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 kiss.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embrasse | I kiss | |
| tu | embrasses | you kiss | |
| il / elle / on | embrasse | he / she / it kisseson: we kiss / one kisses | |
| nous | embrassons | we kiss | |
| vous | embrassez | you kiss | |
| ils / elles | embrassent | they kiss |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul embrasse sa mère sur la joue.
Paul kisses his mother on the cheek.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai embrassé | I kissed | |
| tu | as embrassé | you kissed | |
| il / elle / on | a embrassé | he / she / it kissedon: we kissed / one kissed | |
| nous | avons embrassé | we kissed | |
| vous | avez embrassé | you kissed | |
| ils / elles | ont embrassé | they kissed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a embrassé sa mère sur la joue.
Yesterday, Paul kissed his mother on the cheek.
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’ | embrassais | I used to kiss | |
| tu | embrassais | you used to kiss | |
| il / elle / on | embrassait | he / she / it used to kisson: we used to kiss / one used to kiss | |
| nous | embrassions | we used to kiss | |
| vous | embrassiez | you used to kiss | |
| ils / elles | embrassaient | they used to kiss |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul embrassait sa mère sur la joue.
Back then, Paul used to kiss his mother on the cheek.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embrasserai | I will kiss | |
| tu | embrasseras | you will kiss | |
| il / elle / on | embrassera | he / she / it will kisson: we will kiss / one will kiss | |
| nous | embrasserons | we will kiss | |
| vous | embrasserez | you will kiss | |
| ils / elles | embrasseront | they will kiss |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul embrassera sa mère sur la joue.
Later, Paul will kiss his mother on the cheek.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embrasserais | I would kiss | |
| tu | embrasserais | you would kiss | |
| il / elle / on | embrasserait | he / she / it would kisson: we would kiss / one would kiss | |
| nous | embrasserions | we would kiss | |
| vous | embrasseriez | you would kiss | |
| ils / elles | embrasseraient | they would kiss |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul embrasserait sa mère sur la joue.
Paul would kiss his mother on the cheek.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | embrasse | (that) I kiss | |
| tu | embrasses | (that) you kiss | |
| il / elle / on | embrasse | (that) he / she / it kisseson: (that) we kiss / one kisses | |
| nous | embrassions | (that) we kiss | |
| vous | embrassiez | (that) you kiss | |
| ils / elles | embrassent | (that) they kiss |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul embrasse sa mère sur la joue.
It is possible that Paul kisses his mother on the cheek.
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 kiss (to touch with the lips)
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