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FRN Verb Uses
Use of the French Verb Tenses
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Present Indicative | Action or state occurring now. A general truth. |
Present Perfect | Actions starting in past and continuing now. Je suis ici depuis dix minutes. |
Present Subjunctive | Expressing commands or conditions to the contrary after verbs showing preference or doubt |
Past Perfect / Pluperfect | Past action occurring before another past action. The most recent past action would be expressed by the passé composé or the imparfait. |
Past Anterior | Literary or historical tense, Similar to the Past Perfect. Past action occurring before another past action. the most recent past action would be expressed by the passé composé or the imparfait. |
Imperfect Indicative | Past forms of Simultaneous actions, of Actions in Progress, of Description, and of past actions from a specific time duration prior to another action. |
Imperfect Subjunctive | Same uses as present subjunctive but for incompleted actions in the past. |
Passé Composé | Conversational past. Completed actions in the past. |
Passé Simple | Literary Past. Used the same as passé composé, but only in formal writing or in literature. Gradually replaced by the passé composé. |
Past Subjunctive or Perfect Subjunctive | Same uses as the present subjunctive for for completed actions in the past. Similar to the passé composé but with subjunctive reasons needed. |
Past Perfect Subjunctive or Pluperfect Subjunctive | Formal and Literary Writing. Used for the same reasons as imperfect subjunctive; however, the action here is completed. |
Future Perfect or Future Anterior | Express an action or a state which will take place some time in the future before another future action. |
Conditional Present | An action that would be performed if something else were possible and conditional desire / phrases of courtesy, obligation or duty. |
Conditional Perfect or Conditional Past | Express an action that would have been done if something else were possible. An action that would have been done on the condition that something else were possible. |