How to Conjugate "Contribuer" (to Contribute)

When to you want to say "to contribute" in French, use the verb contribuer (often misspelled "contribuir"). Due to its resemblance to the English word, it's an easy one to remember. You'll also be happy to know that conjugating this verb is relatively simple as well.

Conjugating the French Verb Contribuer

Contribuer follows the common verb conjugation pattern of all regular -ER verbs. This means that once you learn the infinitive endings for this word, you can apply them to others like comporter (to consist of) and blesser (to hurt).

The conjugations are pretty straightforward if you study the table. Simply match the subject pronoun with either the present, future, or imperfect past tense. For instance, "I contribute" is "je contribue" and "we will contribute" is "nous contribuerons."

Subject	Present	Future	Imperfect
je	contribue	contribuerai	contribuais
tu	contribues	contribueras	contribuais
il	contribue	contribuera	contribuait
nous	contribuons	contribuerons	contribuions
vous	contribuez	contribuerez	contribuiez
ils	contribuent	contribueront	contribuaient

The Present Participle of Contribuer

To form the present participle, we simply add -ant to the verb stem. This will form contribuant, which is a verb, but may also be an adjective, gerund, or noun when needed.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The passé composé is a common way to say the past tense "contributed" in French. To use this, you must conjugate the auxiliary verb avoir to match the subject, then attach the past participle contribué.

For example, "I contributed" becomes "j'ai contribué" and "we contributed" is "nous avons contribué."

More Simple Contribuer Conjugations

There are a few other verb forms of contribuer that you may encounter or use. The subjunctive and conditional are used when the action of contributing is in some way questionable. The passé simple and imperfect subjunctive are most often found in formal writing.

Subject	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
je	contribue	contribuerais	contribuai	contribuasse
tu	contribues	contribuerais	contribuas	contribuasses
il	contribue	contribuerait	contribua	contribuât
nous	contribuions	contribuerions	contribuâmes	contribuassions
vous	contribuiez	contribueriez	contribuâtes	contribuassiez
ils	contribuent	contribueraient	contribuèrent	contribuassent

The imperative verb form is also quite useful for contribuer. When using it, the subject pronoun is not required: use "contribue" rather than "tu contribue."

	Imperative
(tu)	contribue
(nous)	contribuons
(vous)	contribuez