Chanter Conjugation in French
chanter means “sing” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about music, for describing a concert, and for singing at home. 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 chanter — 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: “Je chante une chanson.” — “I sing a song.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: chanter
- English: sing
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en chantant
- Past participle: chanté
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for chanter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for chanter. 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 | chante |
| tu | chantes |
| il/elle | chante |
| nous | chantons |
| vous | chantez |
| ils/elles | chantent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chantai |
| tu | chantas |
| il/elle | chanta |
| nous | chantâmes |
| vous | chantâtes |
| ils/elles | chantèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chantais |
| tu | chantais |
| il/elle | chantait |
| nous | chantions |
| vous | chantiez |
| ils/elles | chantaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chanterai |
| tu | chanteras |
| il/elle | chantera |
| nous | chanterons |
| vous | chanterez |
| ils/elles | chanteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chanterais |
| tu | chanterais |
| il/elle | chanterait |
| nous | chanterions |
| vous | chanteriez |
| ils/elles | chanteraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chante |
| tu | chantes |
| il/elle | chante |
| nous | chantions |
| vous | chantiez |
| ils/elles | chantent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | chantasse |
| tu | chantasses |
| il/elle | chantât |
| nous | chantassions |
| vous | chantassiez |
| ils/elles | chantassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai chanté |
| tu | as chanté |
| il/elle | a chanté |
| nous | avons chanté |
| vous | avez chanté |
| ils/elles | ont chanté |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais chanté |
| tu | avais chanté |
| il/elle | avait chanté |
| nous | avions chanté |
| vous | aviez chanté |
| ils/elles | avaient chanté |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai chanté |
| tu | auras chanté |
| il/elle | aura chanté |
| nous | aurons chanté |
| vous | aurez chanté |
| ils/elles | auront chanté |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais chanté |
| tu | aurais chanté |
| il/elle | aurait chanté |
| nous | aurions chanté |
| vous | auriez chanté |
| ils/elles | auraient chanté |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | chante |
| nous | chantons |
| vous | chantez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | chante |
| nous | chantons |
| vous | chantez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en chantant |
| Past participle | chanté |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je chante dans la chorale.” — “I sing in the choir.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je chantai dans la chorale hier.” — “I sang in the choir yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je chantais dans la chorale avant.” — “I used to sing in the choir before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je chanterai dans la chorale demain.” — “I will sing in the choir tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je chanterais dans la chorale un jour.” — “I would sing in the choir one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je chante dans la chorale” — “Although I sing in the choir.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je chantasse dans la chorale” — “Although I sing in the choir.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai chanté dans la chorale cette semaine.” — “I have sung in the choir this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais chanté dans la chorale avant la fête.” — “I had sung in the choir before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai chanté dans la chorale pour demain.” — “I will have sung in the choir by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais chanté dans la chorale hier.” — “I would have sung in the choir yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “chante dans la chorale !” — “Sing in the choir!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne chante pas dans la chorale !” — “Don't sing in the choir!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en chantant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle chanté builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai chanté sous la douche cette semaine.” — “I have sung in the shower this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with chanter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je chante une chanson.” — “I sing a song.”
- “Tu chantas dans la chorale hier.” — “You sang in the choir yesterday.”
- “Il chantait sous la douche avant.” — “He used to sing in the shower before.”
- “Je chanterai très bien demain.” — “I will sing very well tomorrow.”
- “Tu chanterais une chanson un jour.” — “You would sing a song one day.”
- “Il a chanté dans la chorale cette semaine.” — “He has sung in the choir this week.”
- “J'avais chanté sous la douche avant la fête.” — “I had sung in the shower before the party.”
- “Tu auras chanté très bien pour demain.” — “You will have sung very well by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il chante une chanson” — “Although he sings a song.”
- “chante dans la chorale !” — “Sing in the choir!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je chanter une chanson.”
✓ Right: “Je chante une chanson.”
The infinitive chanter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form chante.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je chantons dans la chorale.”
✓ Right: “Je chante dans la chorale.”
chantons is the nous form. With je the present form is chante — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je chante une chanson.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai chanté une chanson.”
The present chante describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai chanté.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je chantai sous la douche.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai chanté sous la douche.”
The passé simple chantai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai chanté.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je chante une chanson.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je chante une chanson.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use chante here, not the indicative chante.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je chantais très bien avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai chanté très bien avant.”
The imperfect chantais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai chanté.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on chanter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of chanter in the Present indicative?
- A) chante
- B) chantez
- C) chantent
- D) chantons
What is the il/elle form of chanter in the Passé simple?
- A) chantas
- B) chanta
- C) chantâmes
- D) chantèrent
What is the nous form of chanter in the Imperfect?
- A) chantions
- B) chantait
- C) chantiez
- D) chantais
What is the tu form of chanter in the Future?
- A) chantera
- B) chanterai
- C) chanteras
- D) chanteront
What is the je form of chanter in the Conditional?
- A) chanteriez
- B) chanteraient
- C) chanterais
- D) chanterions
What is the il/elle form of chanter in the Present subjunctive?
- A) chantions
- B) chantiez
- C) chantent
- D) chante
What is the je form of chanter in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) chantassions
- B) chantassent
- C) chantasses
- D) chantasse
What is the gerund of chanter?
- A) buvant
- B) chantant
- C) dormant
What is the past participle of chanter?
- A) bu
- B) chanté
- C) dormi
What does chanter mean in English?
- A) open
- B) drink
- C) sing
- D) sleep
Answer key
- A) chante — The je form of chanter in the present indicative is chante.
- B) chanta — The il/elle form of chanter in the passé simple is chanta.
- A) chantions — The nous form of chanter in the imperfect is chantions.
- C) chanteras — The tu form of chanter in the future is chanteras.
- C) chanterais — The je form of chanter in the conditional is chanterais.
- D) chante — The il/elle form of chanter in the present subjunctive is chante.
- D) chantasse — The je form of chanter in the imperfect subjunctive is chantasse.
- B) chantant — The gerund of chanter is en chantant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) chanté — The past participle of chanter is chanté; perfect tenses use avoir + chanté.
- C) sing — chanter means “sing” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does chanter mean in English?
chanter means “sing”. You use it for talking about music, for describing a concert, and for singing at home. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is chanter regular or irregular?
chanter is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en chantant and the past participle is chanté.
What are the gerund and past participle of chanter?
The gerund is en chantant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is chanté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai chanté.
How do I say “I sing” in French?
Say “Je chante une chanson.” — “I sing a song.” The je form of the present is chante, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between chanter and danser?
chanter means “sing” while danser means “dance” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for danser and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Chanter Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Chanter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Danser conjugation
- Jouer conjugation
- Écouter conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise chanter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise chanter with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise chanter with the interactive tool.