Concordance des Temps Avancée (Advanced Tense Sequencing)

Learning ObjectivesUnderstand the rules for the sequence of tenses in reported speech.Apply the necessary tense changes when the main verb is in the past.Change time and place indicators like hier (yesterday) [ee-YEHR], demain (tomorrow) [duh-MAHN], ici (here) [ee-SEE], etc.Imagine you're telling a friend about a conversation you had yesterday with your guidance counselor. 🗣️ He told you: « Tu devras choisir tes cours pour l'université la semaine prochaine. » ("You will have to choose your university courses next week.") [too dev-RAH shwa-ZEER tay koor poor loo-nee-ver-see-TAY la suh-MEN pro-SHEN]. How do you report his words today? That's exactly what the concordance des temps (sequence of tenses) [kohn-kor-DAHNS day TAHN] helps us do correctly!Real-Life ApplicationsTelling a story or a c...

To master the sequence of tenses, it's super important to know the introductory verbs for reported speech.French TermEnglish MeaningExampleDire (To say, to tell) [DEER]To say, to tellIl a dit qu'il était fatigué. (He said that he was tired.) [eel ah DEE keel ay-tay fa-tee-GAY]Annoncer (To announce) [ah-nohn-SAY]To announceLa première ministre a annoncé que la loi changerait. (The prime minister announced that the law would change.) [la pruh-mee-EHR mee-NEES-truh ah ah-nohn-SAY kuh la LWAH shahn-zhuh-RAY]Affirmer (To affirm, to state) [ah-feer-MAY]To affirm, to stateElle affirmait qu'elle n'avait rien vu. (She affirmed that she had seen nothing.) [el ah-feer-MAY kel nah-vay ree-AHN voo]Penser (To think) [pahn-SAY]To thinkJe pensais que tu savais la réponse. (I thought that you knew the answ...

1. Introductory Verb in the Present or FutureRule: If the main verb is in the present or future tense, the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause does not change. Example: Il dit : « Je suis content. » (He says: "I am happy.") [eel DEE zhuh SWEE kohn-TAHN] → Il dit qu'il est content. (He says that he is happy.) [eel DEE keel EH kohn-TAHN]2. Introductory Verb in the Past (The Main Rule)Rule: If the main verb is in a past tense (like the passé composé (perfect tense) [pah-SAY kohn-poh-ZAY], imparfait (imperfect) [am-par-FAY], or plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) [plews-kuh-par-FAY]), the tense of the subordinate verb must change to keep the timeline consistent. This is called the "sequence of tenses."Présent (Present) [pray-ZAHN] → Imparfait (Imperfect) [am-par-FAY]Passé Composé (Perfect Te...