Key facts

Substituer

To substitute · to substitute/to replace

C1Regular
Stem
substitu
Past participle
substitué

Examples

Je substitue le riz.

I substitute the rice.

Il ne substitue pas le pain.

He doesn't substitute the bread.

Nous substituions ça.

We were substituting that.

Nous avons substitué le pot.

We substituted the jar.

Présent

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

Group 1
Jesubstitue
Isubstitute
Tusubstitues
Yousubstitute
Ilsubstitue
Hesubstitutes
Noussubstituons
Wesubstitute
Voussubstituez
Yousubstitute
Ilssubstituent
Theysubstitute

Futur proche

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

Jevais substituer
Iam going to substitute
Tuvas substituer
Youare going to substitute
Ilva substituer
Heis going to substitute
Nousallons substituer
Weare going to substitute
Vousallez substituer
Youare going to substitute
Ilsvont substituer
Theyare going to substitute

Passé récent

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

Jeviens de substituer
Ihave just substituted
Tuviens de substituer
Youhave just substituted
Ilvient de substituer
Hehas just substituted
Nousvenons de substituer
Wehave just substituted
Vousvenez de substituer
Youhave just substituted
Ilsviennent de substituer
Theyhave just substituted

Passé composé

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

J'ai substitué
Ihave substituted
Tuas substitué
Youhave substituted
Ila substitué
Hehas substituted
Nousavons substitué
Wehave substituted
Vousavez substitué
Youhave substituted
Ilsont substitué
Theyhave substituted

Conditionnel présent

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

Jesubstituerais
Iwould substitute
Tusubstituerais
Youwould substitute
Ilsubstituerait
Hewould substitute
Noussubstituerions
Wewould substitute
Voussubstitueriez
Youwould substitute
Ilssubstitueraient
Theywould substitute

Futur simple

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

Jesubstituerai
Iwill substitute
Tusubstitueras
Youwill substitute
Ilsubstituera
Hewill substitute
Noussubstituerons
Wewill substitute
Voussubstituerez
Youwill substitute
Ilssubstitueront
Theywill substitute

Imparfait

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

Jesubstituais
Iwas substituting
Tusubstituais
Youwere substituting
Ilsubstituait
Hewas substituting
Noussubstituions
Were substituting
Voussubstituiez
Youwere substituting
Ilssubstituaient
Theywere substituting

Impératif présent

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

(Tu)substitue
Yousubstitute
(Nous)substituons
Wesubstitute
(Vous)substituez
Yousubstitute

Participe présent

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

substituant
substituting

Gérondif présent

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

en substituant
substituting

Similar conjugation models (Regular)

Croissant Verbs — application icon

Practice Substituer in the app

Substituer | Verbs | Croissant Verbs