French Verb ConjugationsPrsent -ER je -e tu -es il -e nous -ons vous -ez ils -ent Futur Proche Form of avoir+infinitive of next verb vais ___ vas ___ va ___ allons ___ allez ___ vont ___ Pass Rcent Form of venir+de+infinitive viens de ___ viens de ___ vient de ___ venons de ___ venez de ___ viennent de ___ Pass Compos Form of avoir+past participle Form past participle by dropping -er,-ir, or -re ending for verbs, and add -, -i, and -u respectively. ai ___ as ___ a ___ avons ___ -IR -is -is -it -issons -issez -issent -RE -s -s ------ons -ez -ent

avez ___ ont ___ **EXCEPTIONS** The verbs (re)entrer, arriver, rester, monter, natre, aller, tomber, mourir, retourner, passer, partier, sortir, descendre, (re)/(de)venir require the form of tre rather than avoir and must agree in number and gender. suis ___(e) es ___(e) est ___(e) sommes ___(e)s tes ___(e)(s) sont ___(e)s Imparfait Conjugate verb into the nous form. Drop the -ons ending and add the appropriate ending. -ais -ais -ait -ions -iez -ient **The only irregular verb is tre which uses the stem t-. Conditionnel Take the infinitive and add the endings for imparfait. -ais -ais -ait -ions -iez -aient **These are the irregular stems: acheter > achter- (similar verbs: achever, amener, emmener, lever, promener) acqurir > acquerr- (similar verbs: conqurir, s'enqurir)

appeler > appeller- (similar verbs: peler, jeter, projeter, rappeler) aller > iravoir > aurdevoir > devrenvoyer > enverressayer > essaier- (similar verbs: employer, ennuyer, nettoyer, payer) tre > serfaire > ferfalloir > faudrpleuvoir > pleuvrpouvoir > pourrsavoir > saurvaloir > vaudrvenir > viendr- (similar verbs: devenir, parvenir, revenir) voir > verr- (similar verb: revoir) vouloir > voudrFutur Simple Take the infinitive and add the forms of avoir for all but nous and vous which take the -ons and-ez endings. -ai -as -a -ons -ez -ont **These are the irregular stems: acheter > achter- (similar verbs: achever, amener, emmener, lever, promener)

acqurir > acquerr- (similar verbs: conqurir, s'enqurir) appeler > appeller- (similar verbs: peler, jeter, projeter, rappeler) aller > iravoir > aurdevoir > devrenvoyer > enverressayer > essaier- (similar verbs: employer, ennuyer, nettoyer, payer) tre > serfaire > ferfalloir > faudrpleuvoir > pleuvrpouvoir > pourrsavoir > saurvaloir > vaudrvenir > viendr- (similar verbs: devenir, parvenir, revenir) voir > verr- (similar verb: revoir) vouloir > voudrPass Simple (L) The Pass Simple The pass simple is used primarily in formal, literary, and historical writings to express a completed past action, event, or situation. In conversation and informal writing, the pass compos is used instead of the pass simple to express the past. The pass simple of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive endings (

-er, -ir, -re) and adding the endings Pass Simple of Regular Verbs -ER/-IR, -RE -ai/-is -as/-is -a/-it -mes/-mes -tes/-tes -rent/-irent The following spelling changes occur in the pass simple: Verbs ending in -cer change c to before a to maintain the sound of soft c: avancer: j'avanai, tu avanas, il avana, nous avanmes, vous avantes, ils avancrent Verbs ending in -ger change -g to -ge before -a to maintain the sound of soft g: voyager: je voyageai, tu voyageas, il voyagea, nous voyagemes, vous voyagetes, ils voyagrent The pass simple of irregular verbs Verbs with irregular stems in the pass simple generally end in -i or -u and have the following endings: -s -s -t -^mes -^tes -rent Pass Simple Irregular Verb Stems avoir (to have) boire (to drink) connatre (to know) eubuconnu-

construire (to build) courir (to run) craindre (to fear) croire (to believe) devoir (to have to) dire (to say, to tell) crire (to write) tre (to be) faire (to do) joindre (to join) lire (to read) mettre (to put) mourir (to die) natre (to be born) ouvrir (to open) peindre (to paint) plaire (to please) pouvoir (to be able to) prendre (to take) recevoir (to receive) rompre (to break) savoir (to know) tenir (to hold)

