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Tenses are the backbone of GCSE French. To achieve a high grade, you must demonstrate confident use of at least three tenses (present, past, future), and for the top grades, you should include the imperfect and conditional as well. This lesson provides clear explanations, conjugation tables and examples for every tense you need.
The present tense describes what you do, what you are doing, or what happens regularly.
| -ER verbs (jouer) | -IR verbs (finir) | -RE verbs (vendre) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | joue | finis | vends |
| tu | joues | finis | vends |
| il/elle/on | joue | finit | vend |
| nous | jouons | finissons | vendons |
| vous | jouez | finissez | vendez |
| ils/elles | jouent | finissent | vendent |
| être (to be) | avoir (to have) | aller (to go) | faire (to do/make) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | suis | ai | vais | fais |
| tu | es | as | vas | fais |
| il/elle/on | est | a | va | fait |
| nous | sommes | avons | allons | faisons |
| vous | êtes | avez | allez | faites |
| ils/elles | sont | ont | vont | font |
| pouvoir (to be able to) | vouloir (to want) | devoir (to have to) | prendre (to take) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | peux | veux | dois | prends |
| tu | peux | veux | dois | prends |
| il/elle/on | peut | veut | doit | prend |
| nous | pouvons | voulons | devons | prenons |
| vous | pouvez | voulez | devez | prenez |
| ils/elles | peuvent | veulent | doivent | prennent |
The passé composé describes completed actions in the past (what you did / what happened). It is formed with a present tense auxiliary (avoir or être) + past participle.
| Past participle formation | Example |
|---|---|
| -ER → -é | jouer → joué |
| -IR → -i | finir → fini |
| -RE → -u | vendre → vendu |
| Verb | Past participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| avoir | eu | had |
| être | été | been |
| faire | fait | done / made |
| voir | vu | seen |
| prendre | pris | taken |
| mettre | mis | put |
| boire | bu | drunk |
| lire | lu | read |
| écrire | écrit | written |
| dire | dit | said |
| pouvoir | pu | been able to |
| vouloir | voulu | wanted |
| devoir | dû | had to |
Certain verbs of movement and change of state use être as their auxiliary. The past participle must agree with the subject (add -e for feminine, -s for plural, -es for feminine plural).
| Verb | Past participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| Monter | monté | went up |
| Rester | resté | stayed |
| Sortir | sorti | went out |
| Venir | venu | came |
| Aller | allé | went |
| Naître | né | was born |
| Descendre | descendu | went down |
| Entrer | entré | entered |
| Retourner | retourné | returned |
| Tomber | tombé | fell |
| Rentrer | rentré | went home |
| Arriver | arrivé | arrived |
| Mourir | mort | died |
| Partir | parti | left |
Also: all reflexive verbs use être → Je me suis levé(e) — I got up.
The imperfect describes ongoing or repeated actions in the past, descriptions, or states of mind. Think of it as "was doing" or "used to do".
Take the nous form of the present tense, remove -ons, and add the imperfect endings:
| Ending | Example (jouer → jouions → jou-) | |
|---|---|---|
| je | -ais | jouais |
| tu | -ais | jouais |
| il/elle/on | -ait | jouait |
| nous | -ions | jouions |
| vous | -iez | jouiez |
| ils/elles | -aient | jouaient |
Only exception: être — the stem is ét- (j'étais, tu étais, etc.)
Key distinction: Passé composé = single completed action (J'ai mangé une pomme — I ate an apple). Imperfect = ongoing/repeated/descriptive (Je mangeais une pomme quand… — I was eating an apple when…).
The future tense describes what will happen.
Infinitive + future endings (for -RE verbs, drop the final -e first):
| Ending | jouer | finir | vendre | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | -ai | jouerai | finirai | vendrai |
| tu | -as | joueras | finiras | vendras |
| il/elle/on | -a | jouera | finira | vendra |
| nous | -ons | jouerons | finirons | vendrons |
| vous | -ez | jouerez | finirez | vendrez |
| ils/elles | -ont | joueront | finiront | vendront |
| Verb | Stem | Example |
|---|---|---|
| être | ser- | je serai (I will be) |
| avoir | aur- | j'aurai (I will have) |
| aller | ir- | j'irai (I will go) |
| faire | fer- | je ferai (I will do) |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrai (I will be able to) |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrai (I will want) |
| devoir | devr- | je devrai (I will have to) |
| voir | verr- | je verrai (I will see) |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrai (I will come) |
The conditional describes what would happen. It uses the same stems as the future tense but with imperfect endings.
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