How French works
As we saw in Unit 3, a verb expresses the action or state of that which is being presented about the subject in a clause. Now this action or state must of course take place within time, and this notion of time is as you know expressed primarily by means of tense. It is important to note, however, that tense is not the same thing as time. The present tense, for example, can refer to events occuring in the past, present or future:
Le 4 juin 1944 les Alliés débarquent en Normandie
On 4 June 1944 the Allies land(ed) in Normandy
[present tense conveying past time]
Il est au bureau en ce moment
He is at the office at the moment
[present tense conveying present time]
Nous partons demain matin
We are leaving tomorrow morning
[present tense conveying future time]
Included in the notion of tense is the notion of aspect, which relates to those verb forms expressing such characteristics as continuity (I am doing), repetition (I do) or completeness (I have done). Take for example the following sentences:
Hier nous nous promenions dans le parc quand tout à coup...
Yesterday we were walking in the park when suddenly...
Hier nous nous sommes promenés dans le parc
Yesterday we had a walk in the park
Here the sentences, although using different tenses, both refer to the past, to something that happened “yesterday”. But if they are similar in terms of time, they differ in terms of aspect: in the first sentence the action is seen as ongoing, whilst in the second the action is seen as completed. As we will see later, this is the fundamental distinction between the perfect and the imperfect in French. But time and aspect in French are not always easily distinguished according to their written form. For example, the present tense can refer both to habitual and continuous actions:
Il prend toujours le bus
He always takes the bus
Il prend le bus aujourd’hui
He’s taking the bus today
This contrasts with English, in which there are two aspects. The perfect, which indicates that an action has been completed:
I have read the book [present perfect]
I had read the book [past perfect]
And the progressive, which indicates that the action is continuing:
I am reading the book [present progressive]
I was reading the book [past progressive]
It is important to note that the tense of a subordinate verb is often dependent on that of a main verb. This state of dependence is referred to as sequence of tenses. For example, the rules for the sequence of tenses in reported speech in French are as follows.
When the verb used in the main clause of the reporting sentence is in the present or future tense, the tense used in the original direct speech is not changed in indirect speech. For example:
Il dit «J’ai faim» → Il dit qu’il a faim
He says "I'm hungry" → He says he's hungry
Si tu le lui demandes, il dira «J’ai faim» → Il dira qu’il a faim
If you ask him, he'll say "I'm hungry" → He'll say he's hungry
When the verb used in the main clause of the reporting sentence is in the past tense, the tense used in the original direct speech is shifted one stage back in the past:
Il a dit «J’ai peur» → Il a dit qu’il avait peur
He said "I'm frightened" → He said that he was frightened
Il a dit «J’ai eu peur» → Il a dit qu’il avait eu peur
He said "I was frightened" → He said that he'd been frightened
Il a dit «J’aurai peur» → Il a dit qu’il aurait peur
He said "I'll be frightened" → He said that he'd be frightened
When the verb in the original direct speech is in the imperfect, pluperfect or conditional there is no change in tense:
Il a dit «J’avais
peur parce que j’étais allé me coucher tout
seul»
→ Il
a dit qu’il avait
peur parce qu’il était allé se coucher tout seul»
He said "I was frightened because
I'd gone to bed on my own"
→ He
said that he was frightened because he'd gone to bed on his own
Il a dit «J’aimerais
aller me coucher»
→ Il
a dit qu’il aimerait
aller se coucher
He said "I'd like to go to bed"
→ He
said that he'd like to go to bed
Reported speech is only one of many structures of complex sentence where sequence of tense rules apply. These rules also apply to other forms of completive clause (e.g. Je savais qu’il était là - I knew he was there), to an adverbial clause (e.g. Si j’avais su, je ne serais pas venu - If I had known, I would not have come) and to an indirect interrogative clause (e.g. Je lui ai demandé quand il comptait revenir - I asked him when he intended coming back). However, one should not to be daunted by the volume and detail of these rules. Generally speaking they are very similar to English rules, and are consequently quite easy to apply.
One should be aware, however, that the subjunctive does not always follow these sequence of tense rules. This is because certain tenses of the subjunctive such as the imperfect are very rarely used outside of highly formal modes of discourse. For example:
J’étais content que tu sois [rather than fusses] venu
I was glad that you had come
Je m’étonnais qu’il ne soit [rather than fût ] pas encore arrivé
I was surprised that he had not yet arrived
As has been mentioned before, we use language to express our inner thoughts or perceptions of the outside world, usually for communicative purposes. Now in expressing these perceptions we simultaneously express an attitude towards what we are saying, such as whether we consider it to be an objective truth or else something to be desired or feared, whether it is certain or probable or else possible or unlikely. These areas of verbal expression are called moods. French finite verbs can take one of four moods:
This is used when considering something as a fact or a probability:
Il travaille à Manchester
He works in Manchester
Je pense qu’il travaille à Manchester
I think he works in Manchester
Je suis sûr qu’il travaille à Manchester
I'm sure he works in Manchester
This is used when the action of the verb is imbued with an attitude such as doubt, need, wishing, feeling or opinion:
Je veux que tu sois de retour avant onze heures
I want you to be back by eleven
Je doute qu’ils ne soient encore arrivés
I doubt they've arrived yet
Je ne pense pas qu’ils soient encore arrivés
I don't think they've arrived yet
This is used when considering something as hypothetical or imaginary:
Si j’étais riche j’aurais peur de perdre mon argent
If I were rich I'd be frightened of losing my money
This is used when giving orders:
- Donne-moi le livre ! - Allez jouer dehors !
- Give me the book ! - Go and play outside !
Note that mood can also be expressed by means of a modal verb used with the infinitive , such as pouvoir and devoir (see 5:2.3).
Voice is the area of grammar relating to the active and passive forms. The active voice indicates that the grammatical subject carries out the action of the verb:
Le chien a poursuivi le chat
The dog chased the cat
The passive voice indicates that the grammatical subject is the participant affected by the action.
Le chat a été poursuivi par le chien
The cat was chased by the dog
When transforming an active sentence into a passive one in French, the direct object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence, and the subject of the active sentence becomes the agent of the passive sentence preceded by the word par. The passive verb is formed by replacing the active verb with être used in the same tense as the active verb, plus the past participle of the active verb.
Note that the passive is often expressed in other ways in French, such as using the impersonal pronoun on with an active verb:
On lui a demandé de se taire
He was asked to be quiet
Or using a pronominal form of a verb:
Cela ne se fait pas en France
That isn’t done in France