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 master.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | maîtrise | I master | |
| tu | maîtrises | you master | |
| il / elle / on | maîtrise | he / she / it masterson: we master / one masters | |
| nous | maîtrisons | we master | |
| vous | maîtrisez | you master | |
| ils / elles | maîtrisent | they master |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul maîtrise cette technique de peinture.
Paul masters this painting technique.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai maîtrisé | I mastered | |
| tu | as maîtrisé | you mastered | |
| il / elle / on | a maîtrisé | he / she / it masteredon: we mastered / one mastered | |
| nous | avons maîtrisé | we mastered | |
| vous | avez maîtrisé | you mastered | |
| ils / elles | ont maîtrisé | they mastered |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a maîtrisé cette technique de peinture.
Yesterday, Paul mastered this painting technique.
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’ | maîtrisais | I used to master | |
| tu | maîtrisais | you used to master | |
| il / elle / on | maîtrisait | he / she / it used to masteron: we used to master / one used to master | |
| nous | maîtrisions | we used to master | |
| vous | maîtrisiez | you used to master | |
| ils / elles | maîtrisaient | they used to master |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul maîtrisait cette technique de peinture.
Back then, Paul used to master this painting technique.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | maîtriserai | I will master | |
| tu | maîtriseras | you will master | |
| il / elle / on | maîtrisera | he / she / it will masteron: we will master / one will master | |
| nous | maîtriserons | we will master | |
| vous | maîtriserez | you will master | |
| ils / elles | maîtriseront | they will master |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul maîtrisera cette technique de peinture.
Later, Paul will master this painting technique.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | maîtriserais | I would master | |
| tu | maîtriserais | you would master | |
| il / elle / on | maîtriserait | he / she / it would masteron: we would master / one would master | |
| nous | maîtriserions | we would master | |
| vous | maîtriseriez | you would master | |
| ils / elles | maîtriseraient | they would master |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul maîtriserait cette technique de peinture.
Paul would master this painting technique.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | maîtrise | (that) I master | |
| tu | maîtrises | (that) you master | |
| il / elle / on | maîtrise | (that) he / she / it masterson: (that) we master / one masters | |
| nous | maîtrisions | (that) we master | |
| vous | maîtrisiez | (that) you master | |
| ils / elles | maîtrisent | (that) they master |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul maîtrise cette technique de peinture.
It is possible that Paul masters this painting technique.
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 master, have authority over somebody
- to dominate, overcome, conquer, control
- be master of
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