How to Conjugate "Convertir" (to Convert)

"Convert" This Verb Into Its Proper French Conjugations

In order to say "to convert" in French, use the verb convertir. The word's similarity to its English translation makes it an easy one to remember and conjugating it is not too difficult, either.

Conjugating the French Verb Convertir

Convertir is a regular -IR verb and it follows the same verb conjugation pattern of similar verbs. When you learn the endings for this one, you can apply them to chérir (to cherish)blanchir (to bleach), and many other verbs.

To form the conjugates in the present, future, or imperfect past tenses, use this table. Match the subject pronoun with the tense you wish to use and your sentence is almost complete. To say "I convert," use "je convertis" or for "we will convert," use "nous convertirons."

Subject Present Future Imperfect
je convertis convertirai convertissais
tu convertis convertiras convertissais
il convertit convertira convertissait
nous convertissons convertirons convertissions
vous convertissez convertirez convertissiez
ils convertissent convertiront convertissaient

The Present Participle of Convertir

The present participle of convertir is convertissant. This is done by adding -ssant to the verb stem and it can also work as an adjective, gerund, or noun.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The passé composé is another option for expressing the past tense "converted." To form this, conjugate the auxiliary, or "helping," verb avoir, then add the past participle converti.

For example, "I converted" becomes "j'ai converti" and "we converted" is "nous avons converti."

More Simple Convertir Conjugations

In some instances, you may encounter or need to use one of the following verb forms of convertir. The subjunctive and conditional are for those times when the verb's action is questionable. The passé simple and imperfect subjunctive are most often found in formal writing.

Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passé Simple Imperfect Subjunctive
je convertisse convertirais convertis convertisse
tu convertisses convertirais convertis convertisses
il convertisse convertirait convertit convertît
nous convertissions convertirions convertîmes convertissions
vous convertissiez convertiriez convertîtes convertissiez
ils convertissent convertiraient convertirent convertissent

The imperative verb form is relatively easy and it's much shorter. When using it in an exclamation, the subject pronoun is not required: use "convertis" rather than "tu convertis."

Imperative
(tu) convertis
(nous) convertissons
(vous) convertissez
Format
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Your Citation
Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate "Convertir" (to Convert)." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/convertir-to-convert-1370016. Team, ThoughtCo. (2021, December 6). How to Conjugate "Convertir" (to Convert). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/convertir-to-convert-1370016 Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate "Convertir" (to Convert)." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/convertir-to-convert-1370016 (accessed April 18, 2024).