Using French Semi-Auxiliary Verbs

Using French Semi-Auxiliary Verbs The most common  auxiliary verbs  are  avoir and à ªtre. These are the conjugated verbs that stand in front of another verb in compound tenses to indicate mood and tense. In addition to these two, French has a number of semi-auxiliary verbs, which are conjugated in order to express various nuances of time, mood, or aspect. These verbs are followed by an infinitive. Some semi-auxiliary verbs are equivalent to modal verbs in English and some are verbs of perception. Here are the uses and meanings of some frequently used French semi-auxiliary verbs. Aller In present or imperfect tense, aller means to be going to. Je vais à ©tudier. Im going to study. Jallais à ©tudier. I was going to study. In any tense, aller means  to go to/and. Va chercher les clà ©s. Go and look for the keys. Je suis allà © voir mon frà ¨re. I went to see my brother. In any tense, aller is used to emphasize the verb that follows. Je nirai pas rà ©pondre cela. Im not going to dignify that with a response. Je vais te dire une chose. Let me tell you something. Devoir In any tense, except conditional and past conditional, devoir indicates obligation or necessity. Jai dà » partir. I had to leave. Tu dois manger. You must eat. In conditional form, devoir means should. In past conditional, devoir means should have. Je devrais partir. I should leave. Il aurait dà » nous aider. He should have helped us. Faillir Fallir indicates that something almost happened. Il a failli tomber. He almost fell. Jai failli rater lexamen. I nearly failed the test. Faire Causative construction:  to make something happen, to have something done, to make someone do something. Jai fait laver la voiture. I had the car washed. Il me fait à ©tudier. Hes making me study. Laisser To let something happen, to let someone do something. Vas-tu me laisser sortir? Are you going to let me go out? Laisse-moi le faire. Let me do it. Manquer   Followed by optional de, manquer indicates that something was about to happen or nearly happened. Jai manquà © (de) mourir.   I almost died. Elle a manquà © (de) pleurer.   She nearly cried. Paraà ®tre   Paraà ®tre means to appear/to seem to. Ça paraà ®t à ªtre une erreur. That appears to be an error. Il paraissait à ªtre malade. He seemed to be sick. Partir Partir means to leave, in order to, to go to. Peux-tu partir acheter du pain? Could you go out and buy some bread? Il est parti à ©tudier en Italie. He went to study in Italy. Passer Passer means to call/drop in on, to call for, to go to. Passe me chercher demain. Come pick me up tomorrow. Il va passer voir ses amis. Hes going to drop in on his friends. Pouvoir Pouvoir means can, may, might, to be able to. Je peux vous aider. I can help you. Il peut à ªtre prà ªt. He might be ready. Savoir Savoir means to know how to. Sais-tu nager? Do you know how to swim? Je ne sais pas lire. I dont know how to read. Sembler Sembler means to seem/to appear to. Cela semble indiquer que†¦ That seems to indicate that†¦ La machine semble fonctionner. The machine appears to be working. Sortir de Sortir de means to have just done something  (informal). On sort de manger. We just ate. Il sortait de finir. He had just finished. Venir Venir means to come (in order) to. Je suis venu aider. Ive come to help. venir To happen to. David est venu arriver. David happened to arrive. venir de To have just done something. Je viens de me lever. I just got up. Vouloir Vouloir means to want to. Je ne veux pas lire à §a. I dont want to read that. Veux-tu sortir ce soir? Do you want to go out tonight? When Avoir  and  ÃƒÅ tre  Also Act as Semi-Auxiliary Verbs When followed by infinitive, avoir means to have to. Avoir   Vous avez rà ©pondre. You have to respond. Jai à ©tudier. I have to study. Être Être To be in the process of. Es-tu partir? Are you leaving? Être censà © To be supposed to. Je suis censà © travailler. Im supposed to work. Être en passe de To be about to (usually indicates something positive). Je suis en passe de me marier. Im about to get married. Être en train de To be in the process of, to be doing something right now. On est en train de manger. Were eating (right now). Être loin de To not be about/going to. Je suis loin de te mentir. Im not about to lie to you. Être pour To be ready/prepared/willing to. Je ne suis pas pour voler. Im not willing to steal. Être prà ¨s de To be about to, ready to. Es-tu prà ¨s de partir? Are you about to leave? Être sur le point de?   To be about to (positive or negative). Il est sur le point de tomber.   Hes about to fall. French Helping Verbs Any verb that can be followed by an infinitive may be a semi-auxiliary, including (but not limited to): adorer: to adore doingaimer:  to like, love doing(s)arrà ªter de:  to stop doingchercher :  to look to dochoisir de:  to choose to docontinuer /de:  to continue to docroire:  to believe (that one) doesdemander de:  to ask todà ©sirer:  to desire todà ©tester:  to hate doingdire ( quelquun) de:  to tell (someone) to dosefforcer de:  to endeavor to doespà ©rer:  to hope to doessayer de:  to try doingfalloir:  to be necessary to dohà ©siter :  to hesitate to dointerdire ( qqun) de:  to forbid (someone) to dopenser:  to be thinking of, to consider doingpermettre:  to allow to dopersister :  to persist in doingpromettre:  to promise to doprà ©fà ©rer:  to prefer doingrefuser de:  to refuse to dorisquer de:  to risk doing, to possibly dosouhaiter:  to hope to dotà ¢cher de:  to try doingtenter de:  to attempt doingvoir:  to see (someone) do, to see (something) done Word Order with Semi-Auxiliary Verbs   Semi-auxiliary verbs are used in what I call  dual-verb constructions, which have a slightly different word order than compound verb tenses. Dual verb constructions consist of a conjugated  semi-auxiliary verb, such as  pouvoir,  devoir,  vouloir,  aller,  espà ©rer, and  promettre, followed by a second verb in the infinitive. The two verbs may or may not be joined by a preposition. Agreement with Semi-Auxiliary Verbs In semi-auxiliary verb constructions, any direct object belongs to the infinitive, not the semi-auxiliary verb. Therefore, the past participle never agrees with any direct object.   Its a decision that I hated to make.RIGHT: Cest une dà ©cision que jai dà ©testà © prendre.WRONG: Cest une dà ©cision que jai dà ©testà ©e prendre. Here are the books that I wanted to read.Right: Voici les livres que jai voulu lire.  Wrong: Voici les livres que jai voulus lire. However, there may be other kinds of agreement: With the subject of the sentence, if the auxiliary verb of the semi-auxiliary is à ªtre (e.g., Nous sommes venus aider).With the subject of the infinitive.

