Periphrastic Tenses


	Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Temps périphrastiques

The name might be scary but the grammar is easy: a periphrastic tense is a verbal construction consisting of a specific semi-auxiliary verb plus an infinitive. These verbal phrases offer additional nuance to the normal range of verb tenses.

French has three periphrastic tenses, each of which can be used with the semi-auxiliary verb conjugated into the present tense or the imperfect.

1) Venir de + infinitive

Passé récent

Il vient de me regarder.		He just looked at me.
Je viens de manger.		I just ate.

Passé récent dans le passé

Il venait de me regarder.		He had just looked at me.
Je venais de manger quand il est arrivé.		I had just eaten when he arrived.

2) Être en train de + infinitive

Présent progressif

Il est en train de regarder la peinture.		He is looking at the painting.
Je suis en train de manger.		I am eating.

Passé progressif

Il était en train de regarder la peinture.		He was looking at the painting.
J’étais en train de manger quand il est arrivé.		I was eating when he arrived.

3) Aller + infinitive

Futur proche

Il va regarder l’horaire.		He’s going to look at the schedule.
Je vais manger.		I’m going to (am about to) eat.

Futur proche dans le passé

Il allait regarder l’horaire.		He was going to look at the schedule
J’allais manger quand il est arrivé.		I was going to (was about to) eat when he arrived.

Note for grammar lovers

Periphrastic tenses are one type of verbal periphrasis (périphrase verbale); the parent category also includes compound tenses (like the passé composé) and progressive tenses (which don’t exist in French).