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 hire.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embauche | I hire | |
| tu | embauches | you hire | |
| il / elle / on | embauche | he / she / it hireson: we hire / one hires | |
| nous | embauchons | we hire | |
| vous | embauchez | you hire | |
| ils / elles | embauchent | they hire |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul embauche une nouvelle assistante.
Paul hires a new assistant.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai embauché | I hired | |
| tu | as embauché | you hired | |
| il / elle / on | a embauché | he / she / it hiredon: we hired / one hired | |
| nous | avons embauché | we hired | |
| vous | avez embauché | you hired | |
| ils / elles | ont embauché | they hired |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a embauché une nouvelle assistante.
Yesterday, Paul hired a new assistant.
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’ | embauchais | I used to hire | |
| tu | embauchais | you used to hire | |
| il / elle / on | embauchait | he / she / it used to hireon: we used to hire / one used to hire | |
| nous | embauchions | we used to hire | |
| vous | embauchiez | you used to hire | |
| ils / elles | embauchaient | they used to hire |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul embauchait une nouvelle assistante.
Back then, Paul used to hire a new assistant.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embaucherai | I will hire | |
| tu | embaucheras | you will hire | |
| il / elle / on | embauchera | he / she / it will hireon: we will hire / one will hire | |
| nous | embaucherons | we will hire | |
| vous | embaucherez | you will hire | |
| ils / elles | embaucheront | they will hire |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul embauchera une nouvelle assistante.
Later, Paul will hire a new assistant.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embaucherais | I would hire | |
| tu | embaucherais | you would hire | |
| il / elle / on | embaucherait | he / she / it would hireon: we would hire / one would hire | |
| nous | embaucherions | we would hire | |
| vous | embaucheriez | you would hire | |
| ils / elles | embaucheraient | they would hire |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul embaucherait une nouvelle assistante.
Paul would hire a new assistant.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embauche | (that) I hire | |
| tu | embauches | (that) you hire | |
| il / elle / on | embauche | (that) he / she / it hireson: (that) we hire / one hires | |
| nous | embauchions | (that) we hire | |
| vous | embauchiez | (that) you hire | |
| ils / elles | embauchent | (that) they hire |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul embauche une nouvelle assistante.
It is possible that Paul hires a new assistant.
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 hire, to employ
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