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 bathe.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | baigne | I bathe | |
| tu | baignes | you bathe | |
| il / elle / on | baigne | he / she / it batheson: we bathe / one bathes | |
| nous | baignons | we bathe | |
| vous | baignez | you bathe | |
| ils / elles | baignent | they bathe |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul baigne le bébé dans une petite baignoire.
Paul bathes the baby in a small tub.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai baigné | I bathed | |
| tu | as baigné | you bathed | |
| il / elle / on | a baigné | he / she / it bathedon: we bathed / one bathed | |
| nous | avons baigné | we bathed | |
| vous | avez baigné | you bathed | |
| ils / elles | ont baigné | they bathed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a baigné le bébé dans une petite baignoire.
Yesterday, Paul bathed the baby in a small tub.
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’ | baignais | I used to bathe | |
| tu | baignais | you used to bathe | |
| il / elle / on | baignait | he / she / it used to batheon: we used to bathe / one used to bathe | |
| nous | baignions | we used to bathe | |
| vous | baigniez | you used to bathe | |
| ils / elles | baignaient | they used to bathe |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul baignait le bébé dans une petite baignoire.
Back then, Paul used to bathe the baby in a small tub.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | baignerai | I will bathe | |
| tu | baigneras | you will bathe | |
| il / elle / on | baignera | he / she / it will batheon: we will bathe / one will bathe | |
| nous | baignerons | we will bathe | |
| vous | baignerez | you will bathe | |
| ils / elles | baigneront | they will bathe |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul baignera le bébé dans une petite baignoire.
Later, Paul will bathe the baby in a small tub.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | baignerais | I would bathe | |
| tu | baignerais | you would bathe | |
| il / elle / on | baignerait | he / she / it would batheon: we would bathe / one would bathe | |
| nous | baignerions | we would bathe | |
| vous | baigneriez | you would bathe | |
| ils / elles | baigneraient | they would bathe |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul baignerait le bébé dans une petite baignoire.
Paul would bathe the baby in a small tub.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | baigne | (that) I bathe | |
| tu | baignes | (that) you bathe | |
| il / elle / on | baigne | (that) he / she / it batheson: (that) we bathe / one bathes | |
| nous | baignions | (that) we bathe | |
| vous | baigniez | (that) you bathe | |
| ils / elles | baignent | (that) they bathe |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul baigne le bébé dans une petite baignoire.
It is possible that Paul bathes the baby in a small tub.
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 bathe
- to go for a swim
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