Hello! I’d be happy to help you create content for your « The Basics of French » course, focusing on verb tenses for English speakers. I’ll provide explanations in English and examples in French for the present, past, and future tenses. Let’s begin with a structured, paragraphed lesson.
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.
Example :
French English
Infinitive Parler to speak
first person singular Je parle I speak/I am speaking
Second person singular Tu parles You speak/You are speaking
Third person Singular Il/Elle/On parle He/She/it speaks/is speaking
First person plural Nous parlons We speak/We are speaking
Second person plural Vous parlez You speak/You are speaking
Third person plural Ils/Elles parlent They speak/They are speaking
Past Tense (Le Passé)
French has several past tenses, but we’ll focus on the two 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.
Example:
J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
Nous sommes allés au cinéma. (We went to the cinema.)
b) Imparfait: Used for describing ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
Formation: Remove the -ons from the nous form of the present tense and add specific endings.
Example:
Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais souvent au parc. (When I was a child, I often played in the park.)
c) Table With « avoir » – « manger » (to eat):
Subject Conjugation 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
Ils/Elles ont mangé They ate
D) With « être » – « aller » (to go):
Subject Conjugation 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
Ils/Elles sont allé(e)s They went
Future Tense (Le Futur)
The future tense in French is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future.
Formation: For regular verbs, use the infinitive and add specific endings.
Example:
Demain, je partirai en vacances. (Tomorrow, I will leave for vacation.)
Nous visiterons Paris l’année prochaine. (We will visit Paris next year.)
Each of these tenses has its own set of rules and exceptions, especially for irregular verbs. As students progress, they’ll learn more about these complexities and how to use these tenses in various contexts.
Future Tense (Le Futur Simple) Let’s use the verb « parler » (to speak) as an example:
Subject Conjugation 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
Ils/Elles parleront They will speak