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 win.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | gagne | I win | |
| tu | gagnes | you win | |
| il / elle / on | gagne | he / she / it winson: we win / one wins | |
| nous | gagnons | we win | |
| vous | gagnez | you win | |
| ils / elles | gagnent | they win |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul gagne la partie d'échecs.
Paul wins the chess game.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai gagné | I won | |
| tu | as gagné | you won | |
| il / elle / on | a gagné | he / she / it wonon: we won / one won | |
| nous | avons gagné | we won | |
| vous | avez gagné | you won | |
| ils / elles | ont gagné | they won |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a gagné la partie d'échecs.
Yesterday, Paul won the chess game.
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’ | gagnais | I used to win | |
| tu | gagnais | you used to win | |
| il / elle / on | gagnait | he / she / it used to winon: we used to win / one used to win | |
| nous | gagnions | we used to win | |
| vous | gagniez | you used to win | |
| ils / elles | gagnaient | they used to win |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul gagnait la partie d'échecs.
Back then, Paul used to win the chess game.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | gagnerai | I will win | |
| tu | gagneras | you will win | |
| il / elle / on | gagnera | he / she / it will winon: we will win / one will win | |
| nous | gagnerons | we will win | |
| vous | gagnerez | you will win | |
| ils / elles | gagneront | they will win |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul gagnera la partie d'échecs.
Later, Paul will win the chess game.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | gagnerais | I would win | |
| tu | gagnerais | you would win | |
| il / elle / on | gagnerait | he / she / it would winon: we would win / one would win | |
| nous | gagnerions | we would win | |
| vous | gagneriez | you would win | |
| ils / elles | gagneraient | they would win |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul gagnerait la partie d'échecs.
Paul would win the chess game.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | gagne | (that) I win | |
| tu | gagnes | (that) you win | |
| il / elle / on | gagne | (that) he / she / it winson: (that) we win / one wins | |
| nous | gagnions | (that) we win | |
| vous | gagniez | (that) you win | |
| ils / elles | gagnent | (that) they win |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul gagne la partie d'échecs.
It is possible that Paul wins the chess game.
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 win
- to earn
- to gain; to obtain
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