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 improve.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | améliore | I improve | |
| tu | améliores | you improve | |
| il / elle / on | améliore | he / she / it improveson: we improve / one improves | |
| nous | améliorons | we improve | |
| vous | améliorez | you improve | |
| ils / elles | améliorent | they improve |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul améliore sa prononciation.
Paul improves his pronunciation.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai amélioré | I improved | |
| tu | as amélioré | you improved | |
| il / elle / on | a amélioré | he / she / it improvedon: we improved / one improved | |
| nous | avons amélioré | we improved | |
| vous | avez amélioré | you improved | |
| ils / elles | ont amélioré | they improved |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a amélioré sa prononciation.
Yesterday, Paul improved his pronunciation.
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’ | améliorais | I used to improve | |
| tu | améliorais | you used to improve | |
| il / elle / on | améliorait | he / she / it used to improveon: we used to improve / one used to improve | |
| nous | améliorions | we used to improve | |
| vous | amélioriez | you used to improve | |
| ils / elles | amélioraient | they used to improve |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul améliorait sa prononciation.
Back then, Paul used to improve his pronunciation.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | améliorerai | I will improve | |
| tu | amélioreras | you will improve | |
| il / elle / on | améliorera | he / she / it will improveon: we will improve / one will improve | |
| nous | améliorerons | we will improve | |
| vous | améliorerez | you will improve | |
| ils / elles | amélioreront | they will improve |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul améliorera sa prononciation.
Later, Paul will improve his pronunciation.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | améliorerais | I would improve | |
| tu | améliorerais | you would improve | |
| il / elle / on | améliorerait | he / she / it would improveon: we would improve / one would improve | |
| nous | améliorerions | we would improve | |
| vous | amélioreriez | you would improve | |
| ils / elles | amélioreraient | they would improve |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul améliorerait sa prononciation.
Paul would improve his pronunciation.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | améliore | (that) I improve | |
| tu | améliores | (that) you improve | |
| il / elle / on | améliore | (that) he / she / it improveson: (that) we improve / one improves | |
| nous | améliorions | (that) we improve | |
| vous | amélioriez | (that) you improve | |
| ils / elles | améliorent | (that) they improve |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul améliore sa prononciation.
It is possible that Paul improves his pronunciation.
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 improve, better, ameliorate
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