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 connect.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | relie | I connect | |
| tu | relies | you connect | |
| il / elle / on | relie | he / she / it connectson: we connect / one connects | |
| nous | relions | we connect | |
| vous | reliez | you connect | |
| ils / elles | relient | they connect |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul relie les deux ordinateurs.
Paul connects the two computers.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai relié | I connected | |
| tu | as relié | you connected | |
| il / elle / on | a relié | he / she / it connectedon: we connected / one connected | |
| nous | avons relié | we connected | |
| vous | avez relié | you connected | |
| ils / elles | ont relié | they connected |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a relié les deux ordinateurs.
Yesterday, Paul connected the two computers.
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’ | reliais | I used to connect | |
| tu | reliais | you used to connect | |
| il / elle / on | reliait | he / she / it used to connecton: we used to connect / one used to connect | |
| nous | reliions | we used to connect | |
| vous | reliiez | you used to connect | |
| ils / elles | reliaient | they used to connect |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul reliait les deux ordinateurs.
Back then, Paul used to connect the two computers.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | relierai | I will connect | |
| tu | relieras | you will connect | |
| il / elle / on | reliera | he / she / it will connecton: we will connect / one will connect | |
| nous | relierons | we will connect | |
| vous | relierez | you will connect | |
| ils / elles | relieront | they will connect |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul reliera les deux ordinateurs.
Later, Paul will connect the two computers.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | relierais | I would connect | |
| tu | relierais | you would connect | |
| il / elle / on | relierait | he / she / it would connecton: we would connect / one would connect | |
| nous | relierions | we would connect | |
| vous | relieriez | you would connect | |
| ils / elles | relieraient | they would connect |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul relierait les deux ordinateurs.
Paul would connect the two computers.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | relie | (that) I connect | |
| tu | relies | (that) you connect | |
| il / elle / on | relie | (that) he / she / it connectson: (that) we connect / one connects | |
| nous | reliions | (that) we connect | |
| vous | reliiez | (that) you connect | |
| ils / elles | relient | (that) they connect |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul relie les deux ordinateurs.
It is possible that Paul connects the two computers.
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 connect, link, join, relate to
- to bind (as a book)
- to hoop together (as a barrel)
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