connaître
to know (a person, a place)Irregularਇਹ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਨਿਯਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਦੀ — ਹਰ ਰੂਪ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਨਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
| Person | Presentnow, habits | Passé composécompleted past | Imparfaitongoing past | Futur procheabout to | Futur simplewill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | connaissounds the same as another form in this tense | ai connu | connaissaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais connaître | connaîtraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | connaissounds the same as another form in this tense | as connusounds the same as another form in this tense | connaissaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas connaîtresounds the same as another form in this tense | connaîtrassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | connaîtsounds the same as another form in this tense | a connusounds the same as another form in this tense | connaissaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va connaîtresounds the same as another form in this tense | connaîtrasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | connaissons | avons connu | connaissions | allons connaître | connaîtronssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | connaissez | avez connu | connaissiez | allez connaître | connaîtrezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | connaissent | ont connu | connaissaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont connaître | connaîtrontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. connais covers both "I know (a person, a place)" and "I am know (a person, a place)ing" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and connu does not — ai connu.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so connaissons gives you connaissais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; connaître never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on connaîtr-, which is just the infinitive, so only the endings are new.
Three more forms worth knowing
Not among the five TEF/TCF-scored tenses above, but common past A1–A2.
Passé récentjust happened
| je | viens de connaître |
|---|---|
| tu | viens de connaître |
| il/elle | vient de connaître |
| nous | venons de connaître |
| vous | venez de connaître |
| ils/elles | viennent de connaître |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | connais |
|---|---|
| nous | connaissons |
| vous | connaissez |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en connaissant
What this table tells you about connaître
The past participle is connu, and it takes avoir in the passé composé — so it never changes shape, whoever the subject is. No agreement to remember here.
The futur simple is built on connaîtr-, which is just the infinitive — the endings are the whole story, nothing new to learn for this tense.
In the present, je, tu and il/elle are one sound: connais, connaît — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous, vous and ils/elles carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know connaissons you already know connaissais, connaissait and connaissaient. Futur proche keeps connaître untouched.
Worth knowing about connaître
Connaître means to know someone or somewhere through personal familiarity or acquaintance. Savoir means to know a fact or know how to do something—they are not interchangeable. (Je connais Paris = I know Paris; je sais parler français = I know how to speak French.)
The stem shifts across the present tense: je connais, but nous connaissons (the double-s appears in nous/vous/ils forms). This stem variation carries through the imparfait: je connaissais, nous connaissions.
Nous connaissons bien cette région.
We know this region well.
ਅਸੀਂ ਇਸ ਖੇਤਰ ਨੂੰ ਚੰਗੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਜਾਣਦੇ ਹਾਂ।