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FRENCH VERB

punir

to punish

  • #395 most used
  • Regular -ir verb
  • Past participle: puni
  • Present participle: punissant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use punir

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

  1. Present

    Je ne punis jamais mes enfants sans expliquer pourquoi.

    I never punish my children without explaining why.

  2. Past

    Sa mère l'a puni pour le mensonge, pas pour le vase.

    His mother punished him for the lie, not for the vase.

  3. Imperfect

    À l'école, on nous punissait pour un rien.

    At school, we got punished for nothing.

  4. Future

    Si tu recommences, je te punirai, c'est clair ?

    If you do it again, I'll punish you, is that clear?

  5. Conditional

    Un bon parent ne punirait pas pour ça.

    A good parent wouldn't punish for that.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas qu'on le punisse, il est petit.

    I don't want him punished, he's little.

  7. Imperative

    Ne punis pas le chien, il ne comprend pas.

    Don't punish the dog, he doesn't understand.

Good to know

  • Punir quelqu'un de or pour quelque chose; être puni, to be grounded.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ir verb.