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 thread.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enfile | I thread | |
| tu | enfiles | you thread | |
| il / elle / on | enfile | he / she / it threadson: we thread / one threads | |
| nous | enfilons | we thread | |
| vous | enfilez | you thread | |
| ils / elles | enfilent | they thread |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul enfile une aiguille pour réparer sa chemise.
Paul threads a needle to repair his shirt.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai enfilé | I threaded | |
| tu | as enfilé | you threaded | |
| il / elle / on | a enfilé | he / she / it threadedon: we threaded / one threaded | |
| nous | avons enfilé | we threaded | |
| vous | avez enfilé | you threaded | |
| ils / elles | ont enfilé | they threaded |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a enfilé une aiguille pour réparer sa chemise.
Yesterday, Paul threaded a needle to repair his shirt.
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’ | enfilais | I used to thread | |
| tu | enfilais | you used to thread | |
| il / elle / on | enfilait | he / she / it used to threadon: we used to thread / one used to thread | |
| nous | enfilions | we used to thread | |
| vous | enfiliez | you used to thread | |
| ils / elles | enfilaient | they used to thread |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul enfilait une aiguille pour réparer sa chemise.
Back then, Paul used to thread a needle to repair his shirt.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enfilerai | I will thread | |
| tu | enfileras | you will thread | |
| il / elle / on | enfilera | he / she / it will threadon: we will thread / one will thread | |
| nous | enfilerons | we will thread | |
| vous | enfilerez | you will thread | |
| ils / elles | enfileront | they will thread |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul enfilera une aiguille pour réparer sa chemise.
Later, Paul will thread a needle to repair his shirt.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enfilerais | I would thread | |
| tu | enfilerais | you would thread | |
| il / elle / on | enfilerait | he / she / it would threadon: we would thread / one would thread | |
| nous | enfilerions | we would thread | |
| vous | enfileriez | you would thread | |
| ils / elles | enfileraient | they would thread |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul enfilerait une aiguille pour réparer sa chemise.
Paul would thread a needle to repair his shirt.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enfile | (that) I thread | |
| tu | enfiles | (that) you thread | |
| il / elle / on | enfile | (that) he / she / it threadson: (that) we thread / one threads | |
| nous | enfilions | (that) we thread | |
| vous | enfiliez | (that) you thread | |
| ils / elles | enfilent | (that) they thread |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul enfile une aiguille pour réparer sa chemise.
It is possible that Paul threads a needle to repair his shirt.
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 thread (a needle)
- to string, to sling (put on a string or sling)
- to put on (clothes)
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