Impératif (Imperative) – For commanding Impersonal Moods
Subjonctif (Subjunctive) – Expresses uncertainty, doubt, or the unlikelihood of eventsĬonditionnel (Conditional) – Describes the possibility of a specific condition in the present or past Indicatif (Indicative mood) – Indicates to events and actions that occur at some point in time Personal moods distinguish the different grammatical persons and their verbs are conjugated. In short, verb moods are more about expressing the “how” rather than the “when”. Verb moods are inherently verb forms, and in a way they describe the speakers’ attitude or feeling towards the state or action of the verb. In both written and spoken French, when you’re wanting to specify when an action occurs then either le présent (the present tense), l’imparfait (the imperfect tense), or le futur (the future tenses) are used. If this is something that’s clear in your mind, feel free to skip this part! Verb tenses
To learn about modals and how they work, it’s first of all good to understand the differences between tenses and moods. Before discovering what the French modal verbs are, let’s go over a few basics first.
