The main purpose of this study is to expound the ideogenesis (of the conceptual system) in French. It deals with the first zone of the chronological axis of verbal matter. This zone includes three consecutive positions of the verb be : be1 (=exist), be2 (=copula), be3 (circumstantial function) and the three main modal positions: possibility, volition, obligation. The subject-object relationship, which is directional and has as a final result the shaping of its two constituents, is used to define these positions. The distribution of this relationship as regards the individual positions determines the matter of the respective verbs. The three positions of be and of the three modal verbs (pouvoir, vouloir, devoir) are explained in a consistent way, i.e. linguistically.