éclater — French conjugation

to burst; to break out

Frequency#1305Regular

Indicative

Present (Présent) Regular

Use the présent for habits, what is true now, and what is about to happen soon. A single set of endings covers what English often splits into “I speak” and “I am speaking”.

Elle parle arabe et français.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeéclateI burst
tuéclatesyou burst
il/elleéclatehe/she/it bursts
nouséclatonswe burst
vouséclatezyou (pl.) burst
ils/elleséclatentthey burst

Simple past (Passé simple) Regular

The passé simple narrates completed past events in a literary or very formal style. In everyday conversation people use the passé composé instead, so you mostly meet this form in books and journalism.

Ils virent le roi s'approcher.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeéclataiI burst
tuéclatasyou burst
il/elleéclatahe/she/it burst
nouséclatâmeswe burst
vouséclatâtesyou (pl.) burst
ils/elleséclatèrentthey burst

Imperfect (Imparfait) Regular

The imparfait describes ongoing or repeated past actions and sets the background — how things were, what used to happen, weather, feelings. The passé composé, by contrast, marks single completed events.

Quand j'étais petit, j'allais souvent à la piscine.

PronounFrench
jeéclatais
tuéclatais
il/elleéclatait
nouséclations
vouséclatiez
ils/elleséclataient

Conditional (Conditionnel) Regular

The conditionnel is for polite questions and requests, “would”-type hypotheticals, and what someone said would happen. It is also the usual consequent clause in si + imparfait → conditionnel patterns.

Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeéclateraisI would burst
tuéclateraisyou would burst
il/elleéclateraithe/she/it would burst
nouséclaterionswe would burst
vouséclateriezyou (pl.) would burst
ils/elleséclateraientthey would burst

Future (Futur) Regular

The futur is for future plans and objective predictions. In speech, aller + infinitive is often clearer for the immediate future, while the simple future is common for facts further ahead or in writing.

Demain, nous dînerons chez eux.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeéclateraiI will burst
tuéclaterasyou will burst
il/elleéclaterahe/she/it will burst
nouséclateronswe will burst
vouséclaterezyou (pl.) will burst
ils/elleséclaterontthey will burst

Present perfect (Passé composé) Regular

The passé composé is the main spoken past for completed, bounded actions (often with a time adverb). Use avoir with most verbs; être is required for a fixed group of motion/inchange and all pronominal verbs, with participle agreement when necessary.

Elle est venue tôt, puis elle a téléphoné.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jej'ai éclatéI have burst
tutu as éclatéyou have burst
il/elleil/elle a éclatéhe/she/it has burst
nousnous avons éclatéwe have burst
vousvous avez éclatéyou (pl.) have burst
ils/ellesils/elles ont éclatéthey have burst

Pluperfect (Plus-que-parfait) Regular

The plus-que-parfait is the “earlier past”: one action was already over before another past moment. It answers “had already” when a story is anchored in a past time.

Déjà, il avait fini quand je suis arrivé.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jej'avais éclatéI had burst
tutu avais éclatéyou had burst
il/elleil/elle avait éclatéhe/she/it had burst
nousnous avions éclatéwe had burst
vousvous aviez éclatéyou (pl.) had burst
ils/ellesils/elles avaient éclatéthey had burst

Conditional perfect (Conditionnel passé) Regular

The conditionnel passé states what would have been true, plans that failed, and unreal past if-clauses (often with si + plus-que-parfait in the apodose).

J'aurais dit oui, mais c'était impossible.

PronounFrench
jej'aurais éclaté
tutu aurais éclaté
il/elleil/elle aurait éclaté
nousnous aurions éclaté
vousvous auriez éclaté
ils/ellesils/elles auraient éclaté

Future perfect (Futur antérieur) Regular

The futur antérieur marks an action that will be finished before a later future moment (by then I will have…). It can also suggest a conjecture about a recent past fact in formal or literary use.

D'ici samedi, j'aurai lu le rapport.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jej'aurai éclatéI will have burst
tutu auras éclatéyou will have burst
il/elleil/elle aura éclatéhe/she/it will have burst
nousnous aurons éclatéwe will have burst
vousvous aurez éclatéyou (pl.) will have burst
ils/ellesils/elles auront éclatéthey will have burst

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjonctif présent) Regular

The present subjunctive appears in subordinate clauses after desire, doubt, fear, need, and many impersonals, usually when the subject of the subordinate is different. Learn common triggers: il faut que, je veux que, je doute que…

Il faut qu'il parte avant midi.

PronounFrench
jeéclate
tuéclates
il/elleéclate
nouséclations
vouséclatiez
ils/elleséclatent

Imperfect subjunctive (Subjonctif imparfait) Regular

The imparfait du subjonctif is a literary and formal past subjunctive. In modern speech, the present subjunctive usually replaces it for the same meaning.

Bien qu'il fût fatigué, il continua.

PronounFrench
jeéclatasse
tuéclatasses
il/elleéclatât
nouséclatassions
vouséclatassiez
ils/elleséclatassent

Other forms

Imperative (Impératif) Regular

The imperative is for direct orders and advice to tu, nous, and vous. For many -er verbs, the tu form drops the final -s of the present (parle!); negatives use the subjunctive-like forms in practice.

Fermons la porte, s'il vous plaît !

PronounFrench
tuéclate
nouséclatons
vouséclatez