French Verb Tenses and Moods - Simple Tenses

Translating French verbs into English

French has quite a few different tenses and moods, which come in two forms: simple (single

word) and compound. Translating French verbs into English, and vice versa, can be difficult

for several reasons:

The two languages don't have the same verb tenses and moods

Some simple forms in one language are compound in the other

English has modal verbs but French does not

Many verbal constructions have more than one possible equivalent in the other language,

depending on context

This lesson should help you understand how French and English verb forms match up, but it's

just an overview. For more detailed information and examples, please click the links to read

the individual lessons.

I'm not going to translate every grammatical person (I, you, he, etc), since you can easily

figure out how to extend the translations to other grammatical persons. For my examples of

simple verb forms, I will be using the je form of prendre (to take) and the vous form

of aller (to go).

Present tense je prends - I take, I am taking, I do take

vous allez - you go, you are going, you do go

Future je prendrai - I will take

vous irez - you will go

Conditional je prendrais - I would take

vous iriez - you would go

Imperfect je prenais - I was taking

vous alliez - you were going

Passé simple (literary tense)

je pris - I took

vous allâtes - you went

Subjunctive (que) je prenne - (that) I take, "me to take"

Il est important que je prenne... - It's important that I take...

Veut-elle que je prenne...? - Does she want me to take...?

(que) vous alliez - (that) you go, "you to go"

Il est important que vous alliez... - It's important that you go...

Veut-elle que vous alliez...? - Does she want you to go...?

Imperfect subjunctive (literary tense)

(que) je prisse - (that) I took

(que) vous allassiez - (that) you went

Passé composé

j'ai pris - I took, I have taken, I did take

vous êtes allé(e)(s) - you went, you have gone, you did go

Future perfect

j'aurai pris - I will have taken

vous serez allé(e)(s) - you will have gone

Conditional perfect

j'aurais pris - I would have taken

vous seriez allé(e)(s) - you would have gone

Second form of the conditional perfect (literary tense)

j'eusse pris - I would have taken

vous fussiez allé(e)(s) - you would have gone

Now here's the problem with a lesson like this. The following French compound

conjugations all translate to the English past perfect, because these distinctions which

are so important in French aren't made in English. In order to understand the

difference in meaning and usage between the French verb forms, please click through to

the lessons.

Pluperfect

j'avais pris - I had taken

vous étiez allé(e)(s) - you had gone

Past subjunctive

(que) j'aie pris - I had taken

(que) vous soyez allé(e)(s) - you had gone

Pluperfect subjunctive (literary tense)

(que) j'eusse pris - I had taken

(que) vous fussiez allé(e)(s) - you had gone

Past anterior (literary tense)

j'eus pris - I had taken

vous fûtes allé(e)(s) - you had gone

Imperatives

For these verb forms, I'm using the nous form of prendre (to take) and the vous form

of aller(to go).

Imperative

(nous) prenons - let's take

(vous) allez - go

Past imperative

(nous) ayons pris - let's have (something) taken

(vous) soyez allé(e)(s) - have gone

Impersonals

Impersonal conjugations have only one form for each tense - impersonal means that

they are not conjugated for different grammatical persons.

Simple impersonal conjugations

Present participle

prenant - taking

allant - going

Past participle

pris - took, taken

allé - gone, went

Compound impersonal conjugations

Perfect participle

ayant pris - having taken

étant allé(e)(s) - having gone

Past infinitive

avoir pris - have taken, having taken

être allé(e)(s) - have gone, having gone

French Literary Tenses

Temps littéraires

Literary tenses are not used in spoken French - they have non-literary equivalents, explained

here. For a definition of literary tenses and a description of where/when they are used, please

read the introduction.

Click the name of each literary tense to learn more about to conjugate and use it.

I. Passé simple

The passé simple is the literary simple past tense. Its English equivalent is the preterite or

simple past.

Il choisit. - He chose.

The spoken French equivalent is the passé composé - the English present perfect.

Il a choisi. - He has chosen.

You can see that by not using the passé simple and the passé composé together, the French

language has lost the nuance between "he chose" and "he has chosen." The passé

simple indicates an action that is complete and has no relationship to the present, whereas

using the passé composé indicates a relationship with the present.

II. Passé antérieur

The passé antérieur is the literary compound past tense.

Quand il eut choisi, nous rîmes. - When he had chosen, we laughed.

Its equivalent in spoken French is the plus-que-parfait (the English pluperfect or past

perfect).

Quand il avait choisi, nous avons ri. - When he had chosen, we laughed.

The passé antérieur expresses an action that took place right before the action in the main

verb (expressed by the passé simple). Aside from being extremely rare in spoken French,

the passé antérieur is even disappearing in written French, as it can be replaced by several

different constructions (see the lesson on the past anterior for more information).

