When you start looking at advanced French grammar, there are three important tenses to know: the subjunctive, conditional, and past perfect. They can be a bit tricky, but let’s break them down into simpler parts.

1. Subjunctive Tense

The subjunctive is used when you want to show doubt, desire, or need. Here’s how to form it:

How to Form the Subjunctive:

• Take the "they" form (third person plural) of the present tense (like "ils" or "elles").
• Remove the -ent ending from that form to get the root.
• Add these endings:
  • $-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent$

Example:

• For the verb: Parler (to speak)
  • $je parle$, $tu parles$, $il parle$, $nous parlions$, $vous parliez$, $ils parlent$

Some Irregular Verbs: These verbs don’t follow the usual rules:

• Être (to be): que je sois
• Avoir (to have): que j’aie

2. Conditional Tense

The conditional is used for actions that would happen if something else were true. Here’s how to form it:

How to Form the Conditional:

• Use the whole verb (the infinitive) as the base.
• Add these endings:
  • $-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient$

Example:

• For the verb: Finir (to finish)
  • $je finirais$, $tu finirais$, $il finirait$, $nous finirions$, $vous finiriez$, $ils finiraient$

Some Irregular Stems: These verbs have special bases:

• Être (to be): je serais
• Avoir (to have): j'aurais

3. Past Perfect Tense (Plus-que-parfait)

The past perfect tense talks about actions that happened before another action in the past. Here’s how to form it:

How to Form the Past Perfect:

• Use the helping verb (either être or avoir) in the imperfect tense.
• Then add the past participle of the main verb.

Example:

• For the verb: Manger (to eat)
  • $J’avais mangé$ (I had eaten)

Helping Verbs in the Imperfect:

• For Être:

  • $J’étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient$ + past participle

• For Avoir:

  • $J’avais, tu avais, il avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils avaient$ + past participle

Understanding these tenses can help you express many more ideas in French. Enjoy your learning journey!