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 embody.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | incarne | I embody | |
| tu | incarnes | you embody | |
| il / elle / on | incarne | he / she / it embodieson: we embody / one embodies | |
| nous | incarnons | we embody | |
| vous | incarnez | you embody | |
| ils / elles | incarnent | they embody |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Ce personnage incarne le courage.
This character embodies courage.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai incarné | I embodied | |
| tu | as incarné | you embodied | |
| il / elle / on | a incarné | he / she / it embodiedon: we embodied / one embodied | |
| nous | avons incarné | we embodied | |
| vous | avez incarné | you embodied | |
| ils / elles | ont incarné | they embodied |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, ce personnage a incarné le courage.
Yesterday, this character embodied courage.
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’ | incarnais | I used to embody | |
| tu | incarnais | you used to embody | |
| il / elle / on | incarnait | he / she / it used to embodyon: we used to embody / one used to embody | |
| nous | incarnions | we used to embody | |
| vous | incarniez | you used to embody | |
| ils / elles | incarnaient | they used to embody |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, ce personnage incarnait le courage.
Back then, this character used to embody courage.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | incarnerai | I will embody | |
| tu | incarneras | you will embody | |
| il / elle / on | incarnera | he / she / it will embodyon: we will embody / one will embody | |
| nous | incarnerons | we will embody | |
| vous | incarnerez | you will embody | |
| ils / elles | incarneront | they will embody |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, ce personnage incarnera le courage.
Later, this character will embody courage.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | incarnerais | I would embody | |
| tu | incarnerais | you would embody | |
| il / elle / on | incarnerait | he / she / it would embodyon: we would embody / one would embody | |
| nous | incarnerions | we would embody | |
| vous | incarneriez | you would embody | |
| ils / elles | incarneraient | they would embody |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Ce personnage incarnerait le courage.
This character would embody courage.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | incarne | (that) I embody | |
| tu | incarnes | (that) you embody | |
| il / elle / on | incarne | (that) he / she / it embodieson: (that) we embody / one embodies | |
| nous | incarnions | (that) we embody | |
| vous | incarniez | (that) you embody | |
| ils / elles | incarnent | (that) they embody |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que ce personnage incarne le courage.
It is possible that this character embodies courage.
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 incarnate
- to embody, to personify
- to play (act as a certain character)
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