Penser Conjugation in French
penser means “to think” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 26 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about thinking about my friends in Paris, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of penser — 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 pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.” — “I think about my friends in Paris every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: penser
- English: to think
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: pensant
- Past participle: pensé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read penser in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about penser
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -er pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle pensé. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is pensant and the participle is pensé: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for penser. 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 | pense |
| tu | penses |
| il/elle | pense |
| nous | pensons |
| vous | pensez |
| ils/elles | pensent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je pense à l'avenir tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I think about the future every day every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pensai |
| tu | pensas |
| il/elle | pensa |
| nous | pensâmes |
| vous | pensâtes |
| ils/elles | pensèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu pensas à l'avenir tous les jours hier.” — “You thought about the future every day yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pensais |
| tu | pensais |
| il/elle | pensait |
| nous | pensions |
| vous | pensiez |
| ils/elles | pensaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il pensait à l'avenir tous les jours autrefois.” — “He used to think about the future every day in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | penserai |
| tu | penseras |
| il/elle | pensera |
| nous | penserons |
| vous | penserez |
| ils/elles | penseront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je penserai à l'avenir tous les jours demain.” — “I will think about the future every day tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | penserais |
| tu | penserais |
| il/elle | penserait |
| nous | penserions |
| vous | penseriez |
| ils/elles | penseraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu penserais à l'avenir tous les jours un jour.” — “You would think about the future every day one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai pensé |
| tu | as pensé |
| il/elle | a pensé |
| nous | avons pensé |
| vous | avez pensé |
| ils/elles | ont pensé |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a pensé à l'avenir tous les jours cette semaine.” — “He has thought about the future every day this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais pensé |
| tu | avais pensé |
| il/elle | avait pensé |
| nous | avions pensé |
| vous | aviez pensé |
| ils/elles | avaient pensé |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais pensé à l'avenir tous les jours avant la fête.” — “I had thought about the future every day before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai pensé |
| tu | auras pensé |
| il/elle | aura pensé |
| nous | aurons pensé |
| vous | aurez pensé |
| ils/elles | auront pensé |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras pensé à l'avenir tous les jours pour demain.” — “You will have thought about the future every day by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais pensé |
| tu | aurais pensé |
| il/elle | aurait pensé |
| nous | aurions pensé |
| vous | auriez pensé |
| ils/elles | auraient pensé |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait pensé à l'avenir tous les jours hier.” — “He would have thought about the future every day yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pense |
| tu | penses |
| il/elle | pense |
| nous | pensions |
| vous | pensiez |
| ils/elles | pensent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que je pense à l'avenir tous les jours.” — “It is important that I think about the future every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pensasse |
| tu | pensasses |
| il/elle | pensât |
| nous | pensassions |
| vous | pensassiez |
| ils/elles | pensassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu pensasses à l'avenir tous les jours.” — “It is important that you think about the future every day.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pense |
| nous | pensons |
| vous | pensez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Pense à l'avenir tous les jours !” — “Think about the future every day!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pense |
| nous | pensons |
| vous | pensez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne pense pas à l'avenir tous les jours.” — “Do not think about the future every day.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en pensant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En pensant à mes amis à Paris, je passe un bon moment.” — “While thinking about my friends in Paris, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | pensé |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai pensé à mes amis à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have thought about my friends in Paris this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with penser, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.” — “I think about my friends in Paris every day.”
- “Tu pensas à l'avenir tous les jours hier.” — “You thought about the future every day yesterday.”
- “Il pensait que c'est une bonne idée autrefois.” — “He used to think that it is a good idea in the past.”
- “Je penserai à mes amis à Paris demain.” — “I will think about my friends in Paris tomorrow.”
- “Tu penserais à l'avenir tous les jours un jour.” — “You would think about the future every day one day.”
- “Il a pensé que c'est une bonne idée cette semaine.” — “He has thought that it is a good idea this week.”
- “J'avais pensé à mes amis à Paris avant la fête.” — “I had thought about my friends in Paris before the party.”
- “Tu auras pensé à l'avenir tous les jours pour demain.” — “You will have thought about the future every day by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il pense que c'est une bonne idée.” — “It is important that he think that it is a good idea.”
- “Pense à mes amis à Paris !” — “Think about my friends in Paris!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form pense.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je pensent à mes amis à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je pense à mes amis à Paris.”
pensent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with pense.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je pensai à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.”
The passé simple pensai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present pense.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je pense à mes amis à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je pense à mes amis à Paris.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use pense here, not the indicative pense.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis pensé à mes amis à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je ai pensé à mes amis à Paris.”
The passé composé of penser is formed with avoir plus the past participle pensé: the je form is ai pensé. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “pense” written without its accent
✓ Right: “pense”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on penser. Choose the right form, 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 il/elle form of penser in the Passé simple?
- A) pensâmes
- B) pensa
- C) pensai
- D) pensas
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 perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a pensé
- B) ai pensé
- C) as pensé
- D) avons pensé
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 Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) pensât
- B) pensassions
- C) pensasse
- D) pensasses
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.
- B) pensa — the il/elle form of penser in the Passé simple is pensa. 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.
- 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) pense — the il/elle form of penser in the Present subjunctive is pense. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) pensasse — the je form of penser in the Imperfect subjunctive is pensasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) en pensant — the gerund of penser is en pensant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. 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: it follows the ordinary -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is pensant and the past participle is pensé.
What are the gerund and past participle of penser?
The gerund is pensant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is pensé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai pensé.
Which auxiliary does penser take in the passé composé?
penser takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai pensé. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle pensé.
How do I say “I think” in French?
Say “Je pense à mes amis à Paris tous les jours.” — “I think about my friends in Paris every day.” The je form of the present is pense, and it is the form you will use most often.
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 Conjugator — practise penser with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise penser with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise penser with the interactive tool.