Tenses in French

-ER verbs:

1. Je/j' - e
2. Tu - es
3. Il/elle/on - e
4. Nous - ons
5. Vous - ez
6. Ils/elles - ent

-IR verbs:

1. Je/j' - is
2. Tu - is
3. Il/elle/on - it
4. Nous - issons
5. Vous - issez
6. Ils/elles - issent

-RE verbs:

1. Je/j' - s
2. Tu - s
3. Il/elle/on - _
4. Nous - ons
5. Vous - ez
6. Ils/elles - ent

Describes actions in the past - "I played", "I have played"

Two parts: Auxiliary (present tense - avoir/etre), past participle (er - é, ir - i, re - u)

Avoir:

Most verbs use the present tense of avoir to form the perfect tense.

• Il a fait du sport
• Nous avons pris le train

Etre:

Some common verbs use etre instead, for example:

• aller - to go
• entrer - to enter
• retourner - to return
• rester - to stay
• devenir - to become
• sortir - to go out
• revenir - to come back

Used for:

• general description in the past ("she felt sad", "it was great")
• continous/interrupted action ("I was watching TV when...")
• habitual action in the past ("when I was young I used to...")

To form:

Take stem - nous form of the present tense without -ons

Add ending:

• Je - ais
• Tu - ais
• Il/elle/on - ait
• Nous - ions
• Vous - iez
• Ils/elles - aient

Used to talk about the near future - what is "going to" happen

• Je vais aller au cinema - I'm going to go to the cinema

It is made up of two parts:

1. present tense of aller (je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont)
2. an infinitive

Example:

• Tu vas lire un livre
• nous allons voir un film
• ils ne vont pas boire d'alcool

Used to make predictions/statements about future: something will happen.

To form: stem+ending

• Stem - er/ir - infinitive, re - drop 'e' from infinitive
• Ending:

1. Je - ai
2. Tu - as
3. Il/elle/on - a
4. Nous - ons
5. Vous - ez
6. Ils/elles - ont