Imaginer Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of imaginer — “to imagine” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for imaginer, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'imagine une vie meilleure.” — “I imagine a better life.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for imaginer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of imaginer
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for imaginer. imaginer is a regular -er verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — imaginer
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | imagine |
| tu | imagines |
| il/elle | imagine |
| nous | imaginons |
| vous | imaginez |
| ils/elles | imaginent |
The gerund of imaginer is en imaginant and the past participle is imaginé. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of imaginer is formed
For a regular -er verb, the present tense is built on the stem imagin- (the infinitive imaginer without its -er ending) plus the present tense endings: je → imagine, tu → imagines, il/elle → imagine, nous → imaginons, vous → imaginez, ils/elles → imaginent. So imaginer gives imagine, imagines, imagine, imaginons, imaginez, imaginent.
When to use the present tense of imaginer
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with imaginer: “J'imagine une vie meilleure tous les jours.” — “I imagine a better life.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with imaginer: “Tu imagines une vie meilleure en général.” — “You imagine a better life.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with imaginer: “Il imagine une vie meilleure maintenant.” — “He imagines a better life.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with imaginer: “Nous imaginons une vie meilleure demain.” — “We imagine a better life.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with imaginer: “Ils imaginent une vie meilleure souvent.” — “They imagine a better life.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: imaginer now, imaginer later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “J'imagine une vie meilleure tous les jours.” — “I imagine a better life.”
Future: “J'imaginerai une vie meilleure demain.” — “I will imagine a better life tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu imagines une vie meilleure maintenant.” — “You imagine a better life.”
Future: “Tu imagineras une vie meilleure demain.” — “You will imagine a better life tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous imaginons une vie meilleure en classe.” — “We imagine a better life.”
Future: “Nous imaginerons une vie meilleure demain.” — “We will imagine a better life tomorrow.”
Example sentences: imaginer in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of imaginer, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “J'imagine une vie meilleure tous les jours.” — “I imagine a better life.”
- “Tu imagines une vie meilleure chaque matin.” — “You imagine a better life.”
- “Il imagine une vie meilleure souvent.” — “He imagines a better life.”
- “Nous imaginons une vie meilleure maintenant.” — “We imagine a better life.”
- “Vous imaginez une vie meilleure en général.” — “You imagine a better life.”
- “Ils imaginent une vie meilleure le week-end.” — “They imagine a better life.”
Common mistakes with imaginer in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je imaginer une vie meilleure.”
Right: “J'imagine une vie meilleure.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form imagine.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu imagine une vie meilleure.”
Right: “Tu imagines une vie meilleure.”
After tu you need imagines, not the je form imagine. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “J'imaginerai une vie meilleure.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “J'imagine une vie meilleure tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (imaginerai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai imaginé une vie meilleure tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “J'imagine une vie meilleure tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: imaginer in the present tense
What is the je form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imaginons
- B) imagine
- C) imaginez
- D) imagines
What is the tu form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imagines
- B) imagine
- C) imaginons
- D) imaginent
What is the il/elle form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imagine
- B) imaginent
- C) imaginez
- D) imaginons
What is the nous form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imagine
- B) imaginent
- C) imaginons
- D) imagines
What is the vous form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imaginez
- B) imaginent
- C) imagine
- D) imaginons
What is the ils/elles form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imaginez
- B) imagine
- C) imagines
- D) imaginent
What is the gerund of imaginer?
- A) imaginerai
- B) en imaginant
- C) imaginé
- D) imagine
What does imaginer mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to go
- C) to have
- D) to imagine
Answer key
- B) imagine — the je form of imaginer in the present indicative is imagine.
- A) imagines — the tu form of imaginer in the present indicative is imagines.
- A) imagine — the il/elle form of imaginer in the present indicative is imagine.
- C) imaginons — the nous form of imaginer in the present indicative is imaginons.
- A) imaginez — the vous form of imaginer in the present indicative is imaginez.
- D) imaginent — the ils/elles form of imaginer in the present indicative is imaginent.
- B) en imaginant — the gerund of imaginer is en imaginant.
- D) to imagine — imaginer means “to imagine” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of imaginer formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is imagine and the ils form is imaginent.
When do I use the present tense of imaginer?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (imagine), while the future is for what will happen (imaginerai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of imaginer?
On the full conjugation page for imaginer, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of imaginer in order, without looking: imagine, imagines, imagine, imaginons, imaginez, imaginent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using imagine, ai imaginé and imaginerai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- imaginer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- imaginer 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.
- Rever conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Reussir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise imaginer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise imaginer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.