The conjugation of attendre (to wait) in the present tense is: J’attends, tu attends, il/elle/on attend, nous attendons, vous attendez, ils/elles attendent.
Attendre Conjugation with Audio
These are the six most important tenses you can start using for French conversations today!
Present
j’attends – I wait
tu attends – you wait
il, elle, on attend – he, she, one waits
nous attendons – we wait
vous attendez – you wait
ils, elles attendent – they wait
Passé composé
j’ai attendu – I waited
tu as attendu – you waited
il, elle, on a attendu – he, she, one waited
nous avons attendu – we waited
vous avez attendu – you waited
ils, elles ont attendu – they waited
⚠️ Pronunciation Tip: The Silent -d
In the present tense, don’t pronounce the final -d in j’attends, tu attends, il/elle attend. But in the plural form ils/elles attendent, the -d is pronounced. This is one of the most common beginner mistakes — so keep it in mind as you go through the conjugations.
Imperfect
j’attendais – I was waiting / used to wait
tu attendais – you were waiting
il, elle, on attendait – he, she, one was waiting
nous attendions – we were waiting
vous attendiez – you were waiting
ils, elles attendaient – they were waiting
Future
j’attendrai – I will wait
tu attendras – you will wait
il, elle, on attendra – he, she, one will wait
nous attendrons – we will wait
vous attendrez – you will wait
ils, elles attendront – they will wait
Conditional
j’attendrais – I would wait
tu attendrais – you would wait
il, elle, on attendrait – he, she, one would wait
nous attendrions – we would wait
vous attendriez – you would wait
ils, elles attendraient – they would wait
Subjunctive
que j’attende – that I wait
que tu attendes – that you wait
qu’il, elle, qu’on attende – that he, she, one waits
que nous attendions – that we wait
que vous attendiez – that you wait
qu’ils, elles attendent – that they wait
Complete Multi-Tense Chart
| Present j’attends tu attends il, elle attend nous attendons vous attendez ils, elles attendent | Passé simple j’attendis tu attendis il, elle attendit nous attendîmes vous attendîtes ils, elles attendirent | Imperfect j’attendais tu attendais il, elle attendait nous attendions vous attendiez ils, elles attendaient | Futur simple j’attendrai tu attendras il, elle attendra nous attendrons vous attendrez ils, elles attendront |
| Passé composé j’ai attendu tu as attendu il, elle a attendu nous avons attendu vous avez attendu ils, elles ont attendu | Past anterior j’eus attendu tu eus attendu il, elle eut attendu nous eûmes attendu vous eûtes attendu ils, elles eurent attendu | Pluperfect j’avais attendu tu avais attendu il, elle avait attendu nous avions attendu vous aviez attendu ils, elles avaient attendu | Future perfect j’aurai attendu tu auras attendu il, elle aura attendu nous aurons attendu vous aurez attendu ils, elles auront attendu |
| Present subjunctive que j’attende que tu attendes qu’il, qu’elle attende que nous attendions que vous attendiez qu’ils, qu’elles attendent | Past subjunctive que j’aie attendu que tu aies attendu qu’il, qu’elle ait attendu que nous ayons attendu que vous ayez attendu qu’ils, qu’elles aient attendu | Imperfect subjunctive que j’attendisse que tu attendisses qu’il, qu’elle attendît que nous attendissions que vous attendissiez qu’ils, qu’elles attendissent | Pluperfect subjunctive que j’eusse attendu que tu eusses attendu qu’il, qu’elle eût attendu que nous eussions attendu que vous eussiez attendu qu’ils, qu’elles eussent attendu |
| Present conditional j’attendrais tu attendrais il, elle attendrait nous attendrions vous attendriez ils, elles attendraient | First past conditional j’aurais attendu tu aurais attendu il, elle aurait attendu nous aurions attendu vous auriez attendu ils, elles auraient attendu | Second past conditional j’eusse attendu tu eusses attendu il, elle eût attendu nous eussions attendu vous eussiez attendu ils, elles eussent attendu | |
| Present imperative attends attendons attendez | Present infinitive attendre | Present participle attendant | |
| Past imperative aie attendu ayons attendu ayez attendu | Past infinitive avoir attendu | Past participle attendu |
Attendre Conjugation Practice in Spoken French
J’attends le bus devant la gare.
I’m waiting for the bus in front of the train station.
Elle a attendu sa sœur pendant dix minutes.
She waited for her sister for ten minutes.
Quand nous étions enfants, nous attendions Noël avec impatience.
When we were children, we eagerly looked forward to Christmas.
Tu attendras Pierre devant le cinéma.
You will wait for Pierre in front of the movie theater.
Il attendrait plus longtemps s’il avait le temps.
He would wait longer if he had the time.
Il faut que vous attendiez encore quelques minutes.
You need to wait a few more minutes.
Key Tenses for French Conversation
Other Regular –RE Verbs Conjugated Like Attendre
Here are some common regular -RE verbs that follow the same endings as attendre:
- vendre – to sell
- entendre – to hear
- perdre – to lose
- répondre – to answer
- descendre – to go down / descend
- défendre – to defend / forbid
- fondre – to melt
- prétendre – to claim
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