“I just don’t get French tenses”
It’s not as hard as you think! Use the example below to help guide you through the process of deciding
“which tense fits best?” STAGE ONE
I want to talk
about playing
football
So you need
the verb to
‘play’
Look it up in the
dictionary. You
should see ‘jouer’
The most
He is going to
IMPORTANT bit:
play football
Decide which tense
fits best:
NEAR
FUTURE
When he was
I play foot ball on
Last weekend we
Saturday
played football
I am playing football
(completed past
PRESENT TENSE
action)
PERFECT TENSE
on Sunday
younger he used to
play football
She will play
(ongoing/ repeated
football when she
action in past)
is older
IMPERFECT TENSE
SIMPLE FUTURE
They would play football
CONDITIONAL TENSE
“I just don’t get French tenses”
So you’ve decided which tense best fits what you want to say and now you need to consider how this
transfers to correct French. STAGE TWO: regular or irregular?
Verbs are either regular or irregular. Regular verbs follow a pattern and irregular don’t. The irregular
ones might look mad and complicated BUT don’t panic. In a way they are actually easier as you will find
them laid out in all of the different tenses in dictionaries/ grammar books and textbooks.
COMMON IRREGULAR VERBS
REGULAR VERBS
You will need to look these up in verb tables (decide which
These follow a pattern and so you will not find them in verb
tense to use first). There are more than the ones below;
tables because they behave normally.
these are just the most common.
Avoir- to have
Venir- to come
Être- to be
Vouloir- to want
Aller- to go
Pouvoir- to be able to (can)
Faire- to do/ make
Devoir- to have to
Prendre- to take
They fall into three groups
- er verbs (e.g. regarder- to watch)
- ir verbs (e.g. finir- to finish)
- re verbs (e.g. perdre- to lose)
Why not print verb tables for common
irregular verbs and keep them in your folder?
So you’ve decided what tenses you need AND whether your verb is regular or irregular (ask someone if you
ER
can’t decide).
By now if your verb is irregular you should have found this in a verb table. If it’s not you’ll need to follow the pattern based
on the ending of the verb –er –ir or –re.
PRESENT TENSE:
SIMPLE FUTURE:
IMPERFECT TENSE:
First take of the –er: parler parl
Take the nous form of the present tense and take
Choose the ending for the correct person
of the –ons plus add the following endings:
je parle
nous parlons
je parlais
nous parlions
tu parles
vous parlez
tu parlais
vous parliez
il/elle/on parle
ils/elles parlent
il/elle/on parlait
iils/elles parlaient
Leave the verb whole (in the infinitive) and
add the following endings:
je parlerai
nous parlerons
tu parleras
vous parlerez
il/elle/on parlera
ils/elles parleront
PERFECT TENSE:
NEAR FUTURE TENSE:
CONDITIONAL TENSE:
Present tense of ‘avoir’ plus the past participle
Present tense of ‘aller’ + the infinitive
Leave the verb whole (in the infinitive) and
(take off –er and add –é)
J’ai parlé
nous avons parlé
tu as parlé
vous avez parlé
il/elle/on a parlé
ils/elles ont parlé
je vais parler
nous allons parler
tu vas parler
vous allez parler
il/elle/on va parler
ils/elles vont parler
GOT IT? Do the same with another –er verb e.g. ‘donner’ and ask someone to check
it
add the following endings:
je parlerais
nous parerions
tu parlerais
vous parleriez
il/elle/on parlerait
ils/elles parleraient
So you’ve decided what tenses you need AND whether your verb is regular or irregular (ask someone if you
IR
can’t decide).
By now if your verb is irregular you should have found this in a verb table. If it’s not you’ll need to follow the pattern based
on the ending of the verb –er –ir or –re.
PRESENT TENSE:
SIMPLE FUTURE:
IMPERFECT TENSE:
First take of the -ir: finir fin
Take the nous form of the present tense and take
Choose the ending for the correct person
of the –ons plus add the following endings:
je finis
nous finissons
je finissais
nous finissions
tu finis
vous finissez
tu finissais
vous finissiez
il/elle/on finit
ils/elles finissent
il/elle/on finissait
iils/elles finissaient
Leave the verb whole (in the infinitive) and
add the following endings:
je finirai
nous finirons
tu finiras
vous finirez
il/elle/on finira
ils/elles finiront
PERFECT TENSE:
NEAR FUTURE TENSE:
CONDITIONAL TENSE:
Present tense of ‘avoir’ plus the past participle
Present tense of ‘aller’ + the infinitive
Leave the verb whole (in the infinitive) and
(take off –ir and add –i)
J’ai fini
nous avons fini
tu as fini
vous avez fini
il/elle/on a fini
ils/elles ont fini
je vais finir
nous allons finir
tu vas finir
vous allez finir
il/elle/on va finir
ils/elles vont finir
GOT IT? Do the same with another –ir verb e.g. ‘choisir’ and ask someone to check
it
add the following endings:
je finirais
nous finirions
tu finirais
vous finiriez
il/elle/on finirait
ils/elles finiraient
So you’ve decided what tenses you need AND whether your verb is regular or irregular (ask someone if you
RE
can’t decide).
By now if your verb is irregular you should have found this in a verb table. If it’s not you’ll need to follow the pattern based
on the ending of the verb –er –ir or –re.
PRESENT TENSE:
SIMPLE FUTURE:
IMPERFECT TENSE:
First take of the -re: perdre perd
Take the nous form of the present tense and take
(Slight change from –er and –ir pattern)
Choose the ending for the correct person
of the –ons plus add the following endings:
Take off the –e and add:
je perds
nous perdons
je perdais
nous perdions
je perdrai
nous perdrons
tu perds
vous perdez
tu perdais
vous perdiez
tu perdras
vous perdrez
il/elle/on perd
ils/elles perdent
il/elle/on perdait
iils/elles perdaient
il/elle/on perdra
ils/elles perdront
PERFECT TENSE:
NEAR FUTURE TENSE:
CONDITIONAL TENSE:
Present tense of ‘avoir’ plus the past participle
Present tense of ‘aller’ + the infinitive
(Slight change from –er and –ir pattern)
(take off –re and add -u)
J’ai perdu
nous avons perdu
tu as perdu
vous avez perdu
il/elle/on a perdu
ils/elles ont perdu
je vais perdre
nous allons perdre
Take off the –e and add:
tu vas perdre
vous allez perdre
je perdrais
nous perdrions
tu perdrais
vous perdriez
il/elle/on perdrait
ils/elles perdraient
il/elle/on va perdre ils/elles vont perdre
GOT IT? Do the same with another –er verb e.g. ‘vendre’ and ask someone to check
it