construiscourucraignicrududicrivifufijoignilumimourunaquiouvripeigniplupuprireurompusutin-

traduire (to translate) vaincre (to vanquish) venir (to come) vivre (to live) voir (to see) vouloir (to wish, to want) Compound tenses vinvcuvivoulu-

traduisivainqui-

Simple Tenses Present Imperfect Pass simple Future Conditional Subjunctive Imperfect subjunctive Present participle Infinitive Imperative

Compound Tenses* Pass compos Pluperfect Past anterior Future perfect Conditional perfect Past subjunctive Pluperfect subjunctive Perfect participle Past infinitive Past imperative

Compound tenses are always made up of two parts: the conjugated auxiliary verb and the past participle. French verbs are classified by their auxiliary verb, either avoir or tre. Each verb uses the same auxiliary verbs in all of the compound tenses. In the chart above, the tense in the simple column is the tense used as the auxiliary verb for the compound tense listed next to it.

Participles (Pass, Prsent, Parfait(L)) Pass Form past participle by dropping -er,-ir, or -re ending for verbs, and add -, -i, and -u respectively. Those ending in -i: rire (to laugh) ri suffire (to suffice) suffi suivre (to follow) suivi Those ending in -is: acqurir (to acquire) acquis asseoir (to seat) assis conqurir (to conquer) conquis mettre (to put) mis prendre (to take) pris Those ending in -it: conduire (to drive) conduit construire (to construct) construit cuire (to cook) cuit dtruire (to destroy) dtruit dire (to say, to tell) dit crire (to write) crit produire (to produce) produit traduire (to translate) traduit

Those ending in -u: apercevoir (to notice) aperu avoir (to have) eu boire (to drink) bu connatre (to know) connu courir (to run) couru croire (to believe) cru devoir (to have to) d lire (to read) lu paratre (to appear) paru plaire (to please) plu pouvoir (to be able to) pu recevoir (to receive) reu savoir (to know) su se taire (to be quiet) tu tenir (to hold) tenu valoir (to be worth) valu venir (to come) venu vivre (to live) vcu vouloir (to want) voulu Those ending in -ert: ouvrir (to open) ouvert offrir (to offer) offert

souffrir (to suffer) souffrir Those ending in -int: atteindre (to attain) atteint craindre (to fear) craint teindre (to extinguish) teint joindre (to join) joint peindre (to paint) peint plaindre (to pity) plaint Those totally irregular: tre (to be) t faire (to make, to do) fait mourir (to die) mort natre (to be born) n Prsent In French, the present participle of a verb (the -ing form) may be used with the preposition en (while, on, upon, by, in, when) to form a gerund (a noun that, in English, ends in -ing). When used without en, the present participle may act as an adjective and is also used to express the - ing form of the verb in English. The present participle of all French verbs ends in -ant, the English equivalent of -ing. Forming the Present Participle The present participle of most French verbs (regular and irregular) is formed by dropping the -ons ending from the nous form of the present tense and simply adding -ant THREE IRREGULARS avoir (to have) > ayant (having)

tre (to be) > tant (being) savoir (to know) > sachant (knowing) Parfait The perfect participle is formed by using the present participle of the appropriate helping verb ( avoir = ayant, tre = tant) and then adding the past participle. The perfect participle shows that one action was completed before another action took place: Le Subjonctif Prsent The subjunctive mood is used to express actions or ideas which are subjective or otherwise uncertain: will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgment. It is nearly always found in dependent clauses introduced by que or qui, and the subjects of the dependent and main clauses are usually different.Je veux que tu le fasses. I want you to do it. Il faut que nous partions. it is necessary that we leave.

