French Verb Conjugations
| Present | Imperfect | Future | Conditional | Subjunctive | Imperfect subj. | |||
| j’ | illustre | illustrais | illustrerai | illustrerais | illustre | illustrasse | ||
| tu | illustres | illustrais | illustreras | illustrerais | illustres | illustrasses | ||
| il | illustre | illustrait | illustrera | illustrerait | illustre | illustrât | ||
| nous | illustrons | illustrions | illustrerons | illustrerions | illustrions | illustrassions | ||
| vous | illustrez | illustriez | illustrerez | illustreriez | illustriez | illustrassiez | ||
| ils | illustrent | illustraient | illustreront | illustreraient | illustrent | illustrassent | ||
| Passé composé | Past perfect | Future perfect | Past conditional | Past subjunctive | Pluperfect subj. | |||
| j’ | ai illustré | avais illustré | aurai illustré | aurais illustré | aie illustré | eusse illustré | ||
| tu | as illustré | avais illustré | auras illustré | aurais illustré | aies illustré | eusses illustré | ||
| il | a illustré | avait illustré | aura illustré | aurait illustré | ait illustré | eût illustré | ||
| nous | avons illustré | avions illustré | aurons illustré | aurions illustré | ayons illustré | eussions illustré | ||
| vous | avez illustré | aviez illustré | aurez illustré | auriez illustré | ayez illustré | eussiez illustré | ||
| ils | ont illustré | avaient illustré | auront illustré | auraient illustré | aient illustré | eussent illustré | ||
| Passé simple | Past anterior | Imperative | Participles | |||||
| j’ | illustrai | eus illustré | (tu) | illustre | Present | illustrant | ||
| tu | illustras | eus illustré | (nous) | illustrons | Past | illustré | ||
| il | illustra | eut illustré | (vous) | illustrez | Perfect | ayant illustré | ||
| nous | illustrâmes | eûmes illustré | Past imperative | |||||
| vous | illustrâtes | eûtes illustré | (tu) | aie illustré | Past infinitive | |||
| ils | illustrèrent | eurent illustré | (nous) | ayons illustré | avoir illustré | |||
| (vous) | ayez illustré | |||||||
Illustrer is a regular -er verb.



The mountain of French verb conjugations you have to learn can be overwhelming – even just in the classroom where you have plenty of time to think about the correct response. Once you start talking to people in the real world, trying to figure out the appropriate verb conjugation can leave you speechless – literally. So what’s the solution? Learn, then practice, practice, practice!
Inverting subjects and verbs is easy enough – vous voyez => voyez-vous, but where do object, adverbial, and reflexive pronouns go? And what about negation? Take a look at this lesson to learn about all the possibilities.
Magnetic poetry is a fun little tool you can use to learn and practice French. 500 magnets with words and parts of words help you to express yourself in a unique and creative way.