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Taking a Bite out of French Verb Confusion: The Tenses,

Explained
Stay calm.

Its not as bad as it looks, I swear.

Really, I can explain everything!

At first glance, French tenses may seem senseless and horrifying.

But its important not to freak out, and to take your learning one bite at a time.

You cant cram all those conjugations overnight.

Still, it can be helpful to understand why youre learning them in the first place.

Looking at how the different tenses are actually used can help give meaning to your learning , and save you from
feeling lightheaded every time you see a verb table.

So thats what were going to do here.

Were going to take a calm, rational and complete look at all the tenses, right now.

Deep breath.

The French language actually has over 20 tenses (including composite tenses and moods), and most of them were
still taught in schools at least until the early 1970s (though some of them hadnt been used for many decades even by
then).

Today we most frequently use about 12 different verb tenses in French, and in this article Ill explain those tenses to
help you out with your written and spoken French.

Due to the fact that French literature as late as the 18th and 19th centuries still contains some of those less common
tenses, Ill include some of them here as well.

Today youll get a broad but simplified insight into the French language. Ill lay out each these tenses in categories,
giving you an easy example of each form in each circumstance.

Since this can get quite complicated for the uninitiated, Im going to cut it all up in manageable pieces for you, starting
with verb forms.

Getting to Know the French Verb Forms

First off, verb forms are separated into six categories. Each of those categories may be conjugated in different tenses.

The categories are:

1. Lindicatif (indicative), which includes the most common tenses used to express oneself in everyday spoken and
written French.
2. Le conditionnel (conditional), which is used when a condition is implied.

3. Le subjonctif (subjunctive), which is used to express emotion/judgment and is usually contained in a subordinate
clause introduced by que (that/which).

4. Limpratif (imperative), which is used to express a command.

5. Linfinitif (infinitive), which is just the bare tense of the verb, unconjugated.

6. Le participe prsent (present participle), which is just the equivalent of the English ing form.

Now, Ill tell you right away that Im not going to overwhelm you with a bunch of conjugated verbs.

Instead, Ill be focusing on how these forms are used in each of their tenses.

But first, lets take a closer look what these verb forms are all about.

This may seem like a lot, but just hang tight. Itll all make more sense when we get to the examples.

Tenses of the Indicatif

The indicatif form is composed of the following:

One present form.

Five past forms, which are imparfait (imperfect), pass compos (compound past), pass simple (simple
past), plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) and pass antrieur (anterior past).
Two future forms, which are futur (future) and futur antrieur (future anterior).

Tenses of the Conditionnel

The conditionnel contains only three tenses:

One present form.

First past form, or pass premire forme.
Second past form, or pass deuxime forme.

Tenses of the Subjonctif

The subjonctif contains four tenses and one has not been in use in spoken French for a very long time (but you can
still find it in older literature):

One present form.

Three past forms, which are the imparfait (imperfect), pass (past) and plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This last
one is rarely used in contemporary French.

Tenses of the Impratif

The impratif has only two forms:

One present form.

One past form.
Tenses of the Infinitif

Only two simple forms here as well:

One present form.

One past form.

To keep things (relatively) simple, well stick to the present forms of these last two in this post.

Bite-sized Pieces: When to Use Each Verb Form

When to Use the Indicatif Tenses

When speaking French, what youll hear more often than not are verbs in the indicative tenses. Here are some
examples of a simple phrase through all the different tenses of the indicatif form.

Lets say you want to sayIm eating a baguette or a variation on that phrase. Heres how it would vary through the
different tenses in the indicative.

The prsent of the indicative:

Je mange une baguette.

(Im eating a baguette.)

The imparfait:

Je mangeais une baguette quand elle a appel.

(I was eating a baguette when she called.)

The pass compos:

Jai mang une baguette.

(I ate a baguette.)

The pass simple:

Je mangeai une baguette.

(I ate a baguette.)

You wouldnt actually use this last tense when talking to someone (youd use the pass compos instead), but you
might see it in a novel or story.

The plus-que-parfait:

Si seulement javais mang une baguette je naurais pas faim maintenant !

(If only I had eaten a baguette, I wouldnt be hungry now!)

The pass antrieur (the equivalent of the plus-que-parfait that you might run into in literature):

Si seulement jeus mang une baguette

(If only I had eaten a baguette)

The futur:

Je mangerai une baguette en arrivant Paris.

(I will eat a baguette upon arrival in Paris.)

The futur antrieur:

Quand jaurai mang une baguette, je me sentirai mieux.

(When I [will] have eaten a baguette, Ill feel better.)

When to Use the Conditionnel Tenses

The prsent of the conditional:

Je mangerais une baguette si je pouvais.

(I would eat a baguette if I could.)

The pass premire forme (first past form) of the conditional:

Jaurais mang une baguette si tu en avais achet.

(I would have eaten a baguette if you had bought some.)

The pass deuxime forme (past second form) of the conditional (which is not used anymore in common
French):

Jeusse mang la baguette si jeus eu assez de sous.

(I would have eaten a baguette if I had had enough money.)

When to Use the Subjonctif Tenses

Depending on your level of French listening and speaking skills, you may or may not have used this tense before, but
its worth knowing it, as its used in common French all the time.

The prsent of the subjunctive:

Il faut que je mange une baguette.

(It is necessary that I eat a baguette.)

Easy, right? Looks just like the prsent of the indicative of manger. The good news is that the present tense
conjugation of -er verbs in the subjunctive is fairly straightforward. But, as Im sure you can imagine, theres a lot
more to this subjunctive thing than initially meets the eye.

The pass of the subjunctive:

Mon pre doute que jaie mang une baguette.

(My dad doubts that I ate a baguette.)

Now, these next two are fairly rare

The imparfait of the subjunctive:

Il fallait que je mangeasse une baguette.

(It was necessary that I eat a baguette.)

Most people nowadays would just say, Il fallait que je mange une baguette. All that time saved on thinking of the
imperfect subjunctive conjugation can now be spent eating baguettes. A win for all.

The plus-que-parfait of the subjunctive:

Il ne pensait pas que jeusse mang la baguette.
(He didnt think I had eaten the baguette.)

You wont hear these last two tenses in the streets in todays France , but youll encounter them in novels and
poetic language.

When to Use the Impratif

Mange une baguette ! (Eat a baguette!) (tu form)

Mangez une baguette ! (Eat a baguette!) (vous form)

Mangeons une baguette ! (Lets eat a baguette!)

When to Use the Infinitif

Jai envie de manger une baguette.

(I feel like eating a baguette.)

When to Use the Participe Prsent

Je parlais tout en mangeant une baguette.

(I was talking all while eating a baguette.)

Now youve had a basic overview of the French tenses and what they can express.

Dont worry if youre already forgetting the names of those tenses. Even native French speakers do.

The most important thing is to get a sense of how to use the correct form in the right circumstance. Nobody will ever
ask you to know what tense youre speaking, but theyll know if youre not using the correct one.

And as French people like to do, they may even correct you.

But dont get offended, as this will only help you improve your fluency in the French language!

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