Key facts

Espérer

To hope

A2Irregular
Stem
espér
Past participle
espéré

Examples

J'espère réussir.

I hope to succeed.

Il n'espère pas de miracle.

He doesn't hope for a miracle.

Nous espérions gagner.

We were hoping to win.

Nous avons espéré un peu.

We hoped a little.

This verb is highly irregular. Prioritize repetition and active recall.

Présent

Indicative present — everyday actions, ongoing situations, and habits; the tense you rely on most in conversation.

Group 1
J'espère
Ihope
Tuespères
Youhope
Ilespère
Hehopes
Nousespérons
Wehope
Vousespérez
Youhope
Ilsespèrent
Theyhope

Futur proche

Near future with aller + infinitive — what you are about to do, very soon after the moment of speaking.

Jevais espérer
Iam going to hope
Tuvas espérer
Youare going to hope
Ilva espérer
Heis going to hope
Nousallons espérer
Weare going to hope
Vousallez espérer
Youare going to hope
Ilsvont espérer
Theyare going to hope

Passé récent

Recent past with venir de + infinitive — something that has just finished, still fresh in the speaker’s mind.

Jeviens d'espérer
Ihave just hoped
Tuviens d'espérer
Youhave just hoped
Ilvient d'espérer
Hehas just hoped
Nousvenons d'espérer
Wehave just hoped
Vousvenez d'espérer
Youhave just hoped
Ilsviennent d'espérer
Theyhave just hoped

Passé composé

Compound past with être or avoir + past participle — completed, one-off events and the backbone of spoken storytelling.

J'ai espéré
Ihave hoped
Tuas espéré
Youhave hoped
Ila espéré
Hehas hoped
Nousavons espéré
Wehave hoped
Vousavez espéré
Youhave hoped
Ilsont espéré
Theyhave hoped

Conditionnel présent

Conditional mood — polite requests, imagined outcomes, and what would happen under certain conