French Tenses

Present Tense (Le Présent)

The present tense in French can be used to express things happening right now or general facts.
It is formed by taking the infinitive form of the verb (for example, ‘manger’) and adding the appropriate ending for the subject of the sentence (je: -e, tu: -es, il/elle/on: -e, nous: -ons, vous: -ez, ils/elles: -ent).
Example: Il mange une pomme (He eats an apple).

The compound past tense or ‘passé composé’ can be used to express actions that have been completed, translating as ‘has/have -ed’ in English.
It is formed by using the present tense of the auxiliary verb (‘avoir’ or ‘être’) and the past participle of the main verb.
There are specific rules about when to use ‘avoir’ or ‘être’, typically ‘être’ is used with action verbs involving movement and ‘avoir’ is used in other cases.
Example: Nous avons mangé (We have eaten).

The imperfect tense or ‘l’imparfait’ provides a ‘background’ setting or past habit, translating as ‘used to’ or ‘was -ing’ in English.
It is formed by taking the ‘nous’ form of the present tense of the verb, dropping the ‘-ons’ and adding the imperfect endings (je: -ais, tu: -ais, il/elle/on: -ait, nous: -ions, vous: -iez, ils/elles: -aient).
Example: Il mangeait une pomme (He was eating an apple).

The future tense or ‘futur simple’ is used to express something that will happen in the future.
It is formed by taking the infinitive verb and adding on the future endings (same as the present tense endings for ‘avoir’).
Example: Je mangerai (I will eat).

The conditional tense or ‘le conditionnel’ expresses what one would do in a given set of circumstances.
It is formed by taking the infinitive of the verb and adding on the imperfect tense endings. Some verbs have irregular stems.
Example: Je mangerais (I would eat).

Remember, practice with these tenses is essential. Use exercises and practice sentences to get the hang of when, where and how to use each one.