French Auxiliary Verbs: Avoir, Être & Aller

Auxiliary verbs are the building blocks for forming complex tenses in French. Avoir is the most commonly used, followed by être—especially with reflexive verbs and some motion verbs. Aller, while not always considered a traditional auxiliary, is crucial in forming the near future tense (le futur proche): Je vais partir (I am going to leave).

The Passé Composé

This tense is used to describe completed actions in the past. It is formed using an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) + the past participle of the main verb. For example: J'ai mangé (I ate) or Elle est arrivée (She arrived).

Passé Simple

Used mainly in literature and formal writing, the passé simple expresses actions completed in the past. While it's rarely used in conversation, it's important for reading comprehension. Example: Il vint (He came), Ils virent (They saw).

The Conditional Tense

The conditional is used to express what would happen under certain conditions. For instance: Je voudrais un café (I would like a coffee). It's formed by taking the future stem and adding the imperfect endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.