je, tu, il ਅਤੇ ils ਦੇ ਰੂਪ ਇੱਕੋ ਜਿਹੇ ਸੁਣਦੇ ਹਨ — -e, -es ਅਤੇ -ent ਸਾਰੇ ਚੁੱਪ ਹਨ। ਸਿਰਫ਼ nous (-ons) ਅਤੇ vous (-ez) ਵੱਖਰੇ ਸੁਣਾਈ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ।
| Person | Presentnow, habits | Passé composécompleted past | Imparfaitongoing past | Futur procheabout to | Futur simplewill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | existesounds the same as another form in this tense | ai existé | existaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais exister | existeraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | existessounds the same as another form in this tense | as existésounds the same as another form in this tense | existaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas existersounds the same as another form in this tense | existerassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | existesounds the same as another form in this tense | a existésounds the same as another form in this tense | existaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va existersounds the same as another form in this tense | existerasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | existons | avons existé | existions | allons exister | existeronssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | existez | avez existé | existiez | allez exister | existerezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | existentsounds the same as another form in this tense | ont existé | existaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont exister | existerontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. existe covers both "I exist" and "I am existing" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and existé does not — ai existé.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so existons gives you existais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; exister never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on exister-, 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 d'exister |
|---|---|
| tu | viens d'exister |
| il/elle | vient d'exister |
| nous | venons d'exister |
| vous | venez d'exister |
| ils/elles | viennent d'exister |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | existe |
|---|---|
| nous | existons |
| vous | existez |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en existant
What this table tells you about exister
The past participle is existé, 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 exister-, which is just the infinitive — the endings are the whole story, nothing new to learn for this tense.
In both the present and the imparfait, je, tu, il/elle and ils/elles are one sound: existe, existes, existent — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous and vous carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know existons you already know existais, existait and existaient. Futur proche keeps exister untouched.