When the main clause of a French sentence is in a past tense, every subordinate clause attached to it must adjust. The phenomenon is called la concordance des temps — literally, "the agreement of tenses" — and at first glance it looks like a thicket of rules. But underneath there is a single principle: an embedded clause is interpreted relative to its matrix verb, and if the matrix sits in the past, the embedded forms must encode time relative to that past anchor, not relative to the moment of speaking. This page lays out the four canonical shifts, the two cases where the system simplifies, and the modern relaxed register that lets speakers skip the shift entirely when the embedded fact is still true.
The mental picture
Every sentence has a deictic centre — the point in time you are reasoning from. In an unembedded clause, that centre is now, the moment of speaking. Il est malade means "he is sick right now." In an embedded clause, the deictic centre depends on whether the matrix is anchored to the present or to the past.
When the matrix verb is in the present (il dit que…, je crois que…, on sait que…), the embedded clause is still anchored to the moment of speaking, and uses ordinary tenses:
Il dit qu'il est malade.
He says he's sick — present matrix, present embedded.
Il dit qu'il a mangé.
He says he has eaten — present matrix, past embedded.
Il dit qu'il viendra.
He says he'll come — present matrix, future embedded.
When the matrix verb shifts to the past (il a dit, il disait, il avait dit), the deictic centre moves with it. The embedded clause now describes a relationship to that past moment, not to the present. To express simultaneous with that past moment, anterior to that past moment, or posterior to that past moment, French selects three different embedded tenses — and they are not the ones you might first reach for.
The four canonical shifts
The full table:
| Past matrix + embedded relation | Embedded tense to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| simultaneous with the past anchor | imparfait | Il a dit qu'il était malade. |
| anterior to the past anchor | plus-que-parfait | Il a dit qu'il avait mangé. |
| posterior to the past anchor (future-in-past) | conditionnel présent | Il a dit qu'il viendrait. |
| completed before a posterior past moment | conditionnel passé | Il a dit qu'il aurait fini avant midi. |
Each row replaces a tense from the present-matrix system. Présent (simultaneous-with-now) becomes imparfait (simultaneous-with-past). Passé composé (anterior-to-now) becomes plus-que-parfait (anterior-to-past). Futur simple (posterior-to-now) becomes conditionnel présent (posterior-to-past). Futur antérieur becomes conditionnel passé.
Simultaneous: présent → imparfait
When the embedded action is happening at the same time as the past matrix verb, French uses the imparfait — the tense of ongoing description in the past.
Il a dit qu'il était malade.
He said he was sick — at the moment he spoke, he was sick.
Marie pensait que ses enfants dormaient déjà.
Marie thought her children were already asleep.
Je croyais que tu habitais à Lyon.
I thought you were living in Lyon.
The imparfait here does not mean "habitually was sick" — it means "was sick at that moment." The same form covers both habitual past and progressive past, and in concordance contexts it is the latter sense that applies.
Anterior: passé composé → plus-que-parfait
When the embedded action happened before the past matrix verb, French uses the plus-que-parfait — the past-anchored equivalent of the passé composé.
Il a dit qu'il avait mangé.
He said he had eaten — the eating happened before he said it.
Le médecin a expliqué que la patiente avait pris ses médicaments.
The doctor explained that the patient had taken her medication.
Je savais qu'elle était partie sans laisser d'adresse.
I knew she had left without leaving an address.
This transformation matches English almost exactly: passé composé (have eaten) → plus-que-parfait (had eaten) maps onto present perfect → past perfect. The auxiliary stays the same (avoir or être), and participle agreement still applies on the same conditions.
Posterior: futur → conditionnel présent
When the embedded action lies in the future relative to the past matrix verb, French uses the conditionnel présent. This is the famous future-in-the-past construction. The conditional form here is not expressing hypothesis or politeness — it is purely a marker of temporal posteriority within a past frame.
Il a dit qu'il viendrait le lendemain.
