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FRENCH VERB

croire

to believe, to think so

  • #13 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: cru
  • Present participle: croyant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I believe
  2. tu you believe
  3. il, elle, on he/she believes
  4. nous we believe
  5. vous you believe
  6. ils, elles they believe

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I believed
  2. tu you believed
  3. il, elle, on he/she believed
  4. nous we believed
  5. vous you believed
  6. ils, elles they believed

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to believe
  2. tu you used to believe
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to believe
  4. nous we used to believe
  5. vous you used to believe
  6. ils, elles they used to believe

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will believe
  2. tu you will believe
  3. il, elle, on he/she will believe
  4. nous we will believe
  5. vous you will believe
  6. ils, elles they will believe

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would believe
  2. tu you would believe
  3. il, elle, on he/she would believe
  4. nous we would believe
  5. vous you would believe
  6. ils, elles they would believe

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I believe
  2. tu (that) you believe
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she believe
  4. nous (that) we believe
  5. vous (that) you believe
  6. ils, elles (that) they believe

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu believe!
  2. nous believe! (let’s)
  3. vous believe! (plural, or formal)

How to use croire

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Je crois qu'il va pleuvoir cet après-midi.

    I think it's going to rain this afternoon.

  2. Past

    J'ai cru que tu étais déjà partie.

    I thought you'd already left.

  3. Imperfect

    On croyait que le magasin était ouvert le dimanche.

    We thought the shop was open on Sundays.

  4. Future

    Personne ne croira cette histoire.

    Nobody will believe this story.

  5. Conditional

    Je ne croirais pas tout ce qu'il raconte.

    I wouldn't believe everything he says.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne pense pas qu'elle croie à cette excuse.

    I don't think she'll believe that excuse.

  7. Imperative

    Crois-moi, ce restaurant vaut le détour.

    Believe me, this restaurant is worth the trip.

Good to know

  • "Je crois que oui" is "I think so"; croire quelqu'un is to believe them.

Where you hear croire

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Tu crois ? Do you think so?
  • J'ai cru que c'était Hugo. I thought it was Hugo.
  • Tu ne vas pas me croire ! You're not going to believe me!
26
A Homesick Evening

Beginner Level 2 · Tu crois ?

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -re verb.