How to Conjugate "Augmenter" (to Increase, Raise, Rise)

Augmenter is a French verb that means "to increase," "to raise," or "to rise." It's a very useful word to know and it's a rather simple on to conjugate to fit the present, future, and past tenses. Follow along in this lesson to learn all these conjugations, including the past participle, subjunctive, and imperative forms of augmenter.

Conjugating the French Verb Augmenter

Verb conjugations are a little more complex in French than they are in English. We understand that an English verb with an -ed ending implies the past tense and an -ing is used for the present tense. In French, there are more endings to learn because the verb must match the subject pronoun as well.

Augmenter is a regular -ER verb. In the conjugations, it follows a particular pattern for the new endings. These same transformations can be found in similar verbs like attraper (to pick up) and compléter (to complete), making these among the easiest to memorize.

Using the chart, you can quickly figure out which verb form you need. Simply match the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense. For instance, "I increase" is "j'augmente" and "we will rise" is "nous augmenterons."

Subject	Present	Future	Imperfect
j'	augmente	augmenterai	augmentais
tu	augmentes	augmenteras	augmentais
il	augmente	augmentera	augmentait
nous	augmentons	augmenterons	augmentions
vous	augmentez	augmenterez	augmentiez
ils	augmentent	augmenteront	augmentaient

The Present Participle of Augmenter

The present participle of augmenter is augmentant. This is done with a simple change from the -er ending to an -ant ending. Not only is it a verb, but you can use it as an adjective, gerund, or noun in some circumstances.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The past participle of augmenter is augmenté. You will need this to form the commonly used past tense known as passé composé. 

To form the conjugations, use the appropriate form of avoir, which is an auxiliary, or "helping" verb. For example, "I rose" is "j'ai augmenté" and "we increased" is "nous avons augmenté." Notice how avoir has been conjugated to match the subject, but the same past participle is used in both phrases.

More Augmenter Conjugations

There may be times when you will need to use the following verb forms of augmenter. The subjunctive and conditional are rather common and imply a certain degree of uncertainty in the action.

It's likely that you will only encounter the passé simple or imperfect subjunctive in formal writing. Yet, it's good to be able to recognize and associate these forms with augmenter.

When using augmenter in imperative verb form, there is no need to include the subject pronoun. This is implied within the verb itself and these are used in short statements. Rather than "nous augmentons," you can say "augmentons."