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 inscribe.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | inscris | I inscribe | |
| tu | inscris | you inscribe | |
| il / elle / on | inscrit | he / she / it inscribeson: we inscribe / one inscribes | |
| nous | inscrivons | we inscribe | |
| vous | inscrivez | you inscribe | |
| ils / elles | inscrivent | they inscribe |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul inscrit son nom sur la plaque.
Paul inscribes his name on the plaque.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai inscrit | I inscribed | |
| tu | as inscrit | you inscribed | |
| il / elle / on | a inscrit | he / she / it inscribedon: we inscribed / one inscribed | |
| nous | avons inscrit | we inscribed | |
| vous | avez inscrit | you inscribed | |
| ils / elles | ont inscrit | they inscribed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a inscrit son nom sur la plaque.
Yesterday, Paul inscribed his name on the plaque.
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’ | inscrivais | I used to inscribe | |
| tu | inscrivais | you used to inscribe | |
| il / elle / on | inscrivait | he / she / it used to inscribeon: we used to inscribe / one used to inscribe | |
| nous | inscrivions | we used to inscribe | |
| vous | inscriviez | you used to inscribe | |
| ils / elles | inscrivaient | they used to inscribe |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul inscrivait son nom sur la plaque.
Back then, Paul used to inscribe his name on the plaque.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | inscrirai | I will inscribe | |
| tu | inscriras | you will inscribe | |
| il / elle / on | inscrira | he / she / it will inscribeon: we will inscribe / one will inscribe | |
| nous | inscrirons | we will inscribe | |
| vous | inscrirez | you will inscribe | |
| ils / elles | inscriront | they will inscribe |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul inscrira son nom sur la plaque.
Later, Paul will inscribe his name on the plaque.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | inscrirais | I would inscribe | |
| tu | inscrirais | you would inscribe | |
| il / elle / on | inscrirait | he / she / it would inscribeon: we would inscribe / one would inscribe | |
| nous | inscririons | we would inscribe | |
| vous | inscririez | you would inscribe | |
| ils / elles | inscriraient | they would inscribe |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul inscrirait son nom sur la plaque.
Paul would inscribe his name on the plaque.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | inscrive | (that) I inscribe | |
| tu | inscrives | (that) you inscribe | |
| il / elle / on | inscrive | (that) he / she / it inscribeson: (that) we inscribe / one inscribes | |
| nous | inscrivions | (that) we inscribe | |
| vous | inscriviez | (that) you inscribe | |
| ils / elles | inscrivent | (that) they inscribe |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul inscrive son nom sur la plaque.
It is possible that Paul inscribes his name on the plaque.
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 inscribe (engrave)
- to inscribe; jot down (make notes on paper)
- to inscribe
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