This article gives you lire conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Lire Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I read. / I’m reading.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was reading.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I read.
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I read.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will read. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to read …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I read it before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had read.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have read it before eating breakfast.

Mastering lire conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

The following tables also give usage examples of lire used in its respective tense.

Lire Présent Conjugation (Present)

Présent definition: The Présent tense is used to describe actions or states that are happening at the current moment or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in all languages. Note that French doesn’t have the present continuous verb tense like in English. Hence, “I read” and “I am reading” both translate to je lis.

Example Sentences:

1. Je lis beaucoup de livres. (I read a lot of books.)
2. Tu lis toujours le journal le matin. (You always read the newspaper in the morning.)
3. Elles lisent des romans en français. (They read novels in French.)

Lire Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect)

Imparfait definition: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions from the past. It is commonly used to set the background for other actions in the past. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. Imparfait is also used to talk about feelings, attitudes, time & date and the weather. In English you may hear this said as “used to”. Eg: I used to read.

Example Sentences:

1. Je lisais beaucoup quand j’étais enfant. (I used to read a lot when I was a child.)
2. Tu lisais toujours avant de dormir. (You used to read before sleeping.)
3. Nous lisions des contes le soir. (We used to read stories in the evening.)

Lire Passé Simple Conjugation (Simple Past)

Passé Simple definition: The Passé Simple manger conjugation is primarily used in written literature, especially within narrative texts such as novels, stories, and historical accounts. In everyday spoken language, the Passé Simple is rarely used but you will see it everywhere in the aforementioned literary works. In meaning there is virtually no difference between this tense and the Passé Composé. Eg: I read.

Example Sentences:

1. Je lus ce livre en une seule nuit. (I read this book in a single night.)
2. Tu lus les instructions avant de commencer. (You read the instructions before starting.)
3. Nous lûmes cette histoire pendant les vacances. (We read this story during the holidays.)

Lire Passé Composé Conjugation (Present Perfect)

Passé Composé definition: The Passé Composé tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses and is frequently used in everyday French language. The key fact you need when deciding to use this tense is to ask if the past action have a start and finish in the past. If yes, then Passé Composé is the tense you need! The literal translation is “I have read” but in English we normally shorten this to “I read“.

Example Sentences:

1. J’ai déjà lu ce livre. (I have already read this book.)
2. Tu as lu l’article que je t’ai envoyé ? (Have you read the article I sent you?)
3. Nous avons lu tous les chapitres hier soir. (We read all the chapters last night.)

Lire Futur Simple Conjugation (Simple Future)

Futur simple definition: The futur simple is used to express an action that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions. If you find this tense complicated then you can always just use the “aller” form in the next section “futur proche”.

Example Sentences:

1. Je lirai ce livre demain. (I will read this book tomorrow.)
2. Tu liras les instructions avant de commencer. (You will read the instructions before starting.)
3. Elles liront ce roman pendant les vacances. (They will read this novel during the holidays.)

Lire Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future)

Futur Proche definition: This is known as the “going to [read]” future tense. It is used to express actions that are planned or about to happen in the near future. It is very commonly used in everyday spoken French. Technically it is not an official tense but is often listed as one.

Example Sentences:

1. Je vais lire ce livre ce soir. (I am going to read this book tonight.)
2. Tu vas lire l’article dès que tu auras le temps. (You are going to read the article as soon as you have time.)
3. Nous allons lire cette pièce de théâtre ce week-end. (We are going to read this play over the weekend.)

Lire Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect)

Plus-que-parfait definition: Expresses an action that had happened before some other past action took place. It is commonly used in written language, especially in literature and formal texts.

Example Sentences:

1. J’avais déjà lu ce livre avant le cours. (I had already read this book before the class.)
2. Tu avais lu l’article avant la réunion. (You had read the article before the meeting.)
3. Nous avions lu le scénario avant le début de la pièce. (We had read the script before the play started.)

Lire Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Anterior)

Passé Antérieur definition: This tense is a literary tense used in formal and historical writing. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense (Pluperfect) but is considered more archaic and is mostly found in classical literature. As a French speaker you will hardly ever (if at all) use this tense!

Example Sentences:

1. J’eus à peine lu le livre qu’il me posa des questions. (I had barely read the book when he started asking me questions.)
2. Tu eus déjà lu ce texte avant la classe. (You had already read this text before the class.)
3. Nous eûmes lu toutes les instructions avant de commencer. (We had read all the instructions before starting.)

Lire Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect)

Futur Antérieur definition: This tense is used to express actions that will have been completed before a specific future point in time. In fact that preceding sentence is an exact example of it, using the phrase “will have been completed”. It is used both in written and spoken language.

Example Sentences:

1. J’aurai lu ce livre avant la fin de la semaine. (I will have read this book before the end of the week.)
2. Tu auras lu tous les chapitres d’ici demain. (You will have read all the chapters by tomorrow.)
3. Nous aurons lu toutes les pages de ce livre avant la réunion. (We will have read all the pages of this book before the meeting.)

Lire Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a zip file of all the Lire Conjugations simply click this link. Alternatively click the images below and save individual conjugation tables.

Wrap Up

Lire conjugation isn’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool! It even picks up lire conjugation mistakes!

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have lire conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word “lire”.

This article gives you voir conjugation in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Voir Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I see. / I’m seeing.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was seeing.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I saw
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I saw.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will see. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to see …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I saw it before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had seen.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have seen it before eating breakfast.

Mastering voir conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

The following tables also give usage examples of voir used in its respective tense.

Voir Présent Conjugation (Present)

Présent definition: The Présent tense is used to describe actions or states that are happening at the current moment or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in all languages. Note that French doesn’t have the present continuous verb tense like in English. Hence, “I see” and “I am seeing” both translate to je vois.

Example sentences:

1. Je vois un oiseau dans le ciel. (I see a bird in the sky.)
2. Tu vois ton ami à la fête. (You see your friend at the party.)
3. Elle voit le film au cinéma. (She sees the movie at the cinema.)

Voir Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect)

Imparfait definition: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions from the past. It is commonly used to set the background for other actions in the past. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. Imparfait is also used to talk about feelings, attitudes, time & date and the weather. In English you may hear this said as “used to”. Eg: I used to see

Example sentences:

1. Quand j’étais enfant, je voyais souvent la mer. (When I was a child, I used to see the sea often.)
2. Tu voyais toujours les étoiles la nuit. (You used to see the stars every night.)
3. Elle voyait son frère tous les jours. (She used to see her brother every day.)

Voir Passé Simple Conjugation (Simple Past)

Passé Simple definition: The Passé Simple manger conjugation is primarily used in written literature, especially within narrative texts such as novels, stories, and historical accounts. In everyday spoken language, the Passé Simple is rarely used but you will see it everywhere in the aforementioned literary works. In meaning there is virtually no difference between this tense and the Passé Composé. Eg: I saw.

Example sentences:

1. Hier, je vis un magnifique coucher de soleil. (Yesterday, I saw a beautiful sunset.)
2. Tu vis un vieux château en ruines. (You saw an old castle in ruins.)
3. Il vit un accident sur l’autoroute. (He saw an accident on the highway.)

Voir Passé Composé Conjugation (Present Perfect)

Passé Composé definition: The Passé Composé tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses and is frequently used in everyday French language. The key fact you need when deciding to use this tense is to ask if the past action have a start and finish in the past. If yes, then Passé Composé is the tense you need! The literal translation is “I have seen” but in English we normally shorten this to “I saw“.

Example sentences:

1. J’ai déjà vu ce film. (I have already seen this movie.)
2. Tu as vu ton frère hier soir? (Did you see your brother last night?)
3. Elle a vu ce musée lors de son voyage. (She saw this museum during her trip.)

Voir Futur Simple Conjugation (Simple Future)

Futur simple definition: The futur simple is used to express an action that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions. If you find this tense complicated then you can always just use the “aller” form in the next section “futur proche”.

