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 set down.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | repose | I set down | |
| tu | reposes | you set down | |
| il / elle / on | repose | he / she / it sets downon: we set down / one sets down | |
| nous | reposons | we set down | |
| vous | reposez | you set down | |
| ils / elles | reposent | they set down |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul repose son verre sur la table.
Paul sets down his glass on the table again.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai reposé | I set down | |
| tu | as reposé | you set down | |
| il / elle / on | a reposé | he / she / it set downon: we set down / one set down | |
| nous | avons reposé | we set down | |
| vous | avez reposé | you set down | |
| ils / elles | ont reposé | they set down |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a reposé son verre sur la table.
Yesterday, Paul set down his glass on the table again.
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’ | reposais | I used to set down | |
| tu | reposais | you used to set down | |
| il / elle / on | reposait | he / she / it used to set downon: we used to set down / one used to set down | |
| nous | reposions | we used to set down | |
| vous | reposiez | you used to set down | |
| ils / elles | reposaient | they used to set down |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul reposait son verre sur la table.
Back then, Paul used to set down his glass on the table again.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | reposerai | I will set down | |
| tu | reposeras | you will set down | |
| il / elle / on | reposera | he / she / it will set downon: we will set down / one will set down | |
| nous | reposerons | we will set down | |
| vous | reposerez | you will set down | |
| ils / elles | reposeront | they will set down |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul reposera son verre sur la table.
Later, Paul will set down his glass on the table again.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | reposerais | I would set down | |
| tu | reposerais | you would set down | |
| il / elle / on | reposerait | he / she / it would set downon: we would set down / one would set down | |
| nous | reposerions | we would set down | |
| vous | reposeriez | you would set down | |
| ils / elles | reposeraient | they would set down |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul reposerait son verre sur la table.
Paul would set down his glass on the table again.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | repose | (that) I set down | |
| tu | reposes | (that) you set down | |
| il / elle / on | repose | (that) he / she / it sets downon: (that) we set down / one sets down | |
| nous | reposions | (that) we set down | |
| vous | reposiez | (that) you set down | |
| ils / elles | reposent | (that) they set down |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul repose son verre sur la table.
It is possible that Paul sets down his glass on the table again.
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 put down, to place
- to rest
- to be based on
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