He said he would come the next day — the coming was future at the moment he spoke.
Marie pensait qu'elle réussirait son examen.
Marie thought she would pass her exam.
On savait qu'il pleuvrait dans l'après-midi.
We knew it would rain in the afternoon.
English handles this construction with the same word — would — that it uses for the conditional, so the parallel is exact. French does not have a separate "future-in-the-past" form, but it borrows the morphology of the conditionnel for the job.
Anterior-future: futur antérieur → conditionnel passé
For an action that will be completed before some other future point, but seen from a past anchor, French uses the conditionnel passé.
Il a dit qu'il aurait fini avant midi.
He said he would have finished before noon.
Je croyais qu'à la fin de la semaine, ils auraient déménagé.
I thought that by the end of the week, they would have moved.
This is rarer in everyday speech, but essential in narrative writing and formal communication.
What does NOT shift: tenses already past-anchored
Three embedded tenses have nowhere to go because they are already past-anchored. They stay exactly as they are.
| Embedded tense | Behaviour under past matrix |
|---|---|
| imparfait | stays imparfait |
| plus-que-parfait | stays plus-que-parfait |
| conditionnel (présent or passé) | stays conditionnel |
Il a dit qu'il était fatigué quand il est rentré.
He said he was tired when he came home — already imparfait, no shift.
Elle a affirmé qu'elle avait déjà rangé sa chambre.
She insisted she had already tidied her room — already plus-que-parfait, no shift.
Il m'a expliqué qu'il aurait préféré une autre solution.
He explained to me that he would have preferred another solution — already conditionnel passé, no shift.
The subjunctive under a past matrix
The classical rule for the subjunctive runs parallel to the indicative shifts: subjonctif présent → subjonctif imparfait, subjonctif passé → subjonctif plus-que-parfait. In modern spoken and written French, however, the subjonctif imparfait and plus-que-parfait have effectively died out except in literary, ironic, or formal-comic registers. Standard usage today is to keep the subjonctif présent even after a past matrix.
Il fallait qu'elle parte tout de suite.
She had to leave right away — modern usage keeps subjonctif présent.
Je voulais qu'il vienne avec nous.
I wanted him to come with us — modern: subjonctif présent.
The literary alternative would be qu'elle partît and qu'il vînt respectively, but writing those forms in conversation or in any non-literary register sounds either pedantic or comically archaic.
Il fallait qu'elle partît à l'aube.
She had to leave at dawn — literary use of subjonctif imparfait, very rare today. (literary)
For practical purposes, the modern rule is: under a past matrix, use the subjonctif présent for both simultaneous and posterior actions, and the subjonctif passé for anterior actions.
J'avais peur qu'il soit déjà parti.
I was afraid he had already left — subjonctif passé for anterior.
The modern relaxation: skipping the shift when the fact is still true
The classical concordance rules are taught as obligatory, but in everyday French — particularly in journalism, casual speech, and informal writing — speakers frequently break the rule when the embedded fact remains true at the moment of speaking. Linguists call this the règle relâchée (relaxed rule), and it is widespread enough that ignoring it would misrepresent contemporary French.
Galilée a affirmé que la Terre tourne autour du Soleil.
Galileo asserted that the Earth revolves around the Sun — the fact is still true today, so the present is preferred over the imparfait.
Hier, le médecin m'a dit que je suis en bonne santé.
Yesterday, the doctor told me I'm in good health — I'm still healthy now, so the present is acceptable.
Compare the strict and relaxed versions side by side:
Strict : Il a dit qu'il était malade.
He said he was sick — strict concordance, neutral about whether he's still sick.
Relâchée : Il a dit qu'il est malade.
He said he's sick — relaxed; the speaker is signalling that the sickness is still ongoing.
