Une révision des temps de verbes
L’Infinitif
Danser = To dance
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 A verb in its natural, non-conjugated form.
 Used whenever a verb has no subject: 2nd verb,
general instruction, after a preposition or on it’s own.
 All French verbs fall into one of three ‘families’ each
of which follows the same general conjugation rules.
(many exceptions though!):
 ER
 IR (OIR)
 RE
Le Présent
Je danse = I dance / I am dancing / I do dance
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 For all actions that occur in the present (except for
giving orders and 2 events that happen
simultaneously)
 One word. Generally, drop the –er, -ir or –re and add
the ending. However - Many, many exceptions!
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Je - e/s (x)
Tu - (e)s/(x)
Il - e/nothing (t)
Nous - ons
Vous - ez
Ils - ent
Le Passé Composé
J’ai dansé = I danced/I did dance/ I have danced

 Used for past actions that were isolated (not
repeated an unspecified number of times) and
completed.
 TWO WORDS: An auxiliary verb and the past
participle.
 Auxiliary: Either Avoir or Être in the present tense.
Être is for ‘Vandertramp’ verbs and pronominal verbs,
Avoir is for all others.
 Past participle: Several exceptions but generally:
 ER – é
 IR- i
 RE - u
L’Imparfait
Je dansais=I was dancing/I used to dance/I danced

 Used for past actions that are habitual (repeated),
incomplete (interrupted) or non-actions (feelings and
descriptions).
 One word formed from a ‘root’ and and ‘ending’.
 Root: Take ‘nous’ in the present tense and drop the ‘-ons’
ending. (one exception : etre -> et-)
 Endings:
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Je-ais
Tu-ais
Il-ait
Nous-ions
Vous-iez
Ils-aient
Le Plus-que-parfait
J’avais dansé = I had danced/I had been dancing

 Used for all past actions that took place prior to
another past action. (the past of the past)
 TWO WORDS: Auxiliary and past participle.
 Auxiliary: Etre or Avoir in the IMPARFAIT.
 Past participle: Same as for the passe compose.
Le Futur Simple
Je danserai = I will dance
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 Used for future actions. (Generally ones that are further in
the future)
 One word formed of a root and an ending.
 Root: Most verbs use their infinitive form (ER/IR/RE). For –
RE verbs drop the final ‘E’ so the root always ends in an ‘R’.
Also, almost 20 exceptions to memorise.
 Ending: ‘Avoir’ in the present tense, except for ‘nous’ and
‘vous’ which lose the ‘av-’.
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Je-ai
Tu-as
Il-a
Nous-ons
Vous-ez
Ils-ont
Le Conditionnel
Je danserais = I would dance
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 Used for all conditional actions (would ________
/could/should in English.
 One word formed by combining a root and an
ending.
 Root: Same as the FUTUR SIMPLE
 Endings: Same as the IMPARFAIT
Le Subjonctif
Que je danse… = that I dance

 Not another verb tense, rather a different MODE. Used for
possible or desired actions that likely do not already exist in
reality. Almost always preceded but QUE… (however ‘que’ is
not always followed by the subjunctive!) Used more often in
French than in English. (may)
 One word formed from a root and an ending.
 Root: For je,tu,il and ils – Use ‘ils’ in the present indicative minus
the –ent. For nous/vous – use ‘nous’ in the present minus the –
ons.
 Endings: je – e / tu – es / il – e / nous – ions / vous – iez / ils –
ent.
 9 exceptions to memorise: Avoir/Être/Savoir/Vouloir/
Pouvoir/Pleuvoir/Falloir/Aller/Faire/Valoir
Les Autres:
Dansez! = Dance!
Je vais danser = I’m going to dance
Je viens de danser = I just dansed

 L’impératif: For giving orders
 Similar to the present tense, some differences.
 Only conjugated with ‘tu’, ‘nous’ or ‘vous’
 In the affirmative the pronouns are placed AFTER the verb:
Lève-toi!
 Le futur proche: For events in the near future
 Formed with ‘aller’ in the present tense + the verb in its
infinitive form
 Le passé récent: For very recent past actions
 Three words: The verb ‘venir’ in the present tense + de + the
verb in its infinitive form. (J’ai juste dansé – does NOT exist!)
Les Autres : Passés
J’aurai dansé = I will have danced
J’aurais dansé = I would have danced
Que j’aie dansé… = that I might/may have danced
Avoir dansé = to have danced
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 Futur Antérieur: The past of the future. Describes an action that will
have already happened when another action occurs.
 Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) in the futur simple + the past
participle.
 Conditionnel Passé: The past of the conditional. Describes an action
that would have happened if another had been true. (regrets!)
 Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) in the present conditional +
the past participle.
 Subjonctif Passé: The past of the present subjunctive.
 Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) in the present subjunctive +
the past participle.
 Infinitif Passé: The past of the infinitive (when a 2nd action or action
after a preposition (Après!) occured in the past.)
 Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) + past participle
Les Participes
En dansant = by dancing/while dancing
Dansé = danced
Ayant dansé = having danced
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 L’année prochaine!! 