The subjunctive can seem overwhelming, but the thing to remember is the subjunctive = subjectivity, unreality. That should help you figure it out at least 90% of the time. To conjugate all regular verbs ending -ER, -IR, and -RE, as well as some irregular* ones, take the 3rd person plural ils form of the present tense of the verb, drop the -ent ending to find the stem, and add the subjunctive endings: Subjunctive endings ... que je -e ... que tu -es ... qu' il/elle/on -e ... que nous -ions ... que vous -iez ... qu' ils/elles -ent *Many verbs which are irregular in the present tense are regular in the subjunctive, including all -IR verbs conjugated like partir and sortir and -RE verbs conjugated like mettre. Stem-changing verbs and most irregular verbs follow the same pattern as regular verbs for the singular conjugations (je, tu, il/elle/on) as well as the third person plural (ils/elles): the subjunctive stem is derived from the present tense

conjugation of ils. However, the nous and vous forms of the subjunctive find their stems in the present tense conjugation of nous. Five verbs have irregular subjunctive stems but take the same endings as above: faire fasspouvoir puisssavoir sachaller vouloir aill- / all- veuill- / voul-

Completely irregular verbs avoir ... que je (j') ... que tu ... qu'il/elle/on ... que nous ... que vous ... qu'ils/elles aie aies ait ayons ayez aient soient sois soit soyons soyez tre sois

Le Subjonctif Imparfait (L) The French imperfect subjunctive (imparfait du subjonctif) is a literary verb form used in formal writing, such as literature, journalism, and history. Like all literary verb forms, you really only need to be able to recognize it, not use it. The imperfect subjunctive is used in a subordinate clause when the main clause is in the past. Its non-literary equivalent is the present subjunctive. 1) For all -ER verbs, including stem-changing verbs and the normally irregular verb aller, take the third person singular form of the pass simple as the stem and add the imperfect subjunctive endings. Note that spelling-change verbs like manger and lancer have their spelling irregularity in all of these conjugations. 2) For -IR verbs, -RE verbs, and irregular verbs, the imperfect subjunctive is formed as follows: third person singular form of the pass simple minus the final t, plus the imperfect subjunctive endings. Here are the imperfect subjunctive endings and conjugations for the -ER verbs parler (to speak), manger (to eat), lancer (to throw), and aller (to go), the regular -IR and -RE verbs finir (to finish) and rendre (to return), and the irregular verbs avoir (to have) and venir (to come) -sse

-sses -^t -ssions -ssiez -ssent French imperative conjugations are relatively simple. There are only three grammatical persons that can be used in the imperative: tu, nous, and vous, and most of the conjugations are the same as the present tense - the only difference is that the subject pronoun is not used in the imperative. -ER verbs (regular, stem-changing, spelling change, and irregular) The imperative conjugations for nous and vous are the same as the present indicative, and the tu form of the imperative is the indicative minus the final s (but see item 4 on this page): L'impratif The imperative, called l'impratif in French, is a verb mood which is used to give an order express a desire make a request offer advice recommend something

-ER verbs (regular, stem-changing, spelling change, and irregular) The imperative conjugations for nous and vous are the same as the present indicative, and the tu form of the imperative is the indicative minus the final s (but see item 4 on this page): parler (tu) parle (nous) parlons (vous) parlez lever (tu) lve (nous) levons (vous) levez aller (tu) va (nous) allons

(vous) allez Verbs which are conjugated like -ER verbs (meaning that in the indicative the tu form ends in -es), such as ouvrir and souffrir, follow the same rules as -ER verbs. ouvrir (tu) ouvre (nous) ouvrons (vous) ouvrez -IR verbs and -RE verbs The imperative conjugations for all regular and most* irregular -IR and -RE verbs are the same as the present indicative conjugations. finir (tu) finis (nous) finissons (vous) finissez attendre (tu) attends (nous) attendons (vous) attendez faire (tu) fais (nous) faisons (vous) faites *Except for verbs conjugated like -ER verbs and the following four irregular imperative verbs: avoir (tu) aie (nous) ayons (vous) ayez tre (tu) sois (nous) soyons (vous) soyez savoir (tu) sache

(nous) sachons (vous) sachez vouloir (tu) veuille (nous) n/a (vous) veuillez Les Temps Littraire There are five French past tenses that are not used in spoken French. They are called literary or historical tenses because they are reserved for written French, such as Literature Journalism Historical texts Narration

