French Verb Tenses- A concise Guide

The French language consists of many verb tenses. These can often be confusing to the beginning student. This guide is designed to help clear up those confusions and to enable you to better understand how French verb tenses compare to English verb tenses. Examples of each verb are providing in both English and French.

1. Present (same as in English but no –ing form)
Use to express actions which:
You are currently doing, Je parle français.
You do every day, Je mange une pomme tous les jours.
Are generally true, Sarah aime la pizza.

2. Le Passé Composé
In English: I ate an apple.
Use to express an action which:
Happened one time and is not still occurring:
Je suis allé au magasin.
Happened on a specific date, or gives an indicator of a specific day in the past.
Nous avons nagé dans la mer hier. Nous sommes allés à la plage lundi matin.

3. L’Imparfait.
In English: I was singing.
Use to express an action which:
Was already happening when another action occurred. Je parlais avec mon ami quand le téléphone a sonné.
Happened several times. J’allais à l’école tous les jours.
Uses an emotion, physical characteristic or feeling which implies the past, Je voulais parler avec mon père. Elle était belle quand elle avait huit ans.
Often used with the verbs savoir, vouloir, pouvoir, être, and avoir.

4. Le Futur ( In English and in French implies an action you will do in the future)
I will study tommarrow. J’étudierai demain.

5. Le Conditionnel
In English and in French to express:
Politeness : Je voudrais du café s’il vous plait.
An Action you would do if something else were possible.
Si j’étais riche, j’irais en France.
An obligation or duty je devrais préparer mes devoirs.
Can also be used in the past tense to express something you would have done if something else had been possible. J’aurais fait le travail, si j’avais étudié. (no future conditional exists.)

6. Le Subjonctif (is a mood not a tense, does not express what happened in time)
English rules are too different from French.
Use to express a mood, a feeling, a doubt, an opinion, a necessity or with other special phrases.
Il faut que vous soyez à l’heure.
Je suis content que tu apprennes le français.
(can be used in the past but not in the future)

7. Le Plus que parfait.
Used in French and in English to explain a past action, which happened before another past action.
J’avais étudié la leçon que le professeur a enseigné.

Even though it can be tough, with time you will begin to see patterns emerge and it will become easier. Practice makes perfect.

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AnnaLaura Brown is a successful team leader in an international organization. She can be contacted through her website www.scentedcandlesclub.com. She also runs an ecourse on success in business and life through her site: www.successlessonsforyou.com