Dysorthographia exercise: imperfect and future

After the present, the imperfect and the future are the two tenses most used in writing. Their endings are more regular than those of the present, but some remain silent and sound alike. For a child with dysorthographia, it is helpful to work on them separately, then compare them. Here are progressive exercises for each one.

Two tenses, two families of endings

The imperfect has endings that are the same for all verbs: “ais”, “ais”, “ait”, “ions”, “iez”, “aient”. The future adds to the verb endings that recall the verb to have: “rai”, “ras”, “ra”, “rons”, “rez”, “ront”. This regularity is good news.

The difficulty comes from the silent endings, such as “ais”, “ait” and “aient” in the imperfect, which all sound the same. In the future, “rai” and “rais” are sometimes confused with the conditional. It is therefore necessary to rely on the person and on the meaning. The page learning conjugation gives the general framework.

The imperfect: a single series to learn

The imperfect is the most regular tense in French. Once the six endings are learnt, the child can conjugate almost all verbs. They are presented in a colour-coded table, with the stem in black.

To find the stem, start from the verb conjugated with “nous” in the present: “nous jouons” gives “je jouais”. This trick works for almost all verbs. The child can check it on several examples. They discover that the imperfect is easier than they thought.

The silent endings of the imperfect

“Je jouais”, “il jouait” and “ils jouaient” sound the same. The child must therefore look at the person to choose. With “je” and “tu”, one writes “ais”; with “il” or “elle”, “ait”; with “ils” or “elles”, “aient”.

A useful exercise is to offer sentences with varied subjects, in which the child writes the correct ending. They circle the subject, find the matching pronoun, then write. This reasoning is the same as for the present. The agreement of subject and verb applies to all tenses.

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The future: the infinitive plus avoir

For many verbs, the future is formed by adding the endings to the infinitive: “jouer” gives “je jouerai”, “finir” gives “je finirai”. The endings resemble the verb to have in the present: “ai”, “as”, “a”, “ons”, “ez”, “ont”. This link helps to remember them.

One can show this link by writing “j’ai” and “je jouerai” side by side. The child notices the resemblance. They remember more easily endings they already know. Irregular verbs such as “être” or “aller” are worked on separately.

Future or imperfect: comparing

Once both tenses have been learnt, they can be compared. Sentences are offered in which the child must choose the tense according to the meaning: “hier” calls for the imperfect, “demain” for the future. They then write the correct ending.

One can also transform a short text from the imperfect to the future, or the reverse. The child changes all the endings and checks each one. This exercise requires vigilance. It shows whether the two tenses are well distinguished.

Storytelling for practice

Telling a memory in the imperfect, or imagining one’s next holiday in the future, allows conjugating in context. The child writes a few sentences, then checks the endings with their table. Writing has meaning, which motivates them.

One can also ask them to write a letter to themselves in ten years, in the future. This small project is often appreciated. It gives the opportunity to use many verbs. The page on composition offers other writing ideas.

Conjugation of tenses: help from a speech and language therapist

If these tenses remain very difficult despite practice, the speech and language therapist can work on verbal morphology progressively. They can also check that the foundations of the present are well acquired. These exercises complement their work, without replacing it.

Speech and language therapists in your region are listed in the ProfessionnelsDys directory, with a search by age and by disorder. Bring the conjugation tables used at home. The page on present tense conjugation presents the previous step.