French Verb Tenses but they actually make sense

French conjugation can be tricky. To understand which French verb tense you should use for which occasion, you need a bit of help. That’s exactly what we will talk about today in this video. Even as a beginner, you will learn French even faster if you understand why conjugation is so useful and how to use it correctly when you speak French.

5/5/20252 min read

French verb tenses can seem overwhelming at first, but once you break them down, they start making a lot more sense. In this blog post, we’re going to dive into the indicatif mode, which is the mode of reality. We'll cover the most commonly used tenses in everyday speech and make them crystal clear for you.

If you're struggling with verbs like passé composé, imparfait, or futur, you're not alone! Whether you're just starting out or you've been learning French for a while, this post will help clarify these tenses with easy-to-understand explanations and examples. Plus, there’s a free PDF in the description that summarizes everything and includes a quiz to check your understanding!

1. Le Présent: What’s Happening Right Now

The présent tense is one of the easiest to understand because it’s all about what’s happening in the moment. For instance:

Je mange. (I am eating.)

In this case, we’re using the verb manger (to eat) in its present tense form, which shows that the action is happening right now, or in the general present moment. It’s very similar to the English “I am eating” (the -ing form).

But what if you’re not speaking exactly in the present moment? No worries, you can still use the présent tense to talk about things that are happening today or even things that happen regularly.

For example, Je tourne une vidéo means “I am recording a video”—this could be happening at the moment or just something I do regularly.

2. Le Futur: What Will Happen

Now, let’s talk about the future. In English, you typically use “will” or “is going to” to express something that will happen. French has two ways to express the future: futur simple and futur proche.

Futur Simple: Je mangerai. (I will eat.)

In the futur simple, you take the verb in its infinitive form (like manger for “to eat”) and add a special set of endings.

Futur Proche: Je vais manger. (I am going to eat.)

The futur proche is much simpler: you just use the present tense of the verb aller (to go) followed by the verb in its infinitive form. It’s similar to how we use “going to” in English. In fact, French speakers use futur proche more often than futur simple in everyday conversations.

3. Le Passé: What Happened in the Past

When talking about the past, French has several tenses, but we’ll focus on two main ones: imparfait and passé composé.

Imparfait: Je mangeais. (I was eating.)

Use the imparfait to talk about actions that were ongoing, habitual, or provide context. For instance, if you want to describe something that was happening over a long period of time or something you used to do regularly, you’ll use imparfait. It’s perfect for setting a scene:

Quand j'étais jeune, je mangeais des bonbons tous les jours. (When I was young, I ate candy every day.)
Passé Composé: J’ai mangé. (I ate.)

On the other hand, the passé composé is a compound tense that describes a completed action in the past. You form it with an auxiliary verb (être or avoir) in the present tense and the past participle of the main verb. In this case, manger becomes mangé, and we use the auxiliary avoir:

J’ai mangé means "I ate," indicating the action is finished.

4. When to Use Each Tense

Use présent for things happening right now or regularly.
Use futur to talk about something that will happen.
Use imparfait for ongoing or habitual actions in the past or to set the scene.
Use passé composé for completed actions in the past.