faufiler — French conjugation
to sneak in
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 | faufile | I sneak in |
| tu | faufiles | you sneak in |
| il/elle | faufile | he/she/it sneaks in |
| nous | faufilons | we sneak in |
| vous | faufilez | you (pl.) sneak in |
| ils/elles | faufilent | they sneak in |
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 | faufilai | I sneaked in |
| tu | faufilas | you sneaked in |
| il/elle | faufila | he/she/it sneaked in |
| nous | faufilâmes | we sneaked in |
| vous | faufilâtes | you (pl.) sneaked in |
| ils/elles | faufilèrent | they sneaked in |
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 | faufilais |
| tu | faufilais |
| il/elle | faufilait |
| nous | faufilions |
| vous | faufiliez |
| ils/elles | faufilaient |
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 | faufilerais | I would sneak in |
| tu | faufilerais | you would sneak in |
| il/elle | faufilerait | he/she/it would sneak in |
| nous | faufilerions | we would sneak in |
| vous | faufileriez | you (pl.) would sneak in |
| ils/elles | faufileraient | they would sneak in |
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 | faufilerai | I will sneak in |
| tu | faufileras | you will sneak in |
| il/elle | faufilera | he/she/it will sneak in |
| nous | faufilerons | we will sneak in |
| vous | faufilerez | you (pl.) will sneak in |
| ils/elles | faufileront | they will sneak in |
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 faufilé | I have sneaked in |
| tu | tu as faufilé | you have sneaked in |
| il/elle | il/elle a faufilé | he/she/it has sneaked in |
| nous | nous avons faufilé | we have sneaked in |
| vous | vous avez faufilé | you (pl.) have sneaked in |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont faufilé | they have sneaked in |
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 faufilé | I had sneaked in |
| tu | tu avais faufilé | you had sneaked in |
| il/elle | il/elle avait faufilé | he/she/it had sneaked in |
| nous | nous avions faufilé | we had sneaked in |
| vous | vous aviez faufilé | you (pl.) had sneaked in |
| ils/elles | ils/elles avaient faufilé | they had sneaked in |
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 faufilé |
| tu | tu aurais faufilé |
| il/elle | il/elle aurait faufilé |
| nous | nous aurions faufilé |
| vous | vous auriez faufilé |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auraient faufilé |
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 faufilé | I will have sneaked in |
| tu | tu auras faufilé | you will have sneaked in |
| il/elle | il/elle aura faufilé | he/she/it will have sneaked in |
| nous | nous aurons faufilé | we will have sneaked in |
| vous | vous aurez faufilé | you (pl.) will have sneaked in |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auront faufilé | they will have sneaked in |
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 | faufile |
| tu | faufiles |
| il/elle | faufile |
| nous | faufilions |
| vous | faufiliez |
| ils/elles | faufilent |
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 | faufilasse |
| tu | faufilasses |
| il/elle | faufilât |
| nous | faufilassions |
| vous | faufilassiez |
| ils/elles | faufilassent |
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 | faufile |
| nous | faufilons |
| vous | faufilez |