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 notice.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | constate | I notice | |
| tu | constates | you notice | |
| il / elle / on | constate | he / she / it noticeson: we notice / one notices | |
| nous | constatons | we notice | |
| vous | constatez | you notice | |
| ils / elles | constatent | they notice |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul constate une différence entre les deux photos.
Paul notices a difference between the two photos.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai constaté | I noticed | |
| tu | as constaté | you noticed | |
| il / elle / on | a constaté | he / she / it noticedon: we noticed / one noticed | |
| nous | avons constaté | we noticed | |
| vous | avez constaté | you noticed | |
| ils / elles | ont constaté | they noticed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a constaté une différence entre les deux photos.
Yesterday, Paul noticed a difference between the two photos.
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’ | constatais | I used to notice | |
| tu | constatais | you used to notice | |
| il / elle / on | constatait | he / she / it used to noticeon: we used to notice / one used to notice | |
| nous | constations | we used to notice | |
| vous | constatiez | you used to notice | |
| ils / elles | constataient | they used to notice |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul constatait une différence entre les deux photos.
Back then, Paul used to notice a difference between the two photos.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | constaterai | I will notice | |
| tu | constateras | you will notice | |
| il / elle / on | constatera | he / she / it will noticeon: we will notice / one will notice | |
| nous | constaterons | we will notice | |
| vous | constaterez | you will notice | |
| ils / elles | constateront | they will notice |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul constatera une différence entre les deux photos.
Later, Paul will notice a difference between the two photos.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | constaterais | I would notice | |
| tu | constaterais | you would notice | |
| il / elle / on | constaterait | he / she / it would noticeon: we would notice / one would notice | |
| nous | constaterions | we would notice | |
| vous | constateriez | you would notice | |
| ils / elles | constateraient | they would notice |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul constaterait une différence entre les deux photos.
Paul would notice a difference between the two photos.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | constate | (that) I notice | |
| tu | constates | (that) you notice | |
| il / elle / on | constate | (that) he / she / it noticeson: (that) we notice / one notices | |
| nous | constations | (that) we notice | |
| vous | constatiez | (that) you notice | |
| ils / elles | constatent | (that) they notice |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul constate une différence entre les deux photos.
It is possible that Paul notices a difference between the two photos.
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 note, notice
- to certify
- to state
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