Lesson 4.04 Qui? Quand? Pourquoi?

RE verbs are a new group of regular verbs. Just like ER and IR verbs, they follow a pattern, so if you can conjugate one RE verb, you can conjugate all of them.

The steps for conjugating an RE verb are the same as those of an ER and IR verb:

1. Drop the final letters RE.
2. Find the stem (the letters that remain).
3. Find the appropriate verb ending that goes with each subject (see below).

je / j' - s	nous - ons
tu - s	vous - ez
il / elle / on - no ending	ils / elles - ent

This is a list of common RE verbs. Hover over each verb to learn its meaning. Listen to the pronunciation of each verb and practice saying the words aloud.

Some Common RE Verbs
attendre	descendre	entendre
fondre	mordre	pendre
perdre	rendre	rendre visite à
répondre	tordre	vendre

Here are some examples:

• (pendre) Je pends la peinture. (I am hanging the painting.)
  1. pend re --> Drop the -RE.
  2. pend --> Find the stem.
  3. pends --> Add the ending: je = s

• (fondre) Le chocolat fond. (The chocolate is melting.)
  1. fond re --> Drop the -RE.
  2. fond --> Find the stem.
  3. fond --> Add the ending: le chocolat = il = no ending

Click on each form of the verb attendre to hear the pronunciation. Practice saying the six forms aloud.

Six Forms of the Verb attendre
j'attends	nous attendons
tu attends	vous attendez
il / elle / on attend	ils / elles attendent

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Now that you have learned to use question words, you must practice saying the question words aloud. Click on each link to hear the pronunciation and try saying the words. If you find it difficult to pronounce a certain word, be sure to write down a pronunciation note. Example: pourquoi (poor-kwah).

Common Questions
comment	Comment est-ce qu'elle chante? Bien ou mal? Comment chante-t-elle? Bien ou mal?	How does she sing? Well or badly?
où	Où est-ce qu'elle chante? Où chante-t-elle?	Where does she sing?
pourquoi	Pourquoi est-ce qu'elle chante? Pourquoi chante-t-elle?	Why is she singing?
quand	Quand est-ce qu'elle chante? Quand chante-t-elle?	When is she singing?
que	Qu'est-ce qu'elle chante? Que chante-t-elle?	What is she singing?
qui	Qui chante?	Who is singing?

The Restoration of Notre-Dame

During the French Revolution (1789-1799), La Cathédrale de Notre-Dame was heavily damaged by the revolutionaries. Numerous stained-glass windows were damaged. Religious icons were marred, and all of the religious statues inside the cathedral were removed or broken. The revolutionaries supported atheism, and they wanted to destroy as many religious items as possible in an effort to minimize or prevent participation in church services. The revolutionaries also believed the French citizens would be less likely to maintain strong bonds if they were kept apart and not given an opportunity to worship together. If the citizens were isolated, they could not work together to rise up against the revolutionaries. References to the church, the Catholic religion, the Sabbath day, and Saints' days were all outlawed. In 1793, the revolutionaries even adopted a new calendar in which each month was made up of three 10-day intervals. Therefore, the people had nine work days between each day of rest or worship, rather than six work days. This calendar remained in place until 1806, when the Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar or Christian calendar, was re-instated.

On the western façade of Notre-Dame, above the three portals and below the West Rose Window is the Gallery of Kings. This gallery contains 28 statues of religious kings, which represent 28 generations of Kings of Judah. However, during the French Revolution, the revolutionaries thought the statues represented the Kings of France, so they decapitated each statue to show their anger toward the government. In the days of the French Revolution, when people were executed, they were sent to the guillotine, a device that caused death by decapitation. In 1977, 21 of the 28 original heads from the Gallery of Kings were discovered during an excavation in France, and they are now on display in the Musée de Cluny.

The Gallery of Kings on the western façade of Notre-Dame.

After the French Revolution ended, Notre-Dame was in shambles. An effort was made to repair and modernize the building, but the damage was severe, and the repairs were much more difficult than anticipated. As the cathedral continued to deteriorate year after year, people began to discuss the possibility of demolishing Notre-Dame.

When French author Victor Hugo heard the rumors about the possible destruction of Notre-Dame, he wanted to do something to help save the cathedral. In 1829, he began writing a novel, set in 1482, and its main character was a disfigured hunchback named Quasimodo, who was found on the steps of Notre-Dame as a baby. Victor Hugo wrote about the beautiful Cathedral of Notre-Dame from long ago, describing it in vivid detail, and in the novel, it became a home for the outcast Quasimodo. The novel, Notre-Dame de Paris, was completed in 1831, and it was an instant success. After reading the novel, thousands of people began coming to Notre-Dame to see the place where Quasimodo lived, but they were saddened by what they found. Notre-Dame was on the verge of collapsing.

Just as Hugo hoped, the public demanded that Notre-Dame be restored to its former glory, and in 1844, King Louis-Philippe issued a decree stating Notre-Dame de Paris would be restored. In 1845, architects Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus were chosen to oversee the project. After the death of Lassus in 1857, Viollet-le-Duc took sole responsibility for completing the project. In 1864, the newly restored cathedral was dedicated by Monsignor Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris. To honor Viollet-le-Duc for his excellent work, his statue was placed on the Spire of Saints and Heros, which is on top of Notre-Dame.

The Spire of Saints on the roof of Notre-Dame.

Read Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) by Victor Hugo.

References

"Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris." Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Ed. Michelle Blanc and Laurent Prades. La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, n.d. Web. 27 June 2014. .

Hollis, Edward. "Notre-Dame de Paris." The Secret Lives of Buildings: From the Ruins of the Parthenon to the Vegas Strip in Thirteen Stories. New York: Metropolitan, 2009. 187-206. Print.

McGregor, James H. "The Cathedral of Notre Dame." Paris from the Ground Up. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2009. 39-68. Print.