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 promise.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | promets | I promise | |
| tu | promets | you promise | |
| il / elle / on | promet | he / she / it promiseson: we promise / one promises | |
| nous | promettons | we promise | |
| vous | promettez | you promise | |
| ils / elles | promettent | they promise |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul promet une réponse rapide.
Paul promises a quick answer.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai promis | I promised | |
| tu | as promis | you promised | |
| il / elle / on | a promis | he / she / it promisedon: we promised / one promised | |
| nous | avons promis | we promised | |
| vous | avez promis | you promised | |
| ils / elles | ont promis | they promised |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a promis une réponse rapide.
Yesterday, Paul promised a quick answer.
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’ | promettais | I used to promise | |
| tu | promettais | you used to promise | |
| il / elle / on | promettait | he / she / it used to promiseon: we used to promise / one used to promise | |
| nous | promettions | we used to promise | |
| vous | promettiez | you used to promise | |
| ils / elles | promettaient | they used to promise |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul promettait une réponse rapide.
Back then, Paul used to promise a quick answer.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | promettrai | I will promise | |
| tu | promettras | you will promise | |
| il / elle / on | promettra | he / she / it will promiseon: we will promise / one will promise | |
| nous | promettrons | we will promise | |
| vous | promettrez | you will promise | |
| ils / elles | promettront | they will promise |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul promettra une réponse rapide.
Later, Paul will promise a quick answer.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | promettrais | I would promise | |
| tu | promettrais | you would promise | |
| il / elle / on | promettrait | he / she / it would promiseon: we would promise / one would promise | |
| nous | promettrions | we would promise | |
| vous | promettriez | you would promise | |
| ils / elles | promettraient | they would promise |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul promettrait une réponse rapide.
Paul would promise a quick answer.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | promette | (that) I promise | |
| tu | promettes | (that) you promise | |
| il / elle / on | promette | (that) he / she / it promiseson: (that) we promise / one promises | |
| nous | promettions | (that) we promise | |
| vous | promettiez | (that) you promise | |
| ils / elles | promettent | (that) they promise |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul promette une réponse rapide.
It is possible that Paul promises a quick answer.
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 promise
- to be promising, to be hopeful
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