FraL 11

Une révision des temps de verbes

A verb in its natural, non-conjugated form. Used whenever a verb has no subject: 2nd

verb, general instruction, after a preposition or on it’s own.

All French verbs fall into one of three ‘families’ each of which follows the same general conjugation rules. (many exceptions though!): ER IR (OIR) RE

L’InfinitifDanser = To dance

For all actions that occur in the present

(except for giving orders and 2 events that happen simultaneously) One word. Generally, drop the –er, -ir or –re

and add the ending. However - Many, many exceptions! Je - e/s (x) Tu - (e)s/(x) Il - e/nothing (t) Nous - ons Vous - ez Ils - ent

Le PrésentJe danse = I dance / I am dancing / I do

dance

Used for past actions that were isolated (not

repeated an unspecified number of times) and completed.

TWO WORDS: An auxiliary verb and the past participle. Auxiliary: Either Avoir or Être in the present tense.

Être is for ‘Vandertramp’ verbs and pronominal verbs, Avoir is for all others.

Past participle: Several exceptions but generally: ER – é IR- i RE - u

Le Passé ComposéJ’ai dansé = I danced/I did dance/ I have

danced

Used for past actions that are habitual (repeated),

incomplete (interrupted) or non-actions (feelings and descriptions).

One word formed from a ‘root’ and and ‘ending’. Root: Take ‘nous’ in the present tense and drop the ‘-

ons’ ending. (one exception : etre -> et-) Endings:

Je-ais Tu-ais Il-ait Nous-ions Vous-iez Ils-aient

L’ImparfaitJe dansais=I was dancing/I used to dance/I

danced

Used for all past actions that took place prior

to another past action. (the past of the past)

TWO WORDS: Auxiliary and past participle. Auxiliary: Etre or Avoir in the IMPARFAIT. Past participle: Same as for the passe

compose.

Le Plus-que-parfaitJ’avais dansé = I had danced/I had been

dancing

Used for future actions. (Generally ones that are

further in the future) One word formed of a root and an ending.

Root: Most verbs use their infinitive form (ER/IR/RE). For –RE verbs drop the final ‘E’ so the root always ends in an ‘R’. Also, almost 20 exceptions to memorise.

Ending: ‘Avoir’ in the present tense, except for ‘nous’ and ‘vous’ which lose the ‘av-’. Je-ai Tu-as Il-a Nous-ons Vous-ez Ils-ont

Le Futur SimpleJe danserai = I will dance

Used for all conditional actions (would

________ /could/should in English. One word formed by combining a root and an

ending. Root: Same as the FUTUR SIMPLE Endings: Same as the IMPARFAIT

Le ConditionnelJe danserais = I would dance

Not another verb tense, rather a different MODE. Used

for possible or desired actions that likely do not already exist in reality. Almost always preceded but QUE… (however ‘que’ is not always followed by the subjunctive!) Used more often in French than in English. (may)

One word formed from a root and an ending. Root: For je,tu,il and ils – Use ‘ils’ in the present

indicative minus the –ent. For nous/vous – use ‘nous’ in the present minus the –ons.

Endings: je – e / tu – es / il – e / nous – ions / vous – iez / ils – ent.

9 exceptions to memorise: Avoir/Être/Savoir/Vouloir/ Pouvoir/Pleuvoir/Falloir/Aller/Faire/Valoir

Le SubjonctifQue je danse… = that I dance

L’impératif: For giving orders

Similar to the present tense, some differences. Only conjugated with ‘tu’, ‘nous’ or ‘vous’ In the affirmative the pronouns are placed AFTER the verb:

Lève-toi!

Le futur proche: For events in the near future Formed with ‘aller’ in the present tense + the verb in its

infinitive form

Le passé récent: For very recent past actions Three words: The verb ‘venir’ in the present tense + de + the

verb in its infinitive form. (J’ai juste dansé – does NOT exist!)

Les Autres:Dansez! = Dance!

Je vais danser = I’m going to danceJe viens de danser = I just dansed

Futur Antérieur: The past of the future. Describes an action that

will have already happened when another action occurs. Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) in the futur simple + the past

participle.

Conditionnel Passé: The past of the conditional. Describes an action that would have happened if another had been true. (regrets!) Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) in the present conditional + the

past participle.

Subjonctif Passé: The past of the present subjunctive. Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) in the present subjunctive + the

past participle.

Infinitif Passé: The past of the infinitive (when a 2nd action or action after a preposition (Après!) occured in the past.) Composed verb: Auxiliary (être/avoir) + past participle

Les Autres : PassésJ’aurai dansé = I will have danced

J’aurais dansé = I would have dancedQue j’aie dansé… = that I might/may have danced

Avoir dansé = to have danced

L’année prochaine!!

Les ParticipesEn dansant = by dancing/while dancing

Dansé = dancedAyant dansé = having danced