Key verbs - auxiliaries, avoir and être, and modal verbs Key verbs in French

In French, as in any language, there are hundreds of verbs, but there are certain verbs you will come across and use more than others.

The most common ones in French are as follows:

Auxiliary verbs – what are they?

Auxiliary verbs are most commonly used when forming the perfect and pluperfect in French and they come from avoir and être. They are called auxiliaries because they support the main verb you want to write in a past tense.

You will either use them in their present or imperfect tense form, and add on a past participle.

Here are some examples:

• j’ai fait mes devoirs - I did my homework
• j’avais fait mes devoirs - I had done my homework
• il est parti en vacances - he went on holiday
• il était parti en vacances - he had gone on holiday