Tenses and Conjugation

Tenses & Conjugation

Infinitives

  • They are the simplest form of the verb.
  • It is equivalent to “To” + Verb in English.
  • In French, there are three kinds of verbs depending on their ending: ER, IR and RE

Tenses & Conjugation Rules

  • Present (Présent)
    • Present Simple
      • This tense conveys the present time as well as a continuous sense at the same time.
      • Irregular verbs have their conjugation that needs to be remembered—there is no proper rule.
      • To form the present simple conjugation, you have to take the infinitive of the verb, remove the endings and add the following suffixes:
Subject Ending
ERIRRE
Je-e-is-s
Tu-es-is-s
Il/Elle/On-e-it
Nous-ons-issons-ons
Vous-ez-issez-ez
Ils/Elles-ent-issent-ent
  • Present Continuous
    • This tense conveys the continuous sense in the present.
    • In French, there is no proper conjugation for this tense, however, it is formed by using “être en train de” + infinitive.
  • Present Conditional
    • This tense conveys a situation that isn’t real and isn’t happening yet, but it might.
  • To form the present conditional conjugation, you have to take the infinitive of the verb and add the following suffixes:
SubjectSuffix
Je-ais
Tu-ais
Il/Elle/On-ait
Nous-ions
Vous-iez
Ils/Elles-aient
  • Note: Infinitives that end with –RE, the E must be removed first before applying the conditional endings.
  • Past (Passé)
    • Recent Past
      • This tense conveys an action that recently has just been completed.
      • In French, it is formed by using “venir de” + infinitive.
    • Present Perfect (Composed Tense – Passé Composé)
      • This tense conveys an action that has been completed in the past.
      • In French, an auxiliary verb, which is helps convey the past, is required for this which are avoir and être, but they are not interchangeable.
Formation of the Present Perfect
Subject+Auxiliary Verb (Avoir or Être in the present)+Past Participle
  • This tense has past participles which a form of a verb that has been derived to describe something in the past—it can be used in a tense and it can be used as an adjective as well.
  • Regular participles can be formed in different ways depending on the ending of the infinitive by firstly removing the ending and adding the following suffixes: 
Ending
–ER–IR–RE
-i-u
  • Past participles can be irregular as well:
InfinitiveMeaningPast Participle
ÊtreTo beÉté
AvoirTo haveEu
FaireTo do; To makeFait
PrendreTo takePris
BoireTo drinkBu
ConnaîtreTo knowConnu
SavoirSu
CroireTo believeCru
DevoirTo have to; To must
LireTo readLu
DireTo say; To tellDit
PleuvoirTo rainPlu
RecevoirTo receiveReçu
DécevoirTo disappointDéçu
VouloirTo wantVoulu
PouvoirTo be able to; To canPu
VoirTo seeVu
MettreTo putMis
ObtenirTo obtainObtenu
OuvrirTo openOuvert
RireTo laughRi
SuivreTo followSuivi
VivreTo liveVécu
TenirTo holdTenu
ÉcrireTo writeÉcrit
OffrirTo offerOffert
  • Normally, past participles that take avoir do not agree in gender and number, however, when there is a direct object pronoun that is present before the present participle, the past participles will agree in gender and number relative to the direct object pronoun used.
  • Certain verbs use être which are verbs that show movement and action from one place to another/from point A to point B which include the following:
VerbsMeaningPast Participle
Naître (exception)To be bornNé(e)(s)
Mourir (exception)To dieMort(e)(s)
Devenir (exception)To becomeDevenu(e)(s)
VenirTo comeVenu(e)(s)
AllerTo goAllé(e)(s)
SortirTo go outSorti(e)(s)
RevenirTo come backRevenu(e)(s)
MonterTo climb upMonté(e)(s)
DescendreTo go downDescendu(e)(s)
PartirTo leaveParti(e)(s)
ArriverTo arriveArrivé(e)(s)
EntrerTo enterEntré(e)(s)
RentrerTo enter againRentré(e)(s)
TomberTo fallTombé(e)(s)
RetournerTo returnRetourné(e)(s)
PasserTo pass byPassé(e)(s)
Rester (exception)To stayResté(e)(s)
