Compter Conjugation in French
compter means “to count” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of compter — 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 compte les pièces sur la table.” — “I count the coins on the table.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: French spelling and endings change with the person and the tense, and compter is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: compter
- English: to count
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en comptant
- Past participle: compté
- 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 compter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for compter. 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 | compte |
| tu | comptes |
| il/elle | compte |
| nous | comptons |
| vous | comptez |
| ils/elles | comptent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comptai |
| tu | comptas |
| il/elle | compta |
| nous | comptâmes |
| vous | comptâtes |
| ils/elles | comptèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comptais |
| tu | comptais |
| il/elle | comptait |
| nous | comptions |
| vous | comptiez |
| ils/elles | comptaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | compterai |
| tu | compteras |
| il/elle | comptera |
| nous | compterons |
| vous | compterez |
| ils/elles | compteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | compterais |
| tu | compterais |
| il/elle | compterait |
| nous | compterions |
| vous | compteriez |
| ils/elles | compteraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai compté |
| tu | as compté |
| il/elle | a compté |
| nous | avons compté |
| vous | avez compté |
| ils/elles | ont compté |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais compté |
| tu | avais compté |
| il/elle | avait compté |
| nous | avions compté |
| vous | aviez compté |
| ils/elles | avaient compté |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai compté |
| tu | auras compté |
| il/elle | aura compté |
| nous | aurons compté |
| vous | aurez compté |
| ils/elles | auront compté |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais compté |
| tu | aurais compté |
| il/elle | aurait compté |
| nous | aurions compté |
| vous | auriez compté |
| ils/elles | auraient compté |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | compte |
| tu | comptes |
| il/elle | compte |
| nous | comptions |
| vous | comptiez |
| ils/elles | comptent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | comptasse |
| tu | comptasses |
| il/elle | comptât |
| nous | comptassions |
| vous | comptassiez |
| ils/elles | comptassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | compte |
| nous | comptons |
| vous | comptez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | compte |
| nous | comptons |
| vous | comptez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en comptant |
| Past participle | compté |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je compte les pièces sur la table.” — “I count the coins on the table.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu comptas les pièces sur la table.” — “You counted the coins on the table one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il comptait les pièces sur la table quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to count the coins on the table.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous compterons les pièces sur la table.” — “We will count the coins on the table tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous compteriez les pièces sur la table.” — “You would count the coins on the table if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With compter it is formed with avoir + the past participle compté. For example: “Ils ont compté les pièces sur la table hier.” — “They have counted the coins on the table.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais compté les pièces sur la table avant la fête.” — “I had counted the coins on the table before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras compté les pièces sur la table.” — “You will have counted the coins on the table by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait compté les pièces sur la table.” — “He would have counted the coins on the table if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il faut que je compte les pièces sur la table.” — “It is important that I count the coins on the table.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mainly in formal writing. For example: “Il fallait que je comptasse les pièces sur la table.” — “It was important that I count the coins on the table.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Compte les pièces sur la table !” — “Count the coins on the table!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Compte les pièces sur la table !” — “Do not count the coins on the table!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en comptant — “while counting” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is compté, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai compté.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with compter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je compte les pièces sur la table.” — “I count the coins on the table.”
- “Tu comptes les pièces sur la table.” — “You count the coins on the table.”
- “Il comptait les pièces sur la table.” — “He used to count the coins on the table.”
- “Nous compterons les pièces sur la table.” — “We will count the coins on the table tomorrow.”
- “Je compterais les pièces sur la table.” — “I would count the coins on the table if I could.”
- “Tu as compté les pièces sur la table.” — “You have counted the coins on the table.”
- “Il avait compté les pièces sur la table.” — “He had counted the coins on the table before the party.”
- “Nous aurons compté les pièces sur la table.” — “We will have counted the coins on the table by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je compte les pièces sur la table.” — “It is important that I count the coins on the table.”
- “Compte les pièces sur la table !” — “Count the coins on the table!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je compter les pièces sur la table.”
✓ Right: “Je compte les pièces sur la table.”
The infinitive compter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form compte.
2. Confusing compter with calculer
✗ Wrong: “Je compte le prix total.” (meant as “calculer”)
✓ Right: “Je compte les pièces sur la table.”
compter means “to count”; calculer means “to calculate”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis compté les pièces sur la table.”
✓ Right: “J'ai compté les pièces sur la table.”
With compter the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai compté.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je compte les pièces sur la table.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je compte les pièces sur la table.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use compte here, not the indicative compte.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je compte les pièces sur la table hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai compté les pièces sur la table hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai compté), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of compter in the Present indicative?
- A) comptent
- B) comptons
- C) comptez
- D) compte
What is the ils/elles form of compter in the Present indicative?
- A) comptons
- B) comptent
- C) comptes
- D) comptez
What is the il/elle form of compter in the Passé simple?
- A) comptèrent
- B) comptâtes
- C) comptas
- D) compta
What is the nous form of compter in the Imperfect?
- A) comptait
- B) comptions
- C) comptaient
- D) comptais
What is the tu form of compter in the Future?
- A) compteront
- B) compteras
- C) compterons
- D) compterez
What is the je form of compter in the Conditional?
- A) compterais
- B) compterions
- C) compteriez
- D) compterait
What is the il/elle form of compter in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avez compté
- B) ai compté
- C) a compté
- D) as compté
What is the vous form of compter in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avais compté
- B) aviez compté
- C) avaient compté
- D) avait compté
What is the gerund of compter?
- A) compterai
- B) compte
- C) compté
- D) en comptant
What is the past participle of compter?
- A) compte
- B) en comptant
- C) comptais
- D) compté
Answer key
- D) compte — the je form of compter in the present indicative is compte.
- B) comptent — the ils/elles form of compter in the present indicative is comptent.
- D) compta — the il/elle form of compter in the passé simple is compta.
- B) comptions — the nous form of compter in the imperfect is comptions.
- B) compteras — the tu form of compter in the future is compteras.
- A) compterais — the je form of compter in the conditional is compterais.
- C) a compté — the il/elle form of compter in the present perfect (passé composé) is a compté.
- B) aviez compté — the vous form of compter in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez compté.
- D) en comptant — the gerund of compter is en comptant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- D) compté — the past participle of compter is compté; perfect tenses use avoir + compté.
Frequently asked questions
What does compter mean in English?
compter means “to count”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je compte les pièces sur la table.” (“I count the coins on the table.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is compter regular or irregular?
compter is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en comptant and the past participle is compté.
What are the gerund and past participle of compter?
The gerund is en comptant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is compté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai compté.
What is the difference between compter and calculer?
compter means “to count”, while calculer means “to calculate”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for calculer and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I count” in French?
Say “Je compte les pièces sur la table.” — “I count the coins on the table.” The je form of the present is compte, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn compter
Start with the present tense: compte, comptes, compte, comptons, comptez, comptent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai compté — and the imperfect — comptais. Next, learn the future (compterai) and the conditional (compterais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (compte) and the imperative (compte). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the present-tense quiz.
Related pages
- compter in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- compter examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Calculer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise compter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise compter with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.