How to Conjugate Traverser (to Cross) in French

How to Conjugate Traverser (to Cross) in French The French verb  traverser  means to cross, as in to traverse something. That makes it a little easier to remember, though youll also need to know how to conjugate the verb. A short lesson will introduce you to the basic conjugations so you can use it in French to say things like I crossed or were crossing. The Basic Conjugations of  Traverser French students who have studied other verbs will recognize the conjugation patterns used for traverser. Thats because this is a regular -er verb, meaning it follows the most common pattern found in the French language. If you have studied words like penser (to think) or porter (to carry), the infinitive endings used here will look familiar. The most common conjugations are the imperative mood for the present, future, and imperfect past tenses. Using the chart, locate the correct conjugation by matching the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense for the subject. This will tell you which ending is added to the verb stem of  travers-. For example, I am crossing is  je traverse  and we crossed is  nous traversions Present Future Imperfect je traverse traverserai traversais tu traverses traverseras traversais il traverse traversera traversait nous traversons traverserons traversions vous traversez traverserez traversiez ils traversent traverseront traversaient The Present Participle of Traverser Adding an -ant ending to the stem of traverser gives you the present participle of traversant. Traverser  in the Compound Past Tense The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a compound past tense that is often used in French and you might find it easier than the imperfect. Thats because you only need to conjugate the  auxiliary verb  avoir  into the present tense to match the subject, then attach the  past participle  traversà ©. The construction is rather easy. For example, I crossed is  jai traversà ©Ã‚  and we crossed is  nous avons traversà ©. Even though  avoir  is in the present tense, the past participle takes over the job of explaining that the action has already taken place. More Simple Conjugations of  Traverser There are a number of other conjugations of  traverser  and each has a different purpose, but were going to stick with the essentials for this lesson. As you expand your vocabulary, you might want to imply that the action of crossing may or may not happen. In that case, youll use the subjunctive. If, however, the crossing wont happen unless something else does, you can use the conditional.   On rare occasions, you might encounter the passà © simple or imperfect subjunctive. While theyre not essential additions to your French vocabulary, they are good to know. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je traverse traverserais traversai traversasse tu traverses traverserais traversas traversasses il traverse traverserait traversa traverst nous traversions traverserions traversmes traversassions vous traversiez traverseriez traverstes traversassiez ils traversent traverseraient traversrent traversassent Lets suppose that you need to tell someone to Cross! in an emergency or some other situation that requires a quick, short command. In these instances, you can turn to the imperative  form of traverser. When using it, skip the subject pronoun and simply say, Traverse ! Imperative (tu) traverse (nous) traversons (vous) traversez