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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb enchaîner

Get the L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) tense conjugation of enchaîner. Includes a FREE downloadable reference sheet (no email required). Alternatively if you have a lot of text to check then use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!

The English translation of the French verb enchaîner is “to chain” or “to link.” It is pronounced as “ahn-shay-neh.”

Enchaîner is derived from the Old French word “chainier” which means “to chain.” It is used in everyday French to indicate the action of connecting or linking things together in a physical or figurative sense.

In the L’infinitif Présent tense, enchaîner is most often used in its reflexive form “s’enchaîner” which means “to be linked” or “to be connected.”

Here are three simple examples of its usage in this tense, with their respective English translations:

  1. Les événements s’enchaînent rapidement. (The events are unfolding quickly.)
  2. Ces deux idées sont enchaînées ensemble. (These two ideas are linked together.)
  3. Il faut enchaîner les étapes pour réussir. (You have to link the steps together to succeed.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Example Usage English Translation
je enchaîne Je enchaîne les concerts. I am performing in concerts.
tu enchaînes Tu enchaînes les erreurs. You are making mistakes one after the other.
il enchaîne Il enchaîne les victoires. He is racking up victories.
elle enchaîne Elle enchaîne les tâches. She is tackling tasks one after the other.
on enchaîne On enchaîne les théories. We are stringing together theories.
nous enchaînons Nous enchaînons les exercices. We are doing exercises one after the other.
vous enchaînez Vous enchaînez les événements. You are connecting events.
ils enchaînent Ils enchaînent les matchs. They are playing back-to-back matches.
elles enchaînent Elles enchaînent les projets. They are taking on projects one after the other.

Other Conjugations for Enchaîner.

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

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb enchaîner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Struggling with French verbs or the language in general? Why not use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!

Get a FREE Download Study Sheet of this Conjugation 🔥

Simply right click the image below, click “save image” and get your free reference for the enchaîner L’infinitif Présent tense conjugation! 

Enchaîner – 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.

Want More?

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb enchaîner. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

Similar Posts