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 shake.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | secoue | I shake | |
| tu | secoues | you shake | |
| il / elle / on | secoue | he / she / it shakeson: we shake / one shakes | |
| nous | secouons | we shake | |
| vous | secouez | you shake | |
| ils / elles | secouent | they shake |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul secoue le tapis sur le balcon.
Paul shakes the rug on the balcony.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai secoué | I shook | |
| tu | as secoué | you shook | |
| il / elle / on | a secoué | he / she / it shookon: we shook / one shook | |
| nous | avons secoué | we shook | |
| vous | avez secoué | you shook | |
| ils / elles | ont secoué | they shook |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a secoué le tapis sur le balcon.
Yesterday, Paul shook the rug on the balcony.
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’ | secouais | I used to shake | |
| tu | secouais | you used to shake | |
| il / elle / on | secouait | he / she / it used to shakeon: we used to shake / one used to shake | |
| nous | secouions | we used to shake | |
| vous | secouiez | you used to shake | |
| ils / elles | secouaient | they used to shake |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul secouait le tapis sur le balcon.
Back then, Paul used to shake the rug on the balcony.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | secouerai | I will shake | |
| tu | secoueras | you will shake | |
| il / elle / on | secouera | he / she / it will shakeon: we will shake / one will shake | |
| nous | secouerons | we will shake | |
| vous | secouerez | you will shake | |
| ils / elles | secoueront | they will shake |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul secouera le tapis sur le balcon.
Later, Paul will shake the rug on the balcony.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | secouerais | I would shake | |
| tu | secouerais | you would shake | |
| il / elle / on | secouerait | he / she / it would shakeon: we would shake / one would shake | |
| nous | secouerions | we would shake | |
| vous | secoueriez | you would shake | |
| ils / elles | secoueraient | they would shake |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul secouerait le tapis sur le balcon.
Paul would shake the rug on the balcony.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | secoue | (that) I shake | |
| tu | secoues | (that) you shake | |
| il / elle / on | secoue | (that) he / she / it shakeson: (that) we shake / one shakes | |
| nous | secouions | (that) we shake | |
| vous | secouiez | (that) you shake | |
| ils / elles | secouent | (that) they shake |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul secoue le tapis sur le balcon.
It is possible that Paul shakes the rug on the balcony.
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 shake
- to shake off (oppression etc.)
- to shake (emotionally, figuratively)
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