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 unload.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarque | I unload | |
| tu | débarques | you unload | |
| il / elle / on | débarque | he / she / it unloadson: we unload / one unloads | |
| nous | débarquons | we unload | |
| vous | débarquez | you unload | |
| ils / elles | débarquent | they unload |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul débarque les caisses sur le quai.
Paul unloads the crates onto the dock.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai débarqué | I unloaded | |
| tu | as débarqué | you unloaded | |
| il / elle / on | a débarqué | he / she / it unloadedon: we unloaded / one unloaded | |
| nous | avons débarqué | we unloaded | |
| vous | avez débarqué | you unloaded | |
| ils / elles | ont débarqué | they unloaded |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a débarqué les caisses sur le quai.
Yesterday, Paul unloaded the crates onto the dock.
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’ | débarquais | I used to unload | |
| tu | débarquais | you used to unload | |
| il / elle / on | débarquait | he / she / it used to unloadon: we used to unload / one used to unload | |
| nous | débarquions | we used to unload | |
| vous | débarquiez | you used to unload | |
| ils / elles | débarquaient | they used to unload |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul débarquait les caisses sur le quai.
Back then, Paul used to unload the crates onto the dock.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarquerai | I will unload | |
| tu | débarqueras | you will unload | |
| il / elle / on | débarquera | he / she / it will unloadon: we will unload / one will unload | |
| nous | débarquerons | we will unload | |
| vous | débarquerez | you will unload | |
| ils / elles | débarqueront | they will unload |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul débarquera les caisses sur le quai.
Later, Paul will unload the crates onto the dock.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarquerais | I would unload | |
| tu | débarquerais | you would unload | |
| il / elle / on | débarquerait | he / she / it would unloadon: we would unload / one would unload | |
| nous | débarquerions | we would unload | |
| vous | débarqueriez | you would unload | |
| ils / elles | débarqueraient | they would unload |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul débarquerait les caisses sur le quai.
Paul would unload the crates onto the dock.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarque | (that) I unload | |
| tu | débarques | (that) you unload | |
| il / elle / on | débarque | (that) he / she / it unloadson: (that) we unload / one unloads | |
| nous | débarquions | (that) we unload | |
| vous | débarquiez | (that) you unload | |
| ils / elles | débarquent | (that) they unload |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul débarque les caisses sur le quai.
It is possible that Paul unloads the crates onto the dock.
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.”
The example unloads cargo and uses avoir. It does not describe a passenger getting off a vehicle.
Meaning & usage
- to unload (merchandise), land (troops, passengers)
- to fire, sack
- to disembark
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