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What are the different past tenses in French?

By: Agnés Finot Fri Aug 30 2024
French
Verbs

The different past tenses in French are the recent past le passé récent, the present perfect le passé composé, the imperfect l’imparfait, the pluperfect le plus-que-parfait, and the past historic le passé simple. Each tense follows different rules for how to discuss past actions, and each follows a different conjugation pattern. Take a look:

  • je viens de chanter(I just sang)

    le passé récent

  • j’ai chanté(I have sung)

    le passé composé

  • je chantais(I was singing)

    l’imparfait

  • j’avais chanté(I had sung)

    le plus-que-parfait

  • je chantai (I sang)

    le passé simple

In this post, I’m taking you on a journey through the past tenses in the indicative mood. We will recap the recent past, the perfect tense, the imperfect, the pluperfect, and the past historic. Attention, immediate take-off! 🚀

Table of Contents

    What is the recent past in French?

    Our first stop is the French recent past passé récent, which you use when you have just done something or when you want to report an event that just happened, with your point of reference being the present moment.

    A timeline has two labelled points, positioned near the right side of the graphic. The point labelled "recent past" is just to the left of the point labelled "present."

    Here is the formula to form the recent past:

    venir de in the present tense

    infinitive verb

    Je viens de regarder un film génial !

    I just watched a great movie.

    Son parapluie vient de se retourner !

    His umbrella just flipped over!

    Oh zut, ils viennent de partir sans nous.

    Oh darn, they just left without us.

    ↳In English we use “just” to convey the meaning of the recent past.

    Now let’s carry on our time travel, next stop is le passé composé.

    What is the present perfect tense in French?

    Le passé composé, or the present perfect, is most likely the past tense you will use the most when talking about a unique and complete action in the past. The present perfect is used for actions that only happened once and started and finished in the past. This is equivalent to the simple past (or preterite) in English (e.g. spoke, finished, sold). You will also use it for a past action within a limited time, a succession of events, and repetitions.

    A timeline with three labelled points. At the center of the line, a point is labelled "perfect tense," and on the right edge of the timeline a point labelled "recent past" is just to the left of a point labelled "present." t

    The perfect tense is a French compound tense, meaning it is made up of two parts: an auxiliary and a past participle. Most verbs use the auxiliary avoir(to have) , but a handful of verbs use the auxiliary être(to be) (I suggest you learn them by heart ). Here is the formula for the passé composé:

    avoir / être in the present tense

    past participle

    The past participle is generally formed as follows:

    • for -er verbs, the -er become -é:

      parler(to speak)parlé

    • for -ir verbs, the -ir become -i:

      finir(to finish)fini

    • for -re verbs, the -re become -u:

      vendre( to sell)vendu

    Important

    The perfect tense expresses a past action that has a link with the present. For example, we decorated the room yesterday for all the guests to enjoy today.

    Ce matin, nous avons décoré la pièce pour son anniversaire.

    This morning, we decorated the room for his birthday.

    → unique, completed action

    Le concert de Jeanne Tonique a duré deux heures.

    The concert of Jeanne Tonique lasted two hours.

    → action within a limited period of time

    J’ai repeint les murs, puis j’ai accroché des tableaux, et enfin j’ai installé un grand tapis.

    I repainted the walls, then I hung some pictures, and finally I installed a large rug.

    → succession of events

    L’actrice a joué cette pièce de théâtre 120 fois.

    The actress has performed this play 120 times.

    In this last example above, we are talking about the same past action (to perform in a play) repeated several times. You need to add a clear number of times or a phrase like plusieurs fois (several times) in your sentence to differentiate the repetition from the recurring event, in which case you would use the imperfect (l’actrice jouait dans cette pièce de théâtre(“the actress used to perform in this play”).

    Tip

    As with all compound tenses, in a negative form, the ne and pas go on either side of the auxiliary.

    Vous n’avez pas vu Jessica l’été dernier ?

    You didn’t see Jessica last summer?

    Important

    In English, when you want to mention an event that started in the past and is still continuing in the present, you use the present perfect tense. We use the present tense in French. We call this use of the present tense le présent duratif.

    Ludovic rénove sa maison depuis plus de deux ans.

    Ludovic has renovated his house for more than two years.

    We can’t talk about the perfect tense without moving on to the imperfect, as they are often used together.

    What is the imperfect tense in French?

    Usually, you will use l’imparfait in French to make descriptions in the past, and to talk about past habits with the idea that the event lasts in time or is recurring over time. Your point of reference is the present when using the imperfect. It is equivalent to saying “used to do,” “was doing,” or “would do.”

    A timeline with three labelled points. In the center, a point labelled "perfect tense" and to the right a point labelled "recent past" is just to the left of a point labelled "present." A bracket labelled "imperfect" stretches to demarcate a zone that contains a period of time surrounding the "perfect tense" label.

    The formula for the imperfect tense is as follows:

    stem of the verb in the nous form of the present tense

    imperfect endings

    To form l’imparfait, there are two steps:

    • take the nous(we) form of the verb in the present tense (aller(to go)nous allons)

    • Remove the -ons and add the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient (ils allaient)

    However, there are some verbs whose stem changes in the imperfect, so make sure to brush up on your conjugations!

    Quand il était petit, il aimait bien jouer avec de la pâte à modeler.

    When he was little, he liked to play with modeling clay.

