Part 03 · For every learner

Learn the tenses the smart way.

Most people memorise tenses as separate things. But many share roots or endings. Learn them in the right order and each new one is 50% easier.

APrésent: your base

Je mange / Je bois / Je vais. The standard present tense.Je mange une pomme. (I eat an apple.)

Être en train de… “to be in the middle of doing”.Je suis en train de manger. (I'm in the middle of eating.)

Être sur le point de… “to be about to”.Je suis sur le point de partir. (I'm about to leave.)

Native speakers use them constantly.

The root you'll reuse

BFutur: your building block

Futur proche (je vais… I am going to…)Je vais manger. (I'm going to eat.)

Futur simple (je mangerai / je boirai / j'irai… I will eat / drink / go)Je mangerai demain. (I'll eat tomorrow.)

Why it matters: the futur simple root is the exact same root you reuse for the conditional.

Reuses the futur root

CConditionnel: reuse what you just learned

Same root as the futur simple. That's it. This unlocks the three “si… alors (if… then)” structures:

Type

Structure

Example

1. Real

si + présent → futur simple

Si j'ai le temps, j'irai au concert. (If I have time, I'll go to the concert.)

2. Hypothetical

si + imparfait → conditionnel présent

Si j'avais un chien, je l'appellerais Max. (If I had a dog, I'd call him Max.)

3. Regret

si + plus-que-parfait → conditionnel passé

Si j'avais su, je serais venu(e). (Had I known, I would have come.)

Reuses the conditionnel endings

DPassé: the right order

Imparfait (habits, descriptions). Same endings as the conditionnel you just learned.Je mangeais souvent. (I used to eat often.)

Passé composé (completed past actions). Present of avoir/être + past participle.J'ai mangé. (I ate / I have eaten.)

Plus-que-parfait (“the past before the past”). Imparfait of avoir/être + past participle.J'avais mangé. (I had eaten.)

Passé simple. NOT spoken. Recognition only.Il mangea. (He ate, literary.)

The whole chain, in one glance

START

Futur simple root

One root to learn (often the infinitive).

REUSE ROOT

Conditionnel

Same root, new endings.

REUSE ENDINGS

Imparfait

Conditionnel endings, only the root changes.

COMBINE

Passé composé & plus-que-parfait

Présent for Passé composé; Imparfait for Plus-que-parfait.

UNLOCKS

3 si…alors

The three if/then structures above.