1. Unit 7
Labo-langue
finir and choisir
Talking about the past

2. finir and choisir Unit 7: Labo-langue
You have met the present tense of regular -er verbs such as jouer (to play).
Finir (to finish) and choisir (to choose) are examples of regular -ir verbs.
finir
choisir je
finis
choisis tu
il/elle/on
finit
choisit
nous
finissons
choisissons
vous
finissez
choisissez
ils/elles
finissent
choisissent
© Oxford University Press 2014

3. Talking about the past I
Unit 7: Labo-langue
Talking about the past I
The perfect tense (le passé composé) in French is usually formed with the present tense of avoir and the past participle of the verb, for example visiter  visité.
J’ai visité means ‘I have visited’/‘I visited’.
j’ai
joué
visité
trouvé
acheté
mangé
fait …
I have
played
visited
found
bought
eaten
done
tu as
you have (singular)
il/elle a
on a
he/she has
we have
nous avons
vous avez
you have (plural)
ils/elles ont
they have
© Oxford University Press 2014

4. Talking about the past II
Unit 7: Labo-langue
Talking about the past II
The imperfect tense (l’imparfait) is used to describe what something was like: c’était (it was).
Some verbs form the perfect tense with être (to be) and the past participle.
For these verbs the past participle must agree with the gender of the people doing the action:
je suis allé
I went/I have been
je suis allée
tu es allé
you went/you have been
tu es allée
© Oxford University Press 2014