Example sentences:

1. Je verrai mes parents ce week-end. (I will see my parents this weekend.)
2. Est-ce que tu verras le spectacle ce soir? (Will you see the show tonight?)
3. Elle verra les résultats demain matin. (She will see the results tomorrow morning.)

Voir Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future)

Futur Proche definition: This is known as the “going to [see]” future tense. It is used to express actions that are planned or about to happen in the near future. It is very commonly used in everyday spoken French. Technically it is not an official tense but is often listed as one.

Example sentences:

1. Je vais voir un concert ce soir. (I am going to see a concert tonight.)
2. Tu vas voir tes amis ce week-end? (Are you going to see your friends this weekend?)
3. Nous allons voir le nouveau musée demain. (We are going to see the new museum tomorrow.)

Voir Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect)

Plus-que-parfait definition: Expresses an action that had happened before some other past action took place. It is commonly used in written language, especially in literature and formal texts.

Example sentences:

1. J’avais déjà vu ce film avant. (I had already seen this movie before.)
2. Avant de partir, tu avais vu la note? (Before leaving, had you seen the note?)
3. Ils avaient vu ce spectacle plusieurs fois. (They had seen this show several times.)

Voir Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Anterior)

Passé Antérieur definition: This tense is a literary tense used in formal and historical writing. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense (Pluperfect) but is considered more archaic and is mostly found in classical literature. As a French speaker you will hardly ever (if at all) use this tense!

Example sentences:

1. Après avoir lu le livre, j’eus vu le film. (After reading the book, I had seen the movie.)
2. Tu eus vu l’éclipse une fois. (You had seen the eclipse once.)
3. Elle eut vu l’effet de ses paroles. (She had seen the effect of her words.)

Voir Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect)

Futur Antérieur definition: This tense is used to express actions that will have been completed before a specific future point in time. In fact that preceding sentence is an exact example of it, using the phrase “will have seen”. It is used both in written and spoken language.

Example sentences:

1. J’aurai vu toutes les expositions d’ici la fin de la semaine. (I will have seen all the exhibitions by the end of the week.)
2. Tu auras vu le résultat demain matin. (You will have seen the result tomorrow morning.)
3. Ils auront vu les étoiles briller dans le ciel nocturne. (They will have seen the stars shining in the night sky.)

Voir Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a zip file of all the Voir Conjugations simply click this link. Alternatively click the images below and save individual conjugation tables.

Wrap Up

Voir conjugation isn’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool! It even picks up voir conjugation mistakes!

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have voir conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word “voir”.

This article gives you prendre conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Prendre Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I take. / I’m taking.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was taking.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I took
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I took.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will take. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to take …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I took it before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had taken.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have taken it before eating breakfast.

Mastering prendre conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

The following tables also give usage examples of prendre used in its respective tense.

Prendre Présent Conjugation (Present):

Présent definition: The Présent tense is used to describe actions or states that are happening at the current moment or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in all languages. Note that French doesn’t have the present continuous verb tense like in English. Hence, “I take” and “I am taking” both translate to je prends.

Examples:

1. Je prends un café chaque matin. (I take a coffee every morning.)
2. Tu prends le bus pour aller au travail. (You take the bus to go to work.)
3. Elle prend toujours des notes en classe. (She always takes notes in class.)

Prendre Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect):

Imparfait definition: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions from the past. It is commonly used to set the background for other actions in the past. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. Imparfait is also used to talk about feelings, attitudes, time & date and the weather. In English you may hear this said as “used to”. Eg: I used to take

Examples:

1. Je prenais toujours le train pour aller chez mes grands-parents. (I used to take the train to go to my grandparents’ house.)
2. Tu prenais des photos pendant nos vacances. (You used to take photos during our vacations.)
3. Nous prenions un goûter tous les après-midis. (We used to have a snack every afternoon.)

Prendre Passé simple Conjugation (Simple Past):

Passé Simple definition: The Passé Simple manger conjugation is primarily used in written literature, especially within narrative texts such as novels, stories, and historical accounts. In everyday spoken language, the Passé Simple is rarely used but you will see it everywhere in the aforementioned literary works. In meaning there is virtually no difference between this tense and the Passé Composé. Eg: I took.

Examples:

1. Je pris un livre et je commençai à lire. (I took a book and started reading.)
2. Tu pris la décision de partir. (You made the decision to leave.)
3. Elle prit le dernier morceau de gâteau. (She took the last piece of cake.)

Prendre Passé composé Conjugation (Present Perfect):

Passé Composé definition: The Passé Composé tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses and is frequently used in everyday French language. The key fact you need when deciding to use this tense is to ask if the past action have a start and finish in the past. If yes, then Passé Composé is the tense you need! The literal translation is “I have taken” but in English we normally shorten this to “I took“.

Examples:

1. J’ai pris un taxi pour me rendre à l’aéroport. (I have taken a taxi to get to the airport.)
2. Tu as pris des vacances bien méritées. (You have taken well-deserved vacation.)
3. Nous avons pris des photos lors de notre voyage. (We have taken photos during our trip.)

Prendre Futur simple Conjugation (Simple Future):

Futur simple definition: The futur simple is used to express an action that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions. If you find this tense complicated then you can always just use the “aller” form in the next section “futur proche”.

Examples:

1. Je prendrai le train pour aller à la conférence demain. (I will take the train to go to the conference tomorrow.)
2. Tu prendras soin de mon chien pendant mon absence. (You will take care of my dog while I’m away.)
3. Ils prendront des décisions importantes pour l’entreprise. (They will make important decisions for the company.)

Prendre Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future):

Futur Proche definition: This is known as the “going to [come]” future tense. It is used to express actions that are planned or about to happen in the near future. It is very commonly used in everyday spoken French. Technically it is not an official tense but is often listed as one.

Examples:

1. Je vais prendre un café après le déjeuner. (I am going to take a coffee after lunch.)
2. Nous allons prendre le train de 18 heures. (We are going to take the 6 o’clock train.)
3. Ils vont prendre des cours de danse ce week-end. (They are going to take dance classes this weekend.)

Prendre Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect):

Plus-que-parfait definition: Expresses an action that had happened before some other past action took place. It is commonly used in written language, especially in literature and formal texts.

Examples:

1. J’avais pris un parapluie, mais il n’a pas plu. (I had taken an umbrella, but it didn’t rain.)
2. Tu avais pris ta décision avant même de me consulter. (You had made your decision even before consulting me.)
3. Nous avions pris un chemin différent pour éviter le trafic. (We had taken a different route to avoid traffic.)

Prendre Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Anterior):

Passé Antérieur definition: This tense is a literary tense used in formal and historical writing. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense (Pluperfect) but is considered more archaic and is mostly found in classical literature. As a French speaker you will hardly ever (if at all) use this tense!

Examples:

1. J’eus pris un coup de soleil après une journée à la plage. (I had gotten a sunburn after a day at the beach.)
2. Nous eûmes pris tous les préparatifs nécessaires. (We had taken all the necessary preparations.)
3. Ils eurent pris la décision de déménager. (They had made the decision to move.)

Prendre Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect):

Futur Antérieur definition: This tense is used to express actions that will have been completed before a specific future point in time. In fact that preceding sentence is an exact example of it, using the phrase “will have been”. It is used both in written and spoken language.

Examples:

1. J’aurai pris toutes les mesures nécessaires avant le départ. (I will have taken all the necessary measures before leaving.)
2. Tu auras pris tes décisions avant la réunion. (You will have made your decisions before the meeting.)
3. Ils auront pris leur retraite d’ici cinq ans. (They will have retired within five years.)

Wrap Up

Prendre conjugation isn’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool! It even picks up prendre conjugation mistakes!

Prendre Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a zip file of all the Prendre Conjugations simply click this link. Alternatively click the images below and save individual conjugation tables.

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have prendre conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word.

This article gives you venir conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Venir Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I come. / I’m coming.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was coming.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I came
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I came.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will come. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to come …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I came before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had come.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have come before eating breakfast.

