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 build.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | bâtis | I build | |
| tu | bâtis | you build | |
| il / elle / on | bâtit | he / she / it buildson: we build / one builds | |
| nous | bâtissons | we build | |
| vous | bâtissez | you build | |
| ils / elles | bâtissent | they build |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Le maçon bâtit un mur en pierre.
The builder builds a stone wall.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai bâti | I built | |
| tu | as bâti | you built | |
| il / elle / on | a bâti | he / she / it builton: we built / one built | |
| nous | avons bâti | we built | |
| vous | avez bâti | you built | |
| ils / elles | ont bâti | they built |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, le maçon a bâti un mur en pierre.
Yesterday, the builder built a stone wall.
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’ | bâtissais | I used to build | |
| tu | bâtissais | you used to build | |
| il / elle / on | bâtissait | he / she / it used to buildon: we used to build / one used to build | |
| nous | bâtissions | we used to build | |
| vous | bâtissiez | you used to build | |
| ils / elles | bâtissaient | they used to build |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, le maçon bâtissait un mur en pierre.
Back then, the builder used to build a stone wall.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | bâtirai | I will build | |
| tu | bâtiras | you will build | |
| il / elle / on | bâtira | he / she / it will buildon: we will build / one will build | |
| nous | bâtirons | we will build | |
| vous | bâtirez | you will build | |
| ils / elles | bâtiront | they will build |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, le maçon bâtira un mur en pierre.
Later, the builder will build a stone wall.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | bâtirais | I would build | |
| tu | bâtirais | you would build | |
| il / elle / on | bâtirait | he / she / it would buildon: we would build / one would build | |
| nous | bâtirions | we would build | |
| vous | bâtiriez | you would build | |
| ils / elles | bâtiraient | they would build |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Le maçon bâtirait un mur en pierre.
The builder would build a stone wall.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | bâtisse | (that) I build | |
| tu | bâtisses | (that) you build | |
| il / elle / on | bâtisse | (that) he / she / it buildson: (that) we build / one builds | |
| nous | bâtissions | (that) we build | |
| vous | bâtissiez | (that) you build | |
| ils / elles | bâtissent | (that) they build |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que le maçon bâtisse un mur en pierre.
It is possible that the builder builds a stone wall.
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 build; to construct
- to build up
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