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Well, you asked for it. Let's use a simple verb, PORTER (to carry or wear)
PRESENT tense:
SINGULAR
Je porte I carry
Tu portes You (a friend) carry
Il/elle porte He, she, or anyone else carries
PLURAL
Nous portons We carry
Vous portez You (more than one, or a person to whom one is being polite) carry
Ils/elles portent They (ie. anyone or anything other than me or you) carry.
NOTE: There is only ONE present tense in French. Aren't you lucky, not having to learn English, which has at least three? So JE PORTE means I CARRY or I AM CARRYING or I DO CARRY.
PAST
Immediate past
Passé composé (composite past, so called because it uses an extra word, the auxiliary verb AVOIR (to have):
J'ai porté
Tu as porté
Il/elle a porté
Nous avons porté
Vous avez porté
Ils ont porté
J'ai porté means I HAVE CARRIED or I CARRIED or I DID CARRY.
This tense (Passé composé ) is used in speech and letters; you will very rarely find it in books. For literary purposes, another tense is used:
Passé Historique
je portai
Tu portas
Il portat
Nous portâmes
vous portâtes
Ils portèrent
The IMPERFECT
Used for things which were happening at the time of which one is speaking, but had not yet been finished (which is what Imperfect means - not finished):
Je portais
Tu portais
Il portait
Nous portions
Vous portiez
Ils portaient
JE PORTAIS means I WAS CARRYING or I USED TO CARRY.
FURTHER PAST
For things that had already happened before the time of which one is talking, you need the
PLUS-QUE-PARFAIT (pluperfect)
Again, a composite tense, using the imperfect tense of AVOIR:
J'avais porté
Tu avais porté
Il avait porté
Nous avions porté
Vous aviez porté
Ils avaient porté
J'avais porté means I HAD carried.
yes, there is a literary versiion of this, called the Passé Antérieur:
J'eus porté
Tu eus porté
Il eut porté
Nous eûmes porté
Vous eûtes porté
Ils eurent porté.
Actually, even a lot of authors don't bother with this one, but use the pluperfect like ordinary humans.
FUTURE
Je porterai
tu porteras
Il portera
Nous porterons
Vous porterez
Ils porteront
JE PORTERAI meains I WILL CARRY.
For I AM GOING TO CARRY, use the present tense of ALLER (to go)
Je vais porter
Tu vas porter
Il VA porter
Nous allons porter
Vous allez porter
Ils vont porter
Of course, there is a further future:
J'aurai porté = I shall/will have carried
Tu auras porté
Il aura porté
Nous aurions porté
Vous aurez porté
Ils auront porté
The CONDITIONAL tenses:
PRESENT
Je porterais = I would carry
Tu perterais
Il porterait
Nous porterions
Vous porteriez
Ils porteraient
The PAST CONDITIONAL
J'aurais porté = I would have carried
Tu aurais porté
Il aurait porté
Nous aurions porté
Vous auriez porté
Ils auraient porté
All these are in the INDICATIVE mood; there is also the SUBJUNCTIVE, but you probably don't want to know about that; and lasty,
THE IMPERATIVE
Porte! Carry!
Portez! Carry (all of you)!
Portons! Let's carry!
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoas in any other language using this system: perfect when the action was/is/will be completed, imperfect when the action wasn't/isn't/will not be completed
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How do you say had in French?
Had can not be so easily translated literaly. It is in french the "imparfait" tense (preterit) for the verbe avoir. I had - j'avais You had - tu avais He (or she) had - il (or elle) avait We had - nous avions You had -vous aviez They had - ils avaient The best is to give a sentence or a context.
Is todos los dias the preterite or imperfect?
Todos los días means "Everyday" in English. Anything that happened multiple times in the past is always Imperfect tense.
What does ya estuvo mean in Spanish?
I was. This is the imperfect tense of the temporary form of 'to be'.
What is the imperfect tense of the verb jugar?
A tense that refers to a started and unfinished action, for instance:Jugaba (I was playing)Jugara / jugase (I played, I had played)Jugaría (I would play)Jugaré (I will play)
What does preterit mean?
Past tense. It is one of two Spanish past tenses. The preterit (el pretérito) is used for actions begun and ended in the past. Hablé ayer - I spoke yesterday. The other is the imperfect. (pretérito imperfecto). This is used to describe things in the past that are habitual or continuous action. Hablaba ayer. - I was talking yersterday. Many times translated as "used to." The imperfect is the most regular tense in the Soanish language.
What tense is was?
This is the imperfect tense. (verb)= present tense (verb)ed= perfect tense was (verb)ing= imperfect tense Perfect and imperfect are both forms of the past tense.
What tense is Was running?
"Was running" is in the past continuous tense. It indicates an action that was ongoing in the past at a specific point in time.
Can the imperfect tense in Spanish be narration in the past?
The imperfect tense can certainly be used in some aspects of past-tense narration, but you will need a range of different tenses to perform a proper past-tense narration. At the minimum, you will need both imperfect and preterit OR imperfect and present perfect. However, you will likely need other tenses such as imperfect progressive, past perfect, and imperfect subjunctive.
What are the two forms of past tense?
perfect and imperfect
Are imperfect and perfect both past tense?
Imperfect and perfect are both verb tenses, but they are not both past tense. The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, while the perfect tense is used to indicate completed actions in the past.
4 ways to translate the imperfect tense in latin?
The imperfect tense can be translated as:was/were ______ ingused to _____kept _____ ingThe fourth way is simply the past tense of the verb, as with the perfect tense.
How do you say had in French?
Had can not be so easily translated literaly. It is in french the "imparfait" tense (preterit) for the verbe avoir. I had - j'avais You had - tu avais He (or she) had - il (or elle) avait We had - nous avions You had -vous aviez They had - ils avaient The best is to give a sentence or a context.
What is the French 'imparfait'?
The word 'imparfait' may be an adjective in French. As such, it may mean imperfect, as of an image; incomplete, as of a work; and partial, as of a cure. The word also may be used as a noun. As such, perhaps its most common use is the name of the verb tense that's the French equivalent of the English imperfect. The French imperfect tense may be expressed in the indicative mood [of reality] or the subjunctive mood [of wishes].
What prefix can you add to perfect?
The prefix of perfect is per. This prefix means through or intensive. Other words that use this prefix are persecute, permit, and perspire.
What the imperfect tense for light?
The imperfect past tense of the verb "light" is lit.
What is the past tense of to turn?
it depends on which past tense you mean. Preterite: turned Imperfect: turned Past Progressive: was turning Past Perfect: had turned
When should you use the imperfect past tense?
When something was lasting in the past or not finish Je mangeais quand tu es entré : I was eating when you entered By the way imperfect is the opposite of 'perfect', which itself means finished, so imperfect means 'not finished' It's a bit like continuous tenses in English
