espionner — French conjugation
to spy
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.
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | espionne | I spy |
| tu | espionnes | you spy |
| il/elle | espionne | he/she/it spies |
| nous | espionnons | we spy |
| vous | espionnez | you (pl.) spy |
| ils/elles | espionnent | they spy |
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.
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | espionnai | I spied |
| tu | espionnas | you spied |
| il/elle | espionna | he/she/it spied |
| nous | espionnâmes | we spied |
| vous | espionnâtes | you (pl.) spied |
| ils/elles | espionnèrent | they spied |
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.
| Pronoun | French |
|---|---|
| je | espionnais |
| tu | espionnais |
| il/elle | espionnait |
| nous | espionnions |
| vous | espionniez |
| ils/elles | espionnaient |
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 ?
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | espionnerais | I would spy |
| tu | espionnerais | you would spy |
| il/elle | espionnerait | he/she/it would spy |
| nous | espionnerions | we would spy |
| vous | espionneriez | you (pl.) would spy |
| ils/elles | espionneraient | they would spy |
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.
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | espionnerai | I will spy |
| tu | espionneras | you will spy |
| il/elle | espionnera | he/she/it will spy |
| nous | espionnerons | we will spy |
| vous | espionnerez | you (pl.) will spy |
| ils/elles | espionneront | they will spy |
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.
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | j'ai espionné | I have spied |
| tu | tu as espionné | you have spied |
| il/elle | il/elle a espionné | he/she/it has spied |
| nous | nous avons espionné | we have spied |
| vous | vous avez espionné | you (pl.) have spied |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont espionné | they have spied |
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.
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | j'avais espionné | I had spied |
| tu | tu avais espionné | you had spied |
| il/elle | il/elle avait espionné | he/she/it had spied |
| nous | nous avions espionné | we had spied |
| vous | vous aviez espionné | you (pl.) had spied |
| ils/elles | ils/elles avaient espionné | they had spied |
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.
| Pronoun | French |
|---|---|
| je | j'aurais espionné |
| tu | tu aurais espionné |
| il/elle | il/elle aurait espionné |
| nous | nous aurions espionné |
| vous | vous auriez espionné |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auraient espionné |
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.
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | j'aurai espionné | I will have spied |
| tu | tu auras espionné | you will have spied |
| il/elle | il/elle aura espionné | he/she/it will have spied |
| nous | nous aurons espionné | we will have spied |
| vous | vous aurez espionné | you (pl.) will have spied |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auront espionné | they will have spied |
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.
| Pronoun | French |
|---|---|
| je | espionne |
| tu | espionnes |
| il/elle | espionne |
| nous | espionnions |
| vous | espionniez |
| ils/elles | espionnent |
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.
| Pronoun | French |
|---|---|
| je | espionnasse |
| tu | espionnasses |
| il/elle | espionnât |
| nous | espionnassions |
| vous | espionnassiez |
| ils/elles | espionnassent |
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 !
| Pronoun | French |
|---|---|
| tu | espionne |
| nous | espionnons |
| vous | espionnez |