IMPERFECT TENSE

This is used to describe: - ongoing actions in the past that dont have a specified end e.g. I was living in France Je vivais en France. - habitual actions in the past (used to) e.g. I used to play football Je jouais au football. - describe what something or someone was like e.g. it was raining; she was annoying il pleuvait; elle tait nervante. - describe what was going on when something else happened e.g. I was watching TV when the phone rang - Je regardais la tlvision quand le tlphone a sonn. Forming the imperfect tense 1. Take the nous form of the verb in the present tense nous jouons 2. Take off the ons to form the stem jou-

FUTURE TENSES
NEAR FUTURE TENSE ( = going to do sthg ) This is used to talk about things in the near future. You use the verb aller + infinitive e.g. je vais sortir ce soir Im going to go out tonight Subject je tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles Aller vais vas va allons allez vont Infinitive e.g. jouer sortir faire regarder etc

The good news? No irregular verbs to worry about! SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE ( = will do) This is used to talk about any time in the future. You form it by taking the infinitive and adding a different ending, depending who youre talking about. Subject je tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles Stem The infinitive of regular verbs *For -RE verbs, knock off the final E Endings ai as a ons ez ont

3. Add the correct ending e.g. je jouais

Subject je tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles

Stem Take the nous form of the present tense & knock off the ons ending

Endings ais ais ait ions iez aient

Imperfect of jouer to play Je jouais = I used to play/was playing Tu jouais = you used to play/were playing Il/elle/on jouait = he/she/we used to play/was playing Nous jouions = we used to play/were playing Vous jouiez = you used to play/were playing Ils/elles jouaient = they used to play/were playing Irregular verbs in the imperfect tense The only way a verb can be irregular in the imperfect tense is if the present nous form (the stem for imperfect) is irregular the endings always stay the same. As long as you know your present tense irregular verbs (see the box on the present tense) then youll be fine!

Future of jouer to play Je jouerai = I will play Tu joueras = you will play Il/elle/on jouera = he/she/we will play Nous jouerons = we will play Vous jouerez = you will play Ils/elles joueront = they will play Irregular future stems Naturally, a few verbs are a pain and dont just use the infinitive for the stem but the endings always stay the same. Here are some common irregular stems: Infinitive Stem Example Aller irjirai Avoir aurtu auras Devoir devrelle devra tre sernous serons Faire fervous ferez Pouvoir pourrelles pourront Venir viendrje viendrai Vouloir voudrtu voudras

THE SUBJUNCTIVE
1. Verbs and expressions which express someone's will, an order, a need, a piece of advice, or desires require the subjunctive (il est essentiel que/ il faut que). These expressions are generally introduced by the preposition que. Verbs and expressions of emotion or feeling - fear, happiness, anger, regret, surprise, or any other sentiments - require the subjunctive (avoir honte que - to be ashamed that / tre content que - to be happy that). Verbs and expressions of doubt, possibility, supposition and opinion (accepter que - to accept/ s'attendre ce que - to expect...). A number of French conjunctive phrases require the subjunctive: ( condition que - provided that / moins que - unless ). 2. Take the ils form of the verb in the present tense ils partent 3. Drop the ent, then add the correct endings: e /es / e - ions / iez / ent
The subjunctive Infinitive Present Subjunctive Irregular stems Care must be taken when trying to form the subjunctive of irregular verbs: Infinitive Present Subjunctive savoir ils savent que je sache tre ils sont que tu sois avoir ils ont quil ait faire ils font que je fasse

(PRESENT) CONDITIONAL TENSE

This is the equivalent of the English would, e.g. I would like, we would be able to. You use the same stem as the simple future, but different endings. Stem The same stem as for the future the infinitive or the same irregular stem Conditional of jouer to play Subject je tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles Endings ais ais ait ions iez aient

jouer ils jouent que je joue finir ils finissent quelle finisse perdre ils perdent que nous perdions

Je jouerais = I would play Tu jouerais = you would play Il/elle/on jouerait = he/she/we would play Nous jouerions = we would play Vous joueriez = you would play Ils/elles joueraient = they would play