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 frame.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | encadre | I frame | |
| tu | encadres | you frame | |
| il / elle / on | encadre | he / she / it frameson: we frame / one frames | |
| nous | encadrons | we frame | |
| vous | encadrez | you frame | |
| ils / elles | encadrent | they frame |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul encadre la photographie de famille.
Paul frames the family photograph.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai encadré | I framed | |
| tu | as encadré | you framed | |
| il / elle / on | a encadré | he / she / it framedon: we framed / one framed | |
| nous | avons encadré | we framed | |
| vous | avez encadré | you framed | |
| ils / elles | ont encadré | they framed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a encadré la photographie de famille.
Yesterday, Paul framed the family photograph.
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’ | encadrais | I used to frame | |
| tu | encadrais | you used to frame | |
| il / elle / on | encadrait | he / she / it used to frameon: we used to frame / one used to frame | |
| nous | encadrions | we used to frame | |
| vous | encadriez | you used to frame | |
| ils / elles | encadraient | they used to frame |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul encadrait la photographie de famille.
Back then, Paul used to frame the family photograph.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | encadrerai | I will frame | |
| tu | encadreras | you will frame | |
| il / elle / on | encadrera | he / she / it will frameon: we will frame / one will frame | |
| nous | encadrerons | we will frame | |
| vous | encadrerez | you will frame | |
| ils / elles | encadreront | they will frame |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul encadrera la photographie de famille.
Later, Paul will frame the family photograph.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | encadrerais | I would frame | |
| tu | encadrerais | you would frame | |
| il / elle / on | encadrerait | he / she / it would frameon: we would frame / one would frame | |
| nous | encadrerions | we would frame | |
| vous | encadreriez | you would frame | |
| ils / elles | encadreraient | they would frame |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul encadrerait la photographie de famille.
Paul would frame the family photograph.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | encadre | (that) I frame | |
| tu | encadres | (that) you frame | |
| il / elle / on | encadre | (that) he / she / it frameson: (that) we frame / one frames | |
| nous | encadrions | (that) we frame | |
| vous | encadriez | (that) you frame | |
| ils / elles | encadrent | (that) they frame |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul encadre la photographie de famille.
It is possible that Paul frames the family photograph.
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 frame
- to surround, outline
- to supervise, overlook
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