Assister Conjugation in French
assister means “to attend” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 187 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a non-reflexive, regular -er verb, and this page gives you its complete conjugation — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “J'assiste à la réunion tous les jours.” — “I attend the meeting every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: assister
- English: to attend
- Verb type: Non-reflexive, Regular
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: en assistant
- Past participle: assisté
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for assister, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for assister. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | assiste |
| tu | assistes |
| il/elle | assiste |
| nous | assistons |
| vous | assistez |
| ils/elles | assistent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | assistai |
| tu | assistas |
| il/elle | assista |
| nous | assistâmes |
| vous | assistâtes |
| ils/elles | assistèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | assistais |
| tu | assistais |
| il/elle | assistait |
| nous | assistions |
| vous | assistiez |
| ils/elles | assistaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | assisterai |
| tu | assisteras |
| il/elle | assistera |
| nous | assisterons |
| vous | assisterez |
| ils/elles | assisteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | assisterais |
| tu | assisterais |
| il/elle | assisterait |
| nous | assisterions |
| vous | assisteriez |
| ils/elles | assisteraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai assisté |
| tu | as assisté |
| il/elle | a assisté |
| nous | avons assisté |
| vous | avez assisté |
| ils/elles | ont assisté |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais assisté |
| tu | avais assisté |
| il/elle | avait assisté |
| nous | avions assisté |
| vous | aviez assisté |
| ils/elles | avaient assisté |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai assisté |
| tu | auras assisté |
| il/elle | aura assisté |
| nous | aurons assisté |
| vous | aurez assisté |
| ils/elles | auront assisté |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais assisté |
| tu | aurais assisté |
| il/elle | aurait assisté |
| nous | aurions assisté |
| vous | auriez assisté |
| ils/elles | auraient assisté |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | assiste |
| tu | assistes |
| il/elle | assiste |
| nous | assistions |
| vous | assistiez |
| ils/elles | assistent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | assistasse |
| tu | assistasses |
| il/elle | assistât |
| nous | assistassions |
| vous | assistassiez |
| ils/elles | assistassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | assiste |
| nous | assistons |
| vous | assistez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | assiste |
| nous | assistons |
| vous | assistez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en assistant |
| Past participle | assisté |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “J'assiste à la réunion tous les jours.” — “I attend the meeting every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu assistas à la réunion la semaine dernière.” — “You attended the meeting last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il assistait à la réunion ce matin.” — “He used to attend the meeting this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Nous assisterons à la réunion.” — “We will attend the meeting.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Vous assisteriez à la réunion.” — “You would attend the meeting.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ils ont assisté à la réunion hier.” — “They have attended the meeting yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “J'avais assisté à la réunion hier.” — “I had attended the meeting yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu auras assisté à la réunion la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have attended the meeting next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il aurait assisté à la réunion ce matin.” — “He would have attended the meeting this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il est important que nous assistions à la réunion tous les jours.” — “It is important that We attend the meeting every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mostly in formal and literary French. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous assistassiez à la réunion hier.” — “It was necessary that You attend the meeting yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Assistez à la réunion !” — “Attend the meeting!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With assister this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ne assiste pas à la réunion !” — “Do not attend the meeting!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en assistant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En assistant, je commence la journée.” — “While attending, I start the day.” The past participle assisté is used with avoir in the perfect tenses, as in j'ai assisté — “I have attended the meeting yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with assister, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'assiste à la réunion à la maison.” — “I attend the meeting at home.”
- “Tu assistas à la réunion ce matin.” — “You attended the meeting this morning.”
- “Il assistait à la réunion avec Paul.” — “He used to attend the meeting with Paul.”
- “J'assisterai à la réunion demain.” — “I will attend the meeting tomorrow.”
- “Tu assisterais à la réunion tous les jours.” — “You would attend the meeting every day.”
- “Il a assisté à la réunion la semaine dernière.” — “He has attended the meeting last week.”
- “J'avais assisté à la réunion ce matin.” — “I had attended the meeting this morning.”
