French A2 Tenses

PRESENT
1. Refer to an action or fact
  1. Taking place now; regularly; started in the past and carries on in the present; will happen in the near future; relates to historical events, bringing them to life; that is timeless/universal
2. Regular Endings
  1. -ER: -e,-es,-e,-ons,-ez,-ent
  2. -IR: -is,-is,-it,-issons,-issez,-issent
  3. -RE: -e,-es,-e,-ons,-ez,-ent
3. Some Irregular Verbs
  1. Avoir: j'ais; nous avons
  2. Devoir: je dois; nous devons
  3. Pouvoir: je peux, nous pouvons
  4. Savoir: je sais; nous savons
  5. Aller: je vais; nous allons
  6. Faire: je fais; nous faisons
  7. Dire: je dis; nous disons
4. En train de + Infinitive
  1. Use instead of present tense to emphasize that something is happening at the time of speaking/writing
5. Depuis + present tense
  1. Depuis = since; for
  2. Use to talk about what has been and is still going on; e.g., J'habite au Canada depuis 1999
6. Present tense of 'venir' + de + infinititive
  1. To say that you 'have just done' something
PERFECT
1. Expresses a completed action in the past
2. How to form: PRESENT TENSE OF AVOIR/ETRE + PAST PARTICIPLE
  1. Most verbs take avoir, 'movement' verbs take etre
    1. Etre verbs: past participle must agree with the subject of the verb
    2. Only time avoir verbs need to agree with the subject is when there is a direct object before the verb; e.g. j'ai fabriqué une tasse que j'ai ramenée a la maison
3. How to form past participle
  1. -ER: take off -er and add -é
  2. -IR: take off -ir and add -i
  3. -RE: take off -re and add -u
  4. Some common irregular past participles:
    1. Avoir: eu
    2. Devoir: dû
    3. Etre: été
    4. Faire: fait
    5. Pouvoir: pu
    6. Vouloir: voulu
    7. Savoir: su
    8. Vivre: vécu
    9. Prendre: pris
    10. Croire: cru
IMPERFECT
1. Used to..
  1. Describe what someone/thing was like in the past (general)
  2. Describe continuous/interrupted actions in the past
  3. Something that happened regularly
  4. With 'depuis' when the action lasted for some time but is now over
  5. After 'si' clauses
  6. In reported speech (to report the present tense)
2. How to form: NOUS form of verb minus -ons + endings (-ais,-ais,-ait,-ions,-iez,aient)
  1. Exception! Etre - ét-
3. Imperfect tense of 'venir' + de + infinitive
  1. To say that you 'had just done' something
4. Important Verbs
  1. AVOIR: j'avais, tu avais, il avait, nous avions; vous aviez, ils avaient
  2. ETRE: j'étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient
PLUPERFECT
1. Used to..
  1. Say what had happened before some other event; e.g. Je suis arrivée trop tard, mes copains étaient deja partis
2. How to form: imperfect tense of avoir/etre + past participle
FUTURES
1. Immediate
  1. Use to say something is 'going to happen'
  2. How to form: present tense of 'aller' + infinitive
2. Simple
  1. Used to..
    1. describe future plans
    2. say how you think the future will be
    3. say what will happen
    4. give an order
    5. describe what will happen 'when...' or 'as soon as...' (i.e. with 'quant a' or 'des que'
  2. How to form: infinitive (reg. verbs) + endings
    1. -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont
  3. Some Irregulars
    1. Aller: j'irai
    2. Avoir: j;aurai
    3. Devoir: je devrai
    4. Etre: je serai
    5. Faire: je ferai
    6. Il faut: il faudra
    7. Pouvoir: je pourrai
    8. Savoir: je saurai
    9. Venir: je viendrai
    10. Vouloir: je voudrai
FUTURE PERFECT
1. Used to..
  1. Refer to something that 'will have taken place before something else' in the future
2. How it is formed: future tense of AVOIR/ETRE + PAST PARTICIPLE
  1. Avoir Future Tense: j'aurai, tu auras, il aura, nous aurons, vous aurez, ils auront
  2. Etre Future Tense: je serai, tu seras, il sera, nous serons, vous serez, ils seront
PRESENT CONDITIONAL
1. Used to..
  1. Express a wish/make a suggestion
  2. Polite request
  3. Refer to an action which depends on another event/action
2. How it is formed: INFINITIVE + endings
  1. Endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
3. Some Irregulars
  1. Avoir: j'aurais
  2. Etre: je serais
  3. Aller: j'irais
  4. il faut: il faudrait
  5. Pouvoir: je pourrais
  6. Savoir: je saurais
PAST CONDITIONAL
1. Used to..
  1. Say that something would have happened given certain circumstances (but actually didn't happen)
2. How it is formed: CONDITIONAL of AVOIR/ETRE + PAST PARTICIPLE
  1. Avoir Conditional: j'aurais, tu aurais, il aurait, nous aurions, vous auriez, ils auraient
  2. Etre Conditional: je serais, tu serais, il serait, nous serions, vous seriez, ils seraient
SUBJUNCTIVE
1. Used..
  1. After many verbs expressing an emotion or opinion
  2. after impersonal expressions; e.g. il faut que
  3. After conjunctions expressing: time, concession, aim, condition
  4. After a relative pronoun (qui/que) when it follows a superlative or negative
  5. After Que at the beginning of a sentence
  6. After: qui que, quel que, quoi que, ou que,
  7. SEE TRIGGER PHRASES FLASHCARDS!
2. How to form..
  1. Present subjunctive
    1. take 'ils' form of present tense, take off final -ent, and add endings
      1. Endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent
        Avoir: j'aie, tu aies, il ait, nous ayons, vous ayez, ils aient
        Etre: je sois, tu sois, tu soit, nous soyons, vous soyez, ils soient
  2. Perfect subjunctive
    1. Present subjunctive of avoir/etre + past participle
    2. Refers to something which has (perhaps) happened

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