Category: French conjugation tip

The Imperfect (Imparfait) is used to describe actions that were ongoing or habitual in the past. For example, “Il lisait chaque soir avant de se coucher” (He used to read…

The Subjunctive is often used after the expression “douter que” (to doubt that). For example, “Je doute qu’il vienne” (I doubt that he will come) or “Elle doute que tu…

“Personne” (nobody) and “rien” (nothing) can be used as negative words in compound tenses. They follow the pattern of “ne…personne” and “ne…rien” around the auxiliary verb. For example, “Je n’ai…

When using reflexive verbs in the Passé Composé, the negative form is placed around both the reflexive pronoun and the auxiliary verb. For example, “Je ne me suis pas réveillé…

The Conditionnel Passé is used to express actions that would have occurred in the past under certain conditions. The negative form is formed by placing “ne…pas” around the auxiliary verb.…

The Futur Antérieur is used to describe an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future. The negative form is created by placing “ne…pas” around…

The Plus-Que-Parfait is used to describe actions that had occurred before another action in the past. To form the negative, place “ne…pas” around the auxiliary verb. For example, “Il n’avait…

In the Passé Composé, when using “être” as the auxiliary verb, the negative form is also placed around the auxiliary. For example, “Je ne suis pas allé au marché” (I…

In the Passé Composé, the negative form is placed around the auxiliary verb “avoir”. For example, “Je n’ai pas vu le film” (I did not see the movie) or “Ils…

“Dormir” (to sleep) is irregular in the Imperative. It is conjugated as follows: dors (sleep – singular), dormons (let’s sleep), dormez (sleep – plural). The Imperative with “dormir” is often…

“Rire” (to laugh) is irregular in the Future Simple. It is conjugated as follows: je rirai (I will laugh), tu riras (you will laugh), il/elle/on rira (he/she/one will laugh), nous…

“Recevoir” (to receive) is irregular in the Subjunctive. It is conjugated as follows: que je reçoive (that I receive), que tu reçoives (that you receive), qu’il/elle/on reçoive (that he/she/one receives),…