French Tenses

Simple Tenses
Tense Usage English Tense Example Français English Translation
Le Présent de l'Indicatif An action or state of being at the present time Present Continuous Je vais à l'école maintenant I am going to school now
Present Je pense; donc, je suis I think; therefore, I am
Habitual action Present Je vais à la bibliothèque tous les jours I go to the library every day
A general or universal truth Present Voir c'est coire Seeing is believing
Vividness when talking about the past (historical present)
A near future Present Il arrive demain He arrives tomorrow
An action which began in the past and continues to the present Present Perfect Je suis ici depuis decembre I have been here since December
L'Imparfait de l'Indicatif An action that was going on in the past at the same time as another action Past Continuous Il lisait pendant que j'écrivais He was reading while I was writing
An action that was going on in the past when another action occurred Past Continous Il lisait quand je suis arrivé He was reading when I arrived
An action performed habitually in the past Nous allions à la plage tous les jours We would go to the beach every day
Je pêchais tous les samedis I used to fish every Saturday
A desription of a physical or mental condition in the past Past Il était vivant quand j'ai été la It was alive when I was there
An action that occurred in the past and lasted for a certain period of time before another Past Perfect Continuous J'attendais l'autobus depuis dix minutes quand il est arrivé I had been waiting for the bus for ten minutes when it arrived
Le Passé Simple
Le Futur An action that will take place in the future Future J'y penserai I will think about it
Present Quand j'irai au marché, j'achèterai du pain dès que j'arriverai When I go to the store, I will buy some bread as soon as I arrive
Le Conditionnel Présent An action you would do if it were possible Conditional Je ferais le travail si j'avais le temps I would do the work if I had the time
To soften a request Conditional Je voudrais du thé I would like some tea
Le Présent du Subjonctif