What You Need to Know About Becoming a Dental Assistant

What You Need to Know About Becoming a Dental Assistant Going to the dentist’s office probably isn’t one of your favorite activities. Yet it’s a necessary part of taking care of yourself, and if you’re lucky you’ve found a great dental office and staff that make the process less painful- literally! The dental assistant is an essential member of this team, caring for patients and/or keeping the office running. If you think you might be interested in joining this career path, here’s a snapshot of the dental assisting field. What does a dental assistant do?A dental assistant’s responsibilities may include:Managing patient intakeMaintaining office recordsScheduling appointmentsAssisting the dentist during proceduresSterilizing and maintaining equipmentTaking patient x-rays (additional certification may be necessary)Teaching good oral hygiene and post-appointment care to patientsI’m squeamish about medical procedures. Can I still be a dental assistant?Yes! Many offices hire dental assista nts who primarily manage the office and perform clerical tasks like maintaining records, managing patient appointments, billing, acting as the office receptionist, and ordering and managing supplies. You’ll want to check job postings carefully to make sure that the job doesn’t require hands-on patient care or assisting the dentist during procedures.How do I become a dental assistant?In most cases, becoming a dental assistant doesn’t require a four-year college degree. However, some states require that dental assistant candidates complete a certification program and/or pass an exam, so you’ll want to be aware of your own state’s requirements before you choose this path.You’ll need strong organizational and clerical skills as a dental assistant, as well as solid communication and interpersonal skills. You’d be working with staff and patients (and you may be the first face people see when they visit your dental office), so those customer service skills are especially important in this role.How much do dental assistants make?The median salary for dental assistants is $34,500, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to surveys done by Payscale, dental assistant salaries can vary pretty widely depending on location and experience level at hiring. Payscale also found that salaries tended to be higher for assistants who brought strong office and business skills to their current job.Dental assistants also have high job satisfaction, per the Payscale survey: 5 out of 5 dental assistants polled said they were â€Å"extremely satisfied† with their jobs.Who’s hiring dental assistants?Many dental assistants are employed by independent or small-practice dental offices, but there are also many large firms hiring as well. Among the top corporate employers are:Aspen DentalDental Group LtdFamily Dental CareHeartland Dental CareWhat does the dental assistant career path look like?This field is has great dev elopment potential, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting 25% growth by 2022. Many dental assistants also choose to go on and become Certified Dental Assistants, dental hygienists, or a number of other dental/medical certification areas and administrative roles.Now that you know what it takes to get started in this popular and rewarding field, what do you think? Could this be you in the near future?