This is the complete paradigm reference for connaître — every simple tense, every compound tense, every mood, including the literary forms (il connut, qu'il connût, qu'il eût connu) that you will rarely produce but must recognize when reading 19th-century novels, formal historical writing, or carefully edited modern prose. The everyday treatment of connaître — the four core uses, the savoir / connaître contrast, the aspectual shift in the passé composé, the -aître family — lives at verb-reference/connaitre. This page is the deep reference, for the moments when you need to look up a form, including the obscure ones.
Connaître belongs to the small but high-frequency family of -aître verbs (paraître, apparaître, disparaître, reconnaître, comparaître, méconnaître). They all share the same paradigm template, the same circumflex pattern, and the same -u past participle. Master connaître and you have effectively mastered the whole family.
A note on the circumflex (1990 spelling reform)
The traditional spelling of connaître keeps a circumflex on the i whenever the i is followed directly by a t in the same orthographic syllable. That gives:
- Infinitive: connaître (i + t)
- 3sg present: il connaît (i + t)
- Futur: je connaîtrai, tu connaîtras, il connaîtra, nous connaîtrons, vous connaîtrez, ils connaîtront
- Conditionnel: je connaîtrais through ils connaîtraient
Other forms drop the circumflex, because the i is no longer immediately before t: je connais (i + s), nous connaissons (i + s), que je connaisse (i + s).
The 1990 rectifications orthographiques — a spelling reform endorsed by the Académie française and now standard in primary-school curricula — made this circumflex optional. Both connaître / connaitre are correct. Both il connaît / il connait are correct. Most adult publishing still uses the traditional circumflex; modern dictionaries list both. This page uses the traditional spelling because that is what you will encounter most often in books, newspapers, and formal writing. If you write the reformed version, you are not making a mistake.
The circumflex on the u in connûmes / connûtes / qu'il connût is mandatory and was not affected by the reform. Those forms must keep the accent.
Simple tenses: complete paradigms
Présent de l'indicatif
The defining quirk lives here: the third-person singular keeps the circumflex (il connaît, elle connaît, on connaît); the rest of the singular drops it; the plural takes the -iss- extension /ɛs/.
| Person | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| je | connais | /kɔ.nɛ/ |
| tu | connais | /kɔ.nɛ/ |
| il / elle / on | connaît | /kɔ.nɛ/ |
| nous | connaissons | /kɔ.nɛ.sɔ̃/ |
| vous | connaissez | /kɔ.nɛ.se/ |
| ils / elles | connaissent | /kɔ.nɛs/ |
The whole singular is homophonous: je connais, tu connais, il connaît are pronounced identically. The pronoun and the orthographic accent disambiguate in writing; spoken French relies entirely on the pronoun.
Je connais ce restaurant — j'y vais souvent avec ma sœur.
I know that restaurant — I often go there with my sister.
Vous vous connaissez déjà ? Je pensais vous présenter.
Do you two already know each other? I was going to introduce you.
Imparfait
Built on the plural stem connaiss- (the nous connaissons stem) plus the regular imparfait endings. No circumflex anywhere.
| Person | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| je | connaissais | /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ |
| tu | connaissais | /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ |
| il / elle / on | connaissait | /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ |
| nous | connaissions | /kɔ.nɛ.sjɔ̃/ |
| vous | connaissiez | /kɔ.nɛ.sje/ |
| ils / elles | connaissaient | /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ |
The imparfait je connaissais corresponds to English I knew (the stative meaning — to be acquainted with). This contrasts with the passé composé j'ai connu, which means "I met (for the first time)" — see the passé composé section below.
Je le connaissais bien à l'époque, on était voisins.
I knew him well back then, we were neighbors.
On ne connaissait personne à la fête, alors on est partis tôt.
We didn't know anyone at the party, so we left early.
