The French for think is the verb penser

Read, recite, repeat the language lesson - the Key is in the Patterns

French for think is the regular ER verb penser, covered here in all the tenses used in modern French.

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For rapid learning verbs like the French for think - penser employing memory link pictures and 'zany scences' will make the process a great deal easier, quicker and more effective for longer.

So, if you want to know how to say think in French, how to express the verb in all the main tenses, here it is.

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The 6 Simple Tenses of the conjugated verb penser - French for think

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Here you’ll learn the conjugations of penser, which is French for think.

• I think.
• you thought.
• he will think.
• we would think.
• they may think.

The Verb Conjugation Tables below for penser, give you the tools to practise your French verb drills both by PRONOUN (vertically), and by TENSE (horizontally). Do both many times over.

VERB CONJUGATION TABLE penser
Simple Tenses penser
TENSE	je/j’	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
Present Présent think	pense	penses	pense	pensons	pensez	pensent
Past Imperfect Imparfait thought	pensais	pensais	pensait	pensions	pensiez	pensaient
Simple Past Passé Simple thought	pensai	pensas	pensa	pensâmes	pensâtes	pensèrent
Future Futur will think	penserai	penseras	pensera	penserons	penserez	penseront
Conditional Conditionnel would think	penserais	penserais	penserait	penserions	penseriez	penseraient
Subjunctive Subjonctif may think	pense	penses	pense	pensions	pensiez	pensent
Compound Tenses penser
Present Perfect Passé Composé have thought	ai pensé	as pensé	a pensé	avons pensé	avez pensé	ont pensé
Past Perfect Plus-que-Parfait had thought	avais pensé	avais pensé	avait pensé	avions pensé	aviez pensé	avaient pensé
Future Perfect Futur Antérieur will have	aurai pensé	auras pensé	aura pensé	aurons pensé	aurez pensé	auront pensé
Conditional Perfect Conditionnel Passé would have thought	aurais pensé	aurais pensé	aurait pensé	aurions pensé	auriez pensé	auraient pensé
Imperative Imperatif think!		pense		pensons	pensez

Present Indicative Tense conjugations of penser the French for think
présent de l’indicatif

je pense
- I think
tu penses
- you think - (familiar or informal)
il, elle, on pense
- he, she, it, one thinks
nous pensons
- we think
vous pensez
- you think (formal or plural)
ils, elles pensent
- they think

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Imperfect Indicative Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
imparfait de l’indicatif

je pensais
- I thought
- I was thinking
tu pensais
- you thought- (familiar or informal)
- you were thinking
il, elle, on pensait
- he, she, it, one thought
- he, she, it, one was thinking
nous pensions
- we thought
- we were thinking
vous pensiez
- you thought- (formal or plural)
- you were thinking
ils, elles pensaient
- they thought
- they were thinking

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Simple Past or Past Definite Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
passé simple

je pensai
- I thought
tu pensas
- you thought- (familiar or informal)
il, elle, on pensa
- he, she, it, one thought
nous pensâmes
- we thought
vous pensâtes
- you thought- (formal or plural)
ils, elles pensèrent
they thought
(The passé simple tense is mainly used in literature and books, and is rarely used in spoken French language).

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Future Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
futur

je penserai
- I will think
tu penseras
- you will think (familiar or informal)
il, elle, on pensera
- he, she, it, one will think
nous penserons
- we will think
vous penserez
- you will think (formal or plural)
ils, elles penseront
- they will think

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Conditional Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
conditionnel

je penserais
- I would think
tu penserais
- you would think (familiar or informal)
il, elle, on penserait
- he, she, it, one would think
nous penserions
- we would think
vous penseriez
- you would think (formal or plural)
ils, elles penseraient
- they would think

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Present Subjunctive Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
présent de subjonctif

que je pense
- that I may think
que tu penses
- that you may think(familiar or informal)
qu’il, qu’elle, qu’on pense
- that he, she, it, one may think
que nous pensions
- that we may think
que vous pensiez
- that you may think(formal or plural)
qu’ils, qu’elles pensent
- that they may think

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The Four Compound Tenses of the French for verb penser - the verb ‘to think’ in French

Past Participle of penser is:
pensé -thought.

Because the past participle is used with the various tenses of the verb - to have - avoir, to construct the four main compound tenses, its importance is highlighted. Once you have mastered avoir, you have mastered the key to constructing compound verbs in French.

• I have thought
• you had thought
• he will have thought
• we would have thought

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Compound Past, Present Perfect or Past Indefinite Tense conjugations of penser - French for think
passé composé

Here’s the French for think conjugated with all the pronouns in the present perfect tense.
j’ai pensé
- I have thought or I did think or
- I thought
tu as pensé
- you have thought or you did think - (familiar or informal) or
- you thought
il, elle, on a pensé
- he, she, it, one has think or did think
- he, she, it thought
nous avons pensé
- we have thought or we did think
- we thought
vous avez pensé
- you have thought or you did think (formal or plural) or
- or we thought
ils, elles ont pensé
- they have thought or they did think
- they thought

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Past Perfect Indicative or Pluperfect Tense conjugations of penser - think in French
plus-que-parfait de l’indicatif

Here’s the French for -think conjugated with all the pronouns in the past perfect tense.
j’avais pensé
- I had thought
tu avais pensé
- you had thought- (familiar or informal)
il, elle, on avait pensé
- he, she, it, one had thought
nous avions pensé
- we had thought
vous aviez pensé
- you had thought (formal or plural)
ils, elles avaient pensé
- they had thought

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Future Perfect or Future Anterior Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
futur antérieur

j’aurai pensé
- I will have
tu auras pensé
- you will have - (familiar or informal)
il, elle, on aura pensé
- he, she, it, one will have
nous aurons pensé
- we will have
vous aurez pensé
- you will have - (formal or plural)
ils, elles auront pensé
- they will have

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Conditional Perfect Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
conditionnel passé

j’aurais pensé
- I would have thought
tu aurais pensé
- you would have thought- (familiar or informal)
il, elle, on aurait pensé
- he, she, it, one would have thought
nous aurions pensé
- we would have thought
vous auriez pensé
- you would have thought- (formal or plural)
ils, elles auraient pensé
- they would have thought

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Imperative Tense conjugations of penser, the French for think
impératif

pense
- think!
pensons
- let’s think!
pensez
- think!

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Present Participle of penser

pensant - thinking

Menu of Conjugated French verbs like penser the French for think

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