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 test.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | teste | I test | |
| tu | testes | you test | |
| il / elle / on | teste | he / she / it testson: we test / one tests | |
| nous | testons | we test | |
| vous | testez | you test | |
| ils / elles | testent | they test |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Paul teste le nouvel appareil.
Paul tests the new device.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai testé | I tested | |
| tu | as testé | you tested | |
| il / elle / on | a testé | he / she / it testedon: we tested / one tested | |
| nous | avons testé | we tested | |
| vous | avez testé | you tested | |
| ils / elles | ont testé | they tested |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, Paul a testé le nouvel appareil.
Yesterday, Paul tested the new device.
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’ | testais | I used to test | |
| tu | testais | you used to test | |
| il / elle / on | testait | he / she / it used to teston: we used to test / one used to test | |
| nous | testions | we used to test | |
| vous | testiez | you used to test | |
| ils / elles | testaient | they used to test |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, Paul testait le nouvel appareil.
Back then, Paul used to test the new device.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | testerai | I will test | |
| tu | testeras | you will test | |
| il / elle / on | testera | he / she / it will teston: we will test / one will test | |
| nous | testerons | we will test | |
| vous | testerez | you will test | |
| ils / elles | testeront | they will test |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, Paul testera le nouvel appareil.
Later, Paul will test the new device.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | testerais | I would test | |
| tu | testerais | you would test | |
| il / elle / on | testerait | he / she / it would teston: we would test / one would test | |
| nous | testerions | we would test | |
| vous | testeriez | you would test | |
| ils / elles | testeraient | they would test |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Paul testerait le nouvel appareil.
Paul would test the new device.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | teste | (that) I test | |
| tu | testes | (that) you test | |
| il / elle / on | teste | (that) he / she / it testson: (that) we test / one tests | |
| nous | testions | (that) we test | |
| vous | testiez | (that) you test | |
| ils / elles | testent | (that) they test |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que Paul teste le nouvel appareil.
It is possible that Paul tests the new device.
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 test
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