    Tous les jeudis, nous vendions notre miel au marché.

    Every Thursday, we used to sell our honey at the market.

    Sur les bords de la rivière Asuwa, les cerisiers étaient en fleurs.

    On the banks of the Asuwa river, the cherry trees were in bloom.

    However, there are some verbs whose stem changes in the imperfect, so make sure to brush up on your conjugations!

    Often, in narrative, l’imparfait and le passé composé are used alongside each other: the imperfect sets the scene and the perfect tense describes the main events. Understanding when to use the imperfect versus the perfect tense in French is an important skill to have in your toolbox!

    imparfaitpassé composé

    Je faisais la queue pour commander un café quand un homme pressé m’a bousculé.

    I was queuing to order a coffee when a man in a hurry bumped into me.

    Important

    If you want to describe an event or action that just happened in the past, in reference to a moment in the past, you use the recent past in the imperfect. Conjugate venir de in the imperfect, and add an infinitive verb.

    recent past (imperfect)passé composé

    Le juge venait d’annoncer le verdict quand je suis entrée dans le tribunal.

    The judge had just announced the verdict when I entered the courtroom.

    Important

    If you're looking at translating the past progressive (“was verbing”) into French, use the imperfect:

    Elle lisait sous un arbre.

    She was reading under a tree.

    If you want to really insist on the ongoing nature of the action, you can use the French present progressive expression être en train de(to be in the process of) in the imperfect tense + infinitive verb.

    Ils étaient en train de nager avec des dauphins.

    They were swimming with dolphins.

    Now let’s travel deeper in the past and look at le plus-que-parfait.

    What is the pluperfect tense in French?

    We use the French pluperfect tense, or le plus-que-parfait, to talk about a past action that happened before another past action. For example, I could talk about the soccer game which my favorite team played last week, comparing it to the game they had played the month before.

    pluperfect

    Les joueurs avaient beaucoup mieux joué le mois dernier que la semaine dernière.

    The players had played much better last month than last week.

    A timeline with four labelled points. On the left, a point labelled "pluperfect." In the center a point labelled "perfect tense" is surrounded by a bracketed region that is labelled "imperfect." On the right, a point labelled "recent past" is just to the left of a point labelled "present."

    The pluperfect follows this formula:

    auxiliary avoir / être in the imperfect

    past participle

    The pluperfect is, like the perfect tense, a compound tense: it is formed with an auxiliary and a past participle. In the pluperfect, the auxiliaries avoir(to have) and être(to be) are conjugated in the imperfect. It follows very much the same conjugation rules as le passé composé.

    Il y a trois ans, elle avait déjà eu un accident de ski.

    Three years ago, she had already had a skiing accident.

    Elle m’a dit qu’elle n’avait jamais goûté d'huîtres.

    She told me that she had never tasted oysters.

    We have one last stop on our journey: le passé simple.

    What is the past historic tense in French?

    The French past historic tense, or le passé simple appears essentially only in written forms. If you have ever read a French novel, there is no doubt that you have come across it. You will also hear it in very formal speeches. (Try listening to this speech by Emmanuel Macron. Can you recognize the verbs in the past historic? You can check your answers with the transcription.)

    We use le passé simple to talk about a unique past event that is completed. The past historic is used alongside the imperfect in the exact same way as the perfect and imperfect are used together.

    Set the scene
    Action / Event

    Imparfait

    passé composé

    passé simple

    passé simple

    passé simple

    Le 24 décembre 1914, alors que les troupes allemandes et britanniques se préparaient à fêter le réveillon de Noël dans les tranchées, les soldats des deux camps sortirent dans le no Man’s Land. Ils se rencontrèrent pour jouer au foot et discutèrent ensemble.

    On December 24, 1914, as German and British troops prepared to celebrate Christmas Eve in the trenches, soldiers from both sides came out into no-man's-land. They met to play soccer and talked together.

    To help you recognize verbs in le passé simple, here are the endings:

    Verb ending
    Past historic endings
    Example

    -er verbs

    -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, èrent

    Soudain, le lion attaqua la gazelle.

    Suddenly, the lion attacked the gazelle.

    -ir verbs

    -is, -is, -it, -îmes, -îtes, -irent

    Ensuite, les chevaliers partirent en direction du château.

    Then the knights set off in the direction of the castle.

    For -re verbs, there are three types of endings, along with some irregular verbs. Time to brush up on your conjugations!

    Before we recap, I would like to mention verb tables. They are very useful tools to check your verb endings, and especially when you’re in doubt about irregular verbs. I would like to suggest this one as all the conjugated verbs are translated — which is a rare thing — and it gives you the option to test yourself.

    In a nutshell

    When talking about past actions in French, you’ll need to keep the following in mind about the French past tenses:

    • Use the recent past venir de for events that have just happened.

    • The perfect tense is for completed and unique events and is used in writing or speaking.

    • The past historic is for completed and unique events in the (more distant) past and is used in writing.

    • The imperfect is for descriptions and recurring events in the past.

    • Often used alongside the perfect tense (in writing and speaking) or the past historic (mainly in writing), the imperfect sets the scene whilst the perfect tense or the past historic announce the main events.

    • The pluperfect is for past actions that refer to a moment in the past that is further away than another event that happened in a closer moment in the past.

    Now it’s time to practice! Check out our exercises to practice the various past tenses in French!

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