Updated January 6, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
✅ Comprendre in Six Main Tenses (with Audio)
✅ Comprendre conjugation chart
✅ Complete Conjugation of comprendre (All Tenses)
Comprendre Conjugation & Pronunciation in 6 Main Tenses (with audio)
Present (présent)
je comprends — I understand
tu comprends — you understand
il, elle comprend — he, she understands
nous comprenons — we understand
vous comprenez — you understand
ils, elles comprennent — they understand
Passé composé
j’ai compris — I understood
tu as compris — you understood
il, elle a compris — he, she understood
nous avons compris — we understood
vous avez compris — you understood
ils, elles ont compris — they understood
Imperfect (imparfait)
je comprenais — I was understanding
tu comprenais — you were understanding
il, elle comprenait — he, she was understanding
nous comprenions — we were understanding
vous compreniez — you were understanding
ils, elles comprenaient — they were understanding
Simple future (futur simple)
je comprendrai — I will understand
tu comprendras — you will understand
il, elle comprendra — he, she will understand
nous comprendrons — we will understand
vous comprendrez — you will understand
ils, elles comprendront — they will understand
Conditional (conditionnel)
je comprendrais — I would understand
tu comprendrais — you would understand
il, elle comprendrait — he, she would understand
nous comprendrions — we would understand
vous comprendriez — you would understand
ils, elles comprendraient — they would understand
Subjunctive (subjonctif)
que je comprenne — that I understand
que tu comprennes — that you understand
qu’il, elle comprenne — that he, she understand
que nous comprenions — that we understand
que vous compreniez — that you understand
qu’ils, elles comprennent — that they understand
Comprendre conjugation chart
These are the six most important tenses you can start using for French conversations today!
Complete Conjugation of Comprendre (All Tenses)
If you need a full reference, here’s a detailed conjugation of comprendre in every major tense and mood.
This is a great tool for teachers, advanced learners, or anyone who wants to see the whole picture.
| Present je comprends tu comprends il, elle comprend nous comprenons vous comprenez ils, elles comprennent | Passé simple je compris tu compris il, elle comprit nous comprîmes vous comprîtes ils, elles comprirent | Imperfect je comprenais tu comprenais il, elle comprenait nous comprenions vous compreniez ils, elles comprenaient | Simple future je comprendrai tu comprendras il, elle comprendra nous comprendrons vous comprendrez ils, elles comprendront |
| Passé composé j’ai compris tu as compris il, elle a compris nous avons compris vous avez compris ils, elles ont compris | Past anterior j’eus compris tu eus compris il, elle eut compris nous eûmes compris vous eûtes compris ils, elles eurent compris | Pluperfect j’avais compris tu avais compris il, elle avait compris nous avions compris vous aviez compris ils, elles avaient compris | Future perfect j’aurai compris tu auras compris il, elle aura compris nous aurons compris vous aurez compris ils, elles auront compris |
| Present subjunctive que je comprenne que tu comprennes qu’il, elle comprenne que nous comprenions que vous compreniez qu’ils, elles comprennent | Past subjunctive que j’aie compris que tu aies compris qu’il, elle ait compris que nous ayons compris que vous ayez compris qu’ils, elles aient compris | Imperfect subjunctive que je comprisse que tu comprisses qu’il, elle comprît que nous comprissions que vous comprissiez qu’ils, elles comprissent | Pluperfect subjunctive que j’eusse compris que tu eusses compris qu’il, elle eût compris que nous eussions compris que vous eussiez compris qu’ils, elles eussent compris |
| Present conditional je comprendrais tu comprendrais il, elle comprendrait nous comprendrions vous comprendriez ils, elles comprendraient | Past conditional I j’aurais compris tu aurais compris il, elle aurait compris nous aurions compris vous auriez compris ils, elles auraient compris | Past conditional II j’eusse compris tu eusses compris il, elle eût compris nous eussions compris vous eussiez compris ils, elles eussent compris | |
| Present imperative comprends comprenons comprenez | Present infinitive comprendre | Present participle comprenant | |
| Past imperative aie compris ayons compris ayez compris | Past infinitive avoir compris | Past participle compris |
✅ Ready to use comprendre in real sentences?
Now that you’ve mastered all the conjugations, explore some example sentences, expressions, and common mistakes on my comprendre Word of the Day lesson.
👉 Comprendre — usage examples »
💡 Related verb: prendre (to take)
The verb prendre (to take) follows the same conjugation pattern as comprendre and is extremely common in everyday French.
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📊 Explore the Top-10 French verbs!
👉 être – to be
👉 avoir – to have
👉 aller – to go
👉 faire – to do / make
👉 dire – to say / tell
👉 pouvoir – can, to be able to
👉 vouloir – to want
👉 savoir – to know (a fact / how)
👉 voir – to see
👉 venir – to come
Comprendre — Frequently Asked Questions
How do you conjugate comprendre in the present tense?
The present tense of comprendre is: je comprends, tu comprends, il/elle comprend, nous comprenons, vous comprenez, ils/elles comprennent.
How do you conjugate comprendre in the passé composé?
The passé composé of comprendre is: j’ai compris, tu as compris, il/elle a compris, nous avons compris, vous avez compris, ils/elles ont compris.
How do you conjugate comprendre in the future tense?
The simple future tense of comprendre is: je comprendrai, tu comprendras, il/elle comprendra, nous comprendrons, vous comprendrez, ils/elles comprendront.
How do you conjugate comprendre in the imperfect tense?
The imperfect tense (imparfait) of comprendre is: je comprenais, tu comprenais, il/elle comprenait, nous comprenions, vous compreniez, ils/elles comprenaient.
How do you conjugate comprendre in the subjunctive?
The present subjunctive of comprendre is: que je comprenne, que tu comprennes, qu’il/elle comprenne, que nous comprenions, que vous compreniez, qu’ils/elles comprennent.
