Les temps en anglais
Comment conjuguer un verbe en anglais ? Dans quel contexte utiliser un temps plutôt qu'un autre ? Dans ce cours d'anglais, nous allons vous donner un exemples en utilisant 5 verbes différents :
- Un verbe régulier (to work, travailler),
- Et 4 verbes irréguliers : to be (être), to have (avoir), to do (faire), to go (aller).
Retrouvez la liste complète des verbes irréguliers ici.
Tableau de conjugaison : Le Présent
Le présent simple
Le présent simple (present simple en anglais) est le premier temps que nous apprenons en anglais. Le présent simple désigne un fait, une habitude, une routine, une opinion… Bref, une vérité générale.
À la 3ème personne du singulier, le verbe change.
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Work | Am | Have | Do | Go |
You | Work | Are | Have | Do | Go |
He / She / It | Works | Is | Has | Does | Goes |
We | Work | Are | Have | Do | Go |
You | Work | Are | Have | Do | Go |
They | Work | Are | Have | Do | Go |
Exemples :
- I work at Wall Street English: Je travaille à Wall Street English
- You are a woman: Vous êtes une femme.
- He has a girlfriend: Il a une petite amie.
- They do their homework: Ils font leurs devoirs
- We go to the beach: Nous allons à la plage
Le présent continu
Le présent continu (present continuous) est une action qui a lieu dans le moment présent, et qui n'est pas encore achevée.
- Il se conjugue ainsi : verbe TO BE + Gérondif (verbe+ing)
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Am working | Am being | Am having | Am doing | Am going |
You | Are working | Are being | Are having | Are doing | Are going |
He / She / It | Is working | Is being | Is having | Is doing | Is going |
We | Are working | Are being | Are having | Are doing | Are going |
You | Are working | Are being | Are having | Are doing | Are going |
They | Are working | Are being | Are having | Are doing | Are going |
Exemples :
- I am working on a biography: Je travaille sur une biographie.
- You are being mean: Vous êtes en train d'être méchant.
- He is having lunch. : Il est en train de déjeuner.
- They are doing their homework: Ils sont en train de faire leurs devoirs
- We are going to the beach: Nous allons aller à la plage.
Tableau de conjugaison : Le Prétérit
Le prétérit simple
Le prétérit simple (past simple) est une action qui est terminée, et qui n'a pas de lien avec le présent. C'est un temps souvent utilisé pour raconter une histoire.
- Un verbe régulier se conjugue ainsi : verbe + ED
- Pour les verbes irréguliers, se référer au tableau des verbes irréguliers.
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Worked | Was | Had | Did | Went |
You | Worked | Were | Had | Did | Went |
He / She / It | Worked | Was | Had | Did | Went |
We | Worked | Were | Had | Did | Went |
You | Worked | Were | Had | Did | Went |
They | Worked | Were | Had | Did | Went |
Exemples :
- I worked at Wall Street English. : Je travaillais à Wall Street English.
- You were a witch for Halloween.: Vous étiez une sorcière pour Halloween.
- He had a headache. : Il avait un mal de tête.
- They did their homework: Ils faisaient leurs devoirs
- We went shopping yesterday. : Hier, nous sommes allés faire du shopping.
Le prétérit progressif
Le prétérit progressif (past continuous) est une action en cours qui s'est déroulée dans le passé. L'action se déroule avant un élément déclencheur qui se situe dans le passé.
- Un verbe régulier se conjugue ainsi : was/were + gérondif (verbe en -ing)
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Was working | Was being | Was having | Was doing | Was going |
You | Were working | Were being | Were having | Were doing | Were going |
He / She / It | Was working | Was being | Was having | Was doing | Was going |
We | Were working | Were being | Were having | Were doing | Were going |
You | Were working | Were being | Were having | Were doing | Were going |
They | Were working | Were being | Were having | Were doing | Were going |
Exemples :
- I was working when the Notre Dame fire started. : J'étais en train de travailler lorsque l'incendie de Notre Dame a commencé.
- You were being chased by a thief when the police came.: Vous étiez en train de vous faire poursuivre par un voleur lorsque la police est venue.
- He was having a nap when the boss called him. : Il était en train de faire une sieste lorsque son patron l'a appelé.
- They were still doing their homework when their dad came home. : Ils étaient toujours en train de faire leurs devoirs lorsque leur père est arrive à la maison.
- We were going to call you when you knocked at the door. : Nous étions sur le point de t'appeler lorsque tu as frappé à la porte.
Tableau de conjugaison : Le Present Perfect
Le Present Perfect Simple
Le Present Perfect simple est une action dans le long terme, qui a commencé dans le passé, mais qui continue toujours dans le présent. Le present perfect désigne aussi des actions qui ont commencé mais qui n'ont pas été terminées.
- Conjugaison : have / has + participe passé
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Have worked | Have been | Have had | Have done | Have gone |
You | Have worked | Have been | Have had | Have done | Have gone |
He / She / It | Has worked | Has been | Has had | Has done | Has gone |
We | Have worked | Have been | Have had | Have done | Have gone |
You | Have worked | Have been | Have had | Have done | Have gone |
They | Have worked | Have been | Have had | Have done | Have gone |
Exemples :
- I have worked as a secretary for 3 years: J'ai travaillé en tant que secrétaire pendant 3 ans.
- You have been unsubscribed from this newsletter for 2 weeks.: Cela fait 2 semaines que vous avez été désinscrit à la newsletter.
- He has had two books published in the last few years. : Il a publié 2 livres au cours de ces dernières années.
- They have done nothing to finish their homework on time. : Ils n'ont rien fait pour finir leurs devoirs à temps.
- We have gone from 2% to 5%. : Nous sommes passés de 2 à 5%.
