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 enter.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | entre | I enter | |
| tu | entres | you enter | |
| il / elle / on | entre | he / she / it enterson: we enter / one enters | |
| nous | entrons | we enter | |
| vous | entrez | you enter | |
| ils / elles | entrent | they enter |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul entre dans la bibliothèque.
Paul enters the library.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | suis entré / suis entrée | I entered | |
| tu | es entré / es entrée | you entered | |
| il / elle / on | est entré / est entrée | he / she / it enteredon: we entered / one entered | |
| nous | sommes entrés / sommes entrées | we entered | |
| vous | êtes entré / êtes entrée / êtes entrés / êtes entrées | you entered | |
| ils / elles | sont entrés / sont entrées | they entered |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul est entré dans la bibliothèque.
Yesterday, Paul entered the library.
With être, the participle agrees with the subject: feminine -e, plural -s. The table gives masculine and feminine alternatives; vous may be singular or plural. With on meaning we, plural agreement is also possible.
Back to tense navigation ↑Imperfect Imparfait
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | entrais | I used to enter | |
| tu | entrais | you used to enter | |
| il / elle / on | entrait | he / she / it used to enteron: we used to enter / one used to enter | |
| nous | entrions | we used to enter | |
| vous | entriez | you used to enter | |
| ils / elles | entraient | they used to enter |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul entrait dans la bibliothèque.
Back then, Paul used to enter the library.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | entrerai | I will enter | |
| tu | entreras | you will enter | |
| il / elle / on | entrera | he / she / it will enteron: we will enter / one will enter | |
| nous | entrerons | we will enter | |
| vous | entrerez | you will enter | |
| ils / elles | entreront | they will enter |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul entrera dans la bibliothèque.
Later, Paul will enter the library.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | entrerais | I would enter | |
| tu | entrerais | you would enter | |
| il / elle / on | entrerait | he / she / it would enteron: we would enter / one would enter | |
| nous | entrerions | we would enter | |
| vous | entreriez | you would enter | |
| ils / elles | entreraient | they would enter |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul entrerait dans la bibliothèque.
Paul would enter the library.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | entre | (that) I enter | |
| tu | entres | (that) you enter | |
| il / elle / on | entre | (that) he / she / it enterson: (that) we enter / one enters | |
| nous | entrions | (that) we enter | |
| vous | entriez | (that) you enter | |
| ils / elles | entrent | (that) they enter |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul entre dans la bibliothèque.
It is possible that Paul enters the library.
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 enter
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