L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb composter

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The English translation of the French verb composter is “to compost.” It is pronounced as kohm-pohs-teh.

The word composter comes from the French word “compost,” which originated from the Latin word “compositus” meaning “to put together.” In everyday French, composter is most often used to refer to the process of creating compost, which is a mixture of decaying organic matter used as fertilizer for plants.

In the L’infinitif Présent tense, composter is conjugated as follows:
Je composte
Tu compostes
Il/elle composte
Nous compostons
Vous compostez
Ils/elles compostent

Here are three simple examples of its usage in the L’infinitif Présent tense:

  1. Je composte mes déchets alimentaires pour en faire du fertilisant pour mon jardin. (I compost my food waste to make fertilizer for my garden.)
  2. Tu devrais composter tes feuilles mortes plutôt que de les jeter à la poubelle. (You should compost your dead leaves instead of throwing them in the trash.)
  3. Nous allons acheter un composteur pour pouvoir composter nos déchets organiques. (We are going to buy a composter to be able to compost our organic waste.)

English translations:

  1. I compost
  2. You compost
  3. We compost

Table of the L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of composter

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je composte Je composte mes déchets. I compost my waste.
tu compostes Tu compostes aussi ? Do you also compost?
il composte Il composte en secret. He composts in secret.
elle composte Elle composte régulièrement. She composts regularly.
on composte On ne composte pas assez. We don’t compost enough.
nous compostons Nous compostons en famille. We compost as a family.
vous compostez Vous compostez vos déchets. You compost your waste.
ils compostent Ils compostent dans leur jardin. They compost in their garden.
elles compostent Elles compostent leurs restes de repas. They compost their meal leftovers.

Other Conjugations for Composter.

Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter 

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter 

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter 

Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter 

Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter 

Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter 

L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter

L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb composter  (this article)

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Composter – About the French L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense

BEFORE you continue…. why not take a deep dive into all the French tenses with my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.
The French “l’infinitif présent” (Infinitive Present) tense is not a true verb tense in the same way that the present, past, or future tenses are. Instead, it’s the base form of a verb, and it has several important uses and interactions with other tenses.

Forming the Infinitive Present

To form the infinitive present of a verb, you typically take the unconjugated form of the verb (the form you’d find in a French dictionary) and remove the ending. For regular verbs, you remove the -er, -ir, or -re ending, and you’re left with the infinitive. For example:
   – Parler (to speak)
   – Finir (to finish)
   – Vendre (to sell)

Common Everyday Usage Patterns

As a Verb’s Dictionary Form

The most common use of the infinitive present is to represent a verb in its base form. It’s the form you would find in a dictionary or verb conjugation table.

After Modal Verbs

When you use modal verbs like “pouvoir” (can), “vouloir” (want), or “devoir” (must), the verb that follows is in its infinitive form. For example:
     – Je veux manger. (I want to eat.)
     – Il peut parler français. (He can speak French.)

As an Imperative

In informal commands, the infinitive is often used. For example:
     – Ferme la porte. (Close the door.)

In Infinitive Clauses

In complex sentences, especially after certain conjunctions, the infinitive is used to express actions that are separate from the main verb. For example:
     – J’ai besoin de manger avant de partir. (I need to eat before leaving.)

Interactions with Other Tenses

Present Tense

The infinitive present can be used with the present tense to express ongoing actions or habitual actions. For example:
     – J’aime manger des croissants. (I like eating croissants.)

Future Tense

When combined with the future tense of “aller,” the infinitive present can express future actions. For example:
     – Je vais manger au restaurant demain. (I am going to eat at the restaurant tomorrow.)

Conditional Tense

The infinitive present is often used with the conditional to express actions that would happen in a hypothetical situation. For example:

     – Il mangerait s’il avait faim. (He would eat if he were hungry.)

Passé Composé

When forming compound tenses like “passé composé,” the auxiliary verb (être or avoir) is conjugated, and the main verb remains in its infinitive form. For example:
     – J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
     – Elle est partie. (She left.)

Imperfect Tense

The infinitive present can be combined with the imperfect tense to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past. For example:
     – Quand j’étais enfant, j’aimais jouer. (When I was a child, I liked to play.)

Subjunctive and Conditional Moods

In some complex sentences, the infinitive can be used with the subjunctive and conditional moods, especially when expressing uncertainty, possibility, or doubt.

Summary

The infinitive present in French serves as the base form of a verb and is used in various contexts, including after modal verbs, in imperative commands, in infinitive clauses, and in combination with other tenses to convey a wide range of meanings and actions. Its flexibility makes it a fundamental part of French grammar.

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