Find the subject before changing the ending
When a French verb looks wrong, begin with its subject, not with the nearest noun. The subject determines the verb’s grammatical person and number. A noun between the subject and verb may describe a place, an owner or an object; it does not automatically control agreement. This lesson uses present-tense statements and original fictional activities so that you can practise one decision clearly.
Work in four steps: find the conjugated verb, identify the complete subject group, replace that group mentally with a subject pronoun, and check the corresponding form. Then reread the whole sentence. The replacement is a diagnostic tool; you do not have to remove the noun group from your final version.
A compact present-tense reference
For regular verbs like porter, remove -er and add the ending for the subject. Do not apply that pattern to every French verb. In particular, aller ends in -er but is irregular. Frequently used verbs deserve their own checks.
| Subject | porter | être | avoir | faire | aller |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | porte | suis | ai | fais | vais |
| tu | portes | es | as | fais | vas |
| il / elle / on | porte | est | a | fait | va |
| nous | portons | sommes | avons | faisons | allons |
| vous | portez | êtes | avez | faites | allez |
| ils / elles | portent | sont | ont | font | vont |
Some endings sound alike. Porte, portes and portent cannot reliably be distinguished by listening to the verb alone. Written agreement therefore needs a subject check even when the sentence sounds natural.
Worked case 1: match person before selecting an ending
Draft to edit: « Tu porte le panier et nous prépare la table. » There are two conjugated verbs and two subjects. Checking only the first verb leaves the sentence unfinished.
| Subject | Person and number | Required form | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | Second person singular | portes | Regular present ending -es. |
| nous | First person plural | préparons | Regular present ending -ons. |
Corrected sentence: « Tu portes le panier et nous préparons la table. » The basket and table are objects. Their singular forms do not determine either verb ending.
Now change the second subject to vous. The result is « Tu portes le panier et vous préparez la table. » This can be meaningful if the speaker addresses one person in the first clause and a group including that person in the second. Do not make that change merely to obtain a familiar ending: changing the subject changes who performs the action.
With polite singular vous, the verb still takes the vous form. One person addressed respectfully gives vous préparez, not vous prépare.
Worked case 2: ignore a distracting nearby plural
Draft: « La responsable des jeux rangent les boîtes. » Ask who is doing the putting away. The complete subject is la responsable des jeux. Its head, responsable, is singular. Des jeux specifies her responsibility; it does not turn her into several people.
Diagnostic replacement: « Elle range les boîtes. » Therefore the repaired sentence is « La responsable des jeux range les boîtes. » Both jeux and boîtes are plural, but neither controls this verb.
Reverse the number pattern: « Les responsables de la salle range les boîtes. » Now the head is plural. Replace the complete subject with ils or elles, according to the people referred to. Both require rangent: « Les responsables de la salle rangent les boîtes. »
A useful check is to temporarily set aside the descriptive group: la responsable … range; les responsables … rangent. Restore the description afterwards. This is an editing technique, not an instruction to delete useful information from the finished writing.
Apply the same reasoning with an irregular verb: « La boîte de cartes est sur la table. » The cards do not make sont correct. The thing located on the table is the singular box.
Worked case 3: combine subjects with moi or toi
Two distinct people joined by et form a plural subject in these examples. The pronoun depends on who is included. If the speaker is included, use first person plural; if the addressee but not the speaker is included, use second person plural.
| Subject group | Pronoun | Correct sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Maëlle et moi | nous | Maëlle et moi faisons les affiches. |
| Toi et Rami | vous | Toi et Rami allez chercher les chaises. |
| Rami et son frère | ils | Rami et son frère ont les clés. |
| Toi et moi | nous | Toi et moi sommes à l’entrée. |
In the last row, the presence of the speaker makes nous the appropriate replacement. Do not choose vous merely because toi appears first. The order of the people is not the rule.
These examples concern genuinely distinct people. Keep the explanation focused on that clear pattern rather than trying to cover expressions that name one entity in two ways. The practical question remains: who actually belongs to the subject group?
Repair a connected activities paragraph
Original practice draft with deliberate errors:
« Chaque mercredi, la sœur de mes voisins organise un atelier de papier. Les participants de notre rue apporte leurs carnets. Léna et moi fait les modèles. Toi et Idris avez les ciseaux. La boîte de rubans sont près de la porte. »
Corrected version:
« Chaque mercredi, la sœur de mes voisins organise un atelier de papier. Les participants de notre rue apportent leurs carnets. Léna et moi faisons les modèles. Toi et Idris avez les ciseaux. La boîte de rubans est près de la porte. »
The first sentence was already correct: one sister organises. Participants requires apportent; the speaker plus Léna requires faisons; and one box requires est. Keep avez: toi et Idris corresponds to vous. Good editing preserves correct forms rather than changing everything that looks complicated.
