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 learn.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | apprends | I learn | |
| tu | apprends | you learn | |
| il / elle / on | apprend | he / she / it learnson: we learn / one learns | |
| nous | apprenons | we learn | |
| vous | apprenez | you learn | |
| ils / elles | apprennent | they learn |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul apprend une nouvelle chanson.
Paul learns a new song.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai appris | I learned | |
| tu | as appris | you learned | |
| il / elle / on | a appris | he / she / it learnedon: we learned / one learned | |
| nous | avons appris | we learned | |
| vous | avez appris | you learned | |
| ils / elles | ont appris | they learned |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a appris une nouvelle chanson.
Yesterday, Paul learned a new song.
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’ | apprenais | I used to learn | |
| tu | apprenais | you used to learn | |
| il / elle / on | apprenait | he / she / it used to learnon: we used to learn / one used to learn | |
| nous | apprenions | we used to learn | |
| vous | appreniez | you used to learn | |
| ils / elles | apprenaient | they used to learn |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul apprenait une nouvelle chanson.
Back then, Paul used to learn a new song.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | apprendrai | I will learn | |
| tu | apprendras | you will learn | |
| il / elle / on | apprendra | he / she / it will learnon: we will learn / one will learn | |
| nous | apprendrons | we will learn | |
| vous | apprendrez | you will learn | |
| ils / elles | apprendront | they will learn |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul apprendra une nouvelle chanson.
Later, Paul will learn a new song.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | apprendrais | I would learn | |
| tu | apprendrais | you would learn | |
| il / elle / on | apprendrait | he / she / it would learnon: we would learn / one would learn | |
| nous | apprendrions | we would learn | |
| vous | apprendriez | you would learn | |
| ils / elles | apprendraient | they would learn |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul apprendrait une nouvelle chanson.
Paul would learn a new song.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | apprenne | (that) I learn | |
| tu | apprennes | (that) you learn | |
| il / elle / on | apprenne | (that) he / she / it learnson: (that) we learn / one learns | |
| nous | apprenions | (that) we learn | |
| vous | appreniez | (that) you learn | |
| ils / elles | apprennent | (that) they learn |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul apprenne une nouvelle chanson.
It is possible that Paul learns a new song.
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 learn
- to teach
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