Sequence of Tenses ~ Concordance des temps
Learn which tense pairs to use in complex French sentences
Note: This is a fairly advanced lesson. If you are not comfortable with all of the
grammar concepts listed to the right, you should click the links to study those
prerequisites before attempting this lesson.
Prerequisites
When speaking French (or any other language), it is important to use the
correct sequence of tenses. In complex sentences, there is a relationship
between the verb in the main clause and the verb in the subordinate clause.
Using the correct sequence of tenses is just as important as conjugating the
verbs correctly and using the appropriate mood.
Verb tenses
*Present
*Passé
composé
*Imperfect
*Pluperfect
*Future
*Literary tenses
For example, in French you can't say "Je ne savais pas que tu es étudiant" you have to say "Je ne savais pas que tu étais étudiant." Likewise, in English,
you would say "I didn't know you were a student" rather than "I didn't know
that you are a student." Because the verb in the main clause is in the past, the
verb in the subordinate clause must be in the past as well.
In order to determine the correct sequence of tenses,
you need to start by examining the temporal
relationship between the verbs in the two clauses. The
action of the verb in the main clause may occur before,
during, or after the action of the subordinate verb. It is
this temporal relationship that dictates the sequence of
tenses. Although the French sequence of tenses is
usually the same as the English sequence, there are
some exceptions, so don't rely on your English knowledge to determine the
correct sequence of tenses in French.
Complex sentence
A sentence that
contains at least
one main clause
and at least one
subordinate clause.
Verb moods
*Subjunctive
*Conditional
*Imperative
Conjunctions
Relative
pronouns
Subordinate
clauses
Si clauses
The following table shows the possible relationships between the tenses in the
Indirect speech
main and subordinate clauses. The "action" column indicates whether the action
of the main verb occurs before, during, or after the action of the subordinate
verb. Note that you often have a choice of tenses for the subordinate verb, thus it is up to you to
choose the tense that expresses the correct nuance. At the same time (pardon the pun), you also
need to be sure to use the correct mood: indicative, subjunctive, or conditional.
Main verb Action Subordinate verb
Present
before Future
Subjunctive
during Present
after
J'espère que tu finiras.
Je veux que tu finisses.
Je sais que tu as raison.
Subjunctive
Je doute que tu aies raison.
Passé composé
Je sais qu'il a triché.
Passé simple
Je sais qu'il tricha.
Imperfect
Je sais qu'il avait raison.
Pluperfect
Je sais qu'il avait mangé avant notre départ.
Past subjunctive Je doute qu'il ait triché.
Future perfect
Future
before Future
Subjunctive
during Present
after
Je sais qu'il sera déjà parti.
Je te donnerai un livre que tu aimeras beaucoup.
J'irai à l'ecole avant qu'il ne se réveille.
Il étudiera pendant que je travaille.
Subjunctive
Je l'achèterai bien que tu aies plus d'argent.
Passé composé
J'irai au musée que tu as visité.
Passé simple
J'irai au musée que tu visitas.
Imperfect
Je verrai le film que tu aimais.
Pluperfect
J'affirmerai qu'il était parti avant le cours.
Past subjunctive Je serai content à condition qu'ils aient étudié.
Future perfect
Je vous dirai quand nous aurons décidé.
Note that the sequence of tenses for subordinate clauses is identical for main clauses in the present
and future.
Past
before Conditional
Past conditional
J'ai promis qu'il serait prêt à midi.
Si j'avais su, je t'aurais aidé.
*Imperfect subjunctive Je doutais qu'il parlât si bien.
Present subjunctive
during Passé composé
Je doutais qu'il parle si bien.
J'étudiais quand il est arrivé.
Passé simple
J'étudiais quand il arriva.
Imperfect
Je savais qu'il exaggérait.
*Imperfect subjunctive Je voulais qu'il eût raison.
after
Present subjunctive
Je voulais qu'il ait raison.
Pluperfect
Je savais qu'il avait triché.
*Pluperfect subjunctive Je doutais qu'il eût triché.
Past subjunctive
Je doutais qu'il ait triché.
Conditional before *Imperfect subjunctive Je voudrais que tu le fisses.
Present subjunctive
Je voudrais que tu le fasses.
during *Imperfect subjunctive Je saurais qu'il mentît.
Present subjunctive
after
Je saurais qu'il mente.
*Pluperfect subjunctive Je saurais qu'il eût menti
Past subjunctive
Je saurais qu'il ait menti.
*These literary tenses are nearly always replaced by their non-literary equivalents. The literary
tense is the "official" tense to be used in the construction, but in reality the imperfect subjunctive
and pluperfect subjunctive are obsolete in spoken French and rare in written French.