Today Let’s walk through John 1:6-8. Here is the translation in French
vint (to come) ; from “venire.” Passe simple indicative 3rd person singular. This particular tense in French is called “passé simple” and is used in literary works.
servir (to serve); present indicative infinitive. 2nd group verb with an “ir” ending.
rendre ( it is best to translate this verb as “to come” in the context of John bearing witness about Jesus)
crussent (to believe), subjunctive mood indicative 3rd person plural. The little phrase “afin que” (so that…) tells us the verb is the subjunctive mood.
parut (to appear/to bear). Passe simple indicative 3rd person singular. This particular tense in French is called “passé simple” and is used in literary works.
Nouns
homme (man/human)
Dieu (God)
Nom (name)
Jean (John)
témoin (witness)
témoignage (testimony)
lumière (light)
envoyé ( sent). Here “envoyé” functions not as a verb per se but as an adjective. Thus,
the phrase “un homme envoyé » is adjectival.
tous (all), the plural form of “tout”
Adverbs /prepositions/conjunctions
de (of)
pour (for)
afin que (so that…)
par (by)
mais (but)
à (to)
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