Conjugating the French Verb Penser (to Think)

Conjugating the French Verb Penser (to Think) The French verb  penser  is an important word to know because it means to think. You will use it quite often when you speak French, so its a good idea to study and memorize the verbs conjugations. This lesson will demonstrate how to do that and form the present, past, and future tenses of penser. The Basic Conjugations of  Penser Verb conjugations in French are the equivalent of adding an -ing  ending in English to forms words like thinking. We must first identify the verb stem- for  penser  that is  pens-  - then add the appropriate ending to match the subject pronoun and tense of the subject. French students will be happy to know that  penser  is a  regular -er verb. It follows the most common conjugation pattern found in French. If youve studied similar words like  passer  (to pass) or  demander  (to ask), then this lesson will be easier because it applies the same endings. In the simplest form, this is done in the indicative mood for the present, future, and imperfect past tenses. These are the forms of  penser  that you will use most often, so I am thinking is  je pense  and we will think is  nous penserons. To help you commit these to memory, try using the conjugation in simple sentences. If you need some ideas, there are plenty of common phrases that use  penser. Present Future Imperfect je pense penserai pensais tu penses penseras pensais il pense pensera pensait nous pensons penserons pensions vous pensez penserez pensiez ils pensent penseront pensaient The Present Participle of  Penser The present participle of penser is pensant. Notice how this was formed by simply adding -ant to the verb stem. Penser  in the Past Tense The past tense can of  penser  is expressed with either the imperfect or the  passà © composà ©. To form the latter, you will construct a short phrase using the  auxiliary verb  avoir  and the  past participle  pensà ©. For example, I thought is  jai pensà ©Ã‚  and we thought is  nous avons pensà ©. Look carefully and youll notice that the only conjugation needed was  avoir  in the present tense and that the past participle  pensà ©Ã‚  doesnt change. More Simple Conjugations of  Penser Consider the conjugations above to be your top priority when studying  penser. When youre comfortable with those, add these other simple conjugations to your vocabulary.   Each of these has a specific purpose. For example, the subjunctive expresses uncertainty in the action of thinking while the conditional says that something else must happen in order to think. The other two verb forms- the passà © simple and imperfect subjunctive- are used more often in formal French, but they are good to know. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je pense penserais pensai pensasse tu penses penserais pensas pensasses il pense penserait pensa penst nous pensions penserions pensmes pensassions vous pensiez penseriez penstes pensassiez ils pensent penseraient pensrent pensassent You will use the imperative form of  penser  when saying direct and very short commands such as Think! When doing so, theres no need to include the subject pronoun. Simply say Pense ! Imperative (tu) pense (nous) pensons (vous) pensez