Introduction

Conclure means “to conclude”, and this page covers exactly one thing: conclure in the passé composé. The passé composé is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about something that happened and is finished — yesterday, this morning, last week. On this page you will find the full passé composé table for conclure, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about conclure in the passé composé. It is used every day in conversation, at work and at home. For example: “Il a conclu le projet hier.” — “He has concluded the project yesterday.” Everything on this page uses the forms of conclure exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

Conclure in the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) — full table

Person Form
je ai conclu
tu as conclu
il/elle a conclu
nous avons conclu
vous avez conclu
ils/elles ont conclu
Gerund: en conclusant · Past participle: conclu
The gerund is en conclusant, which you use after en to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “En conclusant, je commence la journée.” — “While concluding, I start the day.” The past participle is conclu, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: ai conclu is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passé composé is only one part of how conclure is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for conclure, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passé composé of conclure is formed

The passé composé of conclure is formed with the present tense of avoir plus the past participle conclu. The six forms are: j'ai conclu, tu as conclu, il a conclu, nous avons conclu, vous avez conclu, ils ont conclu. The participle never changes in this tense for conclure — it is conclu for every person. conclure is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern. Because conclure takes avoir, the auxiliary is avoir in the present tense and the participle stays invariable here: ai conclu, as conclu, a conclu all end in conclu. Learn the auxiliary forms — ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont — once, and they work for every verb that takes avoir. The passé composé is the workhorse past tense of spoken French. It is the tense you will hear in conversation, in messages and in everyday stories, far more often than the passé simple, which belongs mainly to written and literary French. That is why this page exists on its own: the passé composé of conclure deserves a full page, not a footnote.

When to use the passé composé of conclure

The passé composé is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use conclure in the passé composé most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Completed past actions

The passé composé describes an action that happened and is finished. The action has a clear end, and the sentence looks back at it from now. Example: “J'ai conclu le projet la semaine dernière.” — “I have concluded the project last week.”

2. The recent past

Use the passé composé for something that happened recently — this morning, yesterday, just now. It is the tense of news and updates. Example: “Tu as conclu le projet ce matin.” — “You have concluded the project this morning.”

3. Life experience

Use the passé composé to talk about what you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience, not of habit. Example: “Il a conclu le projet avant la fête.” — “He has concluded the project before the party.”

4. A sequence of past events

When you tell a story as a chain of finished events — first this happened, then that happened — each link in the chain takes the passé composé. Example: “Nous avons conclu le projet.” — “We have concluded the project.”

5. With time expressions

Time expressions such as hier, ce matin, la semaine dernière and l’année dernière point to the passé composé. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense. Example: “Vous avez conclu le projet hier.” — “You have concluded the project yesterday.”

Passé Composé vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the passé composé is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the passé composé describes one finished action in the past, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, or the background of a story. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the passé composé sentences use words such as hier or soudain, while the imperfect sentences use tous les jours or avant. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Passé Composé: “Il a conclu le projet la semaine dernière.” — “He has concluded the project last week.”
  • Imperfect: “Il conclusait le projet à la maison.” — “He used to conclude the project at home.”
  • The passé composé sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is a habit or a background state. Hier points to the passé composé, tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.
  • Passé Composé: “J'ai conclu le projet ce matin.” — “I have concluded the project this morning.”
  • Imperfect: “Je conclusais le projet ce matin.” — “I used to conclude the project this morning.”
  • The passé composé sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is a habit or a background state. Hier points to the passé composé, tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.
  • Passé Composé: “Tu as conclu le projet avant la fête.” — “You have concluded the project before the party.”
  • Imperfect: “Tu conclusais le projet avec Paul.” — “You used to conclude the project with Paul.”
  • The passé composé sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is a habit or a background state. Hier points to the passé composé, tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.

Example sentences: conclure in the passé composé

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “J'ai conclu le projet la semaine dernière.” — “I have concluded the project last week.”
  2. “Tu as conclu le projet ce matin.” — “You have concluded the project this morning.”
  3. “Il a conclu le projet avant la fête.” — “He has concluded the project before the party.”
  4. “Nous avons conclu le projet.” — “We have concluded the project.”
  5. “Vous avez conclu le projet hier.” — “You have concluded the project yesterday.”
  6. “Ils ont conclu le projet la semaine dernière.” — “They have concluded the project last week.”
  7. “J'ai conclu le projet hier.” — “I have concluded the project yesterday.”
  8. “Il a conclu le projet avant la fête.” — “He has concluded the project before the party.”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Je as conclu le projet.” Right: “J'ai conclu le projet hier.” Why: The je form is ai conclu, not as conclu. as conclu is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Nous ai conclu le projet.” Right: “Nous avons conclu le projet hier.” Why: Nous needs the nous form avons conclu. ai conclu belongs with je only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “J'ai conclu le projet tous les jours.” Right: “Je conclus le projet tous les jours.” Why: Tous les jours describes a routine, so the passé composé is wrong here. Use the present conclus for something that happens every day.
  • Wrong: “Je conclure le projet.” Right: “J'ai conclu le projet hier.” Why: The infinitive conclure never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form ai conclu.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the je form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) conclusse
    • B) ai conclu
    • C) conclusais
    • D) aurai conclu

  2. What is the tu form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ont conclu
    • B) as conclu
    • C) concluses
    • D) a conclu

  3. What is the il/elle form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) conclura
    • B) a conclu
    • C) avait conclu
    • D) concluse

  4. What is the nous form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) conclûmes
    • B) conclusions
    • C) conclusons
    • D) avons conclu

  5. What is the vous form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) avez conclu
    • B) conclusiez
    • C) avons conclu
    • D) aurez conclu

  6. What is the ils/elles form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ont conclu
    • B) ai conclu
    • C) conclusent
    • D) as conclu

  7. What is the je form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai conclu
    • B) avais conclu
    • C) a conclu
    • D) ont conclu

  8. What is the tu form of conclure in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) as conclu
    • B) concluses
    • C) ont conclu
    • D) avais conclu

Answer key

  1. B) ai conclu — the je form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is ai conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  2. B) as conclu — the tu form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is as conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  3. B) a conclu — the il/elle form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is a conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  4. D) avons conclu — the nous form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  5. A) avez conclu — the vous form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is avez conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  6. A) ont conclu — the ils/elles form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is ont conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  7. A) ai conclu — the je form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is ai conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  8. A) as conclu — the tu form of conclure in the present perfect (passé composé) is as conclu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.

Frequently asked questions

What does conclure mean in English?

conclure means “to conclude”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular verb.

How is the passé composé of conclure formed?

The passé composé is formed with the present tense of avoir plus the past participle conclu: j'ai conclu, tu as conclu, il a conclu, nous avons conclu, vous avez conclu, ils ont conclu.

When do I use the passé composé instead of the imperfect?

Use the passé composé for one finished action in the past. Use the imperfect for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. Hier points to the passé composé; tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.

What are the gerund and past participle of conclure?

The gerund is en conclusant and the past participle is conclu.

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