tense rules Flashcards
covers all the tenses we need for y9-10
when is the present tense used?
when the action is happening right now or is something that is always true
how is the present tense formed?
- take the infinitive and drop the ending (-er, -ir, -re)
- add the correct endings (depending on the subject pronoun and verb type (-er, -re, ir))
what tense is “je parle français”
present tense
conjugate manger (regular -er verb) (from je to ils/elles)
je mange
tu manges
il/elle mange
nous mangeons
vous mangez
ils/elles mangent
conjugate finir (regular -ir verb) (from je to ils/elles)
je finis
tu finis
il/elle finit
nous finissons
vous finissez
ils/elles finissent
conjugate vendre (regular -ir verb) (from je to ils/elles)
je vends
tu vends
il/elle vend
nous vendons
vous vendez
ils/elles vendent
when is passe compose used?
its used for completed past actions
how is passe compose formed (with avoir)
- take avoir in the present tense
- add the past participle of the main verb
conjugate être
je suis
tu es
il/elle est
nous sommes
vous êtes
ils/elles sont
what are the MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs and what do they translate to
- monter → to go up
- retourner → to return
- sortir → to go out
- venir → to come
- aller → to go
- naître → to be born (né)
- descendre → to go down
- entre → to go in
- rester → to rest
- tomber → to fall
- retourner → to return
- arriver → to arrive
- mourir → to die (mort)
- partir → to leave
conjugate avoir
j’ai
tu as
il/elle a
nous avons
vous avez
ils/elles ont
how is passe compose formed (with être)
- take être in the present tense
- add the past participle of the main verb
- make sure the past participles agree with the gender/number of the subject
what is the past participle for -er, -ir, and -re verbs?
er -> é
ir -> i
re -> u
what are the past participles of the main irregular verbs for avoir during passe compose?
avoir -> au
lire -> lu
faire - fait
comprendre -> compris
what is the imperfect tense used for
for describing things in the past, talking about past habits, or ongoing past actions
how is the imperfect tense formed?
- take the nous form of the verb in the present tense
- remove the -ons ending
- add the imperfect endings:
- je / -ais
- tu / -ais
- il/elle/on/ ait
- nous / ions
- vous / iez
- ils/elles / aient
what tense is “j’ai parlé français”
passe compose
what tense is “je parlais francais”
imperfect tense
what is the only irregular verb in imperfect tense? what is its stem?
être. its stem is ét.
when is the simple future tense used?
its used for things that will happen in the future
how is the simple future tense formed?
- take the infinitive of the verb (for -re verbs drop the ‘e’
- add the future endings to the verb
je / ai
tu / as
il/elle / a
nous / ons
vous / ez
ils/elles / ont
the main irregular stems for simple future are:
- aller (to go) → ir
- avoir (to have) → aur
- être (to be) → ser
- faire (to do/make) → fer
what is conditional future used for?
hypothetical situations, polite requests
how is the conditional future tense formed?
- take the infinitive (for -re verbs drop the ‘e’)
- add the conditional endings
- je / -ais
- tu / -ais
- il/elle/on/ ait
- nous / ions
- vous / iez
- ils/elles / aient
irregular stems for conditional future tense are:
- aller (to go) → ir
- avoir (to have) → aur
- être (to be) → ser
- faire (to do/make) → fer
what tense is “je parlerai francais”
simple future
what tense is “je parlerais francais”
conditional future
when is near future used?
when talking about things that will happen soon
conjugate aller
je vais
tu vas
il/elle va
nous allons
vous allez
ils/elles vont
how is near future tense formed?
- use present tense of aller
- add infinitive of main verb
*irregular verbs work the exact same way
what tense is “je vais parler francais”
near future
