Je suis allé à Paris l'année dernière. I went to Paris last year.

Il a reçu un nouveau vélo pour son anniversaire. He got a new bike for his birthday.

Ma soeur s'est cassé la jambe la semaine dernière. My sister broke her leg last week.

Après avoir terminé mes études, j'ai trouvé un emploi. After I had finished my studies, I got a job.

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Imparfait

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Whereas the passé composé is used to describe single actions, the imparfait describes repeated actions or habitual situations that happened in the past. In English these are the sentences where you can use used to or would.

Je promenais mon chien. I was walking my dog. / I used to walk my dog.

Chaque année, j'allais en Espagne. Each year I would go to Spain.

Au lycée, je prenais des cours de danse. In high school, I took (used to take) dance lessons.

Quand il était jeune, il aimait beaucoup le chocolat. When he was young he really liked chocolate.

It is also used to describe several actions happening at the same time. Pendant qu'elle cuisinait, il nettoyait le salon. While she was cooking, he cleaned the living room. Pendant qu'il était président, les impôts étaient beaucoup plus élevés. While he was president, taxes were a lot higher.

It is also used to describe people. Il avait les yeux marrons et était vraiment gentil. He had brown eyes and was really nice.

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Conditionnel

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Describes actions that haven't happened yet, but could happen, depending on the conditions.

It is also with the verb devoir used to tell someone that they should do or not do something. Tu devrais prendre ton petit déjeuner avant d'aller à l'école. You should eat breakfast before going to school.

It is also used with polite questions, where in English you would use could. Pourriez-vous me donner un verre d'eau s'il vous plaît. Could you please give me a glass of water.

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Futur

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The simple future tense is used to describe actions that have not happened yet. In English you use will in these sentences.

Demain je t'écrirai une lettre. Tomorrow I will write you a letter.

L'année prochaine, nous irons à Bruxelles. Next year we will go to Brussels.

If actions are going to happen in the very near future, it's more common to use the near future tense.

Near future tense:

Je vais promener mon chien ce soir. I'm going to walk my dog tonight.

Simple future tense:

Demain, je promènerai mon chien. Tomorrow I will walk my dog.

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Subjonctive

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The subjunctive is used to express opinions, feelings, needs or give orders. There are certain French expressions that always use the subjunctive. Examples are il est important que, avoir peur que, vouloir que, être content que, être triste que. We're not going to give you the full list here, but just some examples, to give you a better feeling of when you might need to use the subjunctive.

Il est important que tu ailles à l'école. It is important that you go to school.

J'ai peur qu'ils ne viennent pas à notre mariage. I'm afraid that they aren't going to come to our wedding.

Ils veulent que nous les aidions à déménager. They want us to help them move.

Je suis content que tu aimes ma tarte. I'm glad that you like my pie.

Elle est triste que son chien soit malade. She's sad that her dog is sick.

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Impératif

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