recopier — French conjugation

to copy (again)

Frequency#1129Regular

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jerecopieI copy
turecopiesyou copy
il/ellerecopiehe/she/it copies
nousrecopionswe copy
vousrecopiezyou (pl.) copy
ils/ellesrecopientthey copy

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jerecopiaiI copied
turecopiasyou copied
il/ellerecopiahe/she/it copied
nousrecopiâmeswe copied
vousrecopiâtesyou (pl.) copied
ils/ellesrecopièrentthey copied

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.

PronounFrench
jerecopiais
turecopiais
il/ellerecopiait
nousrecopiions
vousrecopiiez
ils/ellesrecopiaient

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 ?

PronounFrenchEnglish
jerecopieraisI would copy
turecopieraisyou would copy
il/ellerecopieraithe/she/it would copy
nousrecopierionswe would copy
vousrecopieriezyou (pl.) would copy
ils/ellesrecopieraientthey would copy

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.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jerecopieraiI will copy
turecopierasyou will copy
il/ellerecopierahe/she/it will copy
nousrecopieronswe will copy
vousrecopierezyou (pl.) will copy
ils/ellesrecopierontthey will copy

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
jej'ai recopiéI have copied
tutu as recopiéyou have copied
il/elleil/elle a recopiéhe/she/it has copied
nousnous avons recopiéwe have copied
vousvous avez recopiéyou (pl.) have copied
ils/ellesils/elles ont recopiéthey have copied

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'avais recopiéI had copied
tutu avais recopiéyou had copied
il/elleil/elle avait recopiéhe/she/it had copied
nousnous avions recopiéwe had copied
vousvous aviez recopiéyou (pl.) had copied
ils/ellesils/elles avaient recopiéthey had copied

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
jej'aurais recopié
tutu aurais recopié
il/elleil/elle aurait recopié
nousnous aurions recopié
vousvous auriez recopié
ils/ellesils/elles auraient recopié

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
jej'aurai recopiéI will have copied
tutu auras recopiéyou will have copied
il/elleil/elle aura recopiéhe/she/it will have copied
nousnous aurons recopiéwe will have copied
vousvous aurez recopiéyou (pl.) will have copied
ils/ellesils/elles auront recopiéthey will have copied

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.

PronounFrench
jerecopie
turecopies
il/ellerecopie
nousrecopiions
vousrecopiiez
ils/ellesrecopient

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
jerecopiasse
turecopiasses
il/ellerecopiât
nousrecopiassions
vousrecopiassiez
ils/ellesrecopiassent

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
turecopie
nousrecopions
vousrecopiez