IntroductionLearn how to conjugate verbs in the indicative tenses in French with Lingolia. The indicative is a personal mood and is the most commonly used mood in French.French has 10 indicative tenses, but not all of them are used in everyday language. Le passé simple (the past historic) and le passé antérieur (the anterior past) are only used in literature, while le présent (the present), le passé composé (the simple past), l’imparfait (the imperfect), le passé récent (the recent past), le plus-que-parfait (the past perfect), le futur proche (the near future), le futur simple (the future simple) and le futur antérieur (the future perfect) are used in day-to-day contexts.Click on the tenses below to read the explanations and EXAMPLES, then practise your knowledge in the exercises.To learn how to conjugate verbs in other MOODS in French such as the conditional, the imperative and the subjunctive, go to the section on verbs.Overview of the TensesThe overview of French tenses lists all the different French verb tenses together with their conjugations for -er/-ir/-re verbs. You can also find tips on how to use each of the tenses correctly.Example:tu aimestu as/avais aimétu aimaistu aimastu aimerasLe présentThe présent corresponds to the present tense in English. We mostly use this tense to speak about regular and one-time actions that take place in the present as well as scheduled future events.Example:j’aimeje finisje vendsLe passé composéThe passé composé corresponds to the simple past tense in English. We use it to talk about completed actions in the past, and to emphasise the results or outcome of a past action.Example:j’ai aimé/fini/venduje suis partiL’imparfaitThe imparfait corresponds to the English past progressive tense and phrases like used to. It can talk about an action or situation that was in progress at a certain point in the past, as well as EXPRESSING a regular and repeated past action.Example:j’aimaisje finissaisje vendaisLe passé récentWe use the passé récent to speak about an action that was completed shortly before the moment of speaking. It corresponds to the English structure have just + past participle.Example:Je viens de terminer un livre génial.Je venais de sortir quand il s’est MIS à pleuvoir.Le passé simpleThe passé simple is the literary equivalent of the passé composé. It expresses one-time, completed actions in the past.Example:j’aimaije finisje vendisLe plus-que-parfaitThe plus-que-parfait corresponds to the past perfect tense in English. We use it to express actions that took place before a certain point in the past.Example:j’avais aimé/fini/venduj’étais partiLe futur procheThe futur proche is used for actions in the near future. It corresponds to the English structure going to + infinitive. This tense emphasises that there is already an intention behind the action and that it will shortly take place.Example:je vais aimer/finir/vendreLe futur simpleThe futur simple corresponds to the will-future tense in English. We mainly use this tense to talk about future plans or to make predictions.Example:j’aimeraije finiraije vendraiLe futur antérieurThe futur antérieur corresponds to the future perfect tense in English. It indicates that an action will have been completed by a certain point in the future. It also makes suppositions about possible past events.Example:j’aurai aimé/fini/venduje SERAI partiLes verbes irréguliersGet to know the irregular verbs with our list of the most common irregular verbs in French. The verbs are presented together with their conjugations in all tenses.