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Les modes du verbe
Verb mood is all about the ‘tude; that is, the speaker’s attitude about the verb, whether it’s a fact, an opinion, a command, or a possibility.
French has a total of six verb moods: four personal and two impersonal.
Personal moods – Modes personnels
Personal moods have a different conjugation for each grammatical person (subject).
Conditionnel | tu serais | Conditional | you would be | Condition or possibility |
Impératif | sois | Imperative | be | Command |
Indicatif | tu es | Indicative | you are | Indication of a fact – the most common, "normal" mood* |
Subjonctif | que tu sois | Subjunctive | that you be | Subjectivity, doubt, or impossibility |
Impersonal moods – Modes impersonnels
Grammatically speaking, impersonal means unrelated to a subject: there is only one form of the verb for all grammatical persons.
Infinitif | être | Infinitive | to be | Nominal verb form – the name of the verb as well as its noun form |
Participe | étant | Participle | being | Adjectival verb form |
Mood vs Tense
Mood is about attitude, Tense is about time.
- There are three Tenses: present, past, and future, so these tell you when something happens.
- In comparison, Mood indicates how the speaker feels about what’s happening: is it a fact? a supposition? a command? a possibility?
Every verb form has Tense and Mood – they work together, as you can see in my French verb timeline.
* Hint: when the mood is not stated explicitly, for example passé composé, it’s the indicative mood.
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