parvenir — French conjugation

to reach

Frequency#861IrregularAuxiliaryêtre

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeparviensI reach
tuparviensyou reach
il/elleparvienthe/she/it reaches
nousparvenonswe reach
vousparvenezyou (pl.) reach
ils/ellesparviennentthey reach

Simple past (Passé simple) Irregular

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeparvinsI reached
tuparvinsyou reached
il/elleparvinthe/she/it reached
nousparvînmeswe reached
vousparvîntesyou (pl.) reached
ils/ellesparvinrentthey reached

Imperfect (Imparfait) Irregular

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.

PronounFrench
jeparvenais
tuparvenais
il/elleparvenait
nousparvenions
vousparveniez
ils/ellesparvenaient

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 ?

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeparviendraisI would reach
tuparviendraisyou would reach
il/elleparviendraithe/she/it would reach
nousparviendrionswe would reach
vousparviendriezyou (pl.) would reach
ils/ellesparviendraientthey would reach

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeparviendraiI will reach
tuparviendrasyou will reach
il/elleparviendrahe/she/it will reach
nousparviendronswe will reach
vousparviendrezyou (pl.) will reach
ils/ellesparviendrontthey will reach

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeje suis parvenu(e)I have reached
tutu es parvenu(e)you have reached
il/elleil/elle est parvenu(e)he/she/it has reached
nousnous sommes parvenu(e)swe have reached
vousvous êtes parvenu(e)(s)you (pl.) have reached
ils/ellesils/elles sont parvenu(e)sthey have reached

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jej'étais parvenu(e)I had reached
tutu étais parvenu(e)you had reached
il/elleil/elle était parvenu(e)he/she/it had reached
nousnous étions parvenu(e)swe had reached
vousvous étiez parvenu(e)(s)you (pl.) had reached
ils/ellesils/elles étaient parvenu(e)sthey had reached

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.

PronounFrench
jeje serais parvenu(e)
tutu serais parvenu(e)
il/elleil/elle serait parvenu(e)
nousnous serions parvenu(e)s
vousvous seriez parvenu(e)(s)
ils/ellesils/elles seraient parvenu(e)s

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeje serai parvenu(e)I will have reached
tutu seras parvenu(e)you will have reached
il/elleil/elle sera parvenu(e)he/she/it will have reached
nousnous serons parvenu(e)swe will have reached
vousvous serez parvenu(e)(s)you (pl.) will have reached
ils/ellesils/elles seront parvenu(e)sthey will have reached

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.

PronounFrench
jeparvienne
tuparviennes
il/elleparvienne
nousparvenions
vousparveniez
ils/ellesparviennent

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.

PronounFrench
jeparvinsse
tuparvinsses
il/elleparvînt
nousparvinssions
vousparvinssiez
ils/ellesparvinssent

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 !

PronounFrench
tuparviens
nousparvenons
vousparvenez