The relaxed version is not wrong; it is in fact a meaningful contrast. The classical imparfait leaves the present state unspecified ("he was sick at the time, no comment on now"). The relaxed présent asserts continuity ("and he still is"). When in doubt — particularly in formal writing or exams — apply the strict rule. In conversation, the relaxed form is often more informative.
Concordance beyond reported speech
Indirect speech is the most visible context for concordance, but the same shifts apply after any past-tense matrix verb that takes a que-clause complement. This includes:
- Verbs of opinion: croire, penser, estimer, juger, trouver, considérer
- Verbs of perception: voir, entendre, remarquer, s'apercevoir
- Verbs of certainty: savoir, être sûr, être certain
- Verbs of communication: dire, expliquer, préciser, ajouter, écrire, annoncer
Je croyais qu'elle était infirmière.
I thought she was a nurse — verb of opinion, présent → imparfait.
On a remarqué qu'il avait beaucoup maigri.
We noticed he had lost a lot of weight — verb of perception, passé composé → plus-que-parfait.
J'étais sûr que tu réussirais.
I was sure you would succeed — verb of certainty, futur → conditionnel.
Common Mistakes
❌ Il a dit qu'il viendra demain.
Incorrect — under a past matrix, futur shifts to conditionnel.
✅ Il a dit qu'il viendrait le lendemain.
He said he would come the next day.
❌ Marie pensait que ses enfants dorment déjà.
Incorrect for neutral usage — strict rule needs imparfait. (Acceptable only in the relaxed register if the children are still asleep right now.)
✅ Marie pensait que ses enfants dormaient déjà.
Marie thought her children were already asleep.
❌ Le médecin a expliqué que la patiente a pris ses médicaments.
Incorrect — anterior action requires plus-que-parfait, not passé composé.
✅ Le médecin a expliqué que la patiente avait pris ses médicaments.
The doctor explained that the patient had taken her medication.
❌ Il fallait qu'elle partit.
Incorrect spelling — the subjonctif imparfait of partir is *partît* (with circumflex), but in modern usage you should use the subjonctif présent anyway.
✅ Il fallait qu'elle parte.
She had to leave — modern subjonctif présent under past matrix.
❌ J'étais sûr que tu réussiras.
Incorrect — past matrix verb (*étais*) requires the conditionnel for posteriority, not the futur.
✅ J'étais sûr que tu réussirais.
I was sure you would succeed.
Key takeaways
Concordance des temps under a past matrix is a four-way system: présent steps back to imparfait, passé composé to plus-que-parfait, futur to conditionnel présent, futur antérieur to conditionnel passé. Tenses that are already past-anchored stay put. The subjunctive officially shifts in the same way, but modern French uses subjonctif présent across the board. And the présent → imparfait shift is increasingly skipped in journalism and conversation when the embedded fact is still true at the moment of speaking — a relaxation that adds informational nuance rather than breaking the rule. Master the four shifts, recognize the modern relaxation, and your written and spoken French will sound natural across registers.
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Start learning French→Related Topics
- La Concordance des TempsB1 — How French embedded clauses re-tense themselves to match a past matrix verb — and the modern simplifications you can rely on.
- Le Discours IndirectB1 — Reporting what someone said: tense shifts, time markers, and how to embed questions and commands in French indirect speech.
- Le Discours Indirect: structuresB1 — How to convert direct speech into indirect speech in French — the tense shifts, time-marker substitutions, and special structures for reported questions and commands.
- Conditionnel for the Future-in-the-Past (Reported Speech)B1 — When you report past speech that pointed to the future, French shifts the futur to the conditionnel — exactly the way English shifts will to would. Master the rule, the time-reference shifts, and the journalistic patterns where this construction is everywhere.
- Le Plus-que-parfait: OverviewB1 — The plus-que-parfait is the workhorse French past-anterior tense — for an action completed before another past action. It maps almost perfectly onto English 'had + past participle' (I had eaten, I had gone) and is essential for reported speech, sequential past, hypothetical regret, and si-clauses about past.