- “Tu auras assisté à la réunion demain.” — “You will have attended the meeting tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il assiste à la réunion tous les jours.” — “It is important that He attend the meeting every day.”
- “Assiste à la réunion !” — “Attend the meeting!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je assister à la réunion.”
✓ Right: “J'assiste à la réunion tous les jours.”
The infinitive assister never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form assiste.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je assistes à la réunion.”
✓ Right: “J'assiste à la réunion tous les jours.”
assistes is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is assiste — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “J'assiste à la réunion hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai assisté à la réunion hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai assisté here, not the present assiste.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je assistons à la réunion.”
✓ Right: “J'assiste à la réunion tous les jours.”
assistons is the nous form. The je form is assiste — the two persons never share a form in the present of assister.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis assisté à la réunion hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai assisté à la réunion hier.”
assister takes avoir in the compound tenses, not être: ai assisté, never the être form.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous assistons à la réunion.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous assistions à la réunion.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use assistions here, not the indicative assistons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on assister. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of assister in the Present indicative?
- A) assistons
- B) assistais
- C) assiste
- D) avais assisté
What is the il/elle form of assister in the Passé simple?
- A) assisterait
- B) assistera
- C) assista
- D) assistas
What is the nous form of assister in the Imperfect?
- A) assistiez
- B) avions assisté
- C) assistions
- D) assistaient
What is the tu form of assister in the Future?
- A) assistasses
- B) as assisté
- C) assisteras
- D) assisterais
What is the je form of assister in the Conditional?
- A) assiste
- B) assisterais
- C) assisterions
- D) ai assisté
What is the il/elle form of assister in the Present subjunctive?
- A) assiste
- B) assistent
- C) assistait
- D) assistions
What is the nous form of assister in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avons assisté
- B) assistassions
- C) ont assisté
- D) avions assisté
What is the gerund of assister?
- A) battant
- B) amenant
- C) considérant
- D) en assistant
What is the past participle of assister?
- A) créé
- B) assisté
- C) brûlé
- D) allumé
What does assister mean in English?
- A) attend
- B) comment
- C) stop
- D) add
Answer key
- C) assiste — the je form of assister in the present indicative is assiste. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) assista — the il/elle form of assister in the passé simple is assista. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) assistions — the nous form of assister in the imperfect is assistions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) assisteras — the tu form of assister in the future is assisteras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) assisterais — the je form of assister in the conditional is assisterais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) assiste — the il/elle form of assister in the present subjunctive is assiste. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) avons assisté — the nous form of assister in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons assisté. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) en assistant — the gerund of assister is en assistant; it is used with en for actions happening at the same time as the main verb. The other options are the present participles of neighbouring verbs.
- B) assisté — the past participle of assister is assisté; perfect tenses use avoir + assisté. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) attend — assister means “to attend” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn assister in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — j'assiste, tu assistes, il assiste, nous assistons, vous assistez, ils assistent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: ai assisté shows the pattern, and the participle assisté is the same in every perfect tense. Third, add one new tense a day, always in a sentence, and test yourself the next day before you learn the next one. A verb you can use in a sentence is learnt; a verb you can only recite is not. Use the Verb Quiz and the Verb Conjugator to check what has stuck, and compare assister with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does assister mean in English?
assister means “to attend”. It is a non-reflexive, regular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is assister regular or irregular?
assister is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none. assister is regular: every form follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict.
What are the gerund and past participle of assister?
The gerund is en assistant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is assisté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in j'ai assisté.
How do I say “I attend” in French?
Say “J'assiste à la réunion tous les jours.” — “I attend the meeting every day.” The je form of the present is assiste, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce assister?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for assister, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- assister in the present tense
- assister examples and quiz
- Attirer conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Contrôler conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Pronunciation Guide — practise assister with the interactive tool.
- Reflexive Verb Conjugator — practise assister with the interactive tool.
- Verb Tense Timeline — practise assister with the interactive tool.