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’ | assimile | I absorb | |
| tu | assimiles | you absorb | |
| il / elle / on | assimile | he / she / it absorbson: we absorb / one absorbs | |
| nous | assimilons | we absorb | |
| vous | assimilez | you absorb | |
| ils / elles | assimilent | they absorb |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul assimile les nouvelles informations.
Paul absorbs the new information.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai assimilé | I absorbed | |
| tu | as assimilé | you absorbed | |
| il / elle / on | a assimilé | he / she / it absorbedon: we absorbed / one absorbed | |
| nous | avons assimilé | we absorbed | |
| vous | avez assimilé | you absorbed | |
| ils / elles | ont assimilé | they absorbed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a assimilé les nouvelles informations.
Yesterday, Paul absorbed the new information.
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’ | assimilais | I used to absorb | |
| tu | assimilais | you used to absorb | |
| il / elle / on | assimilait | he / she / it used to absorbon: we used to absorb / one used to absorb | |
| nous | assimilions | we used to absorb | |
| vous | assimiliez | you used to absorb | |
| ils / elles | assimilaient | they used to absorb |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul assimilait les nouvelles informations.
Back then, Paul used to absorb the new information.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | assimilerai | I will absorb | |
| tu | assimileras | you will absorb | |
| il / elle / on | assimilera | he / she / it will absorbon: we will absorb / one will absorb | |
| nous | assimilerons | we will absorb | |
| vous | assimilerez | you will absorb | |
| ils / elles | assimileront | they will absorb |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul assimilera les nouvelles informations.
Later, Paul will absorb the new information.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | assimilerais | I would absorb | |
| tu | assimilerais | you would absorb | |
| il / elle / on | assimilerait | he / she / it would absorbon: we would absorb / one would absorb | |
| nous | assimilerions | we would absorb | |
| vous | assimileriez | you would absorb | |
| ils / elles | assimileraient | they would absorb |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul assimilerait les nouvelles informations.
Paul would absorb the new information.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | assimile | (that) I absorb | |
| tu | assimiles | (that) you absorb | |
| il / elle / on | assimile | (that) he / she / it absorbson: (that) we absorb / one absorbs | |
| nous | assimilions | (that) we absorb | |
| vous | assimiliez | (that) you absorb | |
| ils / elles | assimilent | (that) they absorb |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul assimile les nouvelles informations.
It is possible that Paul absorbs the new information.
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 assimilate (all meanings), to absorb
- to liken
- to lump together (e.g., one group with another)
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