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 spread out.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étale | I spread out | |
| tu | étales | you spread out | |
| il / elle / on | étale | he / she / it spreads outon: we spread out / one spreads out | |
| nous | étalons | we spread out | |
| vous | étalez | you spread out | |
| ils / elles | étalent | they spread out |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul étale les documents sur la table.
Paul spreads out the documents on the table.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai étalé | I spread out | |
| tu | as étalé | you spread out | |
| il / elle / on | a étalé | he / she / it spread outon: we spread out / one spread out | |
| nous | avons étalé | we spread out | |
| vous | avez étalé | you spread out | |
| ils / elles | ont étalé | they spread out |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a étalé les documents sur la table.
Yesterday, Paul spread out the documents on the table.
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’ | étalais | I used to spread out | |
| tu | étalais | you used to spread out | |
| il / elle / on | étalait | he / she / it used to spread outon: we used to spread out / one used to spread out | |
| nous | étalions | we used to spread out | |
| vous | étaliez | you used to spread out | |
| ils / elles | étalaient | they used to spread out |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul étalait les documents sur la table.
Back then, Paul used to spread out the documents on the table.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étalerai | I will spread out | |
| tu | étaleras | you will spread out | |
| il / elle / on | étalera | he / she / it will spread outon: we will spread out / one will spread out | |
| nous | étalerons | we will spread out | |
| vous | étalerez | you will spread out | |
| ils / elles | étaleront | they will spread out |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul étalera les documents sur la table.
Later, Paul will spread out the documents on the table.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étalerais | I would spread out | |
| tu | étalerais | you would spread out | |
| il / elle / on | étalerait | he / she / it would spread outon: we would spread out / one would spread out | |
| nous | étalerions | we would spread out | |
| vous | étaleriez | you would spread out | |
| ils / elles | étaleraient | they would spread out |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul étalerait les documents sur la table.
Paul would spread out the documents on the table.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étale | (that) I spread out | |
| tu | étales | (that) you spread out | |
| il / elle / on | étale | (that) he / she / it spreads outon: (that) we spread out / one spreads out | |
| nous | étalions | (that) we spread out | |
| vous | étaliez | (that) you spread out | |
| ils / elles | étalent | (that) they spread out |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul étale les documents sur la table.
It is possible that Paul spreads out the documents on the table.
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 spread, spread out (papers, objects, etc.; sur on or over)
- to spread, smear (butter, etc.)
- to spread, stagger (repayments)
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