Imaginer Conjugation in French
imaginer means “to imagine” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of imaginer — 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: “J'imagine une vie meilleure.” — “I imagine a better life.” 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 imaginer 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: imaginer
- English: to imagine
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en imaginant
- Past participle: imaginé
- 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 imaginer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for imaginer. 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 | imagine |
| tu | imagines |
| il/elle | imagine |
| nous | imaginons |
| vous | imaginez |
| ils/elles | imaginent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | imaginai |
| tu | imaginas |
| il/elle | imagina |
| nous | imaginâmes |
| vous | imaginâtes |
| ils/elles | imaginèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | imaginais |
| tu | imaginais |
| il/elle | imaginait |
| nous | imaginions |
| vous | imaginiez |
| ils/elles | imaginaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | imaginerai |
| tu | imagineras |
| il/elle | imaginera |
| nous | imaginerons |
| vous | imaginerez |
| ils/elles | imagineront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | imaginerais |
| tu | imaginerais |
| il/elle | imaginerait |
| nous | imaginerions |
| vous | imagineriez |
| ils/elles | imagineraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai imaginé |
| tu | as imaginé |
| il/elle | a imaginé |
| nous | avons imaginé |
| vous | avez imaginé |
| ils/elles | ont imaginé |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais imaginé |
| tu | avais imaginé |
| il/elle | avait imaginé |
| nous | avions imaginé |
| vous | aviez imaginé |
| ils/elles | avaient imaginé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai imaginé |
| tu | auras imaginé |
| il/elle | aura imaginé |
| nous | aurons imaginé |
| vous | aurez imaginé |
| ils/elles | auront imaginé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais imaginé |
| tu | aurais imaginé |
| il/elle | aurait imaginé |
| nous | aurions imaginé |
| vous | auriez imaginé |
| ils/elles | auraient imaginé |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | imagine |
| tu | imagines |
| il/elle | imagine |
| nous | imaginions |
| vous | imaginiez |
| ils/elles | imaginent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | imaginasse |
| tu | imaginasses |
| il/elle | imaginât |
| nous | imaginassions |
| vous | imaginassiez |
| ils/elles | imaginassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | imagine |
| nous | imaginons |
| vous | imaginez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | imagine |
| nous | imaginons |
| vous | imaginez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en imaginant |
| Past participle | imaginé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'imagine une vie meilleure.” — “I imagine a better life.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu imaginas une vie meilleure.” — “You imagined a better life one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il imaginait une vie meilleure quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to imagine a better life.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous imaginerons une vie meilleure.” — “We will imagine a better life tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous imagineriez une vie meilleure.” — “You would imagine a better life if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With imaginer it is formed with avoir + the past participle imaginé. For example: “Ils ont imaginé une vie meilleure hier.” — “They have imagined a better life.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais imaginé une vie meilleure avant la fête.” — “I had imagined a better life 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 imaginé une vie meilleure.” — “You will have imagined a better life by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait imaginé une vie meilleure.” — “He would have imagined a better life 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 imagine une vie meilleure.” — “It is important that I imagine a better life.”
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 imaginasse une vie meilleure.” — “It was important that I imagine a better life.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Imagine une vie meilleure !” — “Imagine a better life!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Imagine une vie meilleure !” — “Do not imagine a better life!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en imaginant — “while imagining” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is imaginé, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai imaginé.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with imaginer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'imagine une vie meilleure.” — “I imagine a better life.”
- “Tu imagines une vie meilleure.” — “You imagine a better life.”
- “Il imaginait une vie meilleure.” — “He used to imagine a better life.”
- “Nous imaginerons une vie meilleure.” — “We will imagine a better life tomorrow.”
- “J'imaginerais une vie meilleure.” — “I would imagine a better life if I could.”
- “Tu as imaginé une vie meilleure.” — “You have imagined a better life.”
- “Il avait imaginé une vie meilleure.” — “He had imagined a better life before the party.”
- “Nous aurons imaginé une vie meilleure.” — “We will have imagined a better life by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je imagine une vie meilleure.” — “It is important that I imagine a better life.”
- “Imagine une vie meilleure !” — “Imagine a better life!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je imaginer une vie meilleure.”
✓ Right: “J'imagine une vie meilleure.”
The infinitive imaginer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form imagine.
2. Confusing imaginer with rêver
✗ Wrong: “J'imagine de voyager en France.” (meant as “rêver”)
✓ Right: “J'imagine une vie meilleure.”
imaginer means “to imagine”; rêver means “to dream”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis imaginé une vie meilleure.”
✓ Right: “J'ai imaginé une vie meilleure.”
With imaginer the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai imaginé.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je imagine une vie meilleure.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je imagine une vie meilleure.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use imagine here, not the indicative imagine.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “J'imagine une vie meilleure hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai imaginé une vie meilleure hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai imaginé), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imaginons
- B) imagine
- C) imaginez
- D) imagines
What is the ils/elles form of imaginer in the Present indicative?
- A) imaginez
- B) imaginent
- C) imagines
- D) imagine
What is the il/elle form of imaginer in the Passé simple?
- A) imaginâtes
- B) imaginâmes
- C) imagina
- D) imaginas
What is the nous form of imaginer in the Imperfect?
- A) imaginais
- B) imaginions
- C) imaginaient
- D) imaginiez
What is the tu form of imaginer in the Future?
- A) imaginerez
- B) imagineras
- C) imaginerai
- D) imaginera
What is the je form of imaginer in the Conditional?
- A) imagineriez
- B) imaginerait
- C) imagineraient
- D) imaginerais
What is the il/elle form of imaginer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ont imaginé
- B) avez imaginé
- C) ai imaginé
- D) a imaginé
What is the vous form of imaginer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) aviez imaginé
- B) avait imaginé
- C) avais imaginé
- D) avaient imaginé
What is the gerund of imaginer?
- A) imagine
- B) en imaginant
- C) imaginerai
- D) imaginé
What is the past participle of imaginer?
- A) imaginais
- B) en imaginant
- C) imagine
- D) imaginé
Answer key
- B) imagine — the je form of imaginer in the present indicative is imagine.
- B) imaginent — the ils/elles form of imaginer in the present indicative is imaginent.
- C) imagina — the il/elle form of imaginer in the passé simple is imagina.
- B) imaginions — the nous form of imaginer in the imperfect is imaginions.
- B) imagineras — the tu form of imaginer in the future is imagineras.
- D) imaginerais — the je form of imaginer in the conditional is imaginerais.
- D) a imaginé — the il/elle form of imaginer in the present perfect (passé composé) is a imaginé.
- A) aviez imaginé — the vous form of imaginer in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez imaginé.
- B) en imaginant — the gerund of imaginer is en imaginant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- D) imaginé — the past participle of imaginer is imaginé; perfect tenses use avoir + imaginé.
Frequently asked questions
What does imaginer mean in English?
imaginer means “to imagine”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “J'imagine une vie meilleure.” (“I imagine a better life.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is imaginer regular or irregular?
imaginer is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en imaginant and the past participle is imaginé.
What are the gerund and past participle of imaginer?
The gerund is en imaginant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is imaginé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai imaginé.
What is the difference between imaginer and rêver?
imaginer means “to imagine”, while rêver means “to dream”. 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 rêver and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I imagine” in French?
Say “J'imagine une vie meilleure.” — “I imagine a better life.” The je form of the present is imagine, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn imaginer
Start with the present tense: imagine, imagines, imagine, imaginons, imaginez, imaginent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai imaginé — and the imperfect — imaginais. Next, learn the future (imaginerai) and the conditional (imaginerais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (imagine) and the imperative (imagine). 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
- 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.