Attendre Conjugation in French
attendre means “to wait” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 30 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about waiting for the bus every morning, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of attendre — 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'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: attendre
- English: to wait
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: attendant
- Past participle: attendu
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -re verbs; pattern re in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for attendre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read attendre in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about attendre
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -re pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle attendu. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is attendant and the participle is attendu: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for attendre. 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 | attends |
| tu | attends |
| il/elle | attend |
| nous | attendons |
| vous | attendez |
| ils/elles | attendent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'attends Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “I wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | attendis |
| tu | attendis |
| il/elle | attendit |
| nous | attendîmes |
| vous | attendîtes |
| ils/elles | attendirent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu attendis Marie devant la maison hier.” — “You waited for Marie in front of the house yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | attendais |
| tu | attendais |
| il/elle | attendait |
| nous | attendions |
| vous | attendiez |
| ils/elles | attendaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il attendait Marie devant la maison autrefois.” — “He used to wait for Marie in front of the house in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | attendrai |
| tu | attendras |
| il/elle | attendra |
| nous | attendrons |
| vous | attendrez |
| ils/elles | attendront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “J'attendrai Marie devant la maison demain.” — “I will wait for Marie in front of the house tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | attendrais |
| tu | attendrais |
| il/elle | attendrait |
| nous | attendrions |
| vous | attendriez |
| ils/elles | attendraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu attendrais Marie devant la maison un jour.” — “You would wait for Marie in front of the house one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai attendu |
| tu | as attendu |
| il/elle | a attendu |
| nous | avons attendu |
| vous | avez attendu |
| ils/elles | ont attendu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a attendu Marie devant la maison cette semaine.” — “He has waited for Marie in front of the house this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais attendu |
| tu | avais attendu |
| il/elle | avait attendu |
| nous | avions attendu |
| vous | aviez attendu |
| ils/elles | avaient attendu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais attendu Marie devant la maison avant la fête.” — “I had waited for Marie in front of the house before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai attendu |
| tu | auras attendu |
| il/elle | aura attendu |
| nous | aurons attendu |
| vous | aurez attendu |
| ils/elles | auront attendu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras attendu Marie devant la maison pour demain.” — “You will have waited for Marie in front of the house by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais attendu |
| tu | aurais attendu |
| il/elle | aurait attendu |
| nous | aurions attendu |
| vous | auriez attendu |
| ils/elles | auraient attendu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait attendu Marie devant la maison hier.” — “He would have waited for Marie in front of the house yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | attende |
| tu | attendes |
| il/elle | attende |
| nous | attendions |
| vous | attendiez |
| ils/elles | attendent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que j'attende Marie devant la maison.” — “It is important that I wait for Marie in front of the house.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | attendisse |
| tu | attendisses |
| il/elle | attendît |
| nous | attendissions |
| vous | attendissiez |
| ils/elles | attendissent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu attendisses Marie devant la maison.” — “It is important that you wait for Marie in front of the house.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | attends |
| nous | attendons |
| vous | attendez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Attends Marie devant la maison !” — “Wait for Marie in front of the house!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | attends |
| nous | attendons |
| vous | attendez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne attends pas Marie devant la maison.” — “Do not wait for Marie in front of the house.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en attendant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En attendant le bus tous les matins, je passe un bon moment.” — “While waiting for the bus every morning, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | attendu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai attendu le bus tous les matins cette semaine.” — “I have waited for the bus every morning this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with attendre, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.”
- “Tu attendis Marie devant la maison hier.” — “You waited for Marie in front of the house yesterday.”
- “Il attendait une réponse depuis hier autrefois.” — “He used to wait for an answer since yesterday in the past.”
- “J'attendrai le bus tous les matins demain.” — “I will wait for the bus every morning tomorrow.”
- “Tu attendrais Marie devant la maison un jour.” — “You would wait for Marie in front of the house one day.”
- “Il a attendu une réponse depuis hier cette semaine.” — “He has waited for an answer since yesterday this week.”
- “J'avais attendu le bus tous les matins avant la fête.” — “I had waited for the bus every morning before the party.”
- “Tu auras attendu Marie devant la maison pour demain.” — “You will have waited for Marie in front of the house by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il attende une réponse depuis hier.” — “It is important that he wait for an answer since yesterday.”
- “Attends le bus tous les matins !” — “Wait for the bus every morning!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je attendre le bus tous les matins.”
✓ Right: “Je attends le bus tous les matins.”
The infinitive attendre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form attends.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je attendent le bus tous les matins.”
✓ Right: “Je attends le bus tous les matins.”
attendent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with attends.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je attendis le bus tous les matins tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.”
The passé simple attendis describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present attends.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je attends le bus tous les matins.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je attende le bus tous les matins.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use attende here, not the indicative attends.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis attendu le bus tous les matins.”
✓ Right: “Je ai attendu le bus tous les matins.”
The passé composé of attendre is formed with avoir plus the past participle attendu: the je form is ai attendu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “attends” written without its accent
✓ Right: “attends”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on attendre. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of attendre in the Present indicative?
- A) attendez
- B) attends
- C) attend
- D) attendons
What is the il/elle form of attendre in the Passé simple?
- A) attendis
- B) attendîmes
- C) attendîtes
- D) attendit
What is the nous form of attendre in the Imperfect?
- A) attendais
- B) attendait
- C) attendiez
- D) attendions
What is the tu form of attendre in the Future?
- A) attendra
- B) attendrons
- C) attendras
- D) attendrai
What is the je form of attendre in the Conditional?
- A) attendriez
- B) attendrais
- C) attendrait
- D) attendrions
What is the il/elle form of attendre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as attendu
- B) avons attendu
- C) a attendu
- D) ai attendu
What is the il/elle form of attendre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) attendes
- B) attendions
- C) attendiez
- D) attende
What is the je form of attendre in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) attendisse
- B) attendisses
- C) attendît
- D) attendissions
What is the gerund of attendre?
- A) en étant
- B) en ayant
- C) en attendant
- D) en mangeant
What does attendre mean in English?
- A) to wait
- B) to eat
- C) to be
- D) to have
Answer key
- B) attends — the je form of attendre in the Present indicative is attends. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) attendit — the il/elle form of attendre in the Passé simple is attendit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) attendions — the nous form of attendre in the Imperfect is attendions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) attendras — the tu form of attendre in the Future is attendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) attendrais — the je form of attendre in the Conditional is attendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) a attendu — the il/elle form of attendre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a attendu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) attende — the il/elle form of attendre in the Present subjunctive is attende. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) attendisse — the je form of attendre in the Imperfect subjunctive is attendisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en attendant — the gerund of attendre is en attendant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to wait — attendre means “to wait” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does attendre mean in English?
attendre means “to wait”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is attendre regular or irregular?
attendre is regular: it follows the ordinary -re pattern in every tense. The gerund is attendant and the past participle is attendu.
What are the gerund and past participle of attendre?
The gerund is attendant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is attendu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai attendu.
Which auxiliary does attendre take in the passé composé?
attendre takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai attendu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle attendu.
How do I say “I wait” in French?
Say “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.” The je form of the present is attends, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of attendre — every tense of attendre in one place.
- Attendre in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Attendre examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Manger conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Être conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Avoir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise attendre with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise attendre with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise attendre with the interactive tool.