **Be careful, cesser de<\/em> and arr\u00eater de<\/em> in the negative form express duration. To express probability:<\/span> To express obligation: But, be careful, some of these multi-word verbs may occur in other contexts in which they are not considered to be semi-auxiliaries.\u00a0 You will know this when there is no other main verb.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n DEVOIR: Je dois beaucoup \u00e0 mes parents<\/em>. (I owe a lot to my parents.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the French language, semi-auxiliaries are the same as in the English language.\u00a0 They are multi-word verbs that occur before main verbs.\u00a0 In English, these semi-auxiliaries include: have to, get to, be about to, used to, mean to, be going to, etc. In French, many of the semi-auxiliaries are the same as the English ones…<\/p>\n
\nALLER +<\/em><\/strong> infinitive (near future)
\nMon b\u00e9b\u00e9 va <\/span>s’endormir. <\/em>\u00a0(My baby is going to go to sleep).
\nJ’allais<\/span> partir quand mon copain est arriv\u00e9.<\/em>\u00a0 (I was going to leave when my boyfriend arrived.)<\/p>\n
\nNous sommes \u00e0 table\u00a0; nous sommes sur le point de<\/span> manger.<\/em>\u00a0 (We are at the table. \u00a0We are about to eat.)<\/p>\n
\nMes amis doivent arriver <\/span>\u00e0 la gare ce soir \u00e0 8 heures.<\/em> (My friends should be arriving at the station this evening at 8 o’clock.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>VENIR DE <\/em><\/strong>+ infinitive (recent past)
\nMon mari n’est pas l\u00e0\u00a0; il vient de<\/span> sortir. <\/em>(My husband is not here; he just left.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\u00caTRE EN TRAIN DE<\/em><\/strong> + infinitive
\nJ’\u00e9tais en train de<\/span> faire le linge quand le lave-linge s’est bris\u00e9.<\/em> <\/em>(I was doing the laundry when the washer broke down.)<\/p>\n
\nCOMMENCER \u00c0 <\/em><\/strong>\/ SE METTRE \u00c0<\/em><\/strong> + infinitive
\nLes gens commencent \u00e0 <\/span>arriver.<\/em>\u00a0 (The people are starting to arrive.)
\nTout le monde s’est mis<\/span> \u00e0 rire.<\/em>\u00a0 (Everybody started to laugh.)<\/p>\n
\nFINIR DE <\/strong>\/ CESSER DE <\/strong>\/ S’ARR\u00caTER DE <\/strong>+ infinitive
\nJ’ai fini d<\/span>‘\u00e9crire le livre.<\/em> \u00a0(I’ve finished writing the book.)
\nLa neige a cess\u00e9 de<\/span> tomber.<\/em> <\/em>\u00a0(The snow has stopped falling.)
\nJe lui ai demand\u00e9 de s’arr\u00eater de<\/span> fumer\u00a0; donc, il a \u00e9teint sa cigarette<\/em>.\u00a0 (I asked him to stop smoking so he put out his cigarette.)<\/p>\n
\nEx: La neige ne cesse de tomber<\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0 (The snow keeps falling.)
\nIl n’arr\u00eate pas de fumer<\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0 (He smokes all the time.)<\/p>\n
\nDEVOIR <\/em><\/strong>+ infinitive
\nJ’ai faim; il doit<\/span> \u00eatre environ midi<\/em>. <\/em>(I’m hungry. \u00a0It must be around noon.)
\n<\/em>POUVOIR<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>+ infinitive
\nLa salle est pleine; il peut<\/span> y avoir 500 personnes<\/em>.<\/em> (The hall is full; there could be 500 people here.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>DEVOIR <\/em><\/strong>+<\/em> infinitive
\n<\/span>On doit <\/span>\u00e9teindre les portables. <\/em>(Cell phones must be turned off.)<\/p>\n