I used to see him every day.
Je le voyais tous les jours. (imperfect)
I saw him yesterday.
Je l’ai vu hier. (passé composé)
What were you doing when he called you?
Que faisiez-vous (imperfect) quand il vous a téléphoné? (passé composé)
What did you do when he called you?
Qu‘avez-vous fait (passé composé) quand il vous a téléphoné? (passé composé)
I did not have a lot of money when I was young.
Je n‘avais pas (imperfect) beaucoup d’argent quand j’étais (imperfect) jeune.
Certain verbs which by their very nature express an attitude or a condition rather than an action, use the imperfect more frequently than the passé composé. The following are the most important:
avoir
(to have)
croire
(to believe)
désirer
(to desire, want)
espérer
(to hope)
être
(to be)
penser
(to think)
pouvoir
(to be able)
savoir
(to know)
vouloir
(to want, wish)
Il croyait que nous n‘avions pas I’argent.
He thought we did not have the money.
Je voulais la voir.
I wanted to see her.
Je ne savais pas s‘ils pouvaient venir.
I didn’t know if they could come.
The Pluperfect Tense
The pluperfect tense (in English, had plus the past participle) in French is formed with the imperfect of avoir (or être for the verbs which are conjugated with être [see p. 39]) and the past participle. The French pluperfect corresponds in usage to English. It is not extremely important for a beginner since the passé composé will convey the meaning adequately.
Study the following models:
(prendre—to take)
j‘avais pris
I had taken
tu avais pris
you had taken
il (elle) avait pris
he (she) had taken
nous avions pris
we had taken
vous aviez pris
you had taken
ils (elles) avaient pris
they had taken
(tomber—to fall)
j’étais tombé (tombée7)
I had fallen
tu étais tombé (tombée)
you had fallen
il était tombé
he had fallen
elle était tombée
she had fallen
nous étions tombés (tombées)
we had fallen
vous étiez tombé (tombée) (tombés) (tombées)
you had fallen
ils étaient tombés
they had fallen
elles étaient tombées
they had fallen
Here are some examples of the usage of the pluperfect tense.
Je n‘avais jamais été en Europe.
I had never been to Europe.
Elle était partie avant leur arrivée.
She had left before their arrival.
The Future Tense
The Future Tense of Regular Verbs
The future tense (in English, will or shall plus the infinitive) is formed in French by adding the following endings to the infinitive form of the verb:
Study the following models, and notice that 3rd conjugation verbs drop the final -e of the infinitive before the future endings are attached.
IST CONJ. VERBS
(donner—to give)
je donnerai
I shall give
tu donneras
you will give
il (elle) donnera
he (she) will give
nous donnerons
we shall give
vous donnerez
you will give
ils (elles) donneront
they will give
2ND CONJ. VERBS
(bâtir—to build)
je bâtirai
I shall build
tu bâtiras
you will build
il (elle) bâtira
he (she) will build
nous bâtirons
we shall build
vous bâtirez
you will build
ils (elles) bâtiront
they will build
3RD CONJ. VERBS
(rendre—to give back)
je rendrai
I shall give back
tu rendras
you will give back
il (elle) rendra
he (she) will give back
nous rendrons
we shall give back
vous rendrez
you will give back
ils (elles) rendront
they will give back
The Future Tense of Irregular Verbs
All verbs, both regular and irregular, use the endings given above to form the furture tense, but with the following important verbs these ending are added to irregular stems, insted of to the infinitive. You should become familiar with these irregular futures.
How to Use the Future Tense
Study the following sentences illustrating the use of the future, which corresponds in general to English:
Qu‘est-ce que vous ferez demain?
What will you do tomorrow?
Nous reviendrons de bonne heure parce que nous irons au théâtre le soir.
We shall return early because we shall go to the theater in the evening.
Quand partirez-vous pour Nice?
When will you leave for Nice?
How to Avoid the Future Tense
It is often correct to use the present tense instead of the future tense, sometimes indicating the idea of future action by such words as “next week,” “tomorrow,” etc.
Qu’est-ce que vous faites demain?
What are you doing (will you do) tomorrow?
Je pars pour Nice lundi.
I leave (shall leave) for Nice on Monday.
In English we often say “I am going to go,” instead of “I shall go.” Similarly, in French, one may use the present tense of the verb aller (to go) plus the infinitive of the other verb.
Qu’est-ce que vous allez faire?
What are you going to do?
Je vais étudier, et après je vais me reposer un peu.
I am going to study, and afterwards I am going to rest a little.
The Conditional Tenses
How to Form the Conditional Tense
The conditional tense is expressed in English by the word “would” plus the infinitive (e.g. I would go, they would come). The past conditional is expressed by the words “would have” plus the past participle (e.g. She would have answered, we would have seen).
To form the conditional in French, we add the endings of the imperfect tense (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient) to the entire infinitive of first and second conjugation verbs, but to the infinitive minus the final -e of third conjugation verbs.
(manger—to eat)
je mangerais
I would eat
tu mangerais
you would eat
il (elle) mangerait
he (she) would eat
nous mangerions
we would eat
vous mangeriez
you would eat
ils (elles) mangeraient
they would eat
Irregalar Verbs
Verbs that have an irregular stem in the future (see p. 47) have the same stem for the conditional:
INFINITIVE
CONDITIONAL
aller (to go)
j‘irais (I would go)
avoir (to have)
j’aurais (I would have)
devoir (must, ought)
je devrais (I ought)
envoyer (to send)
j‘enverrais (I would send)
être (to be)
je serais (I would be)
faire (to do, make)
je ferais (I would make, would do)
pouvoir (to be able)
je pourrais (I would be able)
recevoir (to receive)
je recevrais (I would receive)
savoir (to know)
je saurais (I would know)
venir (to come)
je viendrais (I would come)
voir (to see)
je verrais (I would see)
vouloir (to want, wish)
je voudrais (I would want, would like)
How to Form the Past Conditional Tense
To form the past conditional, use the conditional of avoir (or être with the special être verbs, listed on page 39), plus the past participle. Remember that the past participle of verbs conjugated with être agrees in gender and number with the subject (see p. 40).