III. Imparfait du subjonctif*

The imparfait du subjonctif is the literary simple past subjunctive.

J'ai voulu qu'il choisît. - I wanted him to choose. (I wanted that he chose)

Its spoken French equivalent is the present subjunctive.

J'ai voulu qu'il choisisse. - I wanted him to choose. (I wanted that he choose)

The distinction lost here is this: by using the imperfect subjunctive in French, both the main

clause (I wanted) and the subordinate clause (that he chose) are in the past, whereas in the

spoken French, the subordinate clause is in the present (that he choose).

IV. Plus-que-parfait du subjonctif*

The plus-que-parfait du subjonctif is the literary compound past subjunctive.

J'aurais voulu qu'il eût choisi. - I would have wanted him to choose.

(I would have wanted that he had chosen)

Its spoken French equivalent is the past subjunctive.

J'aurais voulu qu'il ait choisi. - I would have wanted him to choose.

(I would have wanted that he has chosen)

This distinction is even more subtle, and is a combination of the passé composé and imparfait

du subjonctif nuances: by using the plus-que-parfait du subjonctif, the action is in the remote

past and has no relationship to the present (that he had chosen), whereas using the past

subjunctive indicates a slight relationship with the present (that he has chosen).

V. Seconde forme du conditionnel passé

The conditional perfect, second form, is the literary conditional past.

Si je l'eus vu, je l'eusse acheté. - If I had seen it, I would have bought it.

Its spoken French equivalent is the conditional perfect.

Si je l'avais vu, je l'aurais acheté. - If I had seen it, I would have bought it.

The use of the second form of the conditional perfect emphasizes the fact that I didn't buy it,

whereas the non-literal conditional perfect makes it sound more like a opportunity that just

happened to be missed.

*The English equivalents for these two literary tenses are unhelpful, because English rarely

uses the subjunctive. I gave the literal, ungrammatical English translation in parentheses

simply to give you an idea of what the French structure is like.

Summary

Literary tense Literary tense classification Non-literary equivalent

passé simple simple past passé composé

passé antérieur compound past plus-que-parfait

imparfait du subjonctif simple past subjunctive subjonctif

plus-que-parfait du subjonctif compound past subjunctive subjonctif passé

2e forme du conditionnel passé conditional past conditionnel passé

More literary French The present subjunctive has some literary uses.

Certain verbs can be negated with the ne littéraire.

In literary French, the negative adverb ne... pas is replaced by ne... point.

French Literary Ne - Formal French

Ne littéraire

What I call the ne littéraire is the phenomenon in literary writing (and, to a much lesser

extent, spoken French) whereby certain verbs and constructions need ne but not pas in order

to be negative. The use of pas in these constructions is not prohibited, simply optional.

The ne littéraire is used with seven verbs:

Cesser, oser, and pouvoir never need pas.

Il ne cesse de parler.

He never stops talking.

Je n'ose le regarder.

I don't dare watch it.

Elle ne peut venir avec nous.

She can't come with us.

Bouger, daigner, and manquer may be used withoutpas, but this is less common than with

the above verbs.

Il ne bouge depuis 8 heures.

He hasn't moved in 8 hours.

Elle n'a daigné répondre.

She didn't deign to respond.

Ils ne manquèrent de se plaindre.

They didn't fail to complain.

The seventh verb, savoir, is a special case. It doesn't need pas when it

1) means "to be uncertain"

Je ne sais si c'est juste.

I don't know if it's fair.

2) is in the conditional

Je ne saurais t'aider.

I wouldn't know how to help you.

3) is used with a interrogative word

Je ne sais quoi faire.

I don't know what to do.

However, savoir does need pas when it means to know a fact or how to do something:

Je ne sais pas la réponse.

I don't know the answer.

Il ne sait pas nager.

He doesn't know how to swim.

In addition, the ne littéraire may be used with just about any verb in si clauses:

J'y serais allé si je n'avais eu peur.

I would have gone if I hadn't been afraid.

Tu auras faim si tu ne manges.

You'll be hungry if you don't eat.

Ne littéraire can be used with the following expressions related to time plus a compund

tense:cela fait (amount of time) que, depuis que, il y a (amount of time) que, voici (amount of

time) que, and voilà (amount of time) que.

Cela fait 6 mois que nous ne nous étions vus.

We hadn't seen each other in 6 months

Voilà longtemps qu'il n'a travaillé.

He hasn't worked in a long time.

And the ne littéraire can also occur in questions:

Qui ne serait triste aujourd'hui ?

Who wouldn't be sad today?

Que ne donnerais-je pour un emploi ?

