The Basics of French: Verb Tenses
Present Tense (Le Présent)
The present tense in French is used to describe actions happening now, habitual actions, or general truths. It’s similar to the simple present and present progressive in English.
Formation: For regular verbs, remove the infinitive ending (-er, -ir, or -re) and add the appropriate ending based on the subject.
| Subject | Verb Parler (to speak) | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Je | parle | I speak / I am speaking |
| Tu | parles | You speak / You are speaking |
| Il / Elle / On | parle | He / She / It speaks / is speaking |
| Nous | parlons | We speak / We are speaking |
| Vous | parlez | You speak / You are speaking (formal/plural) |
| Ils / Elles | parlent | They speak / They are speaking |
Past Tense (Le Passé)
French has several past tenses, but we’ll focus on two of the most common: le passé composé and l’imparfait.
a) Passé Composé
Used for completed actions in the past.
Formation: Auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in present tense + past participle of the main verb.
Examples:
- J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
- Nous sommes allés au cinéma. (We went to the cinema.)
| Subject | Avoir (to have) | Manger (to eat) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| J’ | ai mangé | I ate | |
| Tu | as mangé | You ate | |
| Il / Elle / On | a mangé | He / She / It ate | |
| Nous | avons mangé | We ate | |
| Vous | avez mangé | You ate (formal/plural) | |
| Ils / Elles | ont mangé | They ate |
b) Imparfait
Used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
Formation: Remove the -ons from the nous form of the present tense and add the following endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
Example:
- Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais souvent au parc. (When I was a child, I often played in the park.)
c) Passé Composé with Être
Used with verbs of movement (aller, venir, entrer, etc.) and reflexive verbs.
| Subject | Être (to be) | Aller (to go) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je | suis allé(e) | I went | |
| Tu | es allé(e) | You went | |
| Il / Elle / On | est allé(e) | He / She / It went | |
| Nous | sommes allé(e)s | We went | |
| Vous | êtes allé(e)(s) | You went (formal/plural) | |
| Ils / Elles | sont allé(e)s | They went |
Future Tense (Le Futur)
The future tense is used to describe actions that will happen in the future.
Formation: For regular verbs, use the infinitive and add specific endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
| Subject | Verb Parler (to speak) | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Je | parlerai | I will speak |
| Tu | parleras | You will speak |
| Il / Elle / On | parlera | He / She / It will speak |
| Nous | parlerons | We will speak |
| Vous | parlerez | You will speak (formal/plural) |
| Ils / Elles | parleront | They will speak |