Mastering venir conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

The following tables also give usage examples of venir used in its respective tense.

Venir Présent Conjugation (Present)

Présent definition: The Présent tense is used to describe actions or states that are happening at the current moment or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in all languages. Note that French doesn’t have the present continuous verb tense like in English. Hence, “I come” and “I am coming” both translate to je viens.

Example sentences:

1. Je viens de Paris. (I come from Paris.)
2. Tu viens toujours en retard. (You always come late.)
3. Elle vient au cinéma avec nous. (She’s coming to the movies with us.)

Venir Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect)

Imparfait definition: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions from the past. It is commonly used to set the background for other actions in the past. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. Imparfait is also used to talk about feelings, attitudes, time & date and the weather. In English you may hear this said as “used to”. Eg: I used to come

Example sentences:

1. Je venais te voir tous les jours. (I used to come see you every day.)
2. Tu venais toujours avec ton frère. (You used to come always with your brother.)
3. Nous venions en train. (We used to come by train.)

Venir Passé Simple Conjugation (Simple Past)

Passé Simple definition: The Passé Simple manger conjugation is primarily used in written literature, especially within narrative texts such as novels, stories, and historical accounts. In everyday spoken language, the Passé Simple is rarely used but you will see it everywhere in the aforementioned literary works. In meaning there is virtually no difference between this tense and the Passé Composé. Eg: I came.

Example sentences:

1. Je vins dès que j’entendis l’annonce. (I came as soon as I heard the announcement.)
2. Vous vîntes à la fête hier soir. (You came to the party last night.)
3. Ils vinrent nous aider à déménager. (They came to help us move.)

Venir Passé Composé Conjugation (Present Perfect)

Passé Composé definition: The Passé Composé tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses and is frequently used in everyday French language. The key fact you need when deciding to use this tense is to ask if the past action have a start and finish in the past. If yes, then Passé Composé is the tense you need! The literal translation is “I have come” but in English we normally shorten this to “I came“.

Example sentences:

1. J’ai venu te rendre visite hier. (I came to visit you yesterday.)
2. Tu es venu à la réunion ce matin. (You came to the meeting this morning.)
3. Nous sommes venus en avance pour éviter le trafic. (We came early to avoid traffic.)

Venir Futur Simple Conjugation (Simple Future)

Futur simple definition: The futur simple is used to express an action that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions. If you find this tense complicated then you can always just use the “aller” form in the next section “futur proche”.

Example sentences:

1. Je viendrai te chercher demain. (I will come to pick you up tomorrow.)
2. Est-ce que tu viendras à la fête samedi ? (Will you come to the party on Saturday?)
3. Ils viendront nous rendre visite pendant les vacances. (They will come to visit us during the holidays.)

Venir Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future)

Futur Proche definition: This is known as the “going to [come]” future tense. It is used to express actions that are planned or about to happen in the near future. It is very commonly used in everyday spoken French. Technically it is not an official tense but is often listed as one.

Example sentences:

1. Je vais venir te voir tout de suite. (I am going to come see you right away.)
2. Est-ce que tu vas venir à la réunion demain ? (Are you going to come to the meeting tomorrow?)
3. Nous allons venir t’aider avec tes devoirs. (We are going to come help you with your homework.)

Venir Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect)

Plus-que-parfait definition: Expresses an action that had happened before some other past action took place. It is commonly used in written language, especially in literature and formal texts.

Example sentences:

1. J’avais déjà venu ici auparavant. (I had already come here before.)
2. Tu avais venu me voir quand j’étais malade. (You had come to see me when I was sick.)
3. Ils avaient venu nous rendre visite l’année dernière. (They had come to visit us last year.)

Venir Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Anterior)

Passé Antérieur definition: This tense is a literary tense used in formal and historical writing. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense (Pluperfect) but is considered more archaic and is mostly found in classical literature. As a French speaker you will hardly ever (if at all) use this tense!

Example sentences:

1. J’eus venu dès que j’ai entendu la nouvelle. (I had come as soon as I heard the news.)
2. Vous eûtes venu nous aider si vous aviez su. (You would have come to help us if you had known.)
3. Elle eut venu avant que la fête ne se termine. (She had come before the party ended.)

Venir Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect)

Futur Antérieur definition: This tense is used to express actions that will have been completed before a specific future point in time. In fact that preceding sentence is an exact example of it, using the phrase “will have been”. It is used both in written and spoken language.

Example sentences:

1. J’aurai venu dès que tu m’auras appelé. (I will have come as soon as you call me.)
2. Tu auras venu chercher ton colis demain matin. (You will have come to pick up your package tomorrow morning.)
3. Ils auront venu nous rendre visite avant de partir. (They will have come to visit us before leaving.)

Wrap Up

Venir conjugation isn’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool! It even picks up venir conjugation mistakes!

Venir Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a zip file of all the Venir Conjugations simply click this link. Alternatively click the images below and save individual conjugation tables.

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have prendre conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word.

This article gives you faire conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Faire Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I do. / I’m making.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was doing.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I did.
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I made.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will make. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to make …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I did it before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had made.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have made my bed before eating breakfast.

Mastering faire conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

The following tables also give usage examples of faire used in its respective tense.

Faire Présent Conjugation (Present)

Présent (Present) Tense Usage: The Présent tense is used to describe actions or states that are happening at the current moment or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in all languages. Note that French doesn’t have the present continuous verb tense like in English. Hence, “I do” and “I am doing” both translate to je fais.

Example sentences:

1. Je fais mes devoirs tous les soirs. (I do my homework every evening.)
2. Tu fais de la cuisine pour le dîner. (You are cooking for dinner.)
3. Nous faisons une promenade dans le parc. (We are taking a walk in the park.)

Faire Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect)

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Usage: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions from the past. It is commonly used to set the background for other actions in the past. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. Imparfait is also used to talk about feelings, attitudes, time & date and the weather.

Example sentences:

1. Elle faisait ses devoirs pendant que je lisais un livre. (She was doing her homework while I was reading a book.)
2. Nous faisions souvent du vélo dans le quartier. (We used to ride bikes around the neighborhood.)
3. Ils faisaient la fête lorsque nous sommes arrivés. (They were partying when we arrived.)

Faire Passé Simple Conjugation (Simple Past)

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Usage: The Passé Simple manger conjugation is primarily used in written literature, especially within narrative texts such as novels, stories, and historical accounts. In everyday spoken language, the Passé Simple is rarely used but you will see it everywhere in the aforementioned literary works. In meaning there is virtually no difference between this tense and the Passé Composé.

Example sentences:

1. Elle fit une belle présentation lors de la réunion. (She gave a great presentation during the meeting.)
2. Ils firent un gâteau délicieux pour l’anniversaire. (They made a delicious cake for the birthday.)
3. Tu fis beaucoup d’exercice hier. (You did a lot of exercise yesterday.)

Faire Passé Composé Conjugation (Present Perfect)

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Usage: The Passé Composé tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses and is frequently used in everyday French language. The key fact you need when deciding to use this tense is to ask if the past action have a start and finish in the past. If yes, then Passé Composé is the tense you need!

Example sentences:

1. J’ai fait mes devoirs avant de sortir. (I have done my homework before going out.)
2. Nous avons fait une randonnée en montagne ce weekend. (We went hiking in the mountains this weekend.)
3. Ils ont fait beaucoup de progrès dans leur travail. (They have made a lot of progress in their work.)

Faire Futur Simple Conjugation (Simple Future)

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Usage: The futur simple manger conjugation is used to express an eating action that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions. If you find this tense complicated then you can always just use the “aller” form in the next section “futur proche”.

Example sentences:

1. Je ferai le ménage demain matin. (I will do the house cleaning tomorrow morning.)
2. Vous ferez du shopping cet après-midi. (You will go shopping this afternoon.)
3. Ils feront une fête pour célébrer leur réussite. (They will throw a party to celebrate their success.)

