Vaincre — to defeat | French Verb Chart
On this page
🖨️ Print-friendly: use Ctrl+P (⌘P) or your browser menu to print this chart cleanly.
📚 This is the overview. « vaincre » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).
Présent (Indicatif)
- je vaincsI defeat
- tu vaincsyou defeat
- il / elle vainche / she defeats
- nous vainquonswe defeat
- vous vainquezyou defeat
- ils / elles vainquentthey defeat
Passé composé (Indicatif)
- j’ai vaincuI defeated
- tu as vaincuyou defeated
- il / elle a vaincuhe / she defeated
- nous avons vaincuwe defeated
- vous avez vaincuyou defeated
- ils / elles ont vaincuthey defeated
Imparfait (Indicatif)
- je vainquaisI was defeating
- tu vainquaisyou were
- il vainquaithe was
- nous vainquionswe were
- vous vainquiezyou were
- ils vainquaientthey were
Futur simple (Indicatif)
- je vaincraiI will defeat
- tu vaincrasyou will
- il vaincrahe will
- nous vaincronswe will
- vous vaincrezyou will
- ils vaincrontthey will
Conditionnel présent
- je vaincraisI would defeat
- tu vaincraisyou would
- il vaincraithe would
- nous vaincrionswe would
- vous vaincriezyou would
- ils vaincraientthey would
Subjonctif présent
- que je vainquethat I defeat
- que tu vainquesthat you
- qu’il vainquethat he
- que nous vainquionsthat we
- que vous vainquiezthat you
- qu’ils vainquentthat they
Impératif, Participe & Infinitif
- vaincreinfinitive
- vainquantpresent participle
- en vainquantgerund (gérondif)
- vaincupast participle
- vaincs · vainquons · vainquezimperative
- avoirauxiliary in compound tenses
🎬 The 20-second version
Five phrases with « vaincre » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How to use Vaincre
- The rare -cre pattern: c becomes qu in the plural & imperfect (nous vainquons) but stays c in the future (je vaincrai).
- Il vainc — no -t! (the third person singular is bare).
- Vaincre = to defeat / overcome: vaincre l’ennemi, vaincre sa peur (overcome one’s fear).
🔑 Key forms
🔊 Common expressions
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
third person singular (no t!): il ___ (vain+c)
Show answer
vainc
plural (c→qu): nous ___ (vain+qu)
Show answer
vainquons
participle = ___ (-u)
Show answer
vaincu
🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — conjugation drill — all six tenses
je ___ (Vaincre — present)
Show answer
vaincs
tu ___ (Vaincre — passé composé)
Show answer
as vaincu
il ___ (Vaincre — imperfect)
Show answer
vainquait
nous ___ (Vaincre — future)
Show answer
vaincrons
vous ___ (Vaincre — conditional)
Show answer
vaincriez
Go further: How to learn French verbs — the pattern system.
Vaincre conjugation FAQ
What is the present tense of vaincre?
je vaincs, tu vaincs, il / elle vainc, nous vainquons, vous vainquez, ils / elles vainquent. Full charts for every tense are above, each form with audio.
What is the past participle of vaincre?
vaincu — the passé composé is « j’ai vaincu ». Vaincre uses avoir as its auxiliary verb.
How do you say vaincre in the future tense?
« je vaincrai » — the future stem never changes across persons, only the endings do.
What does vaincre mean in English?
to defeat. It is one of the essential French verbs — drill the present first, then the passé composé; those two tenses carry most conversations.
🎮 Practise this lesson
Games built from this exact page — turn what you just read into play:
🧩 Sentence Builder rebuild these sentences
🏁 Conjugation Race type the right form
🎧 Listening Game which sentence do you hear?
🎬 All seven CEFR levels, end to end
« vaincre » at every CEFR level — the tense, its forms and the mechanic that makes it stick. Practise it with the free games →