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’ | présente | I introduce | |
| tu | présentes | you introduce | |
| il / elle / on | présente | he / she / it introduceson: we introduce / one introduces | |
| nous | présentons | we introduce | |
| vous | présentez | you introduce | |
| ils / elles | présentent | they introduce |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul présente son ami à sa famille.
Paul introduces his friend to his family.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai présenté | I introduced | |
| tu | as présenté | you introduced | |
| il / elle / on | a présenté | he / she / it introducedon: we introduced / one introduced | |
| nous | avons présenté | we introduced | |
| vous | avez présenté | you introduced | |
| ils / elles | ont présenté | they introduced |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a présenté son ami à sa famille.
Yesterday, Paul introduced his friend to his family.
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’ | présentais | I used to introduce | |
| tu | présentais | you used to introduce | |
| il / elle / on | présentait | he / she / it used to introduceon: we used to introduce / one used to introduce | |
| nous | présentions | we used to introduce | |
| vous | présentiez | you used to introduce | |
| ils / elles | présentaient | they used to introduce |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul présentait son ami à sa famille.
Back then, Paul used to introduce his friend to his family.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | présenterai | I will introduce | |
| tu | présenteras | you will introduce | |
| il / elle / on | présentera | he / she / it will introduceon: we will introduce / one will introduce | |
| nous | présenterons | we will introduce | |
| vous | présenterez | you will introduce | |
| ils / elles | présenteront | they will introduce |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul présentera son ami à sa famille.
Later, Paul will introduce his friend to his family.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | présenterais | I would introduce | |
| tu | présenterais | you would introduce | |
| il / elle / on | présenterait | he / she / it would introduceon: we would introduce / one would introduce | |
| nous | présenterions | we would introduce | |
| vous | présenteriez | you would introduce | |
| ils / elles | présenteraient | they would introduce |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul présenterait son ami à sa famille.
Paul would introduce his friend to his family.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | présente | (that) I introduce | |
| tu | présentes | (that) you introduce | |
| il / elle / on | présente | (that) he / she / it introduceson: (that) we introduce / one introduces | |
| nous | présentions | (that) we introduce | |
| vous | présentiez | (that) you introduce | |
| ils / elles | présentent | (that) they introduce |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul présente son ami à sa famille.
It is possible that Paul introduces his friend to his family.
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 present, to introduce
- to show, to present
- to look
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