(acheter—to buy)
j‘aurais acheté
I would have bought
tu aurais acheté
you would have bought
il (elle) aurait acheté
he (she) would have bought
nous aurions acheté
we would have bought
vous auriez acheté
you would have bought
ils (elles) auraient acheté
they would have bought
(revenir—to return, come back)
je serais revenu (fem. revenue)
I would have returned
tu serais revenu (fem. revenue)
you would have returned
il serait revenu
he would have returned
elle serait revenue
she would have returned
nous serions revenus (fem. revenues)
we would have returned
vous seriez revenue (fem. sing.
revenue) (masc. pl. revenus)
(fem. pl. revenues)
you would have returned
ils seraient revenus
they would have returned
elles seraient revenues
they would have returned
How to Use the Conditional Tenses
Here are some sentences containing conditionals and past conditionals:
Je voudrais parler avec le gérant.
I would like to speak with the manager.
Si j‘avais assez d’argent, j’irais en Italie.
If I had enough money, I would go to Italy.
Je n’aurais jamais fait cela.
I would never have done that.
Nous serions arrivés à temps si elle n’était pas venue en retard.
We would have arrived on time if she had not come late.
In the second sentence, note that when we use the conditional (j‘irais) in the main clause, the imperfect (j’avais) is used in the si or “if” clause. In the last sentence, we use the past conditional (nous serions arrivés) in the main clause and the pluperfect (elle était venue) in the si (“if”) clause.
Reflexive Verbs
Comparison of Reflexive Verbs in English and French
In English we say: I get up, I wash, I shave, I dress. The action of each of these verbs refers back to the subject, and these phrases might also be expressed: I get myself up, I wash myself, I shave myself, I dress myself. In French these verbs are reflexive verbs and must be used with special reflexive pronouns:
me8 (myself, to or for myself)
te8 (yourself, to or for yourself)
se8 (himself, herself, itself, themselves, to or for himself, herself, itself, themselves)
nous (ourselves, to or for ourselves)
vous (yourself, yourselves, to or for yourself, yourselves)
In French, the phrases given in the first paragraph of this section would be: Je me lève, je me lave, je me rase, je m‘habille.
The infinitive of reflexive verbs is preceded by the reflexive pronoun se (or, if the verb begins with a vowel or silent h, by s‘): se lever (to get up), se laver (to wash), s’habiller (to dress), etc.
Conjugation of Reflexive Verbs
All reflexive verbs form their compound tenses using être as the auxiliary verb. The reflexive pronoun is placed immediately in front of the verb itself, except in affirmative commands, when it follows the verb to which it is attached by a hyphen.
The typical reflexive verb se dépêcher (to hurry) will serve to illustrate the conjugation of a reflexive verb in its most important tenses.
PRESENT TENSE
(se dépêcher—to hurry)
je me dépêche
I hurry
tu te dépêches
you hurry
il (elle) se dépêche
he (she) hurries
nous nous dépêchons
we hurry
vous vous dépêchez
you hurry
ils (elles) se dépêchent
they hurry
PASSÉ COMPOSÉ TENSE
je me suis dépêché (fem. dépêchée)
I hurried
tu t‘es dépêché (fem. dépêchée)
you hurried
il s’est dépêché
he hurried
elle s‘est dépêchée
she hurried
nous nous sommes dépêchés (fem. dépêchées)
we hurried
vous vous êtes dépêché (fem. sing. dépêchée)
(masc. pl. dépêchés) (fem. pl. dépêchées)
you hurried
ils se sont dépêchés
they hurried
elles se sont dépêchées
they hurried
FUTURE TENSE
je me dépêcherai
I shall hurry
tu te dépêcheras
you will hurry
il (elle) se dépêchera
he (she) will hurry
nous nous dépêcherons
we shall hurry
vous vous dépêcherez
you will hurry
ils (elles) se dépêcheront
they will hurry
COMMAND FORM
Dépêchez-vous!
Hurry!
Ne vous dépêchez pas!
Don’t hurry!
Dépêchons-nous!
Let’s hurry!
Ne nous dépêchons pas!
Let’s not hurry!
Important Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs are far more popular in French than in English. Here is a list of the practically indispensable ones:
s’amuser (to have a good time)
s‘appeler (to be called, named)
s’asseoir (to sit down)
se coucher (to go to bed)
se dépêcher (to hurry)
s‘habiller (to get dressed)
se laver (to wash)
se lever (to get up)
se porter (to be, feel [health])
se raser (to shave)
se taire (to be quiet)
se trouver (to be located)
Most reflexive verbs may also be used without reflexive pronouns. For example, laver means “to wash (someone or something),” appeler means “to call (someone or something),” raser means “to shave (someone),” etc.
How to Use Reflexive Verbs
Study the following sentences, which further illustrate the use of reflexive verbs:
Le coiffeur ne m‘a pas bien rasé. (not refl.)
The barber did not shave me well.
Je me rase tous les jours. (refl.)
I shave every day.
Je vais appeler Henri. (not refl.)
I am going to call Henry.
Je m’appelle Georges. (refl.)
My name is George.
Asseyez-vous ici, s’il vous plaît. (refl.)
Sit down here, please.
Je me lave les mains et la figure avant de m’habiller.
(refl)
I wash my hands and face before dressing.
The P
assive Voice
Essential French Grammar Page 4