What wouldn't I give for a job?

Don't mix up the ne littéraire and the ne explétif - they are used with completely different

verbs.

The ne explétif is used after certain verbs and conjunctions. I call it a "non-negative ne"

because it has no negative value in and of itself. It is used in situations where the main clause

has a negative (either negative-bad or negative-negated) meaning, such as expressions of

fear, warning, doubt, and negation.

The ne explétif is disappearing to some extent, and is more common in literary than in

colloquial French, but it is still important to be able to recognize it so that when you do see or

hear it, you understand that it does not make the subordinate clause negative (negated).

Elle a peur qu'il ne soit malade.

She's afraid that he is sick.

J'évite qu'il ne découvre la raison.

I'm avoiding his discovering the reason.

Nie-t-il qu'il n'ait vu ce film ?

Does he deny seeing this movie?

Il est parti avant que nous n'ayons décidé.

He left before we decided.

Luc en veut plus que Thierry n'en a.

Luc wants more than Thierry has.

Note that if the subordinate clause is supposed to have a negative (negated) meaning, you can

just use ne... pas as usual (examples in parentheses).

Elle a peur qu'il ne revienne.

She's afraid that he will come back.

(Elle a peur qu'il ne revienne pas.)

(She's afraid that he won't come back.)

Je n'y vais pas de peur qu'il ne soit là.

I'm not going for fear that he will be there.

(Je n'y vais pas de peur qu'il ne soit pas là.)

(I'm not going for fear that he won't be there.)

C'est facile à moins que tu ne sois trop faible.

It's easy unless you're too weak.

(C'est facile à moins que tu ne sois pas fort.)

(It's easy unless you're not strong.)

Don't mix up the ne explétif and the ne littéraire - they are used with completely different

verbs.

This list is not exhaustive, but contains the most common French words that expect the ne

explétif.

Verbs* Conjunctions* Comparatives

avoir peur to be afraid à moins que unless autre other

craindre to fear avant que before meilleur better

douter° to doubt de crainte que for fear that mieux best

empêcher to prevent de peur que for fear that moins less

éviter to avoid sans que without pire worse

nier° to deny plus more

redouter to dread

* Incidentally, these conjunctions and verbs all take the subjunctive.

° These require the ne explétif only in negative or interrogative constructions.

Special Uses of the French Subjunctive

Usages particuliers du subjonctif

Although the French subjunctive is most often used in subordinate clauses (e.g., Je veux que

tu fasses), it can also be used in main or independent clauses.* In general, this usage tends

to be formal.

Note: This lesson is on advanced uses of the French subjunctive. Before you continue, make

sure that you understand the basic subjunctive lesson.

Que + subjunctive This construction is used for third person imperatives: commands, wishes, concessions,

suppositions, and exclamations.

Que Dieu bénisse l'Amérique. (May) God bless America.

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche ! Let them eat brioche!

Qu'elle finisse avant midi ! Let her finish before noon!

I hope she finishes before noon!

Que le bonheur vous sourie. May happiness smile upon you.

Qu'il ait menti : il ne faut pas le

punir.

He may have lied / It may be that he lied, but he

shouldn't be punished.

The subjunctive is also used with certain verbs to indicate polite and/or literary commands,

wishes, etc.

être Soit un rectangle ABCD. Let ABCD be a rectangle,

Let's take the rectangle

ABCD.

science,

mathematics

pouvoir Puissiez-vous ne jamais voir une

telle chose !

May you never see such a

thing! literary

savoir Je ne sache pas que cela existe. I'm not aware that that exists,

As far as I know, that doesn't exist.

Pas que je sache. Not that I know of. literary

venir Vienne l'aube, les oiseaux

chantent.

Come dawn, the birds sing. poetic, literary

vivre Vive la France ! Long live France! third person

command

vouloir Veuillez m'excuser de vous

déranger.

Please excuse me for

interrupting you.

very polite

command

Finally, there are a few fixed expressions which take the subjunctive.

Ainsi soit-il So be it

Advienne que pourra Come what may

coûte que coûte at all costs

Dieu soit loué ! Thank goodness!

Dieu vous protège. May God protect you.

Grand bien vous fasse ! You're welcome to it! May it serve you well!

(sarcastic)

n'en déplaise à... with all due respect to...

Qu'à cela ne tienne. Never mind that; That doesn't matter.

Sauve qui peut ! Save yourselves (if you can)!

*Note: For que + subjunctive and many of the fixed expressions, the subjunctive is needed

because the original main clause has been dropped, leaving what used to be a subordinate

clause to stand alone.

(Je veux) Que Dieu bénisse l'Amérique.

(Je souhaite que) Grand bien vous fasse !