Faire Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future)

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Usage: This is also known as the “going to [be]” future tense. It is used to express actions that are planned or about to happen in the near future. It is very commonly used in everyday spoken French.

Example sentences:

1. Je vais faire mes courses tout de suite. (I am going to do my groceries right away.)
2. Nous allons faire une pause après cette réunion. (We are going to take a break after this meeting.)
3. Ils vont faire du camping ce week-end. (They are going to go camping this weekend.)

Faire Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect)

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Usage: This tense is used to express actions that had happened before some other past action took place. It is commonly used in written language, especially in literature and formal texts.

Example sentences:

1. J’avais fait mes devoirs avant de sortir. (I had done my homework before going out.)
2. Nous avions fait nos valises avant le voyage. (We had packed our bags before the trip.)
3. Ils avaient fait la réservation pour le restaurant. (They had made the reservation for the restaurant.)

Faire Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Anterior)

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Usage: This tense is a literary tense used in formal and historical writing. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense (Pluperfect) but is considered more archaic and is mostly found in classical literature. As a French speaker you will hardly ever (if at all) use this tense!

Example sentences:

1. J’eus fait mes devoirs avant que tu n’arrives. (I had done my homework before you arrived.)
2. Ils eurent fait les réparations avant la réunion. (They had made the repairs before the meeting.)
3. Nous eûmes fait nos préparatifs bien à l’avance. (We had made our preparations well in advance.)

Faire Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect)

Futur Antérieur (Future Perfect) Tense Usage: The Futur Antérieur tense is used to express actions that will have been completed before a specific future point in time. In fact that preceding sentence is an exact example of it, using the phrase “will have been”. It is used both in written and spoken language.

Example sentences:

1. J’aurai fait mon travail avant la fin de la journée. (I will have done my work before the end of the day.)
2. Ils auront fait les réservations pour les vacances. (They will have made the reservations for the holidays.)
3. Vous aurez fait tous les préparatifs avant l’événement. (You will have done all the preparations before the event.)

Wrap Up

Faire conjugation isn’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool!

Faire Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a zip file of all the Faire Conjugations simply click this link. Alternatively click the images below and save individual manger conjugations.

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have manger conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word.

This article gives you manger conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and some intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Manger Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I eat. / I’m eating.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was eating.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I ate.
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I ate.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will eat. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to eat …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I ate it before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had eaten.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have eaten before doing my homework.

Mastering manger conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

The following tables also give usage examples of manger used in its respective tense.

Manger Présent Conjugation (Present Tense):

Présent (Present) Tense Usage: The Présent tense is used to describe actions or states that are happening at the current moment or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in all languages. Note that French doesn’t have the present continuous verb tense like in English. Hence, “I eat” and “I am eating” both translate to je mange.

Example sentences:

1. Je mange une pomme. (I am eating an apple.)
2. Tu manges du gâteau. (You eat some cake.)
3. Nous mangeons ensemble. (We eat together.)

Manger Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect Tense):

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Usage: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions from the past. It is commonly used to set the background for other actions in the past. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. Imparfait is also used to talk about feelings, attitudes, time & date and the weather.

Example sentences:

1. Elle mangeait une glace quand il est arrivé. (She was eating an ice cream when he arrived.)
2. Nous mangions toujours à midi. (We used to eat at noon.)
3. Vous mangiez des fruits tous les matins. (You were eating fruits every morning.)

Manger Passé Simple Conjugation (Simple Past Tense):

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Usage: The Passé Simple manger conjugation is primarily used in written literature, especially within narrative texts such as novels, stories, and historical accounts. In everyday spoken language, the Passé Simple is rarely used but you will see it everywhere in the aforementioned literary works. In meaning there is virtually no difference between this tense and the Passé Composé.

Example sentences:

1. Je mangeai une salade pour le déjeuner. (I ate a salad for lunch.)
2. Ils mangèrent au restaurant hier soir. (They ate at the restaurant last night.)
3. Tu mangeas tout le gâteau ? (Did you eat the whole cake?)

Manger Passé Composé Conjugation (Present Perfect Tense):

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Usage: The Passé Composé tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses and is frequently used in everyday French language. The key fact you need when deciding to use this tense is to ask if the past action have a start and finish in the past. If yes, then Passé Composé is the tense you need!

Example sentences:

1. J’ai mangé des pâtes pour le dîner. (I have eaten pasta for dinner.)
2. Nous avons mangé au restaurant ce soir. (We have eaten at the restaurant tonight.)
3. Ils ont mangé tout le chocolat. (They have eaten all the chocolate.)

Manger Futur Simple Conjugation (Simple Future Tense):

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Usage: The futur simple manger conjugation is used to express an eating action that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions. If you find this tense complicated then you can always just use the “aller” form in the next section “futur proche”.

Example sentences:

1. Je mangerai de la pizza ce soir. (I will eat pizza tonight.)
2. Ils mangeront à la maison demain. (They will eat at home tomorrow.)
3. Nous mangerons ensemble la semaine prochaine. (We will eat together next week.)

Manger Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future Tense):

NOTE: Futur proche is not an “official” tense in French. Rather it is an alternate way of expressing “Futur Simple”!

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Usage: This is also known as the “going to [eat]” future tense. It is used to express actions that are planned or about to happen in the near future. It is very commonly used in everyday spoken French.

Example sentences:

1. Je vais manger une glace tout de suite. (I am going to eat an ice cream right away.)
2. Vous allez manger au restaurant ce soir ? (Are you going to eat at the restaurant tonight?)
3. Ils vont manger des légumes pour être en bonne santé. (They are going to eat vegetables to be healthy.)

Manger Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect Tense):

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Usage: This tense is used to express actions that had happened before some other past action took place. It is commonly used in written language, especially in literature and formal texts.

Example sentences:

1. J’avais mangé avant qu’il n’arrive. (I had eaten before he arrived.)
2. Vous aviez mangé quand je suis arrivé. (You had eaten when I arrived.)
3. Ils avaient mangé tout le gâteau avant la fête. (They had eaten the whole cake before the party.)

Manger Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Anterior Tense):

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Usage: This tense is a literary tense used in formal and historical writing. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense (Pluperfect) but is considered more archaic and is mostly found in classical literature. As a French speaker you will hardly ever (if at all) use this tense!

Example sentences:

1. J’eus mangé quand elle est arrivée. (I had eaten when she arrived.)
2. Ils eurent mangé avant de partir. (They had eaten before leaving.)
3. Nous eûmes mangé tout le repas. (We had eaten the entire meal.)

Manger Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect Tense):

Futur Antérieur (Future Perfect) Tense Usage: The Futur Antérieur tense is used to express actions that will have been completed before a specific future point in time. In fact that preceding sentence is an exact example of it, using the phrase “will have been”. It is used both in written and spoken language.

Example sentences:

1. J’aurai mangé avant de partir. (I will have eaten before leaving.)
2. Ils auront mangé tous les bonbons. (They will have eaten all the candies.)
3. Vous aurez mangé quand nous arriverons. (You will have eaten when we arrive.)

Wrap Up

Manger conjugation isn’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool!

Manger Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a zip file of all the Manger Conjugations simply click this link. Alternatively click the images below and save individual manger conjugations.

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have manger conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word.

This article gives you être conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and some intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Etre Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I am. / I’m being.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was being / I was.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I was.
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I was.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will be. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to be …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I was there before you arrived. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had been.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will been there before you arrive.

Mastering être conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

The following tables also give usage examples of être verbs in French.

Être Présent Conjugation (Present)

Présent (Present) Tense Usage: The Présent tense is used to describe actions or states that are happening at the current moment or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in all languages.

Example sentences:

1. Je suis content. (I am happy.)
2. Tu es étudiant. (You are a student.)
3. Ils sont français. (They are French.)

Être Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect)

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Usage: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions from the past. It is commonly used to set the background for other actions in the past. In everyday French it is used to talk about past events or actions that were ongoing. Imparfait is also used to talk about feelings, attitudes, time & date and the weather.

