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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb croiser

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The English translation of the French verb croiser is “to cross.”

Pronunciation: /krwazey/

Language origin: Croiser comes from the Old French word “crocier,” which comes from the Latin word “crucis,” meaning “cross.”

In everyday French, croiser is most often used in the L’infinitif Présent tense to talk about physically crossing something, such as a road or a body of water. It can also be used to mean crossing paths with someone or to describe a figurative crossing, such as crossing a line or crossing someone off a list.

Examples:

  1. Je dois croiser la rue pour arriver à l’école. (I have to cross the street to get to school.)
  2. Nous avons croisé nos voisins en faisant les courses. (We ran into our neighbors while grocery shopping.)
  3. Il ne faut pas croiser les bras face à l’injustice. (We must not stand by idly in the face of injustice.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je croise Je croise une personne dans la rue. I cross someone in the street.
tu croises Tu croises toujours les bras. You always cross your arms.
il croise Il croise les doigts pour de la chance. He crosses his fingers for luck.
elle croise Elle croise les jambes en s’asseyant. She crosses her legs when sitting down.
on croise On croise souvent des animaux sauvages. We often come across wild animals.
nous croisons Nous croisons la route des cyclistes. We cross paths with cyclists.
vous croisez Vous croisez beaucoup de monde en ville. You encounter a lot of people in the city.
ils croisent Ils croisent la rivière à la nage. They swim across the river.
elles croisent Elles croisent les doigts pour leur examen. They cross their fingers for their exam.

Other Conjugations for Croiser.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb croiser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Croiser – 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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