  • Verbs taking être as an auxiliary verb’s past participle must agree in gender and number in relation to the subject/noun of the sentence like adjectives.
  • The rest of the verbs use avoir.
  • Past Perfect (Composed Tense – Plus-que-parfait)
    • This tense conveys an action that had been completed before an action has already been completed.
Formation of the Past Perfect
Subject+Auxiliary Verb (Avoir or Être in the imperfect tense)+Past Participle
  • Imperfect (Imparfait)
    • This tense conveys an action that was ongoing in the past like a past habit or a regular action that used to happen.
    • To form the imperfect, the present 3rd plural form of the conjugation of any verb is required, remove the –ons ending and add the following suffixes:
SubjectSuffix
Je-ais
Tu-ais
Il/Elle/On-ait
Nous-ions
Vous-iez
Ils/Elles-aient
  • Note: The only exception to this rule is Être
  • Future
    • Near Future
      • This tense conveys an action that is going happen very soon.
Formation of the Near Future
Subject+Aller+Infinitive
  • Future Simple
    • This tense conveys an action will happen one day in the far future or an action that is sure to happen somewhere in the future.
    • To form the Future Simple, you have to take the infinitive of the verb and add the following suffixes:
SubjectSuffix
Je-ai
Tu-as
Il/Elle/On-a
Nous-ons
Vous-ez
Ils/Elles-ent
  • Note: Infinitives that end with –RE, the E must be removed first before applying the conditional endings.
  • Future and Conditional Irregular Stems 
InfinitiveIrregular Stem
ÊtreSer-
AvoirAur-
FaireFer-
AllerIr-
VoirVerr-
EnvoyerEnverr-
RecevoirRecevr-
DécevoirDécevr-
DevoirDevr-
VenirViendr-
MourirMourr-
VouloirVoudr-
PouvoirPourr-
SavoirSaur-
PleuvoirPleuvr-
  • Imperative
    • This mood conveys a request, warns, give orders and recommendations.
    • There are only three conjugations that for the imperative mood.
    • To form the imperative, take the infinitive of the verb, remove the endings and add the following suffixes:
SubjectEndingExample
–ER–IR–RE(Parler – To speak)
Tu-is-sParle ! (Speak!)
Nous-ons-issons-onsParlons ! (Let’s speak!)
Vous-ez-issez-ezParlez ! (Speak!)
  • Note: The subject is only for reference and should not be said or used. Only the conjugated verb in the imperative mood.
  • Common irregular conjugations of verbs in the imperative mood:
SubjectInfinitive
ÊtreAvoirSavoirVouloir
Conjugation
TuSoisAieSacheVeuille
NousSoyonsAyonsSachonsVeuillons
VousSoyezAyezSachezVeuillez
  • Note: The subject is only for reference and should not be said or used. Only the conjugated verb in the imperative mood.
  • To form the imperative for pronominal verbs, take the disjunctive pronouns moi, toi and vous and add it to the end of the conjugated verb in the imperative mood and join them with a hyphen.
  • In the negative for the imperative for pronominal verbs, they change to reflexive pronouns and follow the pronoun order.

Pronoun Order and Imperative Nuances

  • In French, pronouns go in a specific order because any other order will be considered wrong.
  • Pronouns of the same type cannot be used twice in a sentence, however, pronouns of different types can be used in a sentence, but a sentence can only hold two pronouns—a third pronoun used in a sentence is not possible.
  • Ne always before every pronoun.
  • This pronoun order also applies to the imperative mood in the negative.
Pronoun Order
MeTeSeNousVousbeforeLeLaLesbeforeLuiLeurbeforeybeforeenbeforeVerb
  • The affirmative imperative mood’s pronoun order differs from the aforementioned pronoun order
  • Note: The disjunctive pronouns moi and toi when used here and followed by y and en change to me and te and contract to m’ and t’.
Pronoun Order
VerbbeforeDirect Object PronounbeforeIndirectObjectPronounbeforeybeforeen


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