The present tense

For Example: Je joue means either:

i) I play ii) I am playing iii) I do play

Remember: meaning ii) above - everybody forgets this one. If you have to ask somebody 'are you going... ?', you should just use the normal present tense = 'tu vas...?' This is how you conjugate (form) the present tense: The verb ending is different for er, ir and re verbs and changes depending on the person (je, tu, il... etc). The regular present tense is formed as follows: Start by removing the last two letters of the infintive (jouer / visiter/descendre etc.) and then adding the ending. Remember: these endings apply to all regular verbs. Irregular verbs do not follow any set pattern - there are no shortcuts here, you just have to learn them. Don't forget: Joe Bloggs is the same as he (il), so it follows that they have the same ending as il. For example: 'Il dteste la gographie', the verb has the same ending when saying 'Joe Bloggs dteste la gographie'.

The future tense

For example: Je jouerai meaning I will play The verb ending is the same in the future tense for er, ir and re verbs but changes depending on the person (je, tu, il... etc). The endings are all derived from the present tense of 'avoir'. The regular future tense is formed as follows: Start with the infinitive up to and including the last 'r' (jouer/visiter/descendre etc.) and then adding the ending.

The conditional tense

Je jouerais meaning: I would play The verb ending is the same in the conditional tense for er, ir and re verbs but changes depending on the person (je, tu, il... etc).The endings are all the same as the imperfect tense endings but go after thelast 'r' instead. The regular conditional tense is formed as follows: Start with the infinitive to and including the last 'r' (jouer/visiter/descendre etc.) just like the future tense and then add the ending. Remember, these endings apply to all regular verbs and are the same for er/ ir and re verbs. Irregular verbs usually change their stem (the bit before the 'r' but the endings are the same as the endings above). For example: I would be = je serais

I would go = j'irais

Stems of irregular verbs are the same in the future and the conditional; it's the ending that's different. For example: I will be = je serai

I would be = je serais

The Perfect Tense

For example: J'ai visit meaning:

i) I visited ii) I have visited

The perfect tense is used to describe something that happened once (however long it lasted) and is now finished. For example:

I went to Spain for my holidays (only happened once) Queen Victoria reigned for 64 years (she only reigned once) But not for something that takes place repeatedly. For example: When I was younger, I went to Spain for my holidays [- this happened more than once (= I used to go to Spain for my holidays) so this is Imperfect tense] You have to change (conjugate) the verb ending. You need an auxiliary verb (the appropriate bit of avoir or tre ) and the past participle. The past participle is the same in the perfect tense for each person (je, tu, il... etc) but the auxiliary verb has to change. Any ne...pas/ne...rien etc goes either side of the auxiliary verb e.g. je n'ai pas fini.

The Subjunctive
For example: je fasse
The subjunctive isn't a tense - you get present subjunctive and perfect subjunctive etc. It's a mood, used to indicate fear, disbelief, desire etc. and also follows after set expressions and set verbs when followed by que. Remember, these endings apply to all regular verbs and are the same for er/ir and re verbs. The rule also works for many irregular verbs.

For example: Ils boivent - subjunctive 'je boive'.

As long as you know the 'ils' form of the present, you can do most verbs in the subjunctive. The main exceptions are (je) sois, ais, aille, fasse, puisse and sache Try this exercise: Type the correct word into the gap.

The Pluperfect Tense

This is one tense 'back' from perfect, an equivalent of 'I had seen' or 'I had been thinking'. It is formed with the imperfect tense of Avoir or tre and past participle.

For example:

J'avais mang = I had eaten Il tait descendu = He had gone down Nous avions achet = we had been buying Exercise

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Il ... dans le jardin (TRAVAILLER) Nous ... Paris (VOYAGER) Ils ... le film (VOIR) Vous ... le paquet? (RECEVOIR) J'... de bonne heure (ARRIVER) Note: arriver takes tre in the past. Answers

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Il avait travaille dans le jardin Nous avions voyag Paris Ils avaient vu le film Vous aviez reu le pacquet? J'tais arriv(e) de bonne heure

The Imperfect Tense

For example: Je jouais meaning:

i) I was playing ii) I used to play

You cannot just use the verb keeping the er/ir/re ending. You have to change (conjugate) the verb ending. The verb ending is the same as the conditional tense for er, ir and re verbs but changes depending on the person ( je, tu, il... etc). The endings are all the same as the imperfect tense endings but go after the last stem of the verb instead. The regular imperfect tense is formed as follows: Start with the nous form of the present tense, remove (just) the 'ons' and then add the endings.

Passive
The passive 'swaps' the order of the sentence from the usual order so:
The boy hit the girl (the active sentence) becomes: The girl was hit by the boy (the passive sentence).

A similar structure happens in French but it important to know how to form the structure and the restrictions on it that make it different from English.

Forming the passive

Start with the basic sentence: The boy hit the girl - Le garon a tap la fille. Whatever tense the verb is in, it has to stay in this same tense in the passive. In this case, the verb is in perfect tense here so the passive sentence must be in the perfect tense. The passive sentence is formed as follows: Use tre in the same tense as the original plus the past participle of the active sentence verb (e.g. hit tap) plus the past participle must agree (i.e. feminine, plural etc.) plus following the sentence with par (=by). So:

Preceding direct object

Usually the past participle does not change when conjugated with AVOIR but if there is a preceding direct object then the participle has to agree. e.g Les lettres que j'ai reues.

Explanation Les lettre = feminine + plural precede the verb, therefore, past participle also has to feminie + plural.

Past historic
The Past Historic is a past tense used for recounting past events, usually in novels and stores. Therefore you only need to recognise it, not use it yourself. If you read a French novel as part of your A2 course or for coursework, you will soon get used to it. For example Past Historic Infinitive

Il/elle fut

TRE to be

Il/elle eut

AVOIR to have

Il/elle alla

ALLER to go

Il/elle fit

FAIRE to do/ make

Il/elle reut RECEVOIR to receive

Il/elle finit

FINIR to finish