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 restrict.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | restreins | I restrict | |
| tu | restreins | you restrict | |
| il / elle / on | restreint | he / she / it restrictson: we restrict / one restricts | |
| nous | restreignons | we restrict | |
| vous | restreignez | you restrict | |
| ils / elles | restreignent | they restrict |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul restreint l'accès au laboratoire.
Paul restricts access to the laboratory.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai restreint | I restricted | |
| tu | as restreint | you restricted | |
| il / elle / on | a restreint | he / she / it restrictedon: we restricted / one restricted | |
| nous | avons restreint | we restricted | |
| vous | avez restreint | you restricted | |
| ils / elles | ont restreint | they restricted |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a restreint l'accès au laboratoire.
Yesterday, Paul restricted access to the laboratory.
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’ | restreignais | I used to restrict | |
| tu | restreignais | you used to restrict | |
| il / elle / on | restreignait | he / she / it used to restricton: we used to restrict / one used to restrict | |
| nous | restreignions | we used to restrict | |
| vous | restreigniez | you used to restrict | |
| ils / elles | restreignaient | they used to restrict |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul restreignait l'accès au laboratoire.
Back then, Paul used to restrict access to the laboratory.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | restreindrai | I will restrict | |
| tu | restreindras | you will restrict | |
| il / elle / on | restreindra | he / she / it will restricton: we will restrict / one will restrict | |
| nous | restreindrons | we will restrict | |
| vous | restreindrez | you will restrict | |
| ils / elles | restreindront | they will restrict |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul restreindra l'accès au laboratoire.
Later, Paul will restrict access to the laboratory.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | restreindrais | I would restrict | |
| tu | restreindrais | you would restrict | |
| il / elle / on | restreindrait | he / she / it would restricton: we would restrict / one would restrict | |
| nous | restreindrions | we would restrict | |
| vous | restreindriez | you would restrict | |
| ils / elles | restreindraient | they would restrict |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul restreindrait l'accès au laboratoire.
Paul would restrict access to the laboratory.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | restreigne | (that) I restrict | |
| tu | restreignes | (that) you restrict | |
| il / elle / on | restreigne | (that) he / she / it restrictson: (that) we restrict / one restricts | |
| nous | restreignions | (that) we restrict | |
| vous | restreigniez | (that) you restrict | |
| ils / elles | restreignent | (that) they restrict |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul restreigne l'accès au laboratoire.
It is possible that Paul restricts access to the laboratory.
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 restrict, to limit
- to restrain
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