Passé simple (literary)
Stem conn- with the -us class endings — the same class as savoir, vouloir, pouvoir, boire, recevoir. Restricted to literary writing, formal historical prose, and a few set narrative formulas. Native speakers recognize these forms but never produce them in speech.
| Person | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| je | connus | /kɔ.ny/ |
| tu | connus | /kɔ.ny/ |
| il / elle / on | connut | /kɔ.ny/ |
| nous | connûmes | /kɔ.nym/ |
| vous | connûtes | /kɔ.nyt/ |
| ils / elles | connurent | /kɔ.nyʁ/ |
The circumflex on connûmes and connûtes is mandatory (it historically marks a lost -s-) and was unaffected by the 1990 reform. Without it, the form would visually collide with the imparfait connaissions / connaissiez — but more importantly, the circumflex is what distinguishes the -ûmes / -ûtes passé simple paradigm from any other.
Il connut son premier vrai succès à vingt ans, avec un roman bref et glaçant.
He had his first real success at twenty, with a brief and chilling novel. (literary)
Ils connurent alors la ruine, en quelques mois à peine.
They then experienced ruin, in just a few months. (literary)
Futur simple
Stem connaîtr- (with the circumflex retained pre-1990; connaitr- is the post-reform alternative). Endings are the regular futur endings.
| Person | Form (traditional) | Form (1990 reform) | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | connaîtrai | connaitrai | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁe/ |
| tu | connaîtras | connaitras | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁa/ |
| il / elle / on | connaîtra | connaitra | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁa/ |
| nous | connaîtrons | connaitrons | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɔ̃/ |
| vous | connaîtrez | connaitrez | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁe/ |
| ils / elles | connaîtront | connaitront | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɔ̃/ |
The futur of connaître is most often used in journalistic and formal contexts in the metaphorical sense connaître un succès / un échec / une crise — to enjoy a success / to suffer a setback / to undergo a crisis.
Tu connaîtras la réponse une fois que tu auras fini le livre.
You'll know the answer once you've finished the book.
Ce projet connaîtra un grand succès, j'en suis sûr.
This project will be a great success, I'm sure of it.
Conditionnel présent
Same stem connaîtr- as the futur (with the same 1990-optional circumflex), with the imparfait endings.
| Person | Form (traditional) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| je | connaîtrais | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ |
| tu | connaîtrais | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ |
| il / elle / on | connaîtrait | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ |
| nous | connaîtrions | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁi.jɔ̃/ |
| vous | connaîtriez | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁi.je/ |
| ils / elles | connaîtraient | /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ |
Si on habitait à Lyon, on connaîtrait sûrement plein de gens.
If we lived in Lyon, we'd definitely know lots of people.
J'aimerais bien le connaître personnellement — il a l'air passionnant.
I'd really like to get to know him personally — he sounds fascinating.
Subjonctif présent
Built on the plural stem connaiss- (the ils connaissent stem) plus the regular subjunctive endings. No circumflex anywhere — the t is not adjacent to the i.
| Person | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| (que) je | connaisse | /kɔ.nɛs/ |
| (que) tu | connaisses | /kɔ.nɛs/ |
| (qu')il / elle / on | connaisse | /kɔ.nɛs/ |
| (que) nous | connaissions | /kɔ.nɛ.sjɔ̃/ |
| (que) vous | connaissiez | /kɔ.nɛ.sje/ |
| (qu')ils / elles | connaissent | /kɔ.nɛs/ |
The 1pl and 2pl forms (connaissions, connaissiez) are identical to the imparfait of the indicative. Context — and especially the trigger que — disambiguates.
Il faut que tu connaisses ton sujet à fond avant la soutenance.
You need to know your topic thoroughly before the defense.
Je doute qu'elle connaisse vraiment la situation.
I doubt she really knows the situation.
Subjonctif imparfait (literary)
Built on the passé-simple stem connu- with the standard imparfait-subjunctive endings. Used almost exclusively in literary writing — and rarely even there in modern texts. The 3sg form connût (with mandatory circumflex) is the most likely to appear; the rest sound mannered or comic.
| Person | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| (que) je | connusse | /kɔ.nys/ |
| (que) tu | connusses | /kɔ.nys/ |
| (qu')il / elle / on | connût | /kɔ.ny/ |
| (que) nous | connussions | /kɔ.ny.sjɔ̃/ |
| (que) vous | connussiez | /kɔ.ny.sje/ |
| (qu')ils / elles | connussent | /kɔ.nys/ |
In a strictly classical sequence of tenses, il fallait qu'il connût is the historically correct form when the main clause is in the past. Modern French — even formal — replaces this with the present subjunctive: il fallait qu'il connaisse. Recognize connût in print; do not produce it in speech.
