Key Verbs to Talk About Hobbies and Interests in the Past in French

When you talk about hobbies and interests in French, especially in the past, some important verbs can help you communicate better. This guide will show you which verbs to use and how to change them, especially when talking about sports, music, and reading.

1. Learning the Past Tense

In French, the past tense is usually expressed with the passé composé. This means you use two parts:

• An auxiliary verb (either avoir or être)
• The past participle of the main verb

Most of the time, hobbies and interests use avoir. But some verbs, especially ones about movement, use être.

Here’s how it works:

• J'ai joué au football. (I played football.)
• Je suis allé(e) à un concert. (I went to a concert.)

2. Key Verbs for Hobbies and Interests

Here are some important verbs you’ll often use to talk about hobbies and interests in the past. We’ll focus on sports, music, and reading.

A. Sports

1. Jouer (to play)
   • Example: J'ai joué au basketball. (I played basketball.)
2. Faire (to do)
   • Example: J'ai fait du yoga. (I did yoga.)
3. Regarder (to watch)
   • Example: J'ai regardé un match de foot. (I watched a football match.)

B. Music

1. Écouter (to listen)
   • Example: J'ai écouté de la musique classique. (I listened to classical music.)
2. Jouer (to play - an instrument)
   • Example: J'ai joué de la guitare. (I played the guitar.)
3. Aller (to go)
   • Example: Je suis allé(e) à un concert. (I went to a concert.)

C. Reading

1. Lire (to read)
   • Example: J'ai lu un livre. (I read a book.)
2. Écrire (to write)
   • Example: J'ai écrit des poèmes. (I wrote poems.)
3. Prendre (to take - like taking time to read)
   • Example: J'ai pris le temps de lire. (I took the time to read.)

3. Changing the Key Verbs

A. Examples in the passé composé

Jouer (to play)

• J'ai joué (I played)
• Tu as joué (You played)
• Il/Elle/On a joué (He/She/One played)

Lire (to read)

• J'ai lu (I read)
• Tu as lu (You read)
• Il/Elle/On a lu (He/She/One read)

Écouter (to listen)

• J'ai écouté (I listened)
• Tu as écouté (You listened)
• Il/Elle/On a écouté (He/She/One listened)

B. Auxiliary Verbs

• Most verbs like jouer, écouter, and faire use the auxiliary verb avoir to form the passé composé.
• The verbs that use être include aller (to go), venir (to come), and others. When using être, remember to match the past participle with the subject's gender and number. For example:
  • Je suis allé (for a male)
  • Je suis allée (for a female)

4. Example Sentences

Now that you know the verbs, let’s practice with some full sentences:

• During the weekend, j'ai joué au tennis avec mes amis. (I played tennis with my friends.)

• Last week, j'ai écouté un nouvel album de musique pop. (I listened to a new pop music album.)

• Last summer, j'ai lu trois livres. (I read three books.)

Conclusion

In summary, knowing these key verbs and how to change them is important for talking about hobbies and interests in the past in French. Practice using them in sentences, and before you know it, you'll be able to share your past experiences confidently!