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 classify.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | classe | I classify | |
| tu | classes | you classify | |
| il / elle / on | classe | he / she / it classifieson: we classify / one classifies | |
| nous | classons | we classify | |
| vous | classez | you classify | |
| ils / elles | classent | they classify |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul classe les documents par date.
Paul classifies the documents by date.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai classé | I classified | |
| tu | as classé | you classified | |
| il / elle / on | a classé | he / she / it classifiedon: we classified / one classified | |
| nous | avons classé | we classified | |
| vous | avez classé | you classified | |
| ils / elles | ont classé | they classified |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a classé les documents par date.
Yesterday, Paul classified the documents by date.
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’ | classais | I used to classify | |
| tu | classais | you used to classify | |
| il / elle / on | classait | he / she / it used to classifyon: we used to classify / one used to classify | |
| nous | classions | we used to classify | |
| vous | classiez | you used to classify | |
| ils / elles | classaient | they used to classify |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul classait les documents par date.
Back then, Paul used to classify the documents by date.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | classerai | I will classify | |
| tu | classeras | you will classify | |
| il / elle / on | classera | he / she / it will classifyon: we will classify / one will classify | |
| nous | classerons | we will classify | |
| vous | classerez | you will classify | |
| ils / elles | classeront | they will classify |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul classera les documents par date.
Later, Paul will classify the documents by date.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | classerais | I would classify | |
| tu | classerais | you would classify | |
| il / elle / on | classerait | he / she / it would classifyon: we would classify / one would classify | |
| nous | classerions | we would classify | |
| vous | classeriez | you would classify | |
| ils / elles | classeraient | they would classify |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul classerait les documents par date.
Paul would classify the documents by date.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | classe | (that) I classify | |
| tu | classes | (that) you classify | |
| il / elle / on | classe | (that) he / she / it classifieson: (that) we classify / one classifies | |
| nous | classions | (that) we classify | |
| vous | classiez | (that) you classify | |
| ils / elles | classent | (that) they classify |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul classe les documents par date.
It is possible that Paul classifies the documents by date.
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 classify
- to file
- to rank
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