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 start again.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | recommence | I start again | |
| tu | recommences | you start again | |
| il / elle / on | recommence | he / she / it starts againon: we start again / one starts again | |
| nous | recommençons | we start again | |
| vous | recommencez | you start again | |
| ils / elles | recommencent | they start again |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul recommence après une courte pause.
Paul starts again after a short break.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai recommencé | I started again | |
| tu | as recommencé | you started again | |
| il / elle / on | a recommencé | he / she / it started againon: we started again / one started again | |
| nous | avons recommencé | we started again | |
| vous | avez recommencé | you started again | |
| ils / elles | ont recommencé | they started again |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a recommencé après une courte pause.
Yesterday, Paul started again after a short break.
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’ | recommençais | I used to start again | |
| tu | recommençais | you used to start again | |
| il / elle / on | recommençait | he / she / it used to start againon: we used to start again / one used to start again | |
| nous | recommencions | we used to start again | |
| vous | recommenciez | you used to start again | |
| ils / elles | recommençaient | they used to start again |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul recommençait après une courte pause.
Back then, Paul used to start again after a short break.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | recommencerai | I will start again | |
| tu | recommenceras | you will start again | |
| il / elle / on | recommencera | he / she / it will start againon: we will start again / one will start again | |
| nous | recommencerons | we will start again | |
| vous | recommencerez | you will start again | |
| ils / elles | recommenceront | they will start again |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul recommencera après une courte pause.
Later, Paul will start again after a short break.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | recommencerais | I would start again | |
| tu | recommencerais | you would start again | |
| il / elle / on | recommencerait | he / she / it would start againon: we would start again / one would start again | |
| nous | recommencerions | we would start again | |
| vous | recommenceriez | you would start again | |
| ils / elles | recommenceraient | they would start again |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul recommencerait après une courte pause.
Paul would start again after a short break.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | recommence | (that) I start again | |
| tu | recommences | (that) you start again | |
| il / elle / on | recommence | (that) he / she / it starts againon: (that) we start again / one starts again | |
| nous | recommencions | (that) we start again | |
| vous | recommenciez | (that) you start again | |
| ils / elles | recommencent | (that) they start again |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul recommence après une courte pause.
It is possible that Paul starts again after a short break.
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 restart, start over, start again
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