2. Introduction
• Passé
• Simple
• Imparfait
• Passé Simple*
• Compound
• Passé Composé
• Plus-que-parfait
• Passé Antérieur*
• Présent • Futur
• Futur
• Futur
Antérieur
3. L'Imparfait
• L'Imparfait is a descriptive past tense which indicates an ongoing state of
being or a repeated or incomplete action
• The beginning and end of the state of being or action are not indicated.
• Often translated into English as 'was' or 'had been ___-ing'
4. L'Imparfait
• Can indicate any of the following:
• Habitual actions or states of being
• Physical and emotional descriptions: time, weather, age, feelings
• Actions or states of an unspecified duration
• Background information in conjunction with the passé composé
• Wishes or suggestions
• Conditions in si clauses
• The expression être en train de and venir de in the past
5. Passé Composé
• The passé composé is the most common French past tense
• Often used in conjunction with the imparfait
• The Passé Composé can express any of the following:
• An action completed in the past
• An action repeated several times in the past
• A series of actions completed in the past
• This is a compound verb form. It uses the auxiliary verbs être et avoir.
6. Passé Composé contre l'Imparfait
• A common error in French is to use the imparfait to translate every instance
of the English preterit. In English, the preterit can be used to express a past
routine as well as a one-time occurrence. French uses two different tenses for
these two situations.
• Imparfait : Quand j'étais petit, j'allais voir ma grand-mère tous les jeudis.
• Passé Composé : Un jeudi, je ne suis pas allé chez elle.
• Imparfait : -Hier soir je n'avais pas mes clés.
• Passé Composé : -Alors qu'est-ce que tu as fait?
7. Passé Simple
• The passé simple (English simple past or preterit) is the literary equivalent to
the passé composé
• It is used only in formal writing (historical or literary writing) and very
formal speech
• Important to know about, but you will probably never need to write in passé
simple
8. Plus-que-parfait
• The Plus-que-parfait (Past perfect or pluperfect) is used to indicate an action
in the past that occurred before another action in the past
• The past action can be either mentioned in the same sentence or implied
• Compound conjugation: the imperfect of the auxiliary verb (either avoir or
être) and the past participle of the main verb
• Ex: Il n'avait pas mangé (avant de faire ses devoirs). –He hadn't eaten (before doing his
homework).
9. Passé Antérieur
• Passé Antérieur is the literary equivalent of the plus-que-parfait (past perfect)
• Used for literature and historical accounts to indicate an action in the past
that occurred before another action in the past
• Usually introduced by on of the conjunctions: après que, aussitôt que, dès que,
lorsque, or quand
• Conjugated using the passé simple of the auxiliary verb and the part
participle of the main verb
10. Présent
• Le présent de l'indicatif has a similar usage to the present tense in English; it
can express the following:
• Current actions and situations
• Habitual actions
• Absolute and general truths
• Actions which occur immediately
• Conditions such as in si clauses
11. Futur
• Le futur (le futur simple) is very similar to the English future tense: it talks
about upcoming events.
• Equivalent to the English "will"+ main verb
• Ex: J'irai au magasin demain. (I will go to the store tomorrow.)
• Ex: Ils mangeront dans l'avion. (They will eat on the plane.)
12. Futur
• There are some differences between the uses of le futur and the English
Future tenses:
• Certain conjunctions use le futur: après que (after), aussitôt que (as soon as), dès que (as
soon as), espérer que (to hope that), lorsque (when), quand (when), une fois que (once)
• In journalism and other factual narration, le futur is often used in French
even though the events are in the past.
• In French, le futur can also be used for polite orders and requests, in place of the
vous form of the imperative: Vous fermerez la porte, s'il vous plaît.
13. Futur Antérieur
• The Futur Antérieur is most commonly used like the English future perfect:
to describe an action that will have happened or will be finished by a specific point
in the future.
• Compound Conjugation formed by the future of the auxiliary verb and the
past participle of the main verb.
• Ex: Dès que vous aurez fini votre examen, vous pourrez partir. (As soon as you have
finished your exam, you will be able to leave.)
14. Futur Antérieur
There are three uses of the futur antérieur that do not correspond to the English
future perfect:
• In a subordinate clause that begin with the conjunctions: aussitôt que, dès que, lorsque, quand, une
fois que, and après que, the future perfect is used to express a future action with will be
completed before the action in the main clause.
• Nous le ferons aussitôt qu'elle sera arrivée. (We will do it as soon as she has arrived.)
• The future perfect can make simple assumptions regarding past events, where English modal
verb "must" would be used:
• Luc est heureux ; il aura gagné. (Luc is happy; he must have won.)
• In historical narratives, the events of a persons life can be described with the future perfect
even though those events have long since passed.
• Napoléon aura pris un décision important. (Napoleon would make an important decision.)
