French tenses explained: the 7 you need, in the order to learn them
A French verb table lists many forms, but conversation runs on about seven, and one famous tense — the passé simple — is almost absent from speech. This guide puts the tenses in learning order, with the rule for each from the Office québécois de la langue française. New to French? Read the eight grammar rules first.
Updated · 4 min read
The system: simple and compound forms
French has indicative, imperative and subjunctive moods, and present, imperfect, preterite, future, conditional and perfect forms (Britannica). Every mood has two parallel series: simple forms, and compound forms made of avoir or être + past participle, which express completion or something earlier (OQLF). Je mange has its compound j’ai mangé; je mangeais has j’avais mangé.
| Tense | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Présent | je parle | now, habits, facts |
| Passé composé | j’ai parlé / je suis allé | a finished action, result now |
| Imparfait | je parlais | a past action in progress, background |
| Futur proche | je vais parler | the near, likely future |
| Futur simple | je parlerai | the future, more hypothetical |
| Conditionnel | je parlerais | would; politeness; hypothesis |
| Subjonctif présent | que je parle | wishes, doubt, necessity |
1. Présent
Learn it first and well: the present of être, avoir, aller and faire opens all the others, since the passé composé and the futur proche are built on it. Our grammar basics explain why je parle and ils parlent sound the same. Put these verbs among your first 16 words a day, and check where you stand with the free French level test.
2. Passé composé — the everyday past
Avoir or être in the present + past participle: j’ai parlé, elle est arrivée. It shows a finished action whose result is linked to now (OQLF). Which verbs take être — aller, arriver, partir, venir, naître, mourir and the pronominal verbs — is listed by the OQLF.
3. Imparfait — the past in progress
Je parlais, nous étions. The imparfait shows a past action in its duration, without saying when it began or ended; in a story it gives the circumstances while another tense moves the events forward (OQLF): J’avais vingt ans et je croyais que tout était possible.
Passé composé or imparfait? Ask: is it an event, or the background? Je lisais (background) quand tu as appelé (event).
4. Futur proche — and 5. futur simple
Aller + infinitive (je vais partir) is the futur proche; in everyday spoken French it competes with the futur simple (je partirai) and feels more certain, while the simple future, cut off from the present, carries more of a hypothesis (OQLF). Start with aller + infinitive; add the futur simple for plans, promises and writing.
6. Conditionnel
Je parlerais — “I would speak”. Most grammarians now treat the conditional as a tense of the indicative: a hypothetical future that shares the -r- of the future (OQLF). Compare un livre que tu aimeras (you will like it) with un livre que tu aimerais (you would like it, under some condition). Je voudrais is also the polite way to ask for something.
7. Subjonctif
Not a time but a mood: it expresses what is wished, doubted or necessary, and it has no time of its own — the context places it (OQLF): J’insiste pour qu’il vienne (now or later), J’insistais pour qu’il vienne (in the past). Learn it in fixed phrases: il faut que, je veux que, bien que.
The tense you can postpone: passé simple
The passé simple (il parla, elle fut) is the least used tense of the indicative today: almost absent from speech, kept for written narrative and mostly in the third person, while speakers use the passé composé instead (OQLF). Learn to recognise it when you read novels; you will rarely say it. Why it declined is in the history of French.
Put the tenses to work with real words
16Word gives you 16 French words a day with active recall, spaced repetition and a short Blocks game between answers — about five minutes, free to start.
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Frequently asked questions
How many tenses are there in French?
Verb tables list many forms across the indicative, subjunctive, conditional and imperative, each simple tense with a compound partner. For conversation, about seven are enough: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur proche, futur simple, conditionnel and subjonctif présent.
What is the difference between passé composé and imparfait?
The passé composé presents a finished action; the imparfait shows a past action in progress or the background of a story, without its start or end.
Do I need to learn the passé simple?
Learn to recognise it for reading. It is almost absent from speech today and mostly used in writing, in the third person; people say the passé composé instead.
Futur proche or futur simple?
Both talk about the future. Aller + infinitive (je vais partir) is common in speech and feels more certain; the futur simple (je partirai) sounds more distant and hypothetical.
Is the conditional a tense or a mood?
Most grammarians now treat it as a tense of the indicative — a hypothetical future, as in un livre que tu aimerais.
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