Key facts

Comprendre

To understand

A1Irregular
Model
prendre
Stem
comprend
Past participle
compris

Examples

Je comprends tout.

I am becoming strong.

Il ne comprend pas le texte.

He is not becoming rich.

Nous comprenions cela.

We were becoming friends.

Nous avons compris l'idée.

We became calm.

This verb is highly irregular. Prioritize repetition and active recall.

Présent

Indicative present — everyday actions, ongoing situations, and habits; the tense you rely on most in conversation.

Group 3
Jecomprends
Iunderstand
Tucomprends
Youunderstand
Ilcomprend
Heunderstands
Nouscomprenons
Weunderstand
Vouscomprenez
Youunderstand
Ilscomprennent
Theyunderstand

Futur proche

Near future with aller + infinitive — what you are about to do, very soon after the moment of speaking.

Jevais comprendre
Iam going to understand
Tuvas comprendre
Youare going to understand
Ilva comprendre
Heis going to understand
Nousallons comprendre
Weare going to understand
Vousallez comprendre
Youare going to understand
Ilsvont comprendre
Theyare going to understand

Passé récent

Recent past with venir de + infinitive — something that has just finished, still fresh in the speaker’s mind.

Jeviens de comprendre
Ihave just understood
Tuviens de comprendre
Youhave just understood
Ilvient de comprendre
Hehas just understood
Nousvenons de comprendre
Wehave just understood
Vousvenez de comprendre
Youhave just understood
Ilsviennent de comprendre
Theyhave just understood

Passé composé

Compound past with être or avoir + past participle — completed, one-off events and the backbone of spoken storytelling.

J'ai compris
Ihave understood
Tuas compris
Youhave understood
Ila compris
Hehas understood
Nousavons compris
Wehave understood
Vousavez compris
Youhave understood
Ilsont compris
Theyhave understood

Conditionnel présent

Conditional mood — polite requests, imagined outcomes, and what would happen under certain conditions.

Jecomprendrais
Iwould understand
Tucomprendrais
Youwould understand
Ilcomprendrait
Hewould understand
Nouscomprendrions
Wewould understand
Vouscomprendriez
Youwould understand
Ilscomprendraient
Theywould understand

Futur simple

Simple future — often more formal or literary than the near future; states intentions farther ahead in time.

Jecomprendrai
Iwill understand
Tucomprendras
Youwill understand
Ilcomprendra
Hewill understand
Nouscomprendrons
Wewill understand
Vouscomprendrez
Youwill understand
Ilscomprendront
Theywill understand

Imparfait

Imperfect — repeated habits in the past, background description, and actions still in progress when something else occurred.

Jecomprenais
Iwas understanding
Tucomprenais
Youwere understanding
Ilcomprenait
Hewas understanding
Nouscomprenions
Were understanding
Vouscompreniez
Youwere understanding
Ilscomprenaient
Theywere understanding

Impératif présent

Present imperative — direct commands and friendly requests; only tu, nous, and vous person forms exist.

(Tu)comprends
Youunderstand
(Nous)comprenons
Weunderstand
(Vous)comprenez
Youunderstand

Participe présent

Present participle — the -ant form in subordinate clauses, compound tenses, and many fixed expressions.

comprenant
understanding

Gérondif présent

Gerund with en + present participle — simultaneous action, manner, or cause while something else is going on.

en comprenant
understanding

Similar conjugation models (Irregular)

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