insinuer — French conjugation
to insinuate
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 | insinue | I insinuate |
| tu | insinues | you insinuate |
| il/elle | insinue | he/she/it insinuates |
| nous | insinuons | we insinuate |
| vous | insinuez | you (pl.) insinuate |
| ils/elles | insinuent | they insinuate |
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 | insinuai | I insinuated |
| tu | insinuas | you insinuated |
| il/elle | insinua | he/she/it insinuated |
| nous | insinuâmes | we insinuated |
| vous | insinuâtes | you (pl.) insinuated |
| ils/elles | insinuèrent | they insinuated |
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 | insinuais |
| tu | insinuais |
| il/elle | insinuait |
| nous | insinuions |
| vous | insinuiez |
| ils/elles | insinuaient |
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 | insinuerais | I would insinuate |
| tu | insinuerais | you would insinuate |
| il/elle | insinuerait | he/she/it would insinuate |
| nous | insinuerions | we would insinuate |
| vous | insinueriez | you (pl.) would insinuate |
| ils/elles | insinueraient | they would insinuate |
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 | insinuerai | I will insinuate |
| tu | insinueras | you will insinuate |
| il/elle | insinuera | he/she/it will insinuate |
| nous | insinuerons | we will insinuate |
| vous | insinuerez | you (pl.) will insinuate |
| ils/elles | insinueront | they will insinuate |
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 insinué | I have insinuated |
| tu | tu as insinué | you have insinuated |
| il/elle | il/elle a insinué | he/she/it has insinuated |
| nous | nous avons insinué | we have insinuated |
| vous | vous avez insinué | you (pl.) have insinuated |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont insinué | they have insinuated |
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 insinué | I had insinuated |
| tu | tu avais insinué | you had insinuated |
| il/elle | il/elle avait insinué | he/she/it had insinuated |
| nous | nous avions insinué | we had insinuated |
| vous | vous aviez insinué | you (pl.) had insinuated |
| ils/elles | ils/elles avaient insinué | they had insinuated |
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 insinué |
| tu | tu aurais insinué |
| il/elle | il/elle aurait insinué |
| nous | nous aurions insinué |
| vous | vous auriez insinué |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auraient insinué |
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 insinué | I will have insinuated |
| tu | tu auras insinué | you will have insinuated |
| il/elle | il/elle aura insinué | he/she/it will have insinuated |
| nous | nous aurons insinué | we will have insinuated |
| vous | vous aurez insinué | you (pl.) will have insinuated |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auront insinué | they will have insinuated |
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 | insinue |
| tu | insinues |
| il/elle | insinue |
| nous | insinuions |
| vous | insinuiez |
| ils/elles | insinuent |
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 | insinuasse |
| tu | insinuasses |
| il/elle | insinuât |
| nous | insinuassions |
| vous | insinuassiez |
| ils/elles | insinuassent |
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 | insinue |
| nous | insinuons |
| vous | insinuez |