Example sentences:

1. J’étais fatigué hier soir. (I was tired last night.)
2. Elle était toujours en retard. (She was always late.)
3. Nous étions heureux ensemble. (We were happy together.)

Être Passé Simple Conjugation (Simple Past)

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Usage: The Passé Simple être conjugation is primarily used in written literature, especially within narrative texts such as novels, stories, and historical accounts. In everyday spoken language, the Passé Simple is rarely used but you will see it everywhere in the aforementioned literary works. In meaning there is virtually no difference between this tense and the Passé Composé.

Example sentences:

1. Je fus surpris par la nouvelle. (I was surprised by the news.)
2. Ils furent ravis de l’invitation. (They were delighted by the invitation.)
3. Elle fut élue présidente. (She was elected president.)

Être Passé Composé Conjugation (Present Perfect)

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Usage: The Passé Composé tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses and is frequently used in everyday French language.

Example sentences:

1. J’ai été malade la semaine dernière. (I have been sick last week.)
2. Ils ont été ensemble pendant des années. (They have been together for years.)
3. Vous avez été formidables ! (You have been amazing!)

Être Futur Simple Conjugation (Simple Future)

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Usage: The futur simple être conjugation is used to express actions that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions.

Example sentences:

1. Je serai là à l’heure convenue. (I will be there at the agreed time.)
2. Vous serez surpris par le résultat. (You will be surprised by the result.)
3. Ils seront ravis de vous revoir. (They will be delighted to see you again.)

Être Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future)

NOTE: Futur proche is not an “official” tense in French. Rather it is an alternate way of expressing “Futur Simple”!

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Usage: This is also known as the “going to” future tense. It is used to express actions that are planned or about to happen in the near future. It is commonly used in everyday spoken French.

Example sentences for être conjugation:

1. Je vais être occupé demain. (I am going to be busy tomorrow.)
2. Nous allons être en retard si nous ne partons pas maintenant. (We are going to be late if we don’t leave now.)
3. Ils vont être heureux de te voir. (They are going to be happy to see you.)

Être Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect)

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Usage: This tense is used to express actions that had happened before some other past action. It is commonly used in written language, especially in literature and formal texts.

Example sentences:

1. J’avais été informé de la décision. (I had been informed of the decision.)
2. Elle avait été malade avant la fête. (She had been sick before the party.)
3. Ils avaient été prévenus de la réunion. (They had been informed about the meeting.)

Être Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Anterior)

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Usage: This tense is a literary tense used in formal and historical writing. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense (Pluperfect) but is considered more archaic and is mostly found in classical literature. As a French speaker you will hardly ever (if at all) use this tense!

Example sentences for Passé Antérieur être conjugation:

1. J’eu été surpris d’apprendre la nouvelle. (I had been surprised to hear the news.)
2. Elle eut été enchantée de le rencontrer. (She had been delighted to meet him.)
3. Ils eurent été ravis de la proposition. (They had been delighted with the proposal.)

Être Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect)

Futur Antérieur (Future Perfect) Tense Usage: The Futur Antérieur tense is used to express actions that will have been completed before a specific future point in time. In fact that preceding sentence is an exact example of it, using the phrase “will have been”. It is used both in written and spoken language.

Example sentences:

1. J’aurai été diplômé depuis un an. (I will have been graduated for a year.)
2. Ils auront été mariés pendant dix ans. (They will have been married for ten years.)
3. Nous aurons été amis depuis l’enfance. (We will have been friends since childhood.)

Wrap Up

Être conjugation isn’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool!

Être Conjugation Charts (FREE to Download)

To download a zip file of all the Être Conjugation Charts simply click this link. Alternatively click the charts below and save individual conjugations.

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have être conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word.

This article gives you aller conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and some intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Aller Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I go. / I’m going.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was going.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I went.
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I went.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will go. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to go …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I went before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had gone.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have gone before eating breakfast.

Mastering the conjugation of “aller” in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

Aller Présent Conjugation (Present):

Usage: The Présent tense for aller conjugation is used to express actions that are happening now or general truths. It is one of the most frequently used tenses in everyday language, as most of life is int he present! In literature, the Présent tense is also commonly used in dialogues to create a sense of immediacy and make the story more engaging. The English equivalent of the Présent tense is the simple present tense.

Example Sentences:

1. Je vais au cinéma ce soir. (I’m going to the cinema tonight.)
2. Tu vas à la plage demain. (You are going to the beach tomorrow.)
3. Ils vont à l’école tous les jours. (They go to school every day.)

Aller Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect):

Imparfait Tense Usage: The Imparfait tense is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions, in the past. It is commonly used in everyday language to talk about past habits or continuous actions. In literature, the Imparfait is extensively used to narrate events and provide background information. The English equivalent of the Imparfait tense is the past continuous or past progressive tense. Although sometimes English shortens it to the general form “went”.

Example Sentences:

1. J’allais souvent à la bibliothèque. (I used to go to the library often.)
2. Ils allaient à l’école en bus. (They used to go to school by bus.)
3. Tu allais chez ton grand-père. (You used to go to your grandfather’s place.)

Aller Passé Simple Conjugation (simple past / preterite):

Usage: The Passé simple tense is mainly used in written and formal French, particularly in literature, historical texts, and storytelling. It describes completed actions in the past and is rarely used in everyday spoken language. If you’re a newbie to French then you can safely ignore this tense for now. The English equivalent of the Passé simple tense is the simple past tense or preterite.

Example Sentences:

1. J’allais tôt le matin. (I went early in the morning.)
2. Elle alla à Paris l’année dernière. (She went to Paris last year.)
3. Nous allâmes au restaurant hier soir. (We went to the restaurant last night.)

Aller Passé Composé Conjugation (Present Perfect):

Usage: The Passé composé tense is commonly used to talk about completed actions in the past. It’s the most frequently used past tense in everyday language for spoken and informal written communication. The English equivalent of the Passé composé tense is the present perfect tense. It’s the tense you use most often in English to describe the past.

Example Sentences:

1. Je suis allé(e) au marché ce matin. (I went to the market this morning.) pronunciation is the same regardless.
2. Ils sont allés au cinéma hier soir. (They went to the cinema last night.)
3. Nous sommes allé(e)s à la fête d’anniversaire. (We went to the birthday party.)

Note: The (e) is added on if you’re female – but pronunciation is exactly the same as the male versions.

Aller Futur Simple Conjugation (Future):

Usage: The Futur simple tense is used to express actions that will happen in the future. While it is used in everyday language, it’s not as common as other present and past tenses. You can safely ignore it for now! The English equivalent of the Futur simple tense is the simple future tense.

Example Sentences:

1. J’irai à la plage demain. (I will go to the beach tomorrow.)
2. Tu iras à la fête samedi soir. (You will go to the party on Saturday night.)
3. Ils iront en vacances l’année prochaine. (They will go on vacation next year.)

Aller Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future):

Usage: The Futur Proche tense is used to express immediate or near-future actions. It’s commonly used in everyday language as a simpler way to express future intentions or plans compared to the Futur simple tense. The English equivalent of the Futur Proche tense is the near future tense (going to + verb).

Example Sentences:

1. Je vais aller faire les courses. (I am going to go grocery shopping.)
2. Ils vont aller au restaurant ce soir. (They are going to go to the restaurant tonight.)
3. Nous allons aller au cinéma après le dîner. (We are going to go to the cinema after dinner.)

Aller Plus-que-parfait Conjugation (Pluperfect):

Usage: The plus-que-parfait is used to describe an action that occurred before another action in the past. It somewhat corresponds to the English past perfect tense but not always! It’s kind of a uniquely French thing that strictly puts one action before another, best seen by example 2 below. The English equivalent of the Plus-que-parfait tense is the past perfect tense.

