French verb tenses

Les temps des verbes

Part of All Levels | French Verbs

What is a tense?

Tenses refer to the time of the action, of the verb in a sentence. They answer to the question “WHEN”: when is the action occurring?

In other words, a tense reflects the time the speaker or the writer refers to: sometimes the sentence is in the present, sometimes in the past and other times, in the future. There are many versions - 24 I believe - of present, past and future tenses.

Depending on the moment, the tense will change.

Here are the most common tenses used in everyday French

How it Works

A tense is different from a mode (mood). Tenses refer to the time of the action. Tenses answer to the question “WHEN”, whereas modes refer to the way the action is introduced. Modes answer to the question “HOW”.

• 3 basic tenses – présent, passé, futur – with many variations
• 7 modes

Expert Corner – List of all the tenses in French grammar

When considering French verbs, keep in mind there are many variations of the 3 present-past-future tenses. French tenses are always to dependent on the 6 French modes.

The Indicative mode includes 10 tenses.

Présent

La clé est sur la porte.

The key is on the door.

Imparfait

La clé était sur la porte.

The key was on the door.

Passé composé

La clé a été sur la porte.

The key was on the door.

Futur Simple

La clé sera sur la porte.

The key will be on the door.

Passé Proche

La clé vient d’être sur la porte.

The key has just been on the door.

Futur Proche

La clé va être sur la porte.

The key is going to be on the door.

Plus-que-Parfait

La clé avait été sur la porte.

The key had been on the door.

Futur Antérieur

La clé aura été sur la porte.

The key will have been on the door.

Passé Simple

La clé fut sur la porte.

The key was on the door.

Passé Antérieur

La clé eut été sur la porte.

The key had been on the door.

The Imperative mode includes 2 tenses

Présent

Mets la clé sur la porte.

Put the key on the door.

Passé

Aie mis la clé sur la porte.

Put the key on the door.

The Conditional mode includes 3 tenses

Présent

Je mettrais la clé sur la porte.

I would put the key on the door.

Passé 1^ière forme

J’aurais mis la clé sur la porte.

I would have put the key on the door.

Passé 2^ième forme

J’eusse mis la clé sur la porte.

I would have put the key on the door.

The Subjunctive mode mode includes 4 tenses

Présent

Je veux que tu mettes la clé sur la porte.

I want you to put the key on the door.

Passé

J’aurais voulu que tu aies mis la clé sur la porte.

I would have liked you to put the key on the door.

Imparfait

J’aurais voulu que tu misses la clé sur la porte.

I would have liked you to put the key on the door.

Plus-que-Parfait

J’aurais voulu que tu eusses mis la clé sur la porte.

I would have liked you to put the key on the door.

The Participle mode includes 2 tenses

Présent

La clé étant sur la porte, j’ai pu entrer.

The key being on the door, I was able to come in.

Passé

La clé ayant été sur la porte, j’ai pu entrer.

The key having been on the door, I was able to come in.

The Gerund mode includes 2 tenses

Présent

J’ai ouvert la porte en mettant la clé dans la serrure.

I opened the door by putting the key in the lock.

Passé

J’ai ouvert la porte en ayant mis la clé dans la serrure.

I opened the door by having put the key in the lock. [funny translation in English]

The Infinitive mode includes 2 tenses

Présent

ouvrir la porte

to open the door

Passé

Je suis entrée après avoir ouvert la porte.

I came in after having opened the door.

. Accroche-minutes . Cours avec Anne . Vous aimez ? Commentez . PDF – 7 pages . Back to Course - French Verbs .

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