étinceler — French conjugation
to sparkle
Indicative
Present (Présent) Irregular
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 | étincelle | I sparkle |
| tu | étincelles | you sparkle |
| il/elle | étincelle | he/she/it sparkles |
| nous | étincelons | we sparkle |
| vous | étincelez | you (pl.) sparkle |
| ils/elles | étincellent | they sparkle |
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 | étincelai | I sparkled |
| tu | étincelas | you sparkled |
| il/elle | étincela | he/she/it sparkled |
| nous | étincelâmes | we sparkled |
| vous | étincelâtes | you (pl.) sparkled |
| ils/elles | étincelèrent | they sparkled |
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 | étincelais |
| tu | étincelais |
| il/elle | étincelait |
| nous | étincelions |
| vous | étinceliez |
| ils/elles | étincelaient |
Conditional (Conditionnel) Irregular
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 | étincellerais | I would sparkle |
| tu | étincellerais | you would sparkle |
| il/elle | étincellerait | he/she/it would sparkle |
| nous | étincellerions | we would sparkle |
| vous | étincelleriez | you (pl.) would sparkle |
| ils/elles | étincelleraient | they would sparkle |
Future (Futur) Irregular
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 | étincellerai | I will sparkle |
| tu | étincelleras | you will sparkle |
| il/elle | étincellera | he/she/it will sparkle |
| nous | étincellerons | we will sparkle |
| vous | étincellerez | you (pl.) will sparkle |
| ils/elles | étincelleront | they will sparkle |
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 étincelé | I have sparkled |
| tu | tu as étincelé | you have sparkled |
| il/elle | il/elle a étincelé | he/she/it has sparkled |
| nous | nous avons étincelé | we have sparkled |
| vous | vous avez étincelé | you (pl.) have sparkled |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont étincelé | they have sparkled |
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 étincelé | I had sparkled |
| tu | tu avais étincelé | you had sparkled |
| il/elle | il/elle avait étincelé | he/she/it had sparkled |
| nous | nous avions étincelé | we had sparkled |
| vous | vous aviez étincelé | you (pl.) had sparkled |
| ils/elles | ils/elles avaient étincelé | they had sparkled |
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 étincelé |
| tu | tu aurais étincelé |
| il/elle | il/elle aurait étincelé |
| nous | nous aurions étincelé |
| vous | vous auriez étincelé |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auraient étincelé |
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 étincelé | I will have sparkled |
| tu | tu auras étincelé | you will have sparkled |
| il/elle | il/elle aura étincelé | he/she/it will have sparkled |
| nous | nous aurons étincelé | we will have sparkled |
| vous | vous aurez étincelé | you (pl.) will have sparkled |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auront étincelé | they will have sparkled |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Subjonctif présent) Irregular
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 | étincelle |
| tu | étincelles |
| il/elle | étincelle |
| nous | étincelions |
| vous | étinceliez |
| ils/elles | étincellent |
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 | étincelasse |
| tu | étincelasses |
| il/elle | étincelât |
| nous | étincelassions |
| vous | étincelassiez |
| ils/elles | étincelassent |
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 | étincelle |
| nous | étincelons |
| vous | étincelez |