Example Sentences:

1. J’étais déjà allé(e) à Paris avant. (I had already gone to Paris before.)
2. Il était allé à l’école avant que la pluie ne commence. (He had gone to school before it started raining.)
3. Nous étions allé(e)s au musée avant la fermeture. (We had gone to the museum before it closed.)

Aller Passé Antérieur Conjugation (Past Infinitive):

Usage: For aller conjugations the Passé Anterior tense is a literary tense used in formal writing, particularly in literature and historical texts. It is similar in meaning to the Plus-que-parfait tense but is considered more archaic and MUCH less commonly used.

English Equivalent: The English equivalent of the Passé Anterior tense is the past perfect tense.

Example Sentences:

1. Je fus allé(e) à cette exposition avant. (I had gone to that exhibition before.)
2. Ils furent allés au château avant la tombée de la nuit. (They had gone to the castle before nightfall.)
3. Nous fûmes allé(e)s à la campagne après le déjeuner. (We had gone to the countryside after lunch.)

Aller Futur Antérieur Conjugation (Future Perfect):

Usage: The Futur Antérieur tense is used to express actions that will be completed in the future before another future event. It is more commonly used in formal writing and literature than in everyday spoken language.

English Equivalent: The English equivalent of the Futur Antérieur tense is the future perfect tense.

Example Sentences:

1. Je serai allé(e) chez le médecin avant de te rendre visite. (I will have gone to the doctor before visiting you.)
2. Ils seront allés au magasin avant la fermeture. (They will have gone to the store before closing time.)
3. Nous serons allé(e)s à l’aéroport avant le départ de l’avion. (We will have gone to the airport before the plane’s departure.)

Aller Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a file of all the aller conjugations click here. Alternatively click the images below for a full size version for you to keep, free of charge!

Wrap up

The verb aller conjugations aren’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have aller conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word.

This article gives you avoir conjugations in the most common indicative tenses of the French language, as well as some hints on how you would use them in everyday speech. This article will also help you to learn correct grammar so your speech and communication skills in French become top notch!

Why only the 8 indicative tenses? Because those are the tenses you’ll hear when practicing your French! There are 13 other tenses but they have more to do with mood and some intent. On top of that they’re rarely used, so even if you’re an intermediate or advanced French learner then the indicative 8 are ALL you need!

Before you continue: Corrector provides a free tool to help you correct grammar and spelling in any language (including conjugations)! Just click here to access it!

French Tenses for Avoir Conjugation

1. Présent. Something that is happening now. This can either be ongoing or instant. Eg: I have. / I’m having.
2. Imparfait (imperfect). Used to describe ongoing, continual or habitual past events. Eg: I was having.
3. Passé simple is not common and normally found in formal or literary contexts. If you’re a beginner or even intermediate French learner then you can safely ignore it for now (but it’s still included below for convenience). Eg: I had.
4. Passé composé. Widely used to talk about completed past actions. Eg: I had.
5. Futur simple (simple future) is used when you intend to describe a general future state of being. Eg: I will have. Once again, beginners can generally ignore this conjugation as there’s a much simpler version (next in list) that will suffice for now.
6. Futur proche (near future) describes an upcoming action. In English this would be “I am going to have …“. This should be your go to future tense when learning conjugations.
7. Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect). This tense indicates that an action had taken place and was completed before another past action took place. Eg: I had it before eating my meal. 
8. Passé antérieur is not common at all (just like passé simple), and again is found in formal or literary contexts. Eg: I had.
9. Futur antérieur (future perfect) is used to describe a future action that will be completed in the future before another action is started. For example: I will have had coffee before eating breakfast.

Mastering avoir conjugation in at least 3 tenses (present, passé composé and futur proche is essential for becoming proficient in French. In fact I would concentrate on these 3 and only study the others when they come up in literature or other contexts.

Avoir Présent Tense Conjugation (Present Tense)

Usage: Present tense is used to express actions or states that are happening right now or are generally true. It is the most frequently used tense in many languages.

Examples:

1. Je n’ai pas le temps maintenant. (I don’t have time right now.)
2. Nous avons un rendez-vous ce soir. (We have an appointment tonight.)
3. Ils ont une belle maison. (They have a beautiful house.)

Avoir Imparfait Conjugation (Imperfect – Past Tense)

Usage: The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual past actions. In everyday language, it is used to recount past events or situations. For avoir conjugation

Examples:

1. Quand j’étais jeune, j’avais un chien. (When I was young, I had a dog.)
2. Nous avions l’habitude d’aller à la plage tous les étés. (We used to go [literal: had the habit] to the beach every summer.)
3. Ils avaient peur du noir quand ils étaient enfants. (They were afraid of the dark when they were kids.)

Avoir Passé Simple Conjugation (Simple Past Tense)

Usage: The passé simple is mainly used in literary contexts, such as formal writing, literature, or history writing. In everyday language, it has been largely replaced by the passé composé.

Examples:

1. Il eut une soudaine envie de partir. (He suddenly felt like leaving.)
2. Nous eûmes une discussion animée sur le sujet. (We had a lively discussion on the topic.)
3. Les voyageurs eurent du mal à trouver un logement. (The travelers had difficulty finding accommodation.)

Avoir Passé Composé Conjugation (Simple Past Tense)

Usage: The passé composé is used to talk about completed actions or events in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses used in everyday conversation and writing. Note that the English translations below sometimes shorten the “have had” elements to simply “had” or “got”. This is fine for English but not so for French – you should always use the full “have had” form of le passé composé.

Examples:

1. J’ai eu une journée chargée au travail. (I have had a busy day at work.)
2. Ils ont eu beaucoup de chance de gagner le match. (They were lucky to win the game.)
3. Elle a eu de bonnes notes à son examen. (She got good grades on her exam.)

Avoir Plu-que-parfait Tense Conjugation (Plus Perfect)

Usage: The plus-que-parfait is used to describe an action that occurred before another action in the past. It somewhat corresponds to the English past perfect tense but not always! It’s kind of a uniquely French thing that strictly puts one action before another, best seen by example 2 below:

Examples:

1. J’avais eu une belle journée à la plage. (I had a wonderful day at the beach.)
2. Nous avions eu nos devoirs avant de sortir. (We got our homework before going out. Note that getting homework happened before going out – hence the need for plus-que-parfait tense)
3. Ils avaient déjà eu leurs billets d’avion. (They already had their plane tickets.)

Avoir Passé Antérieur Tense Conjugation (Past Infinitive)

Usage: The passé antérieur is rarely used in everyday language and is more common in formal writing or literature to express a past action that occurred before another past action. You can safely ignore this version of avoir conjugation if you’re a beginner.

Examples of avoir conjugation in Passé Antérieur tense:

1. Après qu’il eut eu perdu un fils. (After he had lost his son.)
2. Il est vrai que si elle n’eût eu que cela à craindre. (If this were all she had to fear.)
3. Ils eurent eu six enfants, dont moi. (They had 6 children, including me.)

Avoir Futur Simple Tense Conjugation (Simple Future)

Usage: The futur simple is used to express actions that will happen in the future. It is commonly used in everyday language when talking about general future plans or intentions.

Examples of avoir conjugation in Futur Simple Tense:

1. J’aurai besoin de ton aide demain. (I will need your help tomorrow.)
2. Ils auront fini leurs études d’ici l’été prochain. (They will have finished their studies by next summer.)
3. Nous aurons bientôt de bonnes nouvelles. (We will have good news soon.)

Avoir Futur Proche Conjugation (Near Future)

Usage: The futur proche is used to express actions that will happen soon or in the near future. It is a very common tense in everyday spoken language. It is also the easiest to learn as you use the present tense of “aller – to go” then add the infinitive form of the verb you’re conjugating. In English it’s like saying “…will / going to ….”.

Examples of avoir conjugation in Futur Proche tense:

1. Je vais avoir une réunion importante cet après-midi. (I am going to have an important meeting this afternoon.)
2. Nous allons avoir du beau temps demain. (We are going to have nice weather tomorrow.)
3. Ils vont avoir l’occasion de rencontrer des artistes célèbres. (They are going to have the opportunity to meet famous artists.)

