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 think.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | réfléchis | I think | |
| tu | réfléchis | you think | |
| il / elle / on | réfléchit | he / she / it thinkson: we think / one thinks | |
| nous | réfléchissons | we think | |
| vous | réfléchissez | you think | |
| ils / elles | réfléchissent | they think |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul réfléchit à la meilleure solution.
Paul thinks about the best solution.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai réfléchi | I thought | |
| tu | as réfléchi | you thought | |
| il / elle / on | a réfléchi | he / she / it thoughton: we thought / one thought | |
| nous | avons réfléchi | we thought | |
| vous | avez réfléchi | you thought | |
| ils / elles | ont réfléchi | they thought |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a réfléchi à la meilleure solution.
Yesterday, Paul thought about the best solution.
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’ | réfléchissais | I used to think | |
| tu | réfléchissais | you used to think | |
| il / elle / on | réfléchissait | he / she / it used to thinkon: we used to think / one used to think | |
| nous | réfléchissions | we used to think | |
| vous | réfléchissiez | you used to think | |
| ils / elles | réfléchissaient | they used to think |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul réfléchissait à la meilleure solution.
Back then, Paul used to think about the best solution.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | réfléchirai | I will think | |
| tu | réfléchiras | you will think | |
| il / elle / on | réfléchira | he / she / it will thinkon: we will think / one will think | |
| nous | réfléchirons | we will think | |
| vous | réfléchirez | you will think | |
| ils / elles | réfléchiront | they will think |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul réfléchira à la meilleure solution.
Later, Paul will think about the best solution.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | réfléchirais | I would think | |
| tu | réfléchirais | you would think | |
| il / elle / on | réfléchirait | he / she / it would thinkon: we would think / one would think | |
| nous | réfléchirions | we would think | |
| vous | réfléchiriez | you would think | |
| ils / elles | réfléchiraient | they would think |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul réfléchirait à la meilleure solution.
Paul would think about the best solution.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | réfléchisse | (that) I think | |
| tu | réfléchisses | (that) you think | |
| il / elle / on | réfléchisse | (that) he / she / it thinkson: (that) we think / one thinks | |
| nous | réfléchissions | (that) we think | |
| vous | réfléchissiez | (that) you think | |
| ils / elles | réfléchissent | (that) they think |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul réfléchisse à la meilleure solution.
It is possible that Paul thinks about the best solution.
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 reflect
- to reflect, to manifest, to show
- to ponder, to reflect
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