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 record.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enregistre | I record | |
| tu | enregistres | you record | |
| il / elle / on | enregistre | he / she / it recordson: we record / one records | |
| nous | enregistrons | we record | |
| vous | enregistrez | you record | |
| ils / elles | enregistrent | they record |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul enregistre une chanson dans le studio.
Paul records a song in the studio.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai enregistré | I recorded | |
| tu | as enregistré | you recorded | |
| il / elle / on | a enregistré | he / she / it recordedon: we recorded / one recorded | |
| nous | avons enregistré | we recorded | |
| vous | avez enregistré | you recorded | |
| ils / elles | ont enregistré | they recorded |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a enregistré une chanson dans le studio.
Yesterday, Paul recorded a song in the studio.
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’ | enregistrais | I used to record | |
| tu | enregistrais | you used to record | |
| il / elle / on | enregistrait | he / she / it used to recordon: we used to record / one used to record | |
| nous | enregistrions | we used to record | |
| vous | enregistriez | you used to record | |
| ils / elles | enregistraient | they used to record |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul enregistrait une chanson dans le studio.
Back then, Paul used to record a song in the studio.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enregistrerai | I will record | |
| tu | enregistreras | you will record | |
| il / elle / on | enregistrera | he / she / it will recordon: we will record / one will record | |
| nous | enregistrerons | we will record | |
| vous | enregistrerez | you will record | |
| ils / elles | enregistreront | they will record |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul enregistrera une chanson dans le studio.
Later, Paul will record a song in the studio.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enregistrerais | I would record | |
| tu | enregistrerais | you would record | |
| il / elle / on | enregistrerait | he / she / it would recordon: we would record / one would record | |
| nous | enregistrerions | we would record | |
| vous | enregistreriez | you would record | |
| ils / elles | enregistreraient | they would record |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul enregistrerait une chanson dans le studio.
Paul would record a song in the studio.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | enregistre | (that) I record | |
| tu | enregistres | (that) you record | |
| il / elle / on | enregistre | (that) he / she / it recordson: (that) we record / one records | |
| nous | enregistrions | (that) we record | |
| vous | enregistriez | (that) you record | |
| ils / elles | enregistrent | (that) they record |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul enregistre une chanson dans le studio.
It is possible that Paul records a song in the studio.
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 record for later replay or use, especially sound
- to tape a movie or otherwise record it
- to inscribe on a register or similar support
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