Conjugations
All six tenses and their examples are shown below. Use the links above to jump to a tense. English translations use the meaning “to absorb.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | absorbe | I absorb | |
| tu | absorbes | you absorb | |
| il / elle / on | absorbe | he / she / it absorbson: we absorb / one absorbs | |
| nous | absorbons | we absorb | |
| vous | absorbez | you absorb | |
| ils / elles | absorbent | they absorb |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Le tissu absorbe l'eau renversée.
The fabric absorbs the spilled water.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai absorbé | I absorbed | |
| tu | as absorbé | you absorbed | |
| il / elle / on | a absorbé | he / she / it absorbedon: we absorbed / one absorbed | |
| nous | avons absorbé | we absorbed | |
| vous | avez absorbé | you absorbed | |
| ils / elles | ont absorbé | they absorbed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, le tissu a absorbé l'eau renversée.
Yesterday, the fabric absorbed the spilled water.
The passé composé uses avoir. The table shows the unmarked participle; agreement with a preceding direct object is outside this reference.
Back to tense navigation ↑Imperfect Imparfait
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | absorbais | I used to absorb | |
| tu | absorbais | you used to absorb | |
| il / elle / on | absorbait | he / she / it used to absorbon: we used to absorb / one used to absorb | |
| nous | absorbions | we used to absorb | |
| vous | absorbiez | you used to absorb | |
| ils / elles | absorbaient | they used to absorb |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, le tissu absorbait l'eau renversée.
Back then, the fabric used to absorb the spilled water.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | absorberai | I will absorb | |
| tu | absorberas | you will absorb | |
| il / elle / on | absorbera | he / she / it will absorbon: we will absorb / one will absorb | |
| nous | absorberons | we will absorb | |
| vous | absorberez | you will absorb | |
| ils / elles | absorberont | they will absorb |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, le tissu absorbera l'eau renversée.
Later, the fabric will absorb the spilled water.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | absorberais | I would absorb | |
| tu | absorberais | you would absorb | |
| il / elle / on | absorberait | he / she / it would absorbon: we would absorb / one would absorb | |
| nous | absorberions | we would absorb | |
| vous | absorberiez | you would absorb | |
| ils / elles | absorberaient | they would absorb |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Le tissu absorberait l'eau renversée.
The fabric would absorb the spilled water.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | absorbe | (that) I absorb | |
| tu | absorbes | (that) you absorb | |
| il / elle / on | absorbe | (that) he / she / it absorbson: (that) we absorb / one absorbs | |
| nous | absorbions | (that) we absorb | |
| vous | absorbiez | (that) you absorb | |
| ils / elles | absorbent | (that) they absorb |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que le tissu absorbe l'eau renversée.
It is possible that the fabric absorbs the spilled water.
French forms omit the subject. Use j’ before a vowel sound. Vous is polite singular or plural “you”; on often means “we,” or the general “one.” English wording depends on the context: passé composé can also use “have,” and the imperfect can describe an ongoing action. Subjunctive translations here follow “it is possible that.”
Meaning & usage
- to absorb
English glosses are a starting point. The meaning of a verb can change with context, a preposition, or se. Read the full dictionary entry ↗
Meanings and simple conjugation forms adapted from English Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org / Wiktextract. Passé composé forms combine the source auxiliary and past participle. Frequency scores from wordfreq 3.1.1 by Robyn Speer and contributors. Adapted data is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Entry source · Sources, download & limitations