On exigeait qu'il connût parfaitement les usages de la cour.
It was demanded that he know the customs of the court perfectly. (literary)
Impératif
Three forms. The imperative of connaître is genuinely rare in conversation — you do not normally command someone to "know" something — but it survives in a handful of fixed expressions and in formal written instructions.
| Person | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| (tu) | connais | ne connais pas |
| (nous) | connaissons | ne connaissons pas |
| (vous) | connaissez | ne connaissez pas |
The most famous use is the philosophical maxim "Connais-toi toi-même" — the French rendering of the Greek gnōthi seauton, attributed to the Delphic oracle. In professional writing, connaissez vos droits / connaissez votre client is a fixed formula on legal and commercial pages.
Connaissez vos droits avant de signer le contrat.
Know your rights before signing the contract. (formal)
Connais-toi toi-même : c'est le commencement de la sagesse.
Know thyself: that is the beginning of wisdom.
Participles and gérondif
| Form | Value |
|---|---|
| participe passé | connu (m), connue (f), connus (m.pl), connues (f.pl) |
| participe présent | connaissant |
| gérondif | en connaissant |
The past participle connu doubles as a high-frequency adjective meaning well-known: un acteur connu, une chanson connue, des œuvres connues. The gérondif en connaissant expresses simultaneity or means: en connaissant la ville, on évite les pièges à touristes — "knowing the city, you avoid the tourist traps."
Connaissant bien le quartier, elle nous a guidés sans hésiter une seule seconde.
Knowing the neighborhood well, she led us without hesitating for a single second.
Compound tenses: complete paradigms
Connaître takes avoir as auxiliary in all compound tenses. The past participle is connu. With avoir, the participle does not agree with the subject — but it does agree with a preceding direct object (la femme que j'ai connue).
Passé composé — the aspectual shift
avoir (présent) + connu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | ai connu |
| tu | as connu |
| il / elle / on | a connu |
| nous | avons connu |
| vous | avez connu |
| ils / elles | ont connu |
The passé composé of connaître does not mean "I knew" — it carries an aspectual shift to "I met (for the first time)" or "I came to know." This is the same kind of shift that happens with savoir (j'ai su = "I found out"), pouvoir (j'ai pu = "I managed to"), and vouloir (j'ai voulu = "I tried to / decided to"). For the stative "I knew," use the imparfait je connaissais.
J'ai connu mon mari à l'université, en 2008.
I met my husband at university, in 2008.
Cette ville a connu de grands changements ces dernières années.
This city has undergone big changes in recent years.
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + connu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | avais connu |
| tu | avais connu |
| il / elle / on | avait connu |
| nous | avions connu |
| vous | aviez connu |
| ils / elles | avaient connu |
J'avais connu sa famille bien avant de la rencontrer elle.
I'd known his family long before I met her.
Passé antérieur (literary)
avoir (passé simple) + connu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | eus connu |
| tu | eus connu |
| il / elle / on | eut connu |
| nous | eûmes connu |
| vous | eûtes connu |
| ils / elles | eurent connu |
Used in literary narrative after temporal conjunctions like dès que, aussitôt que, quand, après que — encountered in 19th-century novels and formal historical prose.
Dès qu'il eut connu la vérité, il quitta la maison sans un mot.
As soon as he had learned the truth, he left the house without a word. (literary)
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + connu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | aurai connu |
| tu | auras connu |
| il / elle / on | aura connu |
| nous | aurons connu |
| vous | aurez connu |
| ils / elles | auront connu |
Tu auras connu mille aventures avant tes trente ans, j'en suis sûr.
You'll have lived through a thousand adventures before you turn thirty, I'm sure of it.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + connu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | aurais connu |
| tu | aurais connu |
| il / elle / on | aurait connu |
| nous | aurions connu |
| vous | auriez connu |
| ils / elles | auraient connu |
Sans toi, je n'aurais jamais connu cette région.