Avoir Futur Antérieur Tense Conjugation (Future Perfect)

Usage: The futur antérieur is used to express an action that will be completed before another future action takes place. It is commonly found in formal writing or storytelling. In English the equivalent would be “will have” or “should have”. Once again the English can simply translate to a simple “will have” or “will get” but you cannot do that in French. In French, if this tense applies, you always say “will have had”!

Examples of avoir conjugation in Futur Antérieur tense:

1. Au moins, tu auras eu des leçons de conduite. (At least you will have had some driving practice)
2. Quand on en aura fini avec eux… ils auront eu un gros combat sur les bras. (When we’re done with them… they’ll have had a big fight on their hands.)
3. Quand vous aurez eu le temps de choisir. (When you’ve had time to choose.)

Wrap up

Avoir conjugations aren’t too difficult to learn as long as you stick to present, futur proche and imparfait tenses. You can safely ignore the others for now (but do come back when you’re happily proficient in French).

If you’d like to read more about French verbs, conjugation and tenses then check out this article on how to master French verb conjugations. Lot’s of great tips in there if you’re struggling!

Alternatively let us do the hard work of analysing your French texts by using our free tool!

Avoir Conjugation Table Images (FREE to Download)

To download a file of all the avoir conjugations simply click this link.

Other French Verb Conjugations You May be Interested In

We don’t only have être conjugations! Here are some others you may want to check out! Also, check out this link which tells you the history of the word.

Alternatively you can use our free grammar corrector to give you exactly the tense and conjugation you need!

1) Introduction to Verb Conjugations

French is a beautiful language but a painful one at the same time. It’s very melodic and sounds great, but the grammar can be a major sticking point for many learners. 

In particular there are many forms of French verb conjugation you need to memorize and that’s just for normal verbs! There’s a huge collection of irregular verbs too.

However, don’t worry! I’ve developed a solution inspired by how children learn. It will shortcut your time to fluency by at least 10x (yes, really!).

In this article you will learn all common French tenses and their associated conjugations. This includes the preset, past and future. I will include references to the less used parts of conjugation but make it clear that you don’t need to learn these as a beginner (or even intermediate) learner!

1.a) The Automatic Way to Correct Your French

Before we continue I’d like to tell you about the Corrector grammar correction tool which will correct your written French verb conjugation in less than a second! To use it simply click here and select “French” in the dropdown menu.

Alternatively, read on!

2) Present Tense – French Verb Conjugation (le présent)

The general rule for present tense (French –  le présent) conjugation is that the ending of the verb is defined by the pronoun you’re using. Let’s jump straight to an example, with the endings highlighted for you. We will conjugate the verb “arriver” which means to happen or to arrive:

As an English speaker you’re probably groaning inside! In English you don’t have all these changes to the end of the verb, except maybe an “s” here and there. Eg: I arrive, you arrive, he arrive(s) etc.

The good news is that the French present tense will become second nature for you very quickly as these conjugations are used everywhere and all the time! After a week or two you’ll know them intuitively.

2.a) Conjugation of Regular French Verbs – Present Tense

The example above showed you conjugation for a “regular” French verb. The word regular simply means that it follows a set pattern so you can apply this pattern to any similar regular verbs.

There are several regular verb types and they’re usually identified by the ending. The most common and easiest to learn, are verbs ending in “er”. For example, the verb we know best, “arriver” can be split into 2 sections:

1. Arriv – the stem
2. er – the ending

In a regular verb conjugation it’s only the ending that changes. The stem stays the same throughout conjugation.

1. Je = stem + “e” = J’arrive 
2. Tu = stem + “es” = Tu arrives
3. Il, elle, on = stem + “e” = Elle arrive
4. Nous = stem + “ons” = Nous arrivons
5. Vous = stem + “ez” = Vous arrivez
6. Ils, elles + stem + “ent” = Elles arrivent

See this post for an example of a regular verb conjugation (manger) through all 8 indicative tenses.

3) How to Learn Present Tense French Conjugations

Did you know that traditional conjugation teaching methods really set you back in your learning? Much too often we think learning is an exercise of reading and repeating but the truth is much more complex.

This failure to teach is not really our fault though as humans have a very linear way of thinking. We naturally assume that each repetition will increase our learning by some amount. 

Nothing could be further from the truth! Let me show you how your brain really works…

3.a) How Your Brain Really Works when Learning

Your brain is really, really good at picking up a pattern. This is why you can easily sing a song after hearing it a couple times. After a few listens you’d remember the melody, rhythm and words with no problem whatsoever.  

However, if I asked you to sing line 54 you would have no idea what it was! You’d have to sing the whole thing whilst counting the lines until you got to 54. 

The root problem is “linear” brain training. When singing the song you’re forming a pattern in your mind which is the primary way to recall the information. The whole thing goes wrong when I ask you to pick a certain piece of information because you now have to flip though your whole file to get at it.

Clearly this is useless during a conversation in French! If you have to conjugate prendre for nous then the other person isn’t going to wait for you to conjugate je, tu and il before you get to what you want! The French are impatient with learners at the best of times!

3.b) Conjugating French Verbs is not Linear – What Kids Can Teach Us!

So we want to learn language in a non linear way for verb conjugation.

If you’ve had a small child then you know that they don’t do linear for verbs! Instead they’ll pick up a phrase like “you fell down” and then repeat that hundreds of times across many contexts. 

In fact you’ll only ever hear them say “I, you, he” when they’re practicing pronouns, and usually that’s not in order either.

4) Don’t Practice French Conjugation in Order

Ever noticed that us adults start conjugation at the “beginning”? We always start with “je”. Because of this your brain prioritizes it over all the others. This is why it’s more difficult to remember we / you (plural) / they forms.

So let’s devise a simple method that will hurt your brain at first, but lead to a massive improvement in your conjugation….

4.a) The Most Effective Way to Learn French Verb Conjugation

1. Pick up a dice and throw it
2. The number corresponds to the pronoun you start with
3. Say that conjugation and then repeat the process

So, for example, a “3” would mean you conjugate il / elle / on (he / she / it). A 5 would be vous (you plural).

We’re trying to disrupt the brains linear pattern region and force it to commit these conjugations to memory. You can only do this by thinking before conjugating and not practicing in order of pronouns. Throwing a random dice forces you to do this.

4.b) Don’t Forget the Hidden Subject Pronouns

Just a quick note here. When you come to il / ils don’t forget you also have elle / elles / on / ons. Occasionally use these other pronouns for your random conjugation exercises.

5) The 3 Classes of Regular Verb Conjugations

We have just seen the “er” verbs demonstrated but there are 2 more “regular” verbs in French. These are verbs ending in:

1. ER
2. IR
3. RE

We’ve covered “er” verbs so far but the next 2 regular verbs (ir and re) have their own suffix patterns that correspond to the pronouns using them. Here are examples of both:

IR verb conjugation in present tense → choisir → to choose

RE verb conjugation in present tense → vendre → to sell

6) Regular vs Irregular Verbs – Present Tense In French

The 3 verbs we’ve looked at so far are the “regular” verbs. You can take any other regular verb and apply the same rules to get a perfect conjugation.

However, in French there are also irregular verbs that do not follow these patterns!

They either have endings that differ to the regular forms, or the verb stem could be changed. Sometimes both of these are true! And sometimes the word changes completely!

6.a) How Can you Identify Irregular French Verbs?

Unfortunately there is no shortcut to identify an irregular verb other than just knowing it but there is a better way to learn than you’re used to.

The secret is to forget trying to memorise anything. You see, by simply speaking and writing in daily life you will learn these verbs 10x faster than normal.

In fact you can even use a tool like Corrector. Simply put in the spelling you think a verb should be and our systems will detect your pronoun and suggest the ending for you! This is known as a positive reinforcement feedback loop. If it’s right then you’re happy and more likely to remember. If it’s wrong then you’re also more likely to remember the correct answer!

