J'étais fatigué hier.
English: I was tired yesterday.
- Language
- French
- Level
- A0
- Unit
- Repères temporels de base
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
Past and future signal words help beginners map language to time without full tense complexity in French.
When to use it
Use these words to introduce basic past/future meaning and simple verb patterns.
Key forms
- passé : hier, la semaine dernière, avant
- futur : demain, la semaine prochaine, plus tard
- indices : ai été / étais / serai
Examples
As-tu appelé hier soir ?
English: Did you call me last night?
Nous voyagerons demain.
English: We will travel tomorrow.
Elle étudiera plus tard.
English: She will study later.
Tips
- Learn a small core list of time words and reuse them.
- In beginner questions about the past, use the correct verb form.
- For basic future meaning, futur simple is a strong starter pattern.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Spoken French also uses 'aller + infinitive' for future plans, usually introduced after basic future forms.