Penser: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Penser means “to think”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for penser, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with penser, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.” — “I think about my friends in Paris every day.”
- “Tu penses à l'avenir tous les jours tous les jours.” — “You think about the future every day every day.”
- “J'ai pensé que c'est une bonne idée cette semaine.” — “I have thought that it is a good idea this week.”
- “Il pensait à mes amis à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to think about my friends in Paris in the past.”
- “Nous penserons à l'avenir tous les jours demain.” — “We will think about the future every day tomorrow.”
- “Tu as pensé que c'est une bonne idée cette semaine.” — “You have thought that it is a good idea this week.”
- “Je penserais à mes amis à Paris un jour.” — “I would think about my friends in Paris one day.”
- “Il est important que il pense à l'avenir tous les jours.” — “It is important that he think about the future every day.”
- “Nous avions pensé que c'est une bonne idée avant la fête.” — “We had thought that it is a good idea before the party.”
- “Il pensera à mes amis à Paris demain.” — “He will think about my friends in Paris tomorrow.”
- “Ils pensent à l'avenir tous les jours tous les jours.” — “They think about the future every day every day.”
- “Pense que c'est une bonne idée !” — “Think that it is a good idea!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about about my friends in Paris. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how penser changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of penser below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.” — “I think about my friends in Paris every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je penserai à l'avenir tous les jours demain.” — “I will think about the future every day tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai pensé que c'est une bonne idée cette semaine.” — “I have thought that it is a good idea this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je penserais à mes amis à Paris un jour.” — “I would think about my friends in Paris one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Penser in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of penser that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, penser describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is pense: “Je pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.” — “I think about my friends in Paris every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, penser describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is pensait: “Il pensait à l'avenir tous les jours autrefois.” — “He used to think about the future every day in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, penser reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle pensé. The je form is ai pensé: “J'ai pensé que c'est une bonne idée cette semaine.” — “I have thought that it is a good idea this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, penser talks about what will happen. The nous form is penserons: “Nous penserons à mes amis à Paris demain.” — “We will think about my friends in Paris tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, penser talks about what would happen. The tu form is penserais: “Tu penserais à l'avenir tous les jours un jour.” — “You would think about the future every day one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, penser appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is pense, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je pense que c'est une bonne idée.” — “It is important that I think that it is a good idea.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je penser à mes amis à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je pense à mes amis à Paris.”
The infinitive penser never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form pense.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu pense à mes amis à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Tu penses à mes amis à Paris.”
pense is the je form. With tu you need penses. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je pense à mes amis à Paris hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai pensé à mes amis à Paris hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai pensé, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu penses à l'avenir tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu penses à l'avenir tous les jours.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: penses, not the indicative penses.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je pensé à mes amis à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je ai pensé à mes amis à Paris.”
The passé composé of penser needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle pensé: the full je form is ai pensé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on penser. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of penser in the Present indicative?
- A) pensez
- B) pense
- C) penses
- D) pensons
What is the tu form of penser in the Present indicative?
- A) pensons
- B) pensez
- C) penses
- D) pense
What is the il/elle form of penser in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a pensé
- B) ai pensé
- C) as pensé
- D) avons pensé
What is the nous form of penser in the Imperfect?
- A) pensiez
- B) pensions
- C) pensais
- D) pensait
What is the tu form of penser in the Future?
- A) penserai
- B) pensera
- C) penserons
- D) penseras
What is the je form of penser in the Conditional?
- A) penserions
- B) penseriez
- C) penserais
- D) penserait
What is the il/elle form of penser in the Present subjunctive?
- A) pensiez
- B) pense
- C) penses
- D) pensions
What is the je form of penser in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) aviez pensé
- B) avais pensé
- C) avait pensé
- D) avions pensé
What is the gerund of penser?
- A) en pensant
- B) en croyant
- C) en aimant
- D) en vivant
What does penser mean in English?
- A) to believe
- B) to love, to like
- C) to live
- D) to think
Answer key
- B) pense — the je form of penser in the Present indicative is pense. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) penses — the tu form of penser in the Present indicative is penses. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) a pensé — the il/elle form of penser in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a pensé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) pensions — the nous form of penser in the Imperfect is pensions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) penseras — the tu form of penser in the Future is penseras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) penserais — the je form of penser in the Conditional is penserais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) pense — the il/elle form of penser in the Present subjunctive is pense. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) avais pensé — the je form of penser in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais pensé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) en pensant — the gerund of penser is en pensant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to think — penser means “to think” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does penser mean in English?
penser means “to think”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is penser regular or irregular?
penser is regular in every tense. The gerund is pensant and the past participle is pensé.
How do I practise penser every day?
Say one sentence with penser in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.”, “J'ai pensé à mes amis à Paris cette semaine.” and “Je penserai à mes amis à Paris demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for penser, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of penser — every tense of penser in one place.
- Penser in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Penser examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Croire conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Aimer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Vivre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- 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 Quiz — practise penser with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise penser with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise penser with the interactive tool.