Learn French Language Guide - Learn French Grammar
French Verb Tenses Chart
The French language possesses many more specific verb tenses than English does, and the conjugation of verbs is complex and subject to many exceptions. The good news is that the vast majority of cases follows easily-remembered rules.
Briefly, here are the French verb tenses and explanations. It might be helpful to print this chart and refer to it as you study French verbs.
|
French |
Translation |
Explanation |
MODE: |
Indicatif |
Indicative |
|
Présent |
Present |
|
Imparfait |
Imperfect |
|
Passé Simple |
---------------- |
Literary past tense |
Futur Simple |
Future |
|
Passé composé |
------------------- |
Summarizes 3 English tenses |
Plus que Parfait |
Pluperfect |
|
Passé Antérieur |
Past Anterior |
|
Futur Antérieur |
|
|
MODE: |
Subjonctif |
Subjunctive |
|
Présent |
Present |
|
Imparfait |
Imperfect |
|
Passé |
Past |
|
Plus que Parfait |
Pluperfect |
|
MODE: |
Conditionnel |
Conditional |
|
Présent |
Present |
|
Passé |
----------------- |
Literary (rarely used) |
Imparfait |
Imperfect |
|
MODE: |
Infinitif |
Infinitive |
|
MODE: |
Imperatif |
Imperative |
|
|
