Comprendre Conjugation in French
comprendre means “to understand” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 88 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about understanding the lesson today, 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 comprendre — 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 comprends la leçon aujourd'hui tous les jours.” — “I understand the lesson today every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: comprendre
- English: to understand
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: comprenant
- Past participle: compris
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -re verbs; pattern prendre in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for comprendre, 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 comprendre in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about comprendre
- It is irregular in 5 tense(s): present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle compris. 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 comprenant and the participle is compris: 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 comprendre. 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 | comprends |
| tu | comprends |
| il/elle | comprend |
| nous | comprenons |
| vous | comprenez |
| ils/elles | comprennent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With comprendre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je comprends le français très bien tous les jours.” — “I understand French very well every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | compris |
| tu | compris |
| il/elle | comprit |
| nous | comprîmes |
| vous | comprîtes |
| ils/elles | comprirent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With comprendre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu compris le français très bien hier.” — “You understood French very well yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comprenais |
| tu | comprenais |
| il/elle | comprenait |
| nous | comprenions |
| vous | compreniez |
| ils/elles | comprenaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il comprenait le français très bien autrefois.” — “He used to understand French very well in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comprendrai |
| tu | comprendras |
| il/elle | comprendra |
| nous | comprendrons |
| vous | comprendrez |
| ils/elles | comprendront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je comprendrai le français très bien demain.” — “I will understand French very well tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comprendrais |
| tu | comprendrais |
| il/elle | comprendrait |
| nous | comprendrions |
| vous | comprendriez |
| ils/elles | comprendraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu comprendrais le français très bien un jour.” — “You would understand French very well one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai compris |
| tu | as compris |
| il/elle | a compris |
| nous | avons compris |
| vous | avez compris |
| ils/elles | ont compris |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a compris le français très bien cette semaine.” — “He has understood French very well this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais compris |
| tu | avais compris |
| il/elle | avait compris |
| nous | avions compris |
| vous | aviez compris |
| ils/elles | avaient compris |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais compris le français très bien avant la fête.” — “I had understood French very well before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai compris |
| tu | auras compris |
| il/elle | aura compris |
| nous | aurons compris |
| vous | aurez compris |
| ils/elles | auront compris |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras compris le français très bien pour demain.” — “You will have understood French very well by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais compris |
| tu | aurais compris |
| il/elle | aurait compris |
| nous | aurions compris |
| vous | auriez compris |
| ils/elles | auraient compris |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait compris le français très bien hier.” — “He would have understood French very well yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comprenne |
| tu | comprennes |
| il/elle | comprenne |
| nous | comprenions |
| vous | compreniez |
| ils/elles | comprennent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With comprendre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je comprenne le français très bien.” — “It is important that I understand French very well.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comprisse |
| tu | comprisses |
| il/elle | comprît |
| nous | comprissions |
| vous | comprissiez |
| ils/elles | comprissent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu comprisses le français très bien.” — “It is important that you understand French very well.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | comprends |
| nous | comprenons |
| vous | comprenez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With comprendre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Comprends le français très bien !” — “Understand French very well!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | comprends |
| nous | comprenons |
| vous | comprenez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With comprendre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne comprends pas le français très bien.” — “Do not understand French very well.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en comprenant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En comprenant la leçon aujourd'hui, je passe un bon moment.” — “While understanding the lesson today, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | compris |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai compris la leçon aujourd'hui cette semaine.” — “I have understood the lesson today this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with comprendre, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je comprends la leçon aujourd'hui tous les jours.” — “I understand the lesson today every day.”
- “Tu compris le français très bien hier.” — “You understood French very well yesterday.”
- “Il comprenait ce que Marie dit autrefois.” — “He used to understand what Marie says in the past.”
- “Je comprendrai la leçon aujourd'hui demain.” — “I will understand the lesson today tomorrow.”
- “Tu comprendrais le français très bien un jour.” — “You would understand French very well one day.”
- “Il a compris ce que Marie dit cette semaine.” — “He has understood what Marie says this week.”
- “J'avais compris la leçon aujourd'hui avant la fête.” — “I had understood the lesson today before the party.”
- “Tu auras compris le français très bien pour demain.” — “You will have understood French very well by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il comprenne ce que Marie dit.” — “It is important that he understand what Marie says.”
- “Comprends la leçon aujourd'hui !” — “Understand the lesson today!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je comprendre la leçon aujourd'hui.”
✓ Right: “Je comprends la leçon aujourd'hui.”
The infinitive comprendre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form comprends.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je comprennent la leçon aujourd'hui.”
✓ Right: “Je comprends la leçon aujourd'hui.”
comprennent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with comprends.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je compris la leçon aujourd'hui tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je comprends la leçon aujourd'hui tous les jours.”
The passé simple compris describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present comprends.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je comprends la leçon aujourd'hui.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je comprenne la leçon aujourd'hui.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use comprenne here, not the indicative comprends.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis compris la leçon aujourd'hui.”
✓ Right: “Je ai compris la leçon aujourd'hui.”
The passé composé of comprendre is formed with avoir plus the past participle compris: the je form is ai compris. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “comprends” written without its accent
✓ Right: “comprends”
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 comprendre. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of comprendre in the Present indicative?
- A) comprenez
- B) comprends
- C) comprend
- D) comprenons
What is the il/elle form of comprendre in the Passé simple?
- A) comprîmes
- B) comprîtes
- C) comprit
- D) compris
What is the nous form of comprendre in the Imperfect?
- A) comprenais
- B) comprenait
- C) compreniez
- D) comprenions
What is the tu form of comprendre in the Future?
- A) comprendra
- B) comprendrons
- C) comprendras
- D) comprendrai
What is the je form of comprendre in the Conditional?
- A) comprendriez
- B) comprendrais
- C) comprendrait
- D) comprendrions
What is the il/elle form of comprendre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as compris
- B) avons compris
- C) a compris
- D) ai compris
What is the il/elle form of comprendre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) compreniez
- B) comprenne
- C) comprennes
- D) comprenions
What is the je form of comprendre in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) comprisses
- B) comprît
- C) comprissions
- D) comprisse
What is the gerund of comprendre?
- A) en appelant
- B) en permettant
- C) en comprenant
- D) en commençant
What does comprendre mean in English?
- A) to allow
- B) to understand
- C) to begin
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) comprends — the je form of comprendre in the Present indicative is comprends. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) comprit — the il/elle form of comprendre in the Passé simple is comprit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) comprenions — the nous form of comprendre in the Imperfect is comprenions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) comprendras — the tu form of comprendre in the Future is comprendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) comprendrais — the je form of comprendre in the Conditional is comprendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) a compris — the il/elle form of comprendre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a compris. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) comprenne — the il/elle form of comprendre in the Present subjunctive is comprenne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) comprisse — the je form of comprendre in the Imperfect subjunctive is comprisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en comprenant — the gerund of comprendre is en comprenant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to understand — comprendre means “to understand” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does comprendre mean in English?
comprendre means “to understand”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is comprendre regular or irregular?
comprendre is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is comprenant and the past participle is compris.
What are the gerund and past participle of comprendre?
The gerund is comprenant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is compris — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai compris.
Which auxiliary does comprendre take in the passé composé?
comprendre takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai compris. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle compris.
How do I say “I understand” in French?
Say “Je comprends la leçon aujourd'hui tous les jours.” — “I understand the lesson today every day.” The je form of the present is comprends, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of comprendre — every tense of comprendre in one place.
- Comprendre in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Comprendre examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Commencer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Appeler conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Permettre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- 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 comprendre with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise comprendre with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise comprendre with the interactive tool.