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Espérer — to hope | French Verb Chart

📶 CEFR level: A2

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« espérer » — jump to your level:A1A2B1B2C1C2Native

📚 This is the overview. « espérer » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).

French Verb Chartlearnfrench.co
Espérer›to hope
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Présent (Indicatif)

  • j’espèreI hope
  • tu espèresyou hope
  • il / elle espèrehe / she hopes
  • nous espéronswe hope
  • vous espérezyou hope
  • ils / elles espèrentthey hope

Passé composé (Indicatif)

  • j’ai espéréI hoped
  • tu as espéréyou hoped
  • il / elle a espéréhe / she hoped
  • nous avons espéréwe hoped
  • vous avez espéréyou hoped
  • ils / elles ont espéréthey hoped

Imparfait (Indicatif)

  • j’espéraisI was hoping
  • tu espéraisyou were
  • il espéraithe was
  • nous espérionswe were
  • vous espériezyou were
  • ils espéraientthey were

Futur simple (Indicatif)

  • j’espéreraiI will hope
  • tu espérerasyou will
  • il espérerahe will
  • nous espéreronswe will
  • vous espérerezyou will
  • ils espérerontthey will

Conditionnel présent

  • j’espéreraisI would hope
  • tu espéreraisyou would
  • il espéreraithe would
  • nous espérerionswe would
  • vous espéreriezyou would
  • ils espéreraientthey would

Subjonctif présent

  • que j’espèrethat I hope
  • que tu espèresthat you
  • qu’il espèrethat he
  • que nous espérionsthat we
  • que vous espériezthat you
  • qu’ils espèrentthat they

Impératif, Participe & Infinitif

  • espérerinfinitive
  • espérantpresent participle
  • en espérantgerund (gérondif)
  • espérépast participle
  • espère · espérons · espérezimperative
  • avoirauxiliary in compound tenses
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🎬 The 20-second version

Five phrases with « espérer » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →

📘 How to use Espérer

  • é→è spelling change: the é becomes è in the singular & ils (j’espère) but stays é in nous/vous (nous espérons).
  • Espérer que + INDICATIVE (not subjunctive!): j’espère qu’il viendra — hope takes the indicative, unlike wishing.
  • The reflex reply: « J’espère bien ! » (I certainly hope so!) and « On espère ! »

🔑 Key forms

Participe passéespéré (avoir)
Gérondifen espérant
Impératifespère ! · espérons ! · espérez !
Good to knowé→è family: préférer, répéter, célébrer, s’inquiéter, exagérer. Remember: espérer que → INDICATIF.

🔊 Common expressions

J’espère que tu vas bien.I hope you’re well.
On espère qu’il fera beau.We hope the weather will be nice.
J’espère bien !I certainly hope so!
Espérons que ça marche.Let’s hope it works.

🔊 Example sentences

J’espère te voir bientôt.I hope to see you soon.
Ils espéraient une bonne nouvelle.They were hoping for good news.
Nous espérons vous revoir.We hope to see you again.

✍️ Practice

present, je : j’___ (è!) (é→è)

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espère

nous form (é stays): nous ___ (espér-)

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espérons

« espérer que » takes the… mood (not subjunctive!)

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indicatif

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🎯 More practice — conjugation drill — all six tenses

tu ___ (Espérer — passé composé)

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as espéré

il ___ (Espérer — imperfect)

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espérait

nous ___ (Espérer — future)

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espérerons

vous ___ (Espérer — conditional)

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espéreriez

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Go further: How to learn French verbs — the pattern system.

Espérer conjugation FAQ

What is the present tense of espérer?

j’espère, tu espères, il / elle espère, nous espérons, vous espérez, ils / elles espèrent. Full charts for every tense are above, each form with audio.

What is the past participle of espérer?

espéré — the passé composé is « j’ai espéré ». Espérer uses avoir as its auxiliary verb.

How do you say espérer in the future tense?

« j’espérerai » — the future stem never changes across persons, only the endings do.

What does espérer mean in English?

to hope. It is one of the essential French verbs — drill the present first, then the passé composé; those two tenses carry most conversations.

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🎬 All seven CEFR levels, end to end

« espérer » at every CEFR level — the tense, its forms and the mechanic that makes it stick. Practise it with the free games →

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