The 14 French Tenses Explained Simply (A Guide for English Speakers)

French has a reputation for having "too many tenses". And it's true that if you open a grammar book, you find a long list of names: passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait, futur antérieur, subjonctif… It looks scary.

The good news: you don't need to learn them all at once, and they are much more logical than they look. In my lessons in Paris, I always group them into families. Once you see the families, everything clicks.

Here are the 14 French tenses, explained simply, in the order I teach them.

1. The present: le présent

The present is the base of everything. You use it for what is happening now, for habits, and for general truths.

• Je parle français. (I speak French.)

• Tous les matins, je bois un café. (Every morning, I drink a coffee.)

Tip: French has no "-ing" form. "I am eating" is simply "je mange". If you want to insist, you can say "je suis en train de manger".

2. The past tenses: passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait

This is the family that gives my students the most headaches, especially passé composé vs imparfait.

• Passé composé: a finished action, an event. "Hier, j'ai visité le Louvre." (Yesterday, I visited the Louvre.) It is formed with avoir or être + past participle.

• Imparfait: the background, descriptions, habits in the past. "Quand j'étais petite, je visitais souvent ma grand-mère." (When I was little, I often visited my grandmother.)

• Plus-que-parfait: the past before the past. "Quand je suis arrivée, le film avait déjà commencé." (When I arrived, the film had already started.)

A simple way to remember: the imparfait sets the scene, the passé composé tells what happened.

3. The future tenses: futur proche, futur simple, futur antérieur

• Futur proche: aller + infinitive, for plans and things that will happen soon. "Je vais partir en vacances." (I'm going to go on holiday.) It's the one French people use most when speaking.

• Futur simple: for predictions, promises and more formal plans. "Un jour, je parlerai couramment." (One day, I will speak fluently.)

• Futur antérieur: an action that will be finished before another one in the future. "Quand tu arriveras, j'aurai fini." (When you arrive, I will have finished.)

4. The conditional: conditionnel présent and conditionnel passé

• Conditionnel présent: politeness, wishes and hypotheses. "Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît." (I would like a coffee, please.) "Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais plus." (If I had time, I would travel more.)

• Conditionnel passé: regrets and things that didn't happen. "J'aurais dû venir." (I should have come.)

5. The imperative: l'impératif

For orders, advice and instructions. "Écoute !" (Listen!) "Allons-y !" (Let's go!) "Ne t'inquiète pas." (Don't worry.)

6. The gérondif and the participe présent

• Gérondif: en + -ant, two actions at the same time. "J'écoute des podcasts en cuisinant." (I listen to podcasts while cooking.)

• Participe présent: more written, often to replace "qui + verb". "Les étudiants parlant français…" (The students speaking French…)

7. The subjunctive: subjonctif présent and subjonctif passé

The famous subjonctif is used after expressions of wish, necessity, emotion and doubt. "Il faut que tu viennes." (You have to come.) "Je suis contente que tu sois là." (I'm happy you're here.) The subjonctif passé is the same idea for a finished action: "Je suis contente que tu sois venu."

It's not a tense of the past or the future, it's a mood. Once you learn the trigger expressions, it becomes much easier.

In which order should you learn the French tenses?

Here is the order I recommend to my students:

1. Présent

2. Passé composé, then imparfait

3. Futur proche, then futur simple

4. Conditionnel présent

5. Impératif

6. Plus-que-parfait and futur antérieur

7. Subjonctif présent

8. Conditionnel passé, gérondif and subjonctif passé

With around one hour a week, you can go through all of them in about three months, from A1 to B2.

Want to learn them all, step by step?

I created French Tenses in 3 Months, a self-study programme with one colour per tense family, clear explanations in English, and 112 exercises in French with answers. It works on your phone, tablet and computer, at your own pace.

👉 Discover the programme here

And if you prefer to practise with me in person, you can also book a private French lesson in Paris or online.

Prefer to learn the tenses with a real person? I'm Caroline, a native French teacher in Paris, and I teach in Paris and online.

À bientôt !

Caroline