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 like.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | aime | I like | |
| tu | aimes | you like | |
| il / elle / on | aime | he / she / it likeson: we like / one likes | |
| nous | aimons | we like | |
| vous | aimez | you like | |
| ils / elles | aiment | they like |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul aime la musique classique.
Paul likes classical music.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai aimé | I liked | |
| tu | as aimé | you liked | |
| il / elle / on | a aimé | he / she / it likedon: we liked / one liked | |
| nous | avons aimé | we liked | |
| vous | avez aimé | you liked | |
| ils / elles | ont aimé | they liked |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a aimé la musique classique.
Yesterday, Paul liked classical music.
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’ | aimais | I liked | |
| tu | aimais | you liked | |
| il / elle / on | aimait | he / she / it likedon: we liked / one liked | |
| nous | aimions | we liked | |
| vous | aimiez | you liked | |
| ils / elles | aimaient | they liked |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul aimait la musique classique.
Back then, Paul liked classical music.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | aimerai | I will like | |
| tu | aimeras | you will like | |
| il / elle / on | aimera | he / she / it will likeon: we will like / one will like | |
| nous | aimerons | we will like | |
| vous | aimerez | you will like | |
| ils / elles | aimeront | they will like |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul aimera la musique classique.
Later, Paul will like classical music.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | aimerais | I would like | |
| tu | aimerais | you would like | |
| il / elle / on | aimerait | he / she / it would likeon: we would like / one would like | |
| nous | aimerions | we would like | |
| vous | aimeriez | you would like | |
| ils / elles | aimeraient | they would like |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul aimerait la musique classique.
Paul would like classical music.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | aime | (that) I like | |
| tu | aimes | (that) you like | |
| il / elle / on | aime | (that) he / she / it likeson: (that) we like / one likes | |
| nous | aimions | (that) we like | |
| vous | aimiez | (that) you like | |
| ils / elles | aiment | (that) they like |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul aime la musique classique.
It is possible that Paul likes classical music.
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 love (usually of a person, otherwise the meaning is closer to English like)
- to like (often with bien)
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