How French Verb Tenses Fit Together

The present tense (le présent) is the most fundamental and frequently used tense in French. It's similar to the English simple present and present continuous, as French doesn't distinguish between "I speak" and "I am speaking." It is used for:

• Actions happening now
• Habitual actions ("I speak French every day")
• General truths ("Paris is beautiful")
• Near future with context ("I'm leaving tomorrow")
• Historical present in storytelling

Regular Conjugations

Common Irregular Verbs

Common Spelling Changes

1. Verbs ending in -ger add 'e' after 'g' before 'a/o' to keep soft 'g' sound:
   • manger → nous mangeons
2. Verbs ending in -cer add cedilla before 'a/o' to keep 's' sound:
   • commencer → nous commençons
3. Verbs with 'é' in second-to-last syllable change to 'è' before silent syllable:
   • préférer → je préfère, but nous préférons

The imperfect tense (l'imparfait) describes ongoing or repeated actions in the past. It's often called the "descriptive past" as it sets the scene and describes what "was happening" or "used to happen." It is used for:

• Habitual actions in the past ("I used to speak French")
• Ongoing situations ("It was raining")
• Descriptions of physical/mental states ("I was tired")
• Background information in stories
• Wishes or suggestions ("I wanted to ask you...")
• Simultaneous past actions ("While I was reading, she was cooking")

Regular Conjugations

Common Irregular Verbs

Note: The imparfait is one of the most regular tenses in French. Even most irregular verbs follow the regular pattern in this tense - you simply take the nous form of the present tense, remove -ons, and add the appropriate ending.

The passé composé is the main past tense for completed actions in French. It's a compound tense formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) plus a past participle. Unlike the imparfait, it describes specific, completed actions with clear beginnings and endings. It is used for:

• Completed actions in the past ("I spoke to him")
• Sequential actions ("I arrived, ate dinner, and left")
• Actions with specific time references ("Yesterday I went...")
• Actions that interrupted another action
• Life-changing events ("She was born in Paris")

Regular Past Participles

Common Irregular Past Participles

Être Verbs (You can remember these by Dr & Mrs Vandertramp)

The following verbs use être as the auxiliary instead of avoir:

• Devenir
• Revenir
• Monter
• Rester
• Sortir
• Venir
• Aller
• Naître
• Descendre
• Enter
• Retourner
• Tomber
• Rentrer
• Arriver
• Mourir
• Partir

Note: Past participles used with être must agree in gender and number with the subject:

• il est allé (m.sing)
• elle est allée (f.sing)
• ils sont allés (m.pl)
• elles sont allées (f.pl)

The simple future (le futur simple) is used to express actions that will happen in the future. It's formed by adding specific endings to the infinitive form of the verb (or a modified stem for irregular verbs). Unlike English, French doesn't use auxiliary verbs like "will" or "going to" for the future. It is used for:

• Actions that will happen in the future
• Predictions and hypotheses
• Promises and commitments
• Scheduled or planned events
• General truths about the future

Regular Conjugations

Common Irregular Verbs

Common Stem Changes

Some verbs have irregular stems but regular endings:

• venir → viendr- (je viendrai)
• tenir → tiendr- (je tiendrai)
• voir → verr- (je verrai)
• pouvoir → pourr- (je pourrai)
• devoir → devr- (je devrai)
• recevoir → recevr- (je recevrai)
• envoyer → enverr- (j'enverrai)

The present conditional (le conditionnel présent) expresses hypothetical actions and polite requests. It's formed using the same stem as the future tense but with imperfect endings. Think of it as the "would" tense in English. It is used for:

• Polite requests ("I would like...")
• Hypothetical situations ("I would do it if...")
• Giving advice ("You should...")
• Expressing uncertainty ("It would be...")
• Reporting future events in past context
• Making suggestions

Regular Conjugations

Common Irregular Verbs

Important Notes

• The conditional uses the same irregular stems as the future tense:
  • venir → viendr- (je viendrais)
  • avoir → aur- (j'aurais)
  • être → ser- (je serais)
• The endings are the same as the imparfait (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient)
• Often used in si (if) clauses with the imparfait: "Si j'avais le temps, je le ferais"

The past conditional (le conditionnel passé) is a compound tense that expresses hypothetical situations in the past. It's formed using the conditional of the auxiliary verb (avoir/être) plus the past participle. Think of it as "would have" in English. It is used for:

• Past hypothetical situations ("I would have done it")
• Expressing regret ("I should have studied")
• Past unfulfilled wishes ("I would have liked to...")
• Polite requests about the past
• Reported speech in the past
• Third condition (if clauses) with plus-que-parfait

Formation

Conditional of auxiliary (avoir/être) + past participle

Regular Past Participles

Common Examples

Note: Remember that past participles with être must agree in gender and number with the subject.

The plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) describes actions that happened before another past action. It's formed using the imparfait of the auxiliary verb (avoir/être) plus the past participle. It is used for:

• Actions completed before another past action
• Past habits that had occurred repeatedly
• Third conditional if-clauses ("If I had known...")
• Expressing regret about the past
• Reported speech for actions already completed
• Background information in storytelling

Formation

Imparfait of auxiliary (avoir/être) + past participle

Regular Past Participles

Common Examples

Note: As with all compound tenses using être, the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number.

The future anterior (le futur antérieur) describes actions that will be completed before another future action. It's formed using the future simple of the auxiliary verb (avoir/être) plus the past participle. It is used for:

• Actions that will be completed before another future action
• Actions that will be completed by a certain point in the future
• Expressing probability about past events
• Complex time relationships in the future
• Formal written French

Formation

Future simple of auxiliary (avoir/être) + past participle

Regular Past Participles

Common Examples

Note: With être verbs, remember that the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number (elle sera partie, ils seront venus).

The passé simple is a literary past tense, primarily used in formal writing and literature. While rarely used in spoken French (replaced by passé composé), it's important for reading comprehension. It describes completed actions in the past with no connection to the present. It is used for:

• Completed actions in formal writing
• Main events in literary narratives
• Historical accounts
• Formal documents and academic writing
• Sequential actions in storytelling
• Expressing definitively concluded past events

Regular Conjugations

Common Irregular Verbs

Note: Many verbs have irregular stems in the passé simple, but the endings within each group (-er, -ir, -re) remain consistent.

The subjunctive (le subjonctif) is a mood rather than a tense, used to express doubt, emotion, necessity, or subjective opinions. It appears in dependent clauses after certain expressions and conjunctions. It is used after phrases expressing:

• Emotions/feelings (Je suis content que...)
• Doubt/uncertainty (Je doute que...)
• Necessity/will (Il faut que...)
• Opinion/judgment (Il est important que...)
• Wishes/desires (Je veux que...)
• Certain conjunctions (avant que, bien que, pour que...)

Regular Conjugations

Common Irregular Verbs

Common Triggering Expressions

• Il faut que... (It is necessary that...)
• Je veux que... (I want that...)
• Il est important que... (It is important that...)
• Bien que... (Although...)
• Pour que... (So that...)
• Avant que... (Before...)

The past subjunctive (le subjonctif passé) is used to express the same subjective ideas as the present subjunctive, but for actions that happened in the past or will be completed before another action. It's formed using the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb (avoir/être) plus the past participle. It is used for:

• Completed actions in subjunctive contexts
• Actions that will be completed before another future action
• Past events that are subject to doubt or emotion
• Perfect aspect in subjunctive dependent clauses
• After the same triggers as present subjunctive

Formation

Present subjunctive of auxiliary (avoir/être) + past participle

Regular Past Participles

Common Examples

Example Sentences

• Je suis content qu'il soit venu (I'm happy that he came)
• Il doute qu'elle ait réussi (He doubts that she succeeded)
• Bien qu'ils aient essayé (Although they tried)

Note: As with other compound tenses, past participles with être must agree in gender and number with the subject.

The imperative (l'impératif) is used to give commands, instructions, or advice. It's unique among French tenses as it only uses three forms (tu, nous, vous) and doesn't use subject pronouns. It is used for:

• Direct commands
• Instructions and recipes
• Suggestions and advice
• Invitations
• Warnings
• Encouragement

Regular Conjugations

Common Irregular Verbs

Important Notes

• No subject pronouns are used
• For -er verbs, drop the 's' in tu form (parle, not parles)
• With reflexive verbs, pronouns come after the verb with hyphens:
  • Lève-toi! (Get up!)
  • Lavons-nous! (Let's wash ourselves!)
  • Asseyez-vous! (Sit down!)
• In negative commands, ne...pas surrounds the verb:
  • Ne parle pas! (Don't speak!)
  • N'y allez pas! (Don't go there!)
• With object pronouns, they come before the verb in negative commands:
  • Ne le fais pas! (Don't do it!)
  • Ne lui parle pas! (Don't talk to him/her!)