We know that the English language uses "tenses" for verbs to indicate when an action takes place, and the same is true for French.
In the present tense, the action is taking place now, in the future tense, it will take place and in the past tense, it already took place.
In both English and French, there are many complicated tenses, many of which we don't even use in everyday speech. So for these French lessons, we will only learn the most common tenses: the present, future and past.
You don't even need to know the French names for theses tenses, you only need to know at which time the action is taking place.
French verbs have different endings to indicate the tense of the verb. Those endings depend on the "type" of verb.
There are two types of verbs in French, regular and irregular verbs.
Regular verbs always have the same endings, whereas irregular verbs have their own unique endings.
Of the regular there are three kinds: "er" verbs, "ir" verbs and "re" verbs. ALL regular "er" verbs will have the same endings that the verb Parler (to speak) has.
Present Tense
Future Tense
Past Tense
Je parle
Je parlerai
J'ai parle
Tu parles
Tu parleras
Tu as parle
Il/Elle parle
Il/Elle parlera
Il/Elle a parle
Nous parlons
Nous parlerons
Nous avons parle
Vous parlez
Vous parlerez
Vouz avez parle
Ils/Elles parlent
Ils/Elles parleront
Ils/Elles ont parle
ALL regular "ir" verbs will have the same endings that the verb Finir (to finish) has.
Present Tense
Future Tense
Past Tense
Je finis
Je finirai
J'ai fini
Tu finis
Tu finiras
Tu as fini
Il/Elle finit
Il/Elle finira
Il/Elle a fini
Nous finissons
Nous finirons
Nous avons fini
Vous finissez
Vous finirez
Vouz avez fini
Ils/Elles finissent
Ils/Elles finiront
Ils/Elles ont fini
ALL regular "re" verbs will have the same endings that the verb Mettre (to put) has.
Present Tense
Future Tense
Past Tense
Je mets
Je mettrai
J'ai mis
Tu mets
Tu mettras
Tu as mis
Il/Elle met
Il/Elle mettra
Il/Elle a mis
Nous mettons
Nous mettrons
Nous avons mis
Vous mettez
Vous mettrez
Vouz avez mis
Ils/Elles mettent
Ils/Elles mettront
Ils/Elles ont mis
Save these tables to use as a reference as we move forward in speaking French.
You will notice consistency in the endings for the verbs, and once we start discussing pronunciation you will see that, at least in spoken French, there is not as much to remember as it first appears.
Many letters are sounded the same, and some letters are not pronounced at all. Again, don't worry about pronunciation at this point. When we start working with pronunciation guides, once you get used to one sound, you will see it used over and over. The other type of verb is the irregular verb.
There are many irregular verbs, but only a few that are used very consistently and therefore need to be memorized. You noticed in the regular verbs that the "stem" of the verb always stayed the same.
That is, there is always a "par" in any form of parler, and always an "fin" in any form of finir.
Irregular verbs may actually change the stem in forming the different tenses, so it is difficult to form any rules about them. For the moment, we will just memorize the two most important irregular verbs, "etre (to be) and "avoir" (to have). The tenses of "Etre:
Present Tense
Future Tense
Past Tense
Je suis
Je serais
J'ai ete
Tu es
Tu seras
Tu as ete
Il/Elle est
Il/Elle sera
Il/Elle a ete
Nous sommes
Nous serons
Nous avons ete
Vous etes
Vous serez
Vouz avez ete
Ils/Elles sont
Ils/Elles seront
Ils/Elles ont ete
The tenses of "Avoir"
Present Tense
Future Tense
Past Tense
J'ai
J'aurai
J'ai eu
Tu as
Tu auras
Tu as eu
Il/Elle a
Il/Elle aura
Il/Elle a eu
Nous avons
Nous aurons
Nous avons eu
Vous avez
Vous aurez
Vouz avez eu
Ils/Elles ont
Ils/Elles auront
Ils/Elles ont eu
As you can see, both etre and avoir change quite a bit; sometimes etre starts with an "s", sometimes with an "e"; sometimes avoir starts with an "a, sometimes with an "o". These are two important verbs that just have to be memorized.