Three solved fresh tasks
Task 1: identify the head
Corrigez si nécessaire : « Les dessins de mon cousin décore le couloir. »
Solution: Les dessins de mon cousin décorent le couloir. The drawings, not the cousin, decorate it. The subject corresponds to ils.
Task 2: check an irregular form
Complétez avec faire : « Vous … une liste ; elle … une étiquette. »
Solution: Vous faites une liste ; elle fait une étiquette. Regular -er endings cannot supply these forms.
Task 3: retain who is included
Complétez avec aller : « Mon amie et moi … dans la cour ; toi et tes cousins … dans la salle. »
Solution: Mon amie et moi allons dans la cour ; toi et tes cousins allez dans la salle. The first subject includes the speaker; the second includes the addressee but excludes the speaker.
Frequently asked questions
Does the closest noun control the verb?
No. Identify the subject group and its head. A nearby noun may be part of a description or an object.
Should I replace every noun subject with a pronoun?
No. Pronoun replacement is a checking method. Keep the original noun group when it gives the reader useful information.
Why does moi lead to nous in a paired subject?
The group includes the speaker and another person. That is first person plural in these examples.
Does polite vous take a singular verb form?
No. Even when it addresses one person, it takes forms such as vous êtes and vous portez.
Can I hear every agreement ending?
No. Several written present forms sound alike. Check the spelling against the subject instead of relying only on pronunciation.
Does on take a plural verb when it means we?
The conjugated verb remains third person singular: on prépare, on va. This lesson checks verb forms, not other agreement questions.
What should my correction explanation contain?
Name the controlling subject, its replacement pronoun and the required verb form. That makes the reasoning reusable in a new sentence.
Edit gender and number across the whole noun group
Verb agreement follows the subject. Determiners and adjectives also need checking against their own noun. A feminine noun does not require a different ordinary present-tense verb ending from a masculine noun with the same person and number: elle porte and il porte share the form. Gender and subject–verb number are separate checks.
Complete original draft and corrected paragraph
Facts to preserve: one small room, two large windows, three green chairs, two new posters and one responsible person. These quantities are fixed. All the scene and intended referents are fictional.
La petit salle est prêt. Deux grande fenêtres laisse entrer la lumière. Trois chaise vert sont près de la porte. Les deux nouveau affiches présentent le programme. La responsable des affiches sont contente.
La petite salle est prête. Deux grandes fenêtres laissent entrer la lumière. Trois chaises vertes sont près de la porte. Les deux nouvelles affiches présentent le programme. La responsable des affiches est contente.
- Salle is feminine singular: petite and prête agree with it. La was already correct.
- Fenêtres is feminine plural: grandes has both the feminine and plural form. The plural subject controls laissent.
- Trois requires chaises in the plural; vertes agrees with the feminine plural noun. The existing sont is correct.
- Affiches is feminine plural, giving nouvelles. Do not form it mechanically as nouveaus. Présentent was already plural and correct.
- La responsable des affiches has a singular head: est. The feminine singular contente remains correct. The plural affiches is not the subject’s head.
Determiner contrast: “un petit panneau” becomes “une petite affiche” when the object named changes. The determiner and adjective follow the new noun’s gender. In “les petites affiches”, les marks plural without displaying a masculine/feminine difference. An adjective such as rouge already ends in -e in the masculine singular: un panneau rouge, une affiche rouge. Avoid adding a second e mechanically.
Error contrast: changing “deux fenêtres” to “une fenêtre” makes a singular verb easier, but changes the fixed scene. Editing agreement should not solve a grammatical problem by deleting a window. First identify what the writer means, then repair the agreeing words.
Independent connected revision
Preserve one blue folder, two red envelopes, one new chair and one teacher. Correct all and only the errors, then explain two correct forms that you retained.
Le chemise bleu contient deux enveloppe rouges. Une nouveau chaise est près de la table. La professeure regarde les enveloppes et elle prépare une petite étiquette.
Complete answer
La chemise bleue contient deux enveloppes rouges. Une nouvelle chaise est près de la table. La professeure regarde les enveloppes et elle prépare une petite étiquette.
Chemise here means a folder and is feminine singular: la, bleue. Deux requires enveloppes, while rouges was already correct for that feminine plural. Chaise takes nouvelle. La professeure is the feminine singular subject here. Regarde and prépare are already correct for the singular subject. Une petite étiquette was correct and stays unchanged. Do not invent a second folder or teacher to match an erroneous form.
Independent number transformation
Change only the displayed object from one to several. Preserve the owner as one person: « Son petit carnet bleu est sur la table. »
Answer
Ses petits carnets bleus sont sur la table.
Carnets, petits, bleus and sont become plural. Ses agrees with the possessed plural objects; it does not turn their one owner into several people. The table remains singular because the instruction changes the notebooks only.
References: OQLF: agreement within the noun group and feminine adjective forms. The passages and fixed-quantity editing tasks are original.
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