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 destroy.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | détruis | I destroy | |
| tu | détruis | you destroy | |
| il / elle / on | détruit | he / she / it destroyson: we destroy / one destroys | |
| nous | détruisons | we destroy | |
| vous | détruisez | you destroy | |
| ils / elles | détruisent | they destroy |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul détruit les documents inutiles.
Paul destroys unnecessary documents.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai détruit | I destroyed | |
| tu | as détruit | you destroyed | |
| il / elle / on | a détruit | he / she / it destroyedon: we destroyed / one destroyed | |
| nous | avons détruit | we destroyed | |
| vous | avez détruit | you destroyed | |
| ils / elles | ont détruit | they destroyed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a détruit les documents inutiles.
Yesterday, Paul destroyed unnecessary documents.
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’ | détruisais | I used to destroy | |
| tu | détruisais | you used to destroy | |
| il / elle / on | détruisait | he / she / it used to destroyon: we used to destroy / one used to destroy | |
| nous | détruisions | we used to destroy | |
| vous | détruisiez | you used to destroy | |
| ils / elles | détruisaient | they used to destroy |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul détruisait les documents inutiles.
Back then, Paul used to destroy unnecessary documents.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | détruirai | I will destroy | |
| tu | détruiras | you will destroy | |
| il / elle / on | détruira | he / she / it will destroyon: we will destroy / one will destroy | |
| nous | détruirons | we will destroy | |
| vous | détruirez | you will destroy | |
| ils / elles | détruiront | they will destroy |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul détruira les documents inutiles.
Later, Paul will destroy unnecessary documents.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | détruirais | I would destroy | |
| tu | détruirais | you would destroy | |
| il / elle / on | détruirait | he / she / it would destroyon: we would destroy / one would destroy | |
| nous | détruirions | we would destroy | |
| vous | détruiriez | you would destroy | |
| ils / elles | détruiraient | they would destroy |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul détruirait les documents inutiles.
Paul would destroy unnecessary documents.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | détruise | (that) I destroy | |
| tu | détruises | (that) you destroy | |
| il / elle / on | détruise | (that) he / she / it destroyson: (that) we destroy / one destroys | |
| nous | détruisions | (that) we destroy | |
| vous | détruisiez | (that) you destroy | |
| ils / elles | détruisent | (that) they destroy |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul détruise les documents inutiles.
It is possible that Paul destroys unnecessary documents.
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 destroy
- to destruct
- to demolish
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