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 | expliquesounds the same as another form in this tense | ai expliqué | expliquaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais expliquer | expliqueraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | expliquessounds the same as another form in this tense | as expliquésounds the same as another form in this tense | expliquaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas expliquersounds the same as another form in this tense | expliquerassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | expliquesounds the same as another form in this tense | a expliquésounds the same as another form in this tense | expliquaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va expliquersounds the same as another form in this tense | expliquerasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | expliquons | avons expliqué | expliquions | allons expliquer | expliqueronssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | expliquez | avez expliqué | expliquiez | allez expliquer | expliquerezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | expliquentsounds the same as another form in this tense | ont expliqué | expliquaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont expliquer | expliquerontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. explique covers both "I explain" and "I am explaining" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and expliqué does not — ai expliqué.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so expliquons gives you expliquais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; expliquer never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on expliquer-, 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'expliquer |
|---|---|
| tu | viens d'expliquer |
| il/elle | vient d'expliquer |
| nous | venons d'expliquer |
| vous | venez d'expliquer |
| ils/elles | viennent d'expliquer |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | explique |
|---|---|
| nous | expliquons |
| vous | expliquez |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en expliquant
What this table tells you about expliquer
The past participle is expliqué, 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 expliquer-, 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: explique, expliques, expliquent — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous and vous carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know expliquons you already know expliquais, expliquait and expliquaient. Futur proche keeps expliquer untouched.