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FRENCH VERB

suffire

to be enough

  • #340 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: suffi
  • Present participle: suffisant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

How to use suffire

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

  1. Present

    Un café me suffit le matin.

    One coffee is enough for me in the morning.

  2. Past

    Dix minutes ont suffi pour tout ranger.

    Ten minutes were enough to tidy everything.

  3. Imperfect

    Avant, un salaire suffisait pour toute la famille.

    One salary used to be enough for the whole family.

  4. Future

    Vingt euros suffiront pour le cadeau.

    Twenty euros will be enough for the present.

  5. Conditional

    Une semaine de vacances me suffirait largement.

    A week's holiday would be plenty for me.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que ça suffise jusqu'à vendredi.

    It has to be enough until Friday.

Good to know

  • Ça suffit ! is that's enough! Il suffit de plus a verb is all you have to do is.

Verbs like this one

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