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Well, you asked for it. Let's use a simple verb, PORTER (to carry or wear)

PRESENT tense:

SINGULAR

Je porte I carry

Tu portes You (a friend) carry

Il/elle porte He, she, or anyone else carries

PLURAL

Nous portons We carry

Vous portez You (more than one, or a person to whom one is being polite) carry

Ils/elles portent They (ie. anyone or anything other than me or you) carry.

NOTE: There is only ONE present tense in French. Aren't you lucky, not having to learn English, which has at least three? So JE PORTE means I CARRY or I AM CARRYING or I DO CARRY.

PAST

Immediate past

Passé composé (composite past, so called because it uses an extra word, the auxiliary verb AVOIR (to have):

J'ai porté

Tu as porté

Il/elle a porté

Nous avons porté

Vous avez porté

Ils ont porté

J'ai porté means I HAVE CARRIED or I CARRIED or I DID CARRY.

This tense (Passé composé ) is used in speech and letters; you will very rarely find it in books. For literary purposes, another tense is used:

Passé Historique

je portai

Tu portas

Il portat

Nous portâmes

vous portâtes

Ils portèrent

The IMPERFECT

Used for things which were happening at the time of which one is speaking, but had not yet been finished (which is what Imperfect means - not finished):

Je portais

Tu portais

Il portait

Nous portions

Vous portiez

Ils portaient

JE PORTAIS means I WAS CARRYING or I USED TO CARRY.

FURTHER PAST

For things that had already happened before the time of which one is talking, you need the

PLUS-QUE-PARFAIT (pluperfect)

Again, a composite tense, using the imperfect tense of AVOIR:

J'avais porté

Tu avais porté

Il avait porté

Nous avions porté

Vous aviez porté

Ils avaient porté

J'avais porté means I HAD carried.

yes, there is a literary versiion of this, called the Passé Antérieur:

J'eus porté

Tu eus porté

Il eut porté

Nous eûmes porté

Vous eûtes porté

Ils eurent porté.

Actually, even a lot of authors don't bother with this one, but use the pluperfect like ordinary humans.

FUTURE

Je porterai

tu porteras

Il portera

Nous porterons

Vous porterez

Ils porteront

JE PORTERAI meains I WILL CARRY.

For I AM GOING TO CARRY, use the present tense of ALLER (to go)

Je vais porter

Tu vas porter

Il VA porter

Nous allons porter

Vous allez porter

Ils vont porter

Of course, there is a further future:

J'aurai porté = I shall/will have carried

Tu auras porté

Il aura porté

Nous aurions porté

Vous aurez porté

Ils auront porté

The CONDITIONAL tenses:

PRESENT

Je porterais = I would carry

Tu perterais

Il porterait

Nous porterions

Vous porteriez

Ils porteraient

The PAST CONDITIONAL

J'aurais porté = I would have carried

Tu aurais porté

Il aurait porté

Nous aurions porté

Vous auriez porté

Ils auraient porté

All these are in the INDICATIVE mood; there is also the SUBJUNCTIVE, but you probably don't want to know about that; and lasty,

THE IMPERATIVE

Porte! Carry!

Portez! Carry (all of you)!

Portons! Let's carry!

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13y ago
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13y ago

as in any other language using this system: perfect when the action was/is/will be completed, imperfect when the action wasn't/isn't/will not be completed

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Q: When should you use the perfect or imperfect tense in French?
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