Le Present Perfect Continu
Le Present Perfect continu (present perfect continuous), est comme le présent perfect simple, mais on insiste davantage sur la durée. Il exprime une action longue qui n'est pas terminée.
- Conjugaison : have / has + been + gérondif ( verbe en –ing)
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Have been working | Have been being | Have been having | Have been doing | Have been going |
You | Have been working | Have been being | Have been having | Have been doing | Have been going |
He / She / It | Has been working | Has been being | Has been having | Has been doing | Has been going |
We | Have been working | Have been being | Have been having | Have been doing | Have been going |
You | Have been working | Have been being | Have been having | Have been doing | Have been going |
They | Have been working | Have been being | Have been having | Have been doing | Have been going |
Exemples :
- I have been working as a secretary for 3 years now: Cela fait 3 ans que je travaille en temps que secrétaire.
- What have you been doing lately? : Qu'avez-vous fait dernièrement ?
- They have been going to the gym for a while now. Cela fait un certain temps qu'ils vont à la salle de sport.
Tableau de conjugaison : Le Past Perfect
The Past Perfect Simple
Le Past Perfect (aussi appelé "pluperfect") est une action dans le passé qui a un rapport avec une autre action dans le passé. Celle-ci a été terminée avant une autre action.
- Conjugaison : had + participe passé
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Had worked | Had been | Had had | Had done | Had gone |
You | Had worked | Had been | Had had | Had done | Had gone |
He / She / It | Had worked | Had been | Had had | Had done | Had gone |
We | Had worked | Had been | Had had | Had done | Had gone |
You | Had worked | Had been | Had had | Had done | Had gone |
They | Had worked | Had been | Had had | Had done | Had gone |
Exemples :
- I could feel how hard they had worked on this projet. : J'ai pu ressentir à quel point ils ont travaillé dur dans ce projet.
- You had studied hard before the exam: Tu avais beaucoup étudié avant l'examen.
- The exam had started when I arrived: L'examen avait commence lorsque je suis arrivé.
- I wish they had done this sooner. J'aurais aimé qu'ils aient fait ça plus tôt.
The Past Perfect Continuous
Le Past Perfect Continuous (aussi appelé "pluperfect" continu) est une action qui se déroulait dans le passé.
- Conjugaison : had been + gerondif (verbe en –ing)
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Had been working | Had been being | Had been having | Had been doing | Had been going |
You | Had been working | Had been being | Had been having | Had been doing | Had been going |
He / She / It | Had been working | Had been being | Had been having | Had been doing | Had been going |
We | Had been working | Had been being | Had been having | Had been doing | Had been going |
You | Had been working | Had been being | Had been having | Had been doing | Had been going |
They | Had been working | Had been being | Had been having | Had been doing | Had been going |
Exemples :
- I had been working all day : J'avais travaillé toute la journée
- She had been doing research for years when they finally solved the problem: Elle avait fait des recherches pendant des années lorsqu'ils ont enfin résolu le problème.
- They had been going to the post office for weeks when they got the parcel. Ils étaient allés au bureau de poste pendant des semaines lorsqu'ils ont reçu le colis.
Tableau de conjugaison : The Future
Le futur est une action qui se déroule à l'avenir, sans lien direct vers le présent.
- Conjugaison : will + infinitif
| To Work | To Be | To Have | To Do | To Go |
I | Will work | Will be | Will have | Will do | Will go |
You | Will work | Will be | Will have | Will do | Will go |
He / She / It | Will work | Will be | Will have | Will do | Will go |
We | Will work | Will be | Will have | Will do | Will go |
You | Will work | Will be | Will have | Will do | Will go |
They | Will work | Will be | Will have | Will do | Will go |
Exemples :
- I will work as a teacher starting from January. Je travaillerai en tant que professeur à partir de Janvier.
- I will be at the train station at 3pm. Je serai à la gare à 15h.
- I will have a glass of wine, please. Je voudrais un verre de vin, s'il vous plait.
- I will do the homework for you if you want. Je ferai les devoirs pour toi sit tu veux.
- I will go to the beach tomorrow. J'irai à la plage demain.
Be Going To / To Be About To
Cette forme particulière du futur indique des intentions, et des prédictions basées sur le présent. C'est une action qui est sur le point d'être arrivée.
- Conjugaison :
- verbe To Be conjugué + Going To + Infinitif
- verbe To Be conjugué + About To + Infinitif
Exemples :
- We're going to have ice cream for dinner. Nous aurons de la glace pour dîner.
- I'm about to go to the grocey store. Do you want to come with me? Je vais aller au supermaché. Veux-tu venir avec moi ?
The Future Continuous
Le futur continu qui sera en cours à un moment particulier du futur
- Conjugaison : will + be + gérondif (verbe en –ing)
Exemples :
- This time next week, I'll be working on my dissertation. Dans exactement une semaine, je serai en train de travailler sur mon mémoire.
The Future Perfect
Le "future perfect" est utilisé pour décrire une action qui sera complétée dans le futur.
- Conjugaison : will have+ participe passé
Exemples :
- I will have finished this report by 6pm. J'aurai fini ce rapport avant 18h.
En savoir plus sur le temps du futur en anglais
L'Impératif
L'impératif en anglais est simple. Il s'agit simplement du verbe à l'infinitif sans le "to".
Exemples :
- Let's go : Allons-y
- Go ! : Allez !
En savoir plus sur l'impératif.
Pour apprendre l'anglais et en savoir plus sur les temps en anglais, consultez notre fiche sur le conditionnel en anglais, le verbe être en anglais, le verbe avoir en anglais, et retrouvez la liste des 50 verbes anglais les plus utilisés.
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