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 ratify.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sanctionne | I ratify | |
| tu | sanctionnes | you ratify | |
| il / elle / on | sanctionne | he / she / it ratifieson: we ratify / one ratifies | |
| nous | sanctionnons | we ratify | |
| vous | sanctionnez | you ratify | |
| ils / elles | sanctionnent | they ratify |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Le parlement sanctionne l'accord.
Parliament ratifies the agreement.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai sanctionné | I ratified | |
| tu | as sanctionné | you ratified | |
| il / elle / on | a sanctionné | he / she / it ratifiedon: we ratified / one ratified | |
| nous | avons sanctionné | we ratified | |
| vous | avez sanctionné | you ratified | |
| ils / elles | ont sanctionné | they ratified |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, le parlement a sanctionné l'accord.
Yesterday, parliament ratified the agreement.
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’ | sanctionnais | I used to ratify | |
| tu | sanctionnais | you used to ratify | |
| il / elle / on | sanctionnait | he / she / it used to ratifyon: we used to ratify / one used to ratify | |
| nous | sanctionnions | we used to ratify | |
| vous | sanctionniez | you used to ratify | |
| ils / elles | sanctionnaient | they used to ratify |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, le parlement sanctionnait l'accord.
Back then, parliament used to ratify the agreement.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sanctionnerai | I will ratify | |
| tu | sanctionneras | you will ratify | |
| il / elle / on | sanctionnera | he / she / it will ratifyon: we will ratify / one will ratify | |
| nous | sanctionnerons | we will ratify | |
| vous | sanctionnerez | you will ratify | |
| ils / elles | sanctionneront | they will ratify |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, le parlement sanctionnera l'accord.
Later, parliament will ratify the agreement.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sanctionnerais | I would ratify | |
| tu | sanctionnerais | you would ratify | |
| il / elle / on | sanctionnerait | he / she / it would ratifyon: we would ratify / one would ratify | |
| nous | sanctionnerions | we would ratify | |
| vous | sanctionneriez | you would ratify | |
| ils / elles | sanctionneraient | they would ratify |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Le parlement sanctionnerait l'accord.
Parliament would ratify the agreement.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | sanctionne | (that) I ratify | |
| tu | sanctionnes | (that) you ratify | |
| il / elle / on | sanctionne | (that) he / she / it ratifieson: (that) we ratify / one ratifies | |
| nous | sanctionnions | (that) we ratify | |
| vous | sanctionniez | (that) you ratify | |
| ils / elles | sanctionnent | (that) they ratify |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que le parlement sanctionne l'accord.
It is possible that parliament ratifies the agreement.
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.”
The example uses the approval sense ratify. Sanctionner can also mean punish, depending on context.
Meaning & usage
- to sanction, to recognize, to ratify, to make valid
- to sanction, to punish
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