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 introduce.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | initie | I introduce | |
| tu | inities | you introduce | |
| il / elle / on | initie | he / she / it introduceson: we introduce / one introduces | |
| nous | initions | we introduce | |
| vous | initiez | you introduce | |
| ils / elles | initient | they introduce |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul initie son fils aux échecs.
Paul introduces his son to chess.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai initié | I introduced | |
| tu | as initié | you introduced | |
| il / elle / on | a initié | he / she / it introducedon: we introduced / one introduced | |
| nous | avons initié | we introduced | |
| vous | avez initié | you introduced | |
| ils / elles | ont initié | they introduced |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a initié son fils aux échecs.
Yesterday, Paul introduced his son to chess.
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’ | initiais | I used to introduce | |
| tu | initiais | you used to introduce | |
| il / elle / on | initiait | he / she / it used to introduceon: we used to introduce / one used to introduce | |
| nous | initiions | we used to introduce | |
| vous | initiiez | you used to introduce | |
| ils / elles | initiaient | they used to introduce |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul initiait son fils aux échecs.
Back then, Paul used to introduce his son to chess.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | initierai | I will introduce | |
| tu | initieras | you will introduce | |
| il / elle / on | initiera | he / she / it will introduceon: we will introduce / one will introduce | |
| nous | initierons | we will introduce | |
| vous | initierez | you will introduce | |
| ils / elles | initieront | they will introduce |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul initiera son fils aux échecs.
Later, Paul will introduce his son to chess.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | initierais | I would introduce | |
| tu | initierais | you would introduce | |
| il / elle / on | initierait | he / she / it would introduceon: we would introduce / one would introduce | |
| nous | initierions | we would introduce | |
| vous | initieriez | you would introduce | |
| ils / elles | initieraient | they would introduce |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul initierait son fils aux échecs.
Paul would introduce his son to chess.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | initie | (that) I introduce | |
| tu | inities | (that) you introduce | |
| il / elle / on | initie | (that) he / she / it introduceson: (that) we introduce / one introduces | |
| nous | initiions | (that) we introduce | |
| vous | initiiez | (that) you introduce | |
| ils / elles | initient | (that) they introduce |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul initie son fils aux échecs.
It is possible that Paul introduces his son to chess.
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 initiate (to introduce into a religion, sect, art, etc.)
- to start, to initiate
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