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 board.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embarque | I board | |
| tu | embarques | you board | |
| il / elle / on | embarque | he / she / it boardson: we board / one boards | |
| nous | embarquons | we board | |
| vous | embarquez | you board | |
| ils / elles | embarquent | they board |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul embarque sur le bateau au port.
Paul boards the boat at the harbour.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai embarqué | I boarded | |
| tu | as embarqué | you boarded | |
| il / elle / on | a embarqué | he / she / it boardedon: we boarded / one boarded | |
| nous | avons embarqué | we boarded | |
| vous | avez embarqué | you boarded | |
| ils / elles | ont embarqué | they boarded |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a embarqué sur le bateau au port.
Yesterday, Paul boarded the boat at the harbour.
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’ | embarquais | I used to board | |
| tu | embarquais | you used to board | |
| il / elle / on | embarquait | he / she / it used to boardon: we used to board / one used to board | |
| nous | embarquions | we used to board | |
| vous | embarquiez | you used to board | |
| ils / elles | embarquaient | they used to board |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul embarquait sur le bateau au port.
Back then, Paul used to board the boat at the harbour.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embarquerai | I will board | |
| tu | embarqueras | you will board | |
| il / elle / on | embarquera | he / she / it will boardon: we will board / one will board | |
| nous | embarquerons | we will board | |
| vous | embarquerez | you will board | |
| ils / elles | embarqueront | they will board |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul embarquera sur le bateau au port.
Later, Paul will board the boat at the harbour.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embarquerais | I would board | |
| tu | embarquerais | you would board | |
| il / elle / on | embarquerait | he / she / it would boardon: we would board / one would board | |
| nous | embarquerions | we would board | |
| vous | embarqueriez | you would board | |
| ils / elles | embarqueraient | they would board |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul embarquerait sur le bateau au port.
Paul would board the boat at the harbour.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embarque | (that) I board | |
| tu | embarques | (that) you board | |
| il / elle / on | embarque | (that) he / she / it boardson: (that) we board / one boards | |
| nous | embarquions | (that) we board | |
| vous | embarquiez | (that) you board | |
| ils / elles | embarquent | (that) they board |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul embarque sur le bateau au port.
It is possible that Paul boards the boat at the harbour.
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 board (a vehicle)
- to embark (to set off on a journey)
- To embark (upon)
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