French Sequence of Tenses - Concordance des Temps

French Sequence of Tenses - Concordance des Temps Note:  This is a fairly advanced French lesson. If you are not comfortable with all of the grammar concepts listed to the right, please click the links to study those prerequisites before attempting this lesson. Prerequisites:Verb tenses: Present, Passà ©Ã‚  composà ©, Imperfect, Pluperfect, Future, Literary tensesVerb moods: Subjunctive, Conditional, ImperativeConjunctions, Relative pronouns, Subordinate clauses, Si clauses, Indirect speech When speaking French (or any other language), it is important to use the correct sequence of tenses. In complex sentences, there is a relationship between the verb in the main clause and the verb in the subordinate clause. Using the correct sequence of tenses is just as important as conjugating the verbs correctly and using the appropriate mood. For example, in French you cant say  Je ne savais pas que tu es à ©tudiant- you have to say  Je ne savais pas que tu à ©tais à ©tudiant. Likewise, in English, you would say I didnt know you were a student rather than I didnt know that you are a student. Because the verb in the main clause is in the past, the verb in the subordinate clause must be in the past as well. In order to determine the correct sequence of tenses, you need to start by examining the temporal relationship between the verbs in the two clauses. The action of the verb in the main clause may occur  before,  during, or  after  the action of the subordinate verb. It is this temporal relationship that dictates the sequence of tenses. Although the French sequence of tenses is usually the same as the English sequence, there are some exceptions, so dont rely on your English knowledge to determine the correct sequence of tenses in French. The following table shows the possible relationships between the tenses in the main and subordinate clauses. The action column indicates whether the action of the main verb occurs before, during, or after the action of the subordinate verb. Note that you often have a choice of tenses for the subordinate verb, thus it is up to you to choose the tense that expresses the correct nuance. At the same time (pardon the pun), you also need to be sure to use the correct mood: indicative, subjunctive, or conditional. Main verb Action Subordinate verb Present before Future Jespre que tu finiras. Subjunctive Je veux que tu finisses. during Present Je sais que tu as raison. Subjunctive Je doute que tu aies raison. after Pass compos Je sais quil a trich. Pass simple Je sais quil tricha. Imperfect Je sais quil avait raison. Pluperfect Je sais quil avait mang avant notre dpart. Past subjunctive Je doute quil ait trich. Future perfect Je sais quil sera dj parti. Future before Future Je te donnerai un livre que tu aimeras beaucoup. Subjunctive Jirai lecole avant quil ne se rveille. during Present Il tudiera pendant que je travaille. Subjunctive Je lachterai bien que tu aies plus dargent. after Pass compos Jirai au muse que tu as visit. Pass simple Jirai au muse que tu visitas. Imperfect Je verrai le film que tu aimais. Pluperfect Jaffirmerai quil tait parti avant le cours. Past subjunctive Je serai content condition quils aient tudi. Future perfect Je vous dirai quand nous aurons dcid. Note that the sequence of tenses for subordinate clauses is identical for main clauses in the present and future. Main verb Action Subordinate verb Past before Conditional Jai promis quil serait prt midi. Past conditional Si javais su, je taurais aid. *Imperfect subjunctive Je doutais quil parlt si bien. Present subjunctive Je doutais quil parle si bien. during Pass compos Jtudiais quand il est arriv. Pass simple Jtudiais quand il arriva. Imperfect Je savais quil exaggrait. *Imperfect subjunctive Je voulais quil et raison. Present subjunctive Je voulais quil ait raison. after Pluperfect Je savais quil avait trich. *Pluperfect subjunctive Je doutais quil et trich. Past subjunctive Je doutais quil ait trich. Conditional before *Imperfect subjunctive Je voudrais que tu le fisses. Present subjunctive Je voudrais que tu le fasses. during *Imperfect subjunctive Je saurais quil mentt. Present subjunctive Je saurais quil mente. after *Pluperfect subjunctive Je saurais quil et menti Past subjunctive Je saurais quil ait menti. *These literary tenses are nearly always replaced by their non-literary equivalents. The literary tense is the official tense to be used in the construction, but in reality, the imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive are obsolete in spoken French and rare in written French.