Without you, I would never have come to know this region.
Subjonctif passé
avoir (subjonctif présent) + connu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) j' | aie connu |
| (que) tu | aies connu |
| (qu')il / elle / on | ait connu |
| (que) nous | ayons connu |
| (que) vous | ayez connu |
| (qu')ils / elles | aient connu |
Je suis content qu'on ait connu cette époque, malgré tout.
I'm glad we lived through that period, despite everything.
Plus-que-parfait du subjonctif (literary)
avoir (subjonctif imparfait) + connu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) j' | eusse connu |
| (que) tu | eusses connu |
| (qu')il / elle / on | eût connu |
| (que) nous | eussions connu |
| (que) vous | eussiez connu |
| (qu')ils / elles | eussent connu |
The plus-que-parfait du subjonctif is rare in modern French, surviving in literary or carefully formal writing, and as the deuxième forme du conditionnel passé in stylistic flourishes: qui l'eût connu n'eût jamais cru cela de lui — "anyone who had known him would never have believed that of him."
On eût voulu qu'il eût connu son père avant la guerre.
One could have wished that he had known his father before the war. (literary)
The -aître family at a glance
These verbs all conjugate identically to connaître. Same circumflex pattern, same plural -iss- extension, same -u past participle.
| Verb | Meaning | 3sg present | Past participle | Aux |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| connaître | to know (be acquainted with) | il connaît | connu | avoir |
| reconnaître | to recognize | il reconnaît | reconnu | avoir |
| méconnaître | to fail to appreciate (formal) | il méconnaît | méconnu | avoir |
| paraître | to appear, seem | il paraît | paru | avoir |
| apparaître | to appear (come into view) | il apparaît | apparu | avoir |
| disparaître | to disappear | il disparaît | disparu | avoir |
| comparaître | to appear (in court, formal) | il comparaît | comparu | avoir |
Comparison with English
Three friction points worth restating in a paradigm reference.
Connaître is one of two verbs for to know. English merges connaître (acquaintance with people, places, works) and savoir (facts, information, learned skills) into a single verb. The split is non-negotiable in French and is the subject of its own page (choosing/savoir-vs-connaitre). Connaître never takes a que-clause; savoir does.
Aspectual shift in passé composé. J'ai connu is not "I knew" — it is "I met (for the first time)." For the stative "I knew," use the imparfait je connaissais. The shift is parallel to j'ai su / je savais and is one of the deeper differences between French and English perfect-tense semantics.
The circumflex is optional after 1990 — but mostly retained. English speakers often expect French orthography to be rigid. In this case it is not: connaître / connaitre are both correct. Pick one and be consistent within a single document.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Forgetting the circumflex on the third-person singular present (traditional spelling).
❌ Il connait Paris très bien.
In traditional spelling, this is wrong — the 3sg keeps the circumflex: il connaît.
✅ Il connaît Paris très bien.
He knows Paris very well.
The 1990 reform makes il connait acceptable. Most published writing keeps the circumflex; school textbooks vary. If you are writing for a French audience, follow the convention of the publication you are writing for.
Mistake 2: Putting a circumflex where there is none.
❌ Nous connaîssons ce film.
Wrong — the i is not before t here, so no circumflex.
✅ Nous connaissons ce film.
We know that film.
The rule is mechanical: circumflex on i only when followed directly by t. Connaissons, connaissez, connaissent, connaisse, connaissais — none of these has a circumflex.
Mistake 3: Using avoir + connu to mean I knew.
❌ J'ai connu mon professeur de français pendant trois ans.
Likely wrong if you mean 'I knew him for three years.' J'ai connu means 'I met.' For the stative, use the imparfait.
✅ J'ai connu mon professeur de français en 2010, et je l'ai connu pendant trois ans avant son départ.
I met my French teacher in 2010, and I knew him for three years before he left.
The pivot point is whether you mean the moment of first acquaintance (passé composé) or the ongoing state of knowing (imparfait).
