French Tenses Flashcards
mood
• in grammar, mood refers to the verb form that indicates the attitude, intent, or reality of the action or state expressed by the verb
• there are three main moods in most languages: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative
• the verb tenses fall into one of these three categories
un mode
tense
- a tense indicates past, present, or future timing of actions or states
une temps de verbe
indicative mood
• the indicative mood in grammar is used to make statements or ask questions about what is believed to be true or real
• it is the mood used to express facts, certainty, opinions, and beliefs
• the indicative mood includes various tenses to convey different aspects of time and actions
l’indicative (m)
present tense (indicative mood)
• used to describe ongoing actions or states happening in the present moment
• it is also used for habitual actions or general truths
• to form negations in the present tense, the word “ne” precedes the conjugated verb, and “pas” (or another negation word) follows it
ex. i eat breakfast every morning
ex. she speaks french fluently
ex. i don’t speak french
le présent
ex. je prends le petit-déjeuner tous les matins
ex. elle parle français couramment
ex. je ne parle pas français
past simple or compound past (indicative mood)
- used to express completed actions or events that occurred at a specific point in the past
- formed using a helping verb (either “avoir” or “être”) conjugated in the present tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb
- most verbs in the passé composé are conjugated with the auxiliary verb “avoir”
- certain verbs of motion, as well as reflexive verbs, use the auxiliary verb “être”
- to form negations or questions in the passé composé, the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) is placed before the subject pronoun
ex. i ate an apple
ex. she spoke with her friend
ex. i did not finish my homework yesterday
le passé composé
ex. j’ai mangé une pomme
ex. elle a parlé avec son ami
ex. je n’ai pas fini mes devoirs hier
imperfect tense (indicative mood)
- describes ongoing actions or states in the past
- describes habits, routines, or repeated actions in the past
- providing background information or setting the scene in storytelling
- expressing what someone used to do or what was happening at a specific moment in the past
- while the passé composé is used for specific, completed actions in the past, the imperfect tense is used for more general or continuous actions in the past
ex. i used to play soccer every weekend
ex. she was reading a book when I arrived
ex. we would always go to the beach during the summer
ex. when I was younger, I would visit my grandparents regularly
ex. the cat used to sleep on the sofa every afternoon
l’imparfait (m)
ex. je jouais au football tous les week-ends
ex. elle lisait un livre quand je suis arrivée
ex. nous allions toujours à la plage pendant l’été
ex. quand j’étais jeune, je rendais visite à mes grands-parents régulièrement
ex. le chat dormait sur le canapé chaque après-midi
pluperfect or past perfect tense (indicative mood)
- a past tense used to indicate an action that occurred before another action in the past
- formed with the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” followed by the past participle of the main verb
- subject pronoun + imperfect tense of “avoir” (avais, avais, avait, avions, aviez, avaient) + past participle of the main verb
- subject pronoun + imperfect tense of “être” (étais, étais, était, étions, étiez, étaient) + past participle of the main verb
- commonly used in French literature and formal writing to describe actions that took place before a specific point in the past or before another past action
ex. they had finished their homework before dinner
ex. she had already read that book before the class
ex. they had left before we arrived
le plus-que-parfait
ex. ils avaient fini leurs devoirs avant le dîner
ex. elle avait déjà lu ce livre avant le cours
ex. ils étaient partis avant que nous arrivions
