Les temps de l’indicatif – French Indicative Tenses Explained

Key takeaways

• The indicative mood is the most common in French.
• It’s used to talk about facts, habits, real events, and future plans.
• It contains several tenses: présent, passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait, futur simple, futur proche, futur antérieur, and others.
• Learning the indicative is essential — it covers most of the French you’ll use in daily life.

What Is the Indicative Tense in French?

The indicative mood (l’indicatif) is the “default” mood in French grammar. You use it whenever you want to describe something real, factual, or certain.

Examples:

• Il fait beau aujourd’hui. → The weather is nice today.
• Elle a fini son travail. → She finished her work.
• Nous irons en France cet été. → We will go to France this summer.

If you’re learning French, it helps to know that most conversations (around 80–90%) take place in the indicative. Unlike the subjunctive (doubt, desire), the conditional (hypotheticals), or the imperative (commands), the indicative simply states what is, was, or will be.

The Main Indicative Tenses

The indicative mood has several tenses. Here’s an overview with examples in English and French.

1. Present (présent de l’indicatif)

Used for actions happening now, habits, or general truths.

• Je parle français. → I speak French.
• Nous mangeons à midi. → We eat at noon.
• L’eau bout à 100 degrés. → Water boils at 100 degrees.

2. Past Tenses

• Passé composé → completed past actions. 
  
  • J’ai fini mes devoirs. → I finished my homework.
• Imparfait → ongoing or repeated past actions. 
  
  • Je lisais quand il est arrivé. → I was reading when he arrived.
• Plus-que-parfait → action completed before another past event. 
  
  • J’avais déjà mangé quand elle est arrivée. → I had already eaten when she arrived.
• Passé simple and passé antérieur → literary past tenses, used in novels and history.

3. Future Tenses

• Futur proche → informal near future. 
  
  • Je vais sortir ce soir. → I’m going to go out tonight.
• Futur simple → formal or distant future. 
  
  • Je partirai demain. → I will leave tomorrow.
• Futur antérieur → future perfect. 
  
  • Nous aurons terminé avant midi. → We will have finished before noon.

When Do We Use the Indicative Mood?

You’ll use the indicative in many situations:

1. Stating facts 
   
   • Il est professeur. → He is a teacher.
2. Describing events 
   
   • Elle a gagné le match. → She won the match.
3. Talking about plans 
   
   • Demain, nous irons à la plage. → Tomorrow, we will go to the beach.
4. Giving universal truths 
   
   • La Terre tourne autour du soleil. → The Earth orbits the sun.
5. Expressing certainty 
   
   • Je sais qu’il est ici. → I know he is here.

1

Indicative vs. Other French Moods

• Indicative = facts and certainty. 
  
  • Je pense qu’il est là. → I think he is here.
• Subjunctive = doubt, feelings, wishes. 
  
  • Je doute qu’il soit là. → I doubt he is here.
• Conditional = hypothetical actions. 
  
  • Il viendrait s’il avait le temps. → He would come if he had time.
• Imperative = giving orders. 
  
  • Viens ici ! → Come here!

Common Mistakes

1. Mixing indicative and subjunctive 
   
   • ❌ Je pense qu’il soit intelligent.
   • ✅ Je pense qu’il est intelligent.
2. Forgetting agreement in compound tenses 
   
   • ❌ Elles sont allé au marché.
   • ✅ Elles sont allées au marché.
3. Overusing futur simple in casual speech 
   
   • ❌ Je partirai bientôt.
   • ✅ Je vais partir bientôt.

Exercises: Practice the Indicative

1. Identify the tense: 
   
   • Je mange. → ________
   • J’ai mangé. → ________
   • Je mangerai. → ________
2. Translate into French: 
   
   • I speak.
   • I ate.
   • I will go.
3. Correct the mistakes: 
   
   • Si j’aurai le temps, je viendrai. → ________
   • Il faut que tu viens. → ________

Answers

1. présent, passé composé, futur simple
2. Je parle | J’ai mangé | J’irai
3. Si j’ai le temps, je viendrai | Il faut que tu viennes

Tips for Mastering the French Indicative

Learn the four core tenses first: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur simple.

Describe your routines across tenses: Aujourd’hui je mange, hier j’ai mangé, demain je mangerai.

Compare French sentences to English equivalents for clarity.

As the FluentU indicative guide notes, once you’re confident with indicative, you can expand into other moods. To reinforce basics, the TV5Monde present indicative exercises are excellent for self-study.

To connect this to your overall learning journey, check our French verb tenses guide, read tips on learning French effectively, and find out how long it may take to learn French fluently.

Summary

The indicative mood is the backbone of French grammar. It covers present, past, and future tenses used to state facts and real actions. By mastering it, you’ll cover most of the French you need for everyday communication.

To get comfortable, practice forming sentences across tenses while you learn French with Promova. With time, switching between présent, passé composé, imparfait, and futur simple will become second nature.