Verb Tenses at a Glance - Notes

Present tense – This is the tense that we learned first. The regular conjugation of the verb is the present tense. The present tense can be translated 3 ways:

Je parle. I talk, I am talking, I do talk.

Near future – conjugate the verb, aller and put the infinitive with it.

Je vais parler. I am going to talk.

Passé Composé – conjugate the verb avoir or être + past participle. Use the verb, être, with the 17 Dr. & Mrs. P. Vandertramp verbs and reflexive verbs.

J’ai parlé. I talked, I have talked, I did talk.

Imparfait – Take the nous form of the verb, drop the –ons, add correct endings. Use the imperfect when describing something in the past or when talking about a past event over an extended period of time.

ais ions ais iez ait aient

Je parlais. I was talking, I used to talk.

Future – Take the infinitive or the stem of the verb and add correct endings. You must memorize the stems. The future and conditional stems are the same.

ai ons as ez a ont

Je parlerai. I will talk.

Conditional – Take the infinitive or the stem of the verb and add correct endings. You must memorize the stems. The future and conditional stems are the same.

ais ions ais iez ait aient

Je parlerais. I would talk.

Future Perfect (Future Past) – Take the future tense of avoir or être + past participle.

J’aurai parlé. I will have talked.

Conditional Perfect (Conditional Past) – Take the conditional tense of avoir or être + past participle.

J’aurais parlé. I would have talked.

Plus que parfait (pluperfect) – Take the imperfect tense of avoir or être + past participle

J’avais parlé. I had talked.