imiter — French conjugation
to imitate
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 | imite | I imitate |
| tu | imites | you imitate |
| il/elle | imite | he/she/it imitates |
| nous | imitons | we imitate |
| vous | imitez | you (pl.) imitate |
| ils/elles | imitent | they imitate |
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 | imitai | I imitated |
| tu | imitas | you imitated |
| il/elle | imita | he/she/it imitated |
| nous | imitâmes | we imitated |
| vous | imitâtes | you (pl.) imitated |
| ils/elles | imitèrent | they imitated |
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 | imitais |
| tu | imitais |
| il/elle | imitait |
| nous | imitions |
| vous | imitiez |
| ils/elles | imitaient |
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 | imiterais | I would imitate |
| tu | imiterais | you would imitate |
| il/elle | imiterait | he/she/it would imitate |
| nous | imiterions | we would imitate |
| vous | imiteriez | you (pl.) would imitate |
| ils/elles | imiteraient | they would imitate |
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 | imiterai | I will imitate |
| tu | imiteras | you will imitate |
| il/elle | imitera | he/she/it will imitate |
| nous | imiterons | we will imitate |
| vous | imiterez | you (pl.) will imitate |
| ils/elles | imiteront | they will imitate |
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 imité | I have imitated |
| tu | tu as imité | you have imitated |
| il/elle | il/elle a imité | he/she/it has imitated |
| nous | nous avons imité | we have imitated |
| vous | vous avez imité | you (pl.) have imitated |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont imité | they have imitated |
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 imité | I had imitated |
| tu | tu avais imité | you had imitated |
| il/elle | il/elle avait imité | he/she/it had imitated |
| nous | nous avions imité | we had imitated |
| vous | vous aviez imité | you (pl.) had imitated |
| ils/elles | ils/elles avaient imité | they had imitated |
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 imité |
| tu | tu aurais imité |
| il/elle | il/elle aurait imité |
| nous | nous aurions imité |
| vous | vous auriez imité |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auraient imité |
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 imité | I will have imitated |
| tu | tu auras imité | you will have imitated |
| il/elle | il/elle aura imité | he/she/it will have imitated |
| nous | nous aurons imité | we will have imitated |
| vous | vous aurez imité | you (pl.) will have imitated |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auront imité | they will have imitated |
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 | imite |
| tu | imites |
| il/elle | imite |
| nous | imitions |
| vous | imitiez |
| ils/elles | imitent |
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 | imitasse |
| tu | imitasses |
| il/elle | imitât |
| nous | imitassions |
| vous | imitassiez |
| ils/elles | imitassent |
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 | imite |
| nous | imitons |
| vous | imitez |