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 sacrifice.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sacrifie | I sacrifice | |
| tu | sacrifies | you sacrifice | |
| il / elle / on | sacrifie | he / she / it sacrificeson: we sacrifice / one sacrifices | |
| nous | sacrifions | we sacrifice | |
| vous | sacrifiez | you sacrifice | |
| ils / elles | sacrifient | they sacrifice |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul sacrifie son temps libre pour terminer le projet.
Paul sacrifices his free time to finish the project.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai sacrifié | I sacrificed | |
| tu | as sacrifié | you sacrificed | |
| il / elle / on | a sacrifié | he / she / it sacrificedon: we sacrificed / one sacrificed | |
| nous | avons sacrifié | we sacrificed | |
| vous | avez sacrifié | you sacrificed | |
| ils / elles | ont sacrifié | they sacrificed |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a sacrifié son temps libre pour terminer le projet.
Yesterday, Paul sacrificed his free time to finish the project.
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’ | sacrifiais | I used to sacrifice | |
| tu | sacrifiais | you used to sacrifice | |
| il / elle / on | sacrifiait | he / she / it used to sacrificeon: we used to sacrifice / one used to sacrifice | |
| nous | sacrifiions | we used to sacrifice | |
| vous | sacrifiiez | you used to sacrifice | |
| ils / elles | sacrifiaient | they used to sacrifice |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul sacrifiait son temps libre pour terminer le projet.
Back then, Paul used to sacrifice his free time to finish the project.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sacrifierai | I will sacrifice | |
| tu | sacrifieras | you will sacrifice | |
| il / elle / on | sacrifiera | he / she / it will sacrificeon: we will sacrifice / one will sacrifice | |
| nous | sacrifierons | we will sacrifice | |
| vous | sacrifierez | you will sacrifice | |
| ils / elles | sacrifieront | they will sacrifice |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul sacrifiera son temps libre pour terminer le projet.
Later, Paul will sacrifice his free time to finish the project.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sacrifierais | I would sacrifice | |
| tu | sacrifierais | you would sacrifice | |
| il / elle / on | sacrifierait | he / she / it would sacrificeon: we would sacrifice / one would sacrifice | |
| nous | sacrifierions | we would sacrifice | |
| vous | sacrifieriez | you would sacrifice | |
| ils / elles | sacrifieraient | they would sacrifice |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul sacrifierait son temps libre pour terminer le projet.
Paul would sacrifice his free time to finish the project.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sacrifie | (that) I sacrifice | |
| tu | sacrifies | (that) you sacrifice | |
| il / elle / on | sacrifie | (that) he / she / it sacrificeson: (that) we sacrifice / one sacrifices | |
| nous | sacrifiions | (that) we sacrifice | |
| vous | sacrifiiez | (that) you sacrifice | |
| ils / elles | sacrifient | (that) they sacrifice |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul sacrifie son temps libre pour terminer le projet.
It is possible that Paul sacrifices his free time to finish the project.
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 sacrifice (all meanings)
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