French Grammar: Present and Imperfect Tenses

Tenses in French Grammar

Present Tense (Le Présent)

• Used to describe actions that are happening now
• Formed using the present tense conjugation of the verb
• Examples:
  • Je mange (I eat)
  • Tu manges (You eat)
  • Il/Elle/On mange (He/She/It eats)
  • Nous mangeons (We eat)
  • Vous mangez (You plural eat)
  • Ils/Elles mangent (They eat)

Imperfect Tense (L'Imparfait)

• Used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past
• Formed using the imperfect tense conjugation of the verb
• Examples:
  • Je mangeais (I was eating)
  • Tu mangeais (You were eating)
  • Il/Elle/On mangeait (He/She/It was eating)
  • Nous mangions (We were eating)
  • Vous mangiez (You plural were eating)
  • Ils/Elles mangeaient (They were eating)

Future Tense (Le Futur Simple)

• Used to describe actions that will happen in the future
• Formed using the future tense conjugation of the verb
• Examples:
  • Je mangerai (I will eat)
  • Tu mangeras (You will eat)
  • Il/Elle/On mangera (He/She/It will eat)
  • Nous mangerons (We will eat)
  • Vous mangerez (You plural will eat)
  • Ils/Elles mangeront (They will eat)

Compound Tenses (Les Temps Composés)

• Used to describe completed actions in the present, past, or future
• Formed using a conjugated auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and the past participle of the main verb
• Examples:
  • Present Perfect (Le Présent Composé):
    • J'ai mangé (I have eaten)
    • Tu as mangé (You have eaten)
    • Il/Elle/On a mangé (He/She/It has eaten)
    • Nous avons mangé (We have eaten)
    • Vous avez mangé (You plural have eaten)
    • Ils/Elles ont mangé (They have eaten)
  • Past Perfect (Le Plus-Que-Parfait):
    • J'avais mangé (I had eaten)
    • Tu avais mangé (You had eaten)
    • Il/Elle/On avait mangé (He/She/It had eaten)
    • Nous avions mangé (We had eaten)
    • Vous aviez mangé (You plural had eaten)
    • Ils/Elles avaient mangé (They had eaten)
  • Future Perfect (Le Futur Antérieur):
    • J'aurai mangé (I will have eaten)
    • Tu auras mangé (You will have eaten)
    • Il/Elle/On aura mangé (He/She/It will have eaten)
    • Nous aurons mangé (We will have eaten)
    • Vous aurez mangé (You plural will have eaten)
    • Ils/Elles auront mangé (They will have eaten)

French Grammar Tenses

Present Tense (Le Présent)

• Describes actions happening now
• Formed using present tense conjugation of the verb
• Conjugations:
  • Je (I) + verb
  • Tu (You) + verb
  • Il/Elle/On (He/She/It) + verb
  • Nous (We) + verb
  • Vous (You plural) + verb
  • Ils/Elles (They) + verb

Imperfect Tense (L'Imparfait)

• Describes ongoing or repeated actions in the past
• Formed using imperfect tense conjugation of the verb
• Conjugations:
  • Je (I) + ais
  • Tu (You) + ais
  • Il/Elle/On (He/She/It) + ait
  • Nous (We) + ions
  • Vous (You plural) + iez
  • Ils/Elles (They) + aient

Future Tense (Le Futur Simple)

• Describes actions that will happen in the future
• Formed using future tense conjugation of the verb
• Conjugations:
  • Je (I) + rai
  • Tu (You) + ras
  • Il/Elle/On (He/She/It) + ra
  • Nous (We) + rons
  • Vous (You plural) + rez
  • Ils/Elles (They) + ront

Compound Tenses (Les Temps Composés)

• Describe completed actions in the present, past, or future
• Formed using conjugated auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and past participle of main verb
• Examples:
  • Present Perfect (Le Présent Composé):
    • J'ai (I have) + past participle
    • Tu as (You have) + past participle
    • Il/Elle/On a (He/She/It has) + past participle
    • Nous avons (We have) + past participle
    • Vous avez (You plural have) + past participle
    • Ils/Elles ont (They have) + past participle
  • Past Perfect (Le Plus-Que-Parfait):
    • J'avais (I had) + past participle
    • Tu avais (You had) + past participle
    • Il/Elle/On avait (He/She/It had) + past participle
    • Nous avions (We had) + past participle
    • Vous aviez (You plural had) + past participle
    • Ils/Elles avaient (They had) + past participle
  • Future Perfect (Le Futur Antérieur):
    • J'aurai (I will have) + past participle
    • Tu auras (You will have) + past participle
    • Il/Elle/On aura (He/She/It will have) + past participle
    • Nous aurons (We will have) + past participle
    • Vous aurez (You plural will have) + past participle
    • Ils/Elles auront (They will have) + past participle