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 scatter.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | répands | I scatter | |
| tu | répands | you scatter | |
| il / elle / on | répand | he / she / it scatterson: we scatter / one scatters | |
| nous | répandons | we scatter | |
| vous | répandez | you scatter | |
| ils / elles | répandent | they scatter |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul répand du sable sur le chemin.
Paul scatters sand on the path.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai répandu | I scattered | |
| tu | as répandu | you scattered | |
| il / elle / on | a répandu | he / she / it scatteredon: we scattered / one scattered | |
| nous | avons répandu | we scattered | |
| vous | avez répandu | you scattered | |
| ils / elles | ont répandu | they scattered |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a répandu du sable sur le chemin.
Yesterday, Paul scattered sand on the path.
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’ | répandais | I used to scatter | |
| tu | répandais | you used to scatter | |
| il / elle / on | répandait | he / she / it used to scatteron: we used to scatter / one used to scatter | |
| nous | répandions | we used to scatter | |
| vous | répandiez | you used to scatter | |
| ils / elles | répandaient | they used to scatter |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul répandait du sable sur le chemin.
Back then, Paul used to scatter sand on the path.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | répandrai | I will scatter | |
| tu | répandras | you will scatter | |
| il / elle / on | répandra | he / she / it will scatteron: we will scatter / one will scatter | |
| nous | répandrons | we will scatter | |
| vous | répandrez | you will scatter | |
| ils / elles | répandront | they will scatter |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul répandra du sable sur le chemin.
Later, Paul will scatter sand on the path.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | répandrais | I would scatter | |
| tu | répandrais | you would scatter | |
| il / elle / on | répandrait | he / she / it would scatteron: we would scatter / one would scatter | |
| nous | répandrions | we would scatter | |
| vous | répandriez | you would scatter | |
| ils / elles | répandraient | they would scatter |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul répandrait du sable sur le chemin.
Paul would scatter sand on the path.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | répande | (that) I scatter | |
| tu | répandes | (that) you scatter | |
| il / elle / on | répande | (that) he / she / it scatterson: (that) we scatter / one scatters | |
| nous | répandions | (that) we scatter | |
| vous | répandiez | (that) you scatter | |
| ils / elles | répandent | (that) they scatter |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul répande du sable sur le chemin.
It is possible that Paul scatters sand on the path.
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 spill, scatter
- to spread
- to shed (tears)
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