Perfect Tenses

The passé composé narrates specific completed actions and recent events that have clear results. It is formed with the present tense of avoir or être plus the past participle, and agreements with être and certain avoir constructions.

Every verb uses either avoir or être as an auxiliary in the passé composé, and the past participle must agree in gender and number when required. Most verbs take avoir, while all reflexive and certain movement verbs take être.

The imparfait describes ongoing or habitual past actions, background details, and states of mind. It is formed by dropping -ons from the nous form in the present and adding endings like -ais, -ait, and -aient.

To form the imparfait, start with the nous form of the verb in the present tense, remove -ons, and add endings that match the subject; this creates a smooth way to describe past habits and scenes.

The plus-que-parfait expresses actions that were completed before another past moment, adding deeper sequencing to narratives. It is formed with the imperfect of avoir or être plus the past participle.

To form the plus-que-parfait, use the imparfait of the auxiliary avoir* or *être followed by the past participle, so you can show that one past action happened prior to another.

The futur antérieur describes actions that will have been completed before a future moment, often used to plan or to speculate about the past relative to the future. It is formed with the future tense of avoir or être plus the past participle.

To form the futur antérieur, use the future tense of the auxiliary avoir* or *être followed by the past participle, enabling you to express that an action will be finished by a certain time.

The passé antérieur is a literary tense used for an action completed immediately before another past action, mostly found in formal writing and storytelling. It is formed with the passé simple of avoir or être plus the past participle.

To form the passé antérieur, use the passé simple of the auxiliary avoir* or *être followed by the past participle, a construction rare in speech but useful in narratives for precise sequencing.

Perfect tenses shape how you place actions in time and highlight relevance or sequence. The passé composé relates specific completed events, the imparfait sets habitual or background actions, the plus-que-parfait marks earlier past actions, the futur antérieur projects completion before a future moment, and the passé antérieur serves literary narratives. Mastering these tenses enriches your storytelling and precise expression in French.