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French tenses are impossible!!!

85 replies

Curlewwoohoo · 06/07/2024 16:59

Trying to learn some French on Duolingo before our summer hol. I just can't get my head around tenses at all! I'm really trying... I think I got stuck at the same point at school, many moons ago...

OP posts:
lavenderlou · 06/07/2024 17:10

Which ones are you stuck on? I speak pretty good French and do find it's a language which doesn't always follow its own rules which can be tricky. If you are just learning for holiday though, nobody will mind if you get a few tenses wrong. They'll be pleased you've had a go (and probably speak back to you in English!)

stressedespresso · 06/07/2024 17:14

If it’s any sympathy DD did 8 years of French and still couldn’t get her head round the tenses.. It’s a hard language! Still somehow managed an A at GCSE though 🤣

TigerOnTour · 06/07/2024 17:16

Are you on the subjunctive yet?

Interested in this thread?

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FlyingSquid · 06/07/2024 17:17

DD is doing a French degree and would still agree with you!

combinationpadlock · 06/07/2024 17:17

It is a very hard language, particularly coming from English, which doesn't even have a future tense.

Curlewwoohoo · 06/07/2024 17:23

Parler for example. Paul parle Anglais. Tu parles Anglais - why is it parles and how to remember. Il parle , Elle parle, but then if there's more than one of them ils / elles parlent, where's that come from! I think I've clicked that nous makes the verb end in s, nous parlons. Sometimes I just plump for one and there's no real reason.

OP posts:
Curlewwoohoo · 06/07/2024 17:24

None of it is really helping me buy lunch or hire a bike 😆

OP posts:
tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:28

je parle
tu parles
il / elle parle
nous parlons
vous parle
ils / elles parlent

This is the very regular conjugation of a verb ending in -er. I'm afraid learning by heart is the only option.

tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:29

vous parlez

Allmarbleslost · 06/07/2024 17:30

tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:28

je parle
tu parles
il / elle parle
nous parlons
vous parle
ils / elles parlent

This is the very regular conjugation of a verb ending in -er. I'm afraid learning by heart is the only option.

Yes there was a reason we had verb tests every week in school!

Curlewwoohoo · 06/07/2024 17:30

Ok I'm going to find some post its!

OP posts:
Curlewwoohoo · 06/07/2024 17:31

What other verbs follow this pattern? Please????

OP posts:
InsolentNoise · 06/07/2024 17:31

tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:28

je parle
tu parles
il / elle parle
nous parlons
vous parle
ils / elles parlent

This is the very regular conjugation of a verb ending in -er. I'm afraid learning by heart is the only option.

I was extremely good at French at school and I still am.
I used to write out the tenses, over and over.
As you say, learning them off by heart is the only way.

tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:32

regarder, écouter, acheter...and a whole load of others

tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:34

manger, toucher, porter etc. etc.

Moonflower12 · 06/07/2024 17:36

If I remember correctly, there are regular -er verbs, regular-ir verbs.

They all have set endings.

Then to confuse matters there are irregular verbs too.

SwedishEdith · 06/07/2024 17:36

You only need to remember vous and nous endings (ez and ons) as the others roughly sound the same. You'll probably never need tu as would be too familiar.

For the future, just use aller like we say "I am going to the shops". That was my French friend/teacher's tip.

NoraLuka · 06/07/2024 17:36

There are 3 main verb groups plus être and avoir. Once you know the rules it’s a lot easier.

I’m going to Google a (not too off putting!) verb table.

DemelzaandRoss · 06/07/2024 17:36

Once you have learned all the verbs & tenses, it really is quite easy.
English does have a future tense eg
I will be…. going, eating speaking ect.
French verbs either end er,ir or ais from memory of French O level a lifetime ago. Well done for trying. Also similar to Spanish & Italian.

BIWI · 06/07/2024 17:37

IMVHO if you want to learn a language like French, which has specific ways of declining a verb (or German, with it's grammar), then you need a more structured way of learning. I'm not sure that something like Duolingo teaches grammar?

Octavia64 · 06/07/2024 17:38

In practice when you are talking in French you clip the ends of the words anyway so it's hard to hear.

Personally I find present tense plus pronouns works for me.

Je voudra(mumbles ending) points at pastry.

IdaGlossop · 06/07/2024 17:41

tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:28

je parle
tu parles
il / elle parle
nous parlons
vous parle
ils / elles parlent

This is the very regular conjugation of a verb ending in -er. I'm afraid learning by heart is the only option.

I second the learning by rote approach as the only way to do it. The vous form is parlez, with a z. It may help the OP to remove the infinitive 'er' so the e, es, e, ons, ez and ont endings are added to parl.

Curlewwoohoo · 06/07/2024 17:41

Interested to understand that you don't really use Tu because it's too informal? That's just for mates is it? Even these days?

OP posts:
squashyhat · 06/07/2024 17:41

tinydynamine · 06/07/2024 17:28

je parle
tu parles
il / elle parle
nous parlons
vous parle
ils / elles parlent

This is the very regular conjugation of a verb ending in -er. I'm afraid learning by heart is the only option.

And that's just the present tense. (BTW it's vous parlez). Also past imperfect, future perfect, subjunctive and Dieu knows what else OP I am also learning French with Duolingo but am supplementing it with a couple of KS3 workbooks and a grammar guide. The CGP ones are good and very funny.

rstare786 · 06/07/2024 17:42

Curlewwoohoo · 06/07/2024 17:31

What other verbs follow this pattern? Please????

Regarder
Manger
Visiter

All regular -er verbs have the following endings

e
es
e
ons
ez
ent

It's the same in English. We don't say I eats. We say I eat, you eat, he eats.... The ending changes. There are 3 types of verbs. -er, -ir, -re