French Negative Adverbs

Adverbes négatifs

Making sentences negative in French is a bit different than in English, due to the two-part

negative adverb and the sometimes difficult issue of placement. Normally, ne... pas is the

first negative adverb that we learn. But there are actually many negative adverbs used just

like it, so once you understand ne... pas, you can make just about any sentence negative.

To make a sentence or question negative, place ne in front of the conjugated verb and pas (or

one of the other negative adverbs) after it. Ne... pas translates roughly as "not."

Je suis riche - Je ne suis pas riche.

I'm rich - I'm not rich.

Êtes-vous fatigué ? - N'êtes-vous pas fatigué ?

Are you tired? - Aren't you tired?

In compound verbs and dual-verb constructions, the negative adverbs surround the

conjugated verb (except for nulle part [see page 2], which follows the main verb).

Je n'ai pas étudié.

I didn't study.

Nous n'aurions pas su.

We wouldn't have known.

Il ne sera pas arrivé.

He won't have arrived.

Tu n'avais pas parlé ?

You hadn't talked?

Il ne veut pas skier.

He doesn't want to ski.

Je ne peux pas y aller.

I can't go.

When there is an indefinite article or partitive articlein a negative construction, the article

changes to de, meaning "(not) any" (learn more):

J'ai une pomme > Je n'ai pas de pomme.

I have an apple > I don't have any apples.

In informal spoken French, ne is often dropped:

Je ne sais pas > Je sais pas.

I don't know.

And there are other uses of pas without ne.

Ne ... pas is the most common French negative adverb, but there are a number of others

which follow the same grammatical rules.

ne ... pas encore not yet

Il n'est pas encore arrivé. He has not arrived yet.

ne ... pas toujours not always

Je ne mange pas toujours ici. I don't always eat here.

Lesson: encore vs toujours

ne ... pas du tout not at all

Je n'aime pas du tout les épinards. I don't like spinach at all.

ne ... pas non plus neither, not either

Je n'aime pas non plus les oignons. I don't like onions either.

ne ... aucunement not at all, in no way

Il n'est aucunement à blâmer. He is in no way to blame.

ne ... guère hardly, barely, scarcely

Il n'y a guère de monde. There's hardly anyone there.

ne ... jamais never

Nous ne voyageons jamais. We never travel.

ne ... nullement not at all

Il ne veut nullement venir. He doesn't want to come at all.

ne ... nulle part nowhere

Je ne l'ai trouvé nulle part. I couldn't find it anywhere.

ne ... point not (formal/literary equivalent of ne...pas)

Je ne te hais point. I don't hate you.

ne ... plus no more, not anymore

Vous n'y travaillez plus. You don't work there anymore.

ne ... que only

Il n'y a que deux chiens. There are only two dogs.

The French negative adverb pas is often used in conjunction with ne, but pas can also be used

all on its own. There are different reasons for this; the one I get asked about the most is

when pas is used to negate a verb, and it's addressed in my lesson on informal negation.

The focus of this lesson is the use of pas without ne to negate an adjective, adverb, noun, or

pronoun. Note that this use of pas is somewhat informal - in most cases, it is possible to make

a sentence using ne ... pas that means the same thing.

Pas + Adjective

- Il doit être ravi ! - Pas ravi, mais content, oui.

- He must be delighted! - Not delighted, but (yes, he is) happy.

C'est un homme pas sympathique.

He is an unkind man.

Pas gentil, ça.

That's not nice.

Pas possible !

That's not possible!

Pas + Adverb

- Tu en veux ? - Oui, mais pas beaucoup.

- Do you want some? - Yes, but not a lot.

- Ça va ? - Pas mal.

- How are you? - Not bad.

Pourquoi pas ?

Why not?

Pas comme ça !

Not like that!

Pas si vite !

Not so fast!

Pas souvent, pas encore, pas trop

Not often, not yet, not too much

Pas + Noun

- Elle vient mercredi ? - Non, pas mercredi. Jeudi.

- Is she coming on Wednesday? - No, not Wednesday. Thursday.

- Je veux deux bananes. - Pas de bananes aujourd'hui.

- I want two bananas. - No bananas today.

Pas de problème !

No problem!

Pas + Pronoun

- Qui veut nous aider ? - Pas moi !

- Who wants to help us? - Not me!

- Tu as faim ? - Pas du tout !

- Are you hungry? - Not at all!

Ah non, pas ça !

Oh no, not that!

Pas can also be used to ask for confirmation:

Tu viens, ou pas ?

Are you coming, or not?

Je l'aime bien, pas toi ?

I really like it, don't you?

Pas vrai ?

Right? Isn't that true?

Pas is also a noun meaning "step," and is found in many French expressions.