soustraire — French conjugation
to subtract (to remove or reduce)
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.
| Pronoun | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | soustrais | I subtract |
| tu | soustrais | you subtract |
| il/elle | soustrait | he/she/it subtracts |
| nous | soustrayons | we subtract |
| vous | soustrayez | you (pl.) subtract |
| ils/elles | soustraient | they subtract |
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.
| Pronoun | French |
|---|---|
| je | soustrayais |
| tu | soustrayais |
| il/elle | soustrayait |
| nous | soustrayions |
| vous | soustrayiez |
| ils/elles | soustrayaient |
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 | soustrairais | I would subtract |
| tu | soustrairais | you would subtract |
| il/elle | soustrairait | he/she/it would subtract |
| nous | soustrairions | we would subtract |
| vous | soustrairiez | you (pl.) would subtract |
| ils/elles | soustrairaient | they would subtract |
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 | soustrairai | I will subtract |
| tu | soustrairas | you will subtract |
| il/elle | soustraira | he/she/it will subtract |
| nous | soustrairons | we will subtract |
| vous | soustrairez | you (pl.) will subtract |
| ils/elles | soustrairont | they will subtract |
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 soustrait | I have subtracted |
| tu | tu as soustrait | you have subtracted |
| il/elle | il/elle a soustrait | he/she/it has subtracted |
| nous | nous avons soustrait | we have subtracted |
| vous | vous avez soustrait | you (pl.) have subtracted |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont soustrait | they have subtracted |
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 soustrait | I had subtracted |
| tu | tu avais soustrait | you had subtracted |
| il/elle | il/elle avait soustrait | he/she/it had subtracted |
| nous | nous avions soustrait | we had subtracted |
| vous | vous aviez soustrait | you (pl.) had subtracted |
| ils/elles | ils/elles avaient soustrait | they had subtracted |
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 soustrait |
| tu | tu aurais soustrait |
| il/elle | il/elle aurait soustrait |
| nous | nous aurions soustrait |
| vous | vous auriez soustrait |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auraient soustrait |
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 soustrait | I will have subtracted |
| tu | tu auras soustrait | you will have subtracted |
| il/elle | il/elle aura soustrait | he/she/it will have subtracted |
| nous | nous aurons soustrait | we will have subtracted |
| vous | vous aurez soustrait | you (pl.) will have subtracted |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auront soustrait | they will have subtracted |
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.
| Pronoun | French |
|---|---|
| je | soustraie |
| tu | soustraies |
| il/elle | soustraie |
| nous | soustrayions |
| vous | soustrayiez |
| ils/elles | soustraient |
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 | soustrais |
| nous | soustrayons |
| vous | soustrayez |