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 invent.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | invente | I invent | |
| tu | inventes | you invent | |
| il / elle / on | invente | he / she / it inventson: we invent / one invents | |
| nous | inventons | we invent | |
| vous | inventez | you invent | |
| ils / elles | inventent | they invent |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
L'ingénieur invente un nouveau système de freinage.
The engineer invents a new braking system.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai inventé | I invented | |
| tu | as inventé | you invented | |
| il / elle / on | a inventé | he / she / it inventedon: we invented / one invented | |
| nous | avons inventé | we invented | |
| vous | avez inventé | you invented | |
| ils / elles | ont inventé | they invented |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, l'ingénieur a inventé un nouveau système de freinage.
Yesterday, the engineer invented a new braking system.
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’ | inventais | I used to invent | |
| tu | inventais | you used to invent | |
| il / elle / on | inventait | he / she / it used to inventon: we used to invent / one used to invent | |
| nous | inventions | we used to invent | |
| vous | inventiez | you used to invent | |
| ils / elles | inventaient | they used to invent |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, l'ingénieur inventait un nouveau système de freinage.
Back then, the engineer used to invent a new braking system.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | inventerai | I will invent | |
| tu | inventeras | you will invent | |
| il / elle / on | inventera | he / she / it will inventon: we will invent / one will invent | |
| nous | inventerons | we will invent | |
| vous | inventerez | you will invent | |
| ils / elles | inventeront | they will invent |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, l'ingénieur inventera un nouveau système de freinage.
Later, the engineer will invent a new braking system.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | inventerais | I would invent | |
| tu | inventerais | you would invent | |
| il / elle / on | inventerait | he / she / it would inventon: we would invent / one would invent | |
| nous | inventerions | we would invent | |
| vous | inventeriez | you would invent | |
| ils / elles | inventeraient | they would invent |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
L'ingénieur inventerait un nouveau système de freinage.
The engineer would invent a new braking system.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | invente | (that) I invent | |
| tu | inventes | (that) you invent | |
| il / elle / on | invente | (that) he / she / it inventson: (that) we invent / one invents | |
| nous | inventions | (that) we invent | |
| vous | inventiez | (that) you invent | |
| ils / elles | inventent | (that) they invent |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que l'ingénieur invente un nouveau système de freinage.
It is possible that the engineer invents a new braking system.
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 invent (to make something for the first time)
- to invent (to create a mistruth)
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