présent de l’indicatif – present tense
| je suis – I am | nous sommes – we are |
| tu es – you are | vous êtes – you are |
| il/elle est – he/she is | ils/elles sont – they are |
Je suis en train de parler.
I am (in the process of) speaking (right now).
imparfait de l’indicatif – imperfect tense
a descriptive past tense which indicates an ongoing state of being or a repeated or incomplete action
| j’étais – I was | nous étions – we were |
| tu étais – you were | vous étiez – you were |
| il/elle était – he/she was | ils/elles étaient – they were |
Tu étais formidable, j’étais fort minable
You were great, I was very shabby
passé simple – preterite tense
used only in formal writing
| je fus – I was | nous fûmes – we were |
| tu fus – you were | vous fûtes – you were |
| il/elle fut – he/she was | ils/elles furent – they were |
Je partis après que vous fûtes tombé.
I left after you were out.
futur – future tense
talks about upcoming events, what will be done
| je serai – I will | nous serons – we will |
| tu seras – you will | vous serez – you will |
| il/elle sera – he/she will | ils/elles seront – they will |
garçons seront des garçons
boys will be boys
conditionnel – conditional tense
indicates an event that may or may not occur, usually dependent on certain conditions and used in a si clause
| je serais – I would | nous serions – we would |
| tu serais – you would | vous seriez – you would |
| il/elle seraat – he/she would | ils/elles seraient – they would |
Je me demandais si tu serais disponible.
I was wondering if you would be available.
présent du subjonctif – present subjunctive
indicates subjective actions, nearly always found in dependent clauses introduced by que
| je sois – I am | nous soyons – we are |
| tu sois – you are | vous soyez – you are |
| il/elle soit – he/she is | ils/elles soient – they are |
Oh! qui que vous soyez, jeunne ou vieux, riche ou sage … Victor Hugo
Oh! whoever you are, young or old, rich or wise … Victor Hugo
imparfait du subjonctif – imperfect subjunctive
used in formal writing in a subordinate clause when the main clause is in the past
| je fusse – I was | nous fussions – we were |
| tu fusses – you were | vous fussiez – you were |
| il/elle fût – he/she was | ils/elles fussent – they were |
Et le dernier, de faire partout des dénombrements si entiers et des revues si générales, que je fusse assuré de ne rien omettre. –Descartes, Discours de la Méthode
And last, to all enumerations so complete and reviews so general, that I was assured that nothing is omitted. –Descartes, Discourse on the Method