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 light.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | allume | I light | |
| tu | allumes | you light | |
| il / elle / on | allume | he / she / it lightson: we light / one lights | |
| nous | allumons | we light | |
| vous | allumez | you light | |
| ils / elles | allument | they light |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul allume une bougie sur la table.
Paul lights a candle on the table.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai allumé | I lit | |
| tu | as allumé | you lit | |
| il / elle / on | a allumé | he / she / it liton: we lit / one lit | |
| nous | avons allumé | we lit | |
| vous | avez allumé | you lit | |
| ils / elles | ont allumé | they lit |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a allumé une bougie sur la table.
Yesterday, Paul lit a candle on the table.
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’ | allumais | I used to light | |
| tu | allumais | you used to light | |
| il / elle / on | allumait | he / she / it used to lighton: we used to light / one used to light | |
| nous | allumions | we used to light | |
| vous | allumiez | you used to light | |
| ils / elles | allumaient | they used to light |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul allumait une bougie sur la table.
Back then, Paul used to light a candle on the table.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | allumerai | I will light | |
| tu | allumeras | you will light | |
| il / elle / on | allumera | he / she / it will lighton: we will light / one will light | |
| nous | allumerons | we will light | |
| vous | allumerez | you will light | |
| ils / elles | allumeront | they will light |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul allumera une bougie sur la table.
Later, Paul will light a candle on the table.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | allumerais | I would light | |
| tu | allumerais | you would light | |
| il / elle / on | allumerait | he / she / it would lighton: we would light / one would light | |
| nous | allumerions | we would light | |
| vous | allumeriez | you would light | |
| ils / elles | allumeraient | they would light |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul allumerait une bougie sur la table.
Paul would light a candle on the table.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | allume | (that) I light | |
| tu | allumes | (that) you light | |
| il / elle / on | allume | (that) he / she / it lightson: (that) we light / one lights | |
| nous | allumions | (that) we light | |
| vous | allumiez | (that) you light | |
| ils / elles | allument | (that) they light |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul allume une bougie sur la table.
It is possible that Paul lights a candle on the table.
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 light, to set alight (a candle, a fire, a cigar)
- to turn on (the light, a lightbulb, the television, the heating)
- to start, to turn on (electronic devices with screens)
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