A Review of French Verbs

Verb Tenses

Present Tense

The present tense of French verbs is used to indicate an ongoing action, habitual action or general state. For example I walk, I am walking, and I do walk are all equivalent to je marche in French.

Past Tense (Passé Composé)

The past tense in spoken French is formed with the verb to have + the past participle of the verb. For example both I walked and I have walked in spoken French is J'ai marché. In French this tense is called the passé composé.

Imperfect Tense

This tense is used to indicate a habitual action in the past or an action in the past that is still occuring. For example I was walking and I used to walk are equivalent to je marchais in French.

Future Tense

The future tense is used to indicate actions that will happen in the future.

Futur Proche

The futur proche is used for events that are about to happen, or are happening soon. In English the near future is indicated by using going to. In French it is indicated by using the verb aller. For example, 'We are going to eat' is 'Nous allons manger' in French. Look here to see how aller is conjugated.

Le Conditionnel

The conditionnel is used to:

• make polite requests or state wishes
• give advice and make suggestions
• predict future events from a past perspective

To see how to conjugate verbs for the conditionnel, have a look at the lessson

Historical Past (Passé Simple)

The passé simple is a French verb tense used to indicate that a specific action happened in the past. In French this tense is called the passé simple. This tense is primarily used in written French, especially novels. In spoken French and casual writing the passé composé is used instead. If you plan to read French novels or formal writing, it's a good idea to at least be familiar with the passé simple. To learn how this tense is conjugated.

Regular er Verbs

This is the most common group of French verbs. They follow the form of aimer (to love) as shown in the following table.

	Present	Imperfect	Past	Future
j'	aime	aimais	ai aimé	aimerai
tu	aimes	aimais	as aimé	aimeras
il, elle, on	aime	aimait	a aimé	aimera
nous	aimons	aimions	avons aimé	aimerons
vous	aimez	aimiez	avez aimé	aimerez
ils, elles	aiment	aimaient	ont aimé	aimeront

The following table shows some common er verbs.

arriver	arrive, happen
chanter	sing
chercher	look for
commencer	begin
demander	ask for
détester	hate
donner	give
fermer	close
jouer	play
laver	wash
manger	eat
nager	swim
parler	talk
passer	pass
penser	think
porter	wear, carry
regarder	watch, look at
sembler	seem
travailler	work
trouver	find
visiter	visit
voler	fly, steal

Regular ir Verbs

The ir verbs follow the form of finir (to finish) as shown in the following table.

	Present	Imperfect	Past	Future
je, j'	finis	finissais	ai fini	finirai
tu	finis	finissais	as fini	finiras
il, elle, on	finit	finissais	a fini	finira
nous	finissons	finissions	avons fini	finirons
vous	finissez	finissiez	avez fini	finirez
ils, elles	finissent	finissaient	ont fini	finiront

The following table shows some common ir verbs.

accomplir	accomplish
avertir	warn
choisir	choose
convertir	convert
nourrir	feed
remplir	fill

Regular re Verbs

The re verbs follow the form of vendre (to sell) as shown in the following table.

	Present	Imperfect	Past	Future
je, j'	vends	vendais	ai vendu	vendrai
tu	vends	vendais	as vendu	vendras
il, elle, on	vend	vendait	a vendu	vendra
nous	vendons	vendions	avons vendu	vendrons
vous	vendez	vendiez	avez vendu	vendrez
ils, elles	vendent	vendaient	ont vendu	vendront

The following table shows some common re verbs.

attendre	wait for, expect
défendre	defend
descendre	descend
entendre	hear
perdre	lose
rendre	give back, return
répondre	answer
vendre	sell

Être (To Be)

The verb être is very irregular in French. The following table lists its present, past, imperfect, and future forms.

	Present	Imperfect	Past	Future
je	suis	étais	ai été	serai
tu	es	étais	as été	seras
il, elle, on	est	était	a été	sera
nous	sommes	étions	avons été	serons
vous	êtes	étiez	avez été	serez
ils, elles	sont	étaient	ont été	seront

Avoir (To Have)

The verb avoir is also very irregular in French. The following table lists its present, past, imperfect, and future forms.

	Present	Imperfect	Past	Future
j'	ai	avais	ai eu	aurai
tu	as	avais	as eu	auras
il, elle, on	a	avait	a eu	aura
nous	avons	avions	avons eu	aurons
vous	avez	aviez	avez eu	aurez
ils, elles	ont	avaient	ont eu	auront