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 threaten.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | menace | I threaten | |
| tu | menaces | you threaten | |
| il / elle / on | menace | he / she / it threatenson: we threaten / one threatens | |
| nous | menaçons | we threaten | |
| vous | menacez | you threaten | |
| ils / elles | menacent | they threaten |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
L'orage menace le village.
The storm threatens the village.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai menacé | I threatened | |
| tu | as menacé | you threatened | |
| il / elle / on | a menacé | he / she / it threatenedon: we threatened / one threatened | |
| nous | avons menacé | we threatened | |
| vous | avez menacé | you threatened | |
| ils / elles | ont menacé | they threatened |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, l'orage a menacé le village.
Yesterday, the storm threatened the village.
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’ | menaçais | I used to threaten | |
| tu | menaçais | you used to threaten | |
| il / elle / on | menaçait | he / she / it used to threatenon: we used to threaten / one used to threaten | |
| nous | menacions | we used to threaten | |
| vous | menaciez | you used to threaten | |
| ils / elles | menaçaient | they used to threaten |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, l'orage menaçait le village.
Back then, the storm used to threaten the village.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | menacerai | I will threaten | |
| tu | menaceras | you will threaten | |
| il / elle / on | menacera | he / she / it will threatenon: we will threaten / one will threaten | |
| nous | menacerons | we will threaten | |
| vous | menacerez | you will threaten | |
| ils / elles | menaceront | they will threaten |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, l'orage menacera le village.
Later, the storm will threaten the village.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | menacerais | I would threaten | |
| tu | menacerais | you would threaten | |
| il / elle / on | menacerait | he / she / it would threatenon: we would threaten / one would threaten | |
| nous | menacerions | we would threaten | |
| vous | menaceriez | you would threaten | |
| ils / elles | menaceraient | they would threaten |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
L'orage menacerait le village.
The storm would threaten the village.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | menace | (that) I threaten | |
| tu | menaces | (that) you threaten | |
| il / elle / on | menace | (that) he / she / it threatenson: (that) we threaten / one threatens | |
| nous | menacions | (that) we threaten | |
| vous | menaciez | (that) you threaten | |
| ils / elles | menacent | (that) they threaten |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que l'orage menace le village.
It is possible that the storm threatens the village.
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 threaten
- to endanger, to jeopardise
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