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 cross.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | franchis | I cross | |
| tu | franchis | you cross | |
| il / elle / on | franchit | he / she / it crosseson: we cross / one crosses | |
| nous | franchissons | we cross | |
| vous | franchissez | you cross | |
| ils / elles | franchissent | they cross |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Le coureur franchit la ligne d'arrivée.
The runner crosses the finish line.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai franchi | I crossed | |
| tu | as franchi | you crossed | |
| il / elle / on | a franchi | he / she / it crossedon: we crossed / one crossed | |
| nous | avons franchi | we crossed | |
| vous | avez franchi | you crossed | |
| ils / elles | ont franchi | they crossed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, le coureur a franchi la ligne d'arrivée.
Yesterday, the runner crossed the finish line.
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’ | franchissais | I used to cross | |
| tu | franchissais | you used to cross | |
| il / elle / on | franchissait | he / she / it used to crosson: we used to cross / one used to cross | |
| nous | franchissions | we used to cross | |
| vous | franchissiez | you used to cross | |
| ils / elles | franchissaient | they used to cross |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, le coureur franchissait la ligne d'arrivée.
Back then, the runner used to cross the finish line.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | franchirai | I will cross | |
| tu | franchiras | you will cross | |
| il / elle / on | franchira | he / she / it will crosson: we will cross / one will cross | |
| nous | franchirons | we will cross | |
| vous | franchirez | you will cross | |
| ils / elles | franchiront | they will cross |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, le coureur franchira la ligne d'arrivée.
Later, the runner will cross the finish line.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | franchirais | I would cross | |
| tu | franchirais | you would cross | |
| il / elle / on | franchirait | he / she / it would crosson: we would cross / one would cross | |
| nous | franchirions | we would cross | |
| vous | franchiriez | you would cross | |
| ils / elles | franchiraient | they would cross |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Le coureur franchirait la ligne d'arrivée.
The runner would cross the finish line.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | franchisse | (that) I cross | |
| tu | franchisses | (that) you cross | |
| il / elle / on | franchisse | (that) he / she / it crosseson: (that) we cross / one crosses | |
| nous | franchissions | (that) we cross | |
| vous | franchissiez | (that) you cross | |
| ils / elles | franchissent | (that) they cross |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que le coureur franchisse la ligne d'arrivée.
It is possible that the runner crosses the finish line.
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 clear, to cross (a line), to pass (an obstacle etc.); to get over (a fence)
- to cover (a distance)
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