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 enlarge.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | grossis | I enlarge | |
| tu | grossis | you enlarge | |
| il / elle / on | grossit | he / she / it enlargeson: we enlarge / one enlarges | |
| nous | grossissons | we enlarge | |
| vous | grossissez | you enlarge | |
| ils / elles | grossissent | they enlarge |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul grossit l'image sur l'écran.
Paul enlarges the image on the screen.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai grossi | I enlarged | |
| tu | as grossi | you enlarged | |
| il / elle / on | a grossi | he / she / it enlargedon: we enlarged / one enlarged | |
| nous | avons grossi | we enlarged | |
| vous | avez grossi | you enlarged | |
| ils / elles | ont grossi | they enlarged |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a grossi l'image sur l'écran.
Yesterday, Paul enlarged the image on the screen.
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’ | grossissais | I used to enlarge | |
| tu | grossissais | you used to enlarge | |
| il / elle / on | grossissait | he / she / it used to enlargeon: we used to enlarge / one used to enlarge | |
| nous | grossissions | we used to enlarge | |
| vous | grossissiez | you used to enlarge | |
| ils / elles | grossissaient | they used to enlarge |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul grossissait l'image sur l'écran.
Back then, Paul used to enlarge the image on the screen.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | grossirai | I will enlarge | |
| tu | grossiras | you will enlarge | |
| il / elle / on | grossira | he / she / it will enlargeon: we will enlarge / one will enlarge | |
| nous | grossirons | we will enlarge | |
| vous | grossirez | you will enlarge | |
| ils / elles | grossiront | they will enlarge |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul grossira l'image sur l'écran.
Later, Paul will enlarge the image on the screen.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | grossirais | I would enlarge | |
| tu | grossirais | you would enlarge | |
| il / elle / on | grossirait | he / she / it would enlargeon: we would enlarge / one would enlarge | |
| nous | grossirions | we would enlarge | |
| vous | grossiriez | you would enlarge | |
| ils / elles | grossiraient | they would enlarge |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul grossirait l'image sur l'écran.
Paul would enlarge the image on the screen.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | grossisse | (that) I enlarge | |
| tu | grossisses | (that) you enlarge | |
| il / elle / on | grossisse | (that) he / she / it enlargeson: (that) we enlarge / one enlarges | |
| nous | grossissions | (that) we enlarge | |
| vous | grossissiez | (that) you enlarge | |
| ils / elles | grossissent | (that) they enlarge |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul grossisse l'image sur l'écran.
It is possible that Paul enlarges the image on the screen.
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 increase, to make larger
- to plump up
- to put on weight, to gain weight; to get fat
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