Tense (past, present, future)

In order to write successfully in French, you need to learn all verb tenses. Tense simply refers to when an event happened (past tense), when it will happen (future tense) or if it is happening (present tense). The main means of indicating this information is by the use of a verb's ending (elle parlera, 'she will speak') or by means of an "auxiliary + verb form" structure (elle a parlé, 'she spoke'; je vais partir, 'I will leave').

Within the general categories of past, present and future, a number of subcategories also exist to make finer temporal distinctions. These are illustrated below:

Past

• passé composé (describes a completed event/action)
• imparfait (describes a past situation or recurring action)
• plus-que-parfait (describes an action completed before another past action)

Present

• présent (describes a present action or general action)

Future

• futur simple (describes a future action)
• futur proche (describes a future action)
• futur antérieur (describes a future action the precedes another future action)