Mistake 4: Treating connaître as a regular 2e-groupe (-ir) verb.
❌ Je connais, tu connais, il connaît, nous connaîssons...
The plural is connaissons (no circumflex), but the issue is also that connaître is not a finir-class verb.
✅ Je connais, tu connais, il connaît, nous connaissons, vous connaissez, ils connaissent.
I know, you know, he knows, we know, you know, they know.
The -iss- extension in nous connaissons misleads some learners into thinking connaître belongs to the finir / nous finissons class. It does not: the singular je connais /kɔ.nɛ/ is unlike je finis /fi.ni/, and the past participle connu (not *conni) confirms the difference.
Mistake 5: Forgetting the mandatory circumflex on connûmes / connûtes / qu'il connût.
❌ Il fallait qu'il connut la vérité.
Wrong — the subjonctif imparfait 3sg needs the circumflex on the u.
✅ Il fallait qu'il connût la vérité.
It was necessary that he know the truth. (literary)
The 1990 reform left the û in the passé simple and subjonctif imparfait untouched. Connûmes, connûtes, connût, and the corresponding compound eût connu all keep their circumflex obligatorily.
Key takeaways
Connaître is the verb for being acquainted with people, places, and works of art — and the head of the -aître family (paraître, apparaître, disparaître, reconnaître), all of which conjugate identically.
The famous circumflex on the i before t appears in the infinitive (connaître), the third-person singular present (il connaît), and throughout the futur and conditionnel stems (connaîtr-). It is optional after the 1990 reform but retained in most published writing.
The mandatory circumflex on the u in the literary tenses — connûmes, connûtes, connût, eût connu — was unaffected by the reform and must always be written.
The auxiliary is avoir. The participle connu doubles as a frequent adjective meaning well-known. The passé composé carries the aspectual shift j'ai connu = I met / I came to know — for the stative "I knew," use the imparfait je connaissais.
This page is the paradigm reference. For everyday usage — the savoir / connaître contrast, the four core uses, the metaphorical connaître un succès / une crise, the -aître family in detail — see verb-reference/connaitre.
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- Connaître: Full Verb ReferenceA1 — Connaître is the verb for being acquainted with people, places, and works of art — the second French verb for to know, alongside savoir. This page is the full reference: every paradigm (with the famous circumflex on the third-person singular), the savoir/connaître contrast, the aspectual shift to met in the passé composé, and the family of derivatives in -aître.
- Aller: Complete Paradigm ReferenceA1 — This is the complete paradigm reference for aller — every tense, every mood, every form, including the literary tenses (passé simple, subjonctif imparfait, plus-que-parfait du subjonctif) that are rare in speech but essential for reading novels and academic prose. The companion page verb-reference/aller covers the everyday treatment; this page is the deep paradigm reference, including the etymology of the suppletive verb that draws on three different Latin roots.
- Reconnaître: Full Verb ReferenceA2 — Reconnaître means to recognize — and, in a slightly different register, to admit or to acknowledge. Je te reconnais (I recognize you) and je reconnais que j'ai eu tort (I admit I was wrong) are both standard, both common, both built from the same prefix re- + connaître. This page is the full reference: every paradigm of the connaître-family conjugation (with the famous circumflex on il reconnaît), the recognize-vs-admit semantic split, the reconnaître que + indicative construction, and the reflexive se reconnaître.
- Paraître: Full Verb ReferenceB1 — Paraître means to seem, to appear, or — for a book, an article, a record — to be published. Its conjugation is identical to connaître's, with the famous circumflex on the i before t. This page is the full reference: every paradigm with the circumflex pattern, the il paraît que evidential construction, paraître as a copular verb, and the publishing sense.
- Savoir vs ConnaîtreA1 — Both translate as 'to know,' but savoir handles facts and skills while connaître handles familiarity with people, places, and things.
- Passé Simple of Regular -er VerbsB2 — Regular -er verbs form the passé simple with the endings -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent. The 1sg form is homophonous with the imparfait in casual speech, and the 3sg form is homophonous with the imparfait when the final consonant is dropped — so spelling and context carry the contrast in writing.