How to Learn Past Tense Verbs in French

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Make sure you know how to speak in present tense otherwise it'll be very difficult.

   The first is for something that has been completed, like "ate" or "jumped".
   
   The second is more of a continual action, such as "was going" or "was eating". , You need to learn the avoir (to have) and the etre (to be) verbs really well.
   
   Take the verb manger (to eat) for example.
   
   This has an
   -er ending so is part of the first group. , Then add mangé on the end of those: j'ai mangé tu as mangé il a mangé nous avons mangé vous avez mangé ils ont mangé , Most words with ir will conjugate to i or s, oir to u, and re to u. , Put the whole verb down, e.g. je parle (parler), take off the
   -er and then add ais: je parlais tu parlais il parlait nous parlions vous parliez ils parlaient ,
2. 2

   Step 2: Learn that there are 2 different ways of speaking past tense - Passé composé and Imparfait.

3. 3

   Step 3: Passé composé is relatively easy.

4. 4

   Step 4: write down the conjugations of the verb avoir: j'ai

5. 5

   Step 5: nous avons

6. 6

   Step 6: vous avez and ils ont.

7. 7

   Step 7: For all the other verb groups this is the same with the exception of the endings.

8. 8

   Step 8: For Imparfait

9. 9

   Step 9: it is even easier.

10. 10

    Step 10: This is the same for all groups.

Detailed Guide

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