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 clear.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarrasse | I clear | |
| tu | débarrasses | you clear | |
| il / elle / on | débarrasse | he / she / it clearson: we clear / one clears | |
| nous | débarrassons | we clear | |
| vous | débarrassez | you clear | |
| ils / elles | débarrassent | they clear |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul débarrasse la table après le repas.
Paul clears the table after the meal.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai débarrassé | I cleared | |
| tu | as débarrassé | you cleared | |
| il / elle / on | a débarrassé | he / she / it clearedon: we cleared / one cleared | |
| nous | avons débarrassé | we cleared | |
| vous | avez débarrassé | you cleared | |
| ils / elles | ont débarrassé | they cleared |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a débarrassé la table après le repas.
Yesterday, Paul cleared the table after the meal.
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’ | débarrassais | I used to clear | |
| tu | débarrassais | you used to clear | |
| il / elle / on | débarrassait | he / she / it used to clearon: we used to clear / one used to clear | |
| nous | débarrassions | we used to clear | |
| vous | débarrassiez | you used to clear | |
| ils / elles | débarrassaient | they used to clear |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul débarrassait la table après le repas.
Back then, Paul used to clear the table after the meal.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarrasserai | I will clear | |
| tu | débarrasseras | you will clear | |
| il / elle / on | débarrassera | he / she / it will clearon: we will clear / one will clear | |
| nous | débarrasserons | we will clear | |
| vous | débarrasserez | you will clear | |
| ils / elles | débarrasseront | they will clear |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul débarrassera la table après le repas.
Later, Paul will clear the table after the meal.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarrasserais | I would clear | |
| tu | débarrasserais | you would clear | |
| il / elle / on | débarrasserait | he / she / it would clearon: we would clear / one would clear | |
| nous | débarrasserions | we would clear | |
| vous | débarrasseriez | you would clear | |
| ils / elles | débarrasseraient | they would clear |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul débarrasserait la table après le repas.
Paul would clear the table after the meal.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | débarrasse | (that) I clear | |
| tu | débarrasses | (that) you clear | |
| il / elle / on | débarrasse | (that) he / she / it clearson: (that) we clear / one clears | |
| nous | débarrassions | (that) we clear | |
| vous | débarrassiez | (that) you clear | |
| ils / elles | débarrassent | (that) they clear |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul débarrasse la table après le repas.
It is possible that Paul clears the table after the meal.
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 clear (a table, a desk etc.)
- to rid, to relieve (someone)
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