Espérer — to hope | French Verb Chart
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📚 This is the overview. « espérer » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).
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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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
🔊 Common expressions
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ 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
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 →