Unit 3 · 5 lessons
Raconter: Past, Present and Future
Tell stories across time in French: say what happened with the passé composé (with avoir and with être), describe how things used to be with the imparfait, talk about plans, hopes and part-time jobs in the future, and anchor it all with time markers, sequencing words and si clauses.
- 56 practice questions
- 45 flashcards
- 1 interactive lesson
Lessons
- 1The Passé Composé with AvoirThe passé composé is the French tense for saying what happened: a present-tense form of avoir plus a past participle, as in j'ai mangé (I ate). This lesson builds it step by step, including the irregular participles you will use every day.Interactive11 questions
- 2The Passé Composé with ÊtreAbout twenty common verbs of movement and change, plus every reflexive verb, form the passé composé with être instead of avoir, and their past participle agrees with the subject like an adjective: elle est partie, ils sont arrivés.11 questions
- 3The Imparfait: Describing the PastThe imparfait is the past tense for background: what things were like, how people felt, and what used to happen again and again. It is built from the nous form of the present, and only être has an irregular stem.11 questions
- 4Talking About the FutureFrench has two everyday futures: the futur proche (aller + infinitive, I'm going to) and the futur simple (one word, I will). This lesson builds both, covers the irregular future stems, and gives you the vocabulary to talk about plans, hopes and part-time jobs.11 questions
- 5Time Markers, Sequencing and Si ClausesTime words such as hier, il y a trois jours, demain and dans deux semaines tell your reader which tense to expect; sequencing words such as d'abord, ensuite, puis and enfin put events in order; and si + présent followed by the futur lets you talk about what will happen if a condition is met.12 questions