téter — French conjugation
to breastfeed
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 | tète | I breastfeed |
| tu | tètes | you breastfeed |
| il/elle | tète | he/she/it breastfeeds |
| nous | tétons | we breastfeed |
| vous | tétez | you (pl.) breastfeed |
| ils/elles | tètent | they breastfeed |
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 | tétai | I breastfed |
| tu | tétas | you breastfed |
| il/elle | téta | he/she/it breastfed |
| nous | tétâmes | we breastfed |
| vous | tétâtes | you (pl.) breastfed |
| ils/elles | tétèrent | they breastfed |
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 | tétais |
| tu | tétais |
| il/elle | tétait |
| nous | tétions |
| vous | tétiez |
| ils/elles | tétaient |
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 | téterais | I would breastfeed |
| tu | téterais | you would breastfeed |
| il/elle | téterait | he/she/it would breastfeed |
| nous | téterions | we would breastfeed |
| vous | téteriez | you (pl.) would breastfeed |
| ils/elles | téteraient | they would breastfeed |
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 | téterai | I will breastfeed |
| tu | téteras | you will breastfeed |
| il/elle | tétera | he/she/it will breastfeed |
| nous | téterons | we will breastfeed |
| vous | téterez | you (pl.) will breastfeed |
| ils/elles | téteront | they will breastfeed |
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 tété | I have breastfed |
| tu | tu as tété | you have breastfed |
| il/elle | il/elle a tété | he/she/it has breastfed |
| nous | nous avons tété | we have breastfed |
| vous | vous avez tété | you (pl.) have breastfed |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont tété | they have breastfed |
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 tété | I had breastfed |
| tu | tu avais tété | you had breastfed |
| il/elle | il/elle avait tété | he/she/it had breastfed |
| nous | nous avions tété | we had breastfed |
| vous | vous aviez tété | you (pl.) had breastfed |
| ils/elles | ils/elles avaient tété | they had breastfed |
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 tété |
| tu | tu aurais tété |
| il/elle | il/elle aurait tété |
| nous | nous aurions tété |
| vous | vous auriez tété |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auraient tété |
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 tété | I will have breastfed |
| tu | tu auras tété | you will have breastfed |
| il/elle | il/elle aura tété | he/she/it will have breastfed |
| nous | nous aurons tété | we will have breastfed |
| vous | vous aurez tété | you (pl.) will have breastfed |
| ils/elles | ils/elles auront tété | they will have breastfed |
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 | tète |
| tu | tètes |
| il/elle | tète |
| nous | tétions |
| vous | tétiez |
| ils/elles | tètent |
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 | tétasse |
| tu | tétasses |
| il/elle | tétât |
| nous | tétassions |
| vous | tétassiez |
| ils/elles | tétassent |
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 | tète |
| nous | tétons |
| vous | tétez |