The French tenses
When something happens and how it is seen — finished, in progress, already done before: that is the question every tense answers. Here are all the topics about it, each with its own page and its own exercises.
All 25 topics on tense and time
A1Present tense: -er verbsThe largest set, and almost without exceptions.A1Present tense: -ir verbsThe group with -iss- in the plural.A1Present tense: -re verbsThe smallest group — and the verbs in it take no preposition.A1Irregular verbs in the presentThe verbs that follow no rule — and you need them most.A1Reflexive verbs: se laver, s'appelerThe pronoun changes with the person — and goes before the verb.A2Stem-changing verbsRegular endings, but the stem moves.A2More irregular verbs: partir, voir, boireA short stem in the singular, a long stem in the plural.A2In progress: être en train deThere is no continuous form, and it is rarely missed.A1Passé composé with avoirThe shape of «I have spoken», the job of «I spoke».A2Passé composé with êtreA second auxiliary English got rid of, and an agreement with it.A1Irregular past participlesYou already know how to learn a list like this.B1Participle agreement with avoirIf the direct object comes before the verb, the participle agrees.A2Imperfect (imparfait)«used to» and «was —ing» in a single form.B1Passé composé or imparfait?Nearly the same choice English makes, with one shifted edge.B1Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)«had eaten», almost word for word.B2Passé simple: reading the narrative tenseNobody speaks it, but you have to be able to read it.A1Near future: aller + infinitive«Going to», with the same verb and the same emptiness.B1Simple future (futur simple)Six endings where English has one word.B1The conditional«Would», built out of two things you have already learnt.B1Future after quandOne of your two habits is right here, and they look identical.B2Future perfect (futur antérieur)«Will have finished» — and «when I have finished» too.A2Present for future plansYou have three present futures; French has two.B1Choosing a future formThree against three, and the connotations line up.B2The future used for a guess«That’ll be the postman» — the same trick, the same words.B2Future in the past«was going to» and «would», exactly as you already say them.
Practise the tenses
Exercises from every topic on tense and time, mixed together. That is exactly the hard part: almost anyone can build a form when it says next to it which one is meant.