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 testify.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | témoigne | I testify | |
| tu | témoignes | you testify | |
| il / elle / on | témoigne | he / she / it testifieson: we testify / one testifies | |
| nous | témoignons | we testify | |
| vous | témoignez | you testify | |
| ils / elles | témoignent | they testify |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Le témoin témoigne devant le tribunal.
The witness testifies in court.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai témoigné | I testified | |
| tu | as témoigné | you testified | |
| il / elle / on | a témoigné | he / she / it testifiedon: we testified / one testified | |
| nous | avons témoigné | we testified | |
| vous | avez témoigné | you testified | |
| ils / elles | ont témoigné | they testified |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, le témoin a témoigné devant le tribunal.
Yesterday, the witness testified in court.
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’ | témoignais | I used to testify | |
| tu | témoignais | you used to testify | |
| il / elle / on | témoignait | he / she / it used to testifyon: we used to testify / one used to testify | |
| nous | témoignions | we used to testify | |
| vous | témoigniez | you used to testify | |
| ils / elles | témoignaient | they used to testify |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, le témoin témoignait devant le tribunal.
Back then, the witness used to testify in court.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | témoignerai | I will testify | |
| tu | témoigneras | you will testify | |
| il / elle / on | témoignera | he / she / it will testifyon: we will testify / one will testify | |
| nous | témoignerons | we will testify | |
| vous | témoignerez | you will testify | |
| ils / elles | témoigneront | they will testify |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, le témoin témoignera devant le tribunal.
Later, the witness will testify in court.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | témoignerais | I would testify | |
| tu | témoignerais | you would testify | |
| il / elle / on | témoignerait | he / she / it would testifyon: we would testify / one would testify | |
| nous | témoignerions | we would testify | |
| vous | témoigneriez | you would testify | |
| ils / elles | témoigneraient | they would testify |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Le témoin témoignerait devant le tribunal.
The witness would testify in court.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | témoigne | (that) I testify | |
| tu | témoignes | (that) you testify | |
| il / elle / on | témoigne | (that) he / she / it testifieson: (that) we testify / one testifies | |
| nous | témoignions | (that) we testify | |
| vous | témoigniez | (that) you testify | |
| ils / elles | témoignent | (that) they testify |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que le témoin témoigne devant le tribunal.
It is possible that the witness testifies in court.
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 witness, to be a witness at or for
- to demonstrate, show, or prove something
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