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 | pensesounds the same as another form in this tense | ai pensé | pensaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais penser | penseraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | pensessounds the same as another form in this tense | as pensésounds the same as another form in this tense | pensaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas pensersounds the same as another form in this tense | penserassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | pensesounds the same as another form in this tense | a pensésounds the same as another form in this tense | pensaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va pensersounds the same as another form in this tense | penserasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | pensons | avons pensé | pensions | allons penser | penseronssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | pensez | avez pensé | pensiez | allez penser | penserezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | pensentsounds the same as another form in this tense | ont pensé | pensaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont penser | penserontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. pense covers both "I think" and "I am thinking" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and pensé does not — ai pensé.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so pensons gives you pensais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; penser never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on penser-, 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 penser |
|---|---|
| tu | viens de penser |
| il/elle | vient de penser |
| nous | venons de penser |
| vous | venez de penser |
| ils/elles | viennent de penser |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | pense |
|---|---|
| nous | pensons |
| vous | pensez |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en pensant
What this table tells you about penser
The past participle is pensé, 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 penser-, 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: pense, penses, pensent — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous and vous carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know pensons you already know pensais, pensait and pensaient. Futur proche keeps penser untouched.