We even support many other languages so your learning process will be ultra fast!

7) The Child Inspired Secret to Learning French Verb Conjugation

So far I’ve demonstrated that linear thinking is bad for learning French verb conjugation. In fact, look at children who are all extremely skilled at learning new languages.

This is because children do not apply linear logic to the task.

Children simply emulate and repeat what they read or hear. They don’t worry about how to spell. They don’t worry about how to conjugate the verb if it’s plural “you” or “we”. They just do it.

7.a) How You Can Learn French Verb Conjugation Ultra Fast

The first step is to realise that you should not parrot conjugation tables all the time. Only use them as a starting point and then to reference later on in this process.

The second step is to listen to some French pronunciation. I find that Google Translate is useful for this. You can type any French phrase and then press the speaker icon to listen to it.

The third step is to throw a dice and match the number to the pronoun. Eg: 2 = tu, 3 = elle etc. Then say the associated conjugation of the verb you just listened to in Google Translate.

Don’t worry about spelling at this point because you’ll find that many conjugations actually sound the same, no matter the pronoun being used! For example:

Je parle, tu parles, il parle, ils parlent are all pronounced the same! The only differences are nous parlons or vous parlez. 

Also, don’t forget that you can use our free tool (click here) to correct any written mistakes you may be making.

8) Conjugation of Past Tenses in French

When conjugating other French tenses such as the past or future we again follow a similar set of rules as for the present tense. The verb is broken into 2 parts – the stem and ending. The ending is dropped and a new ending is added. The form that the new ending takes is dependant on the kind of future or past tense.

Regardless of how much the verb changes with tense do not be tempted to parrot learn conjugation tables! In fact the same rule applies, as for the present tense:

You should learn in this order: listen → pronounce → write down

Before we dive into the details of conjugation in other tenses here’s a little preview to whet your appetite:

The verb “arriver” that we looked at earlier has a past tense in the form:

arrivé, arrivée, arrivés, arrivées

These all look different but every single one is pronounced in exactly the same way!

8.a) Passé Simple (Simple Past – Not Important)

The passé simple means the “simple past”. It is normally only used in formal writing, such as literary works and works of history. You may also hear it used during formal speech.

Beginners in French do not need to study the passé simple tense! Therefore we won’t cover it here as it’s something you can pick up once fluent.

8.b) Imparfait (imperfect) Tense in French

Imparfait is a very common tense that you’ll hear every day in France. The equivalent in English is the continuous past tense. It represents an action that was ongoing. You normally see it in English with the form: “was …..ing”. For example “I was walking”.

Imparfait indicates a continuous action in the past.

You’ve probably heard the imperfect many times in English when someone was telling you a story (see how I used it just there).

Imparfait can also mean a state of action with no start or end, eg:

I worked in the shop last year >>> Je travaillais dans le magasin l’année dernière.

In English we don’t necessarily associate “I worked” with a continuous action but in French we do. If you really think about it, there is no defined beginning or end to the “worked” activity.

8.b.1) Conjugation of Imparfait Tense (simple 2 step process)

Once again, there are 3 “regular” French verb types we need to conjugate in imparfait. However, this time there are far fewer exceptions and the rules are pretty simple.

1. Take the “nous” form of the present tense and remove the “-ons” ending
2. Add the endings from the table below and you have imperfect tense!

8.b.2) Conjugation Table for Imperfect Tense in French (Imparfait)

See how simple the imparfait is! Just make sure you know the present tense version of “nous”, drop the ending and add the above endings.

Now, is it absolutely necessary to learn the imparfait tense? I’m 50 / 50 split on this. If you’re totally new to French verbs then it’s probably better to start with the perfect tense described below. But if you’re finding it easy so far then go ahead and learn the imparfait, it’s pretty simple after all!)

8.c) The Perfect Tense in French (le Passé Composé)

This is the tense we use most often in English when we think of past actions. However, in French it is usually only used to describe an action that has finished or had some defined time boundaries.

For example “I ate” is a singular point in the past. It has a start and end and was not an ongoing activity.

In French perfect tense this is conjugated as j’ai mangé.

You’ll notice that the verb changes its form but there is also an additional verb before the main verb. This additional verb is always either avoir or être for le passé composé. If you translate literally from French we get “I have eaten”.

We use the avoir verb (to have) for most of the perfect tense in French.

The verb être (to be) is used for a few common verbs and it is always used with reflexive verbs. These are verbs that point to the pronoun doing an action to themselves, eg “se laver” – to wash [oneself].

8.c.1) Perfect Tense endings for French Verbs (le Passé Composé)

You’ll be pleased to know that all verbs have a very simple rule. Drop the ending and add the following letters to the ends:

8.c.2) Conjugation Table for Avoir Verbs in Perfect Tense (le Passé Composé)

8.c.3) Conjugation Table for être Verbs in Perfect Tense, le Passé Composé

You’ll immediately notice that the avoir perfect tense verbs do not take the gender or plurality into account for endings. However, because être verbs are reflexive (doing to oneself) then you have to change the ending to account for the gender or plurality of the pronoun:

Now, if you’ve been following along then you’ll now that I prefer if you speak French before you try to spell it. This is because every single one of the above perfect tense verbs is pronounced the same. Even if it has an extra “e” or “es”, you simply can’t tell when you’re listening!

9) Conjugation of Future Tenses in French

Just like the past tense, future tenses in French can have different forms depending on the meaning you want to convey.

In English you’d typically use the “will / shall” forms for the future. Eg, “I will go to the shop” or “I shall eat”. French is similar but with some subtle distinctions.

9.a) Simple Future Tense in French (Le Futur Simple)

The futur simple tense is closest to the English equivalent “will / have”. However, it is probably the most difficult tense to remember as there are many, many irregular forms of the verbs!

Don’t despair though as le futur simple is not used very much in French these days! In fact this tense is only really used for hypothetical and grandiose future plans. For example:

When I’m the King >>> Quand je serais le roi

The next section on “futur simple” is for information only. Feel free to read or skip to the “le futur proche” which is by far the most common form of future tense in French.

9.a.1) Conjugation of Simple Future Tense in French

I’ll list some common verbs in the table below. A good rule of thumb for the simple future tense is to take the “avoir” verb in the present tense (eg: tu as, il a etc) and apply that to the entire infinitive form of the verb. Hence if you say “I will talk” it becomes “Je parlerai“.

As you can see there are some weird verb transformations for être and avoir. However for many verbs you can take the infinitive form and just add the endings shown. Once again, we don’t need to go in depth here with ir or re verbs as you can safely ignore this tense until you’re way, way more advanced in French (basically fluent!).

The best section is “le futur proche” which is much more common.

9.b) Future Tense in French (Le Future Proche)

In French this tense denotes an action that’s going to happen. In fact you’ve just read the English equivalent of it:

It’s going to happen

In English the construction is **Pronoun + to be + to go + the verb**. Conveniently, the construction is similar in French except we drop the “to be” part of it:

French Future tense (Proche): Il va venir – He is going to come

You’ll notice that the forms of “going” in both French and English are the present tense. This never changes in French you’ll be pleased to hear! Now let’s get to conjugation….

9.b.1) Conjugation of Future Tense in French (Le Future Proche)

Let’s take 3 verbs of the “er”, “ir” and “re” varieties and see what conjugation looks like:

If you ask me this is the by far the easiest tense to conjugate in French! You simply learn present tense for “to go” and then add the infinitive form of the verb after that! The same rule applies across all verbs and there is no such thing as regular or irregular.

Aren’t you happy I saved the best tense for last

10) French Verb Conjugation Learning Checklist

• Pronounce verbs out loud. Forget about spelling / feminine / plurals for now as most conjugations sound the same.
• ALWAYS include the pronoun when learning, you may be tempted to skip it but that will set you back in your journey.
• Drill conjugation randomly using dice to randomise.
• Learn the present, simple past and future (proche) tenses. You don’t need anything more than that for now.