At one time, literary tenses were used in spoken French, but they have gradually disappeared. When they are used, they raise the speaker's register to an extremely refined (some might even say snobbish) level of French. They may also be used for humorous effect. For example, in the French movie Ridicule, the aristocracy use literary tenses in their word games, in order to make themselves sound more educated and refined. Each of the literary tenses has a non-literary equivalent; however, there are subtle nuances that are lost when using the equivalents. Most of these nuances don't exist in English, so I explain the difference in my lessons. Because literary tenses are not used in spoken French, you need to be able to recognize them, but you will most likely never need to conjugate them. Even in written French, most of the literary tenses are disappearing. The pass simple is still common enough, but the others are often replaced by their spoken equivalents or by other verbal constructions. Some say that the disappearance of literary tenses leaves gaping holes in the French language Literary tenses are not used in spoken French - they have non-literary equivalents, explained here. For a definition of literary tenses and a description of where/when they are used, please read the introduction. Click the name of each literary tense to learn more about to conjugate and use it. I. Pass simple The pass simple is the literary simple past tense. Its English equivalent is the

preterite or simple past. Il choisit. - He chose. The spoken French equivalent is the pass compos - the English present perfect. Il a choisi. - He has chosen. You can see that by not using the pass simple and the pass compos together, the French language has lost the nuance between "he chose" and "he has chosen." The pass simple indicates an action that is complete and has no relationship to the present, whereas using the pass compos indicates a relationship with the present. II. Pass antrieur The pass antrieur is the literary compound past tense. Quand il eut choisi, nous rmes. - When he had chosen, we laughed. Its equivalent in spoken French is the plus-que-parfait (the English pluperfect or past perfect). Quand il avait choisi, nous avons ri. - When he had chosen, we laughed. The pass antrieur expresses an action that took place right before the action in the main verb (expressed by the pass simple). Aside from being extremely rare in spoken French, the pass antrieur is even disappearing in written French, as it can be replaced by several different constructions (see the lesson on the past anterior for more information). III. Imparfait du subjonctif* The imparfait du subjonctif is the literary simple past subjunctive. J'ai voulu qu'il choist. - I wanted him to choose. (I wanted that he chose) Its spoken French equivalent is the present subjunctive. J'ai voulu qu'il choisisse. - I wanted him to choose. (I wanted that he choose) The distinction lost here is this: by using the imperfect subjunctive in French, both the main clause (I wanted) and the subordinate clause (that he chose) are in the

past, whereas in the spoken French, the subordinate clause is in the present (that he choose). IV. Plus-que-parfait du subjonctif* The plus-que-parfait du subjonctif is the literary compound past subjunctive. J'aurais voulu qu'il et choisi. - I would have wanted him to choose. (I would have wanted that he had chosen) Its spoken French equivalent is the past subjunctive. J'aurais voulu qu'il ait choisi. - I would have wanted him to choose. (I would have wanted that he has chosen) This distinction is even more subtle, and is a combination of the pass compos and imparfait du subjonctif nuances: by using the plus-que-parfait du subjonctif, the action is in the remote past and has no relationship to the present (that he had chosen), whereas using the past subjunctive indicates a slight relationship with the present (that he has chosen). V. Seconde forme du conditionnel pass The conditional perfect, second form, is the literary conditional past. Si je l'eus vu, je l'eusse achet. - If I had seen it, I would have bought it. Its spoken French equivalent is the conditional perfect. Si je l'avais vu, je l'aurais achet. - If I had seen it, I would have bought it. The use of the second form of the conditional perfect emphasizes the fact that I didn't buy it, whereas the non-literal conditional perfect makes it sound more like a opportunity that just happened to be missed. *The English equivalents for these two literary tenses are unhelpful, because English rarely uses the subjunctive. I gave the literal, ungrammatical English translation in parentheses simply to give you an idea of what the French structure is like. Summary Literary tense Non-literary Equivalent

pass simple pass antrieur imparfait du subjonctif plus-que-parfait du subjonctif 2e forme du conditionnel pass More literary French

pass compos plus-que-parfait subjonctif subjonctif pass conditionnel pass

The present subjunctive has some literary uses. Certain verbs can be negated with the ne littraire. In literary French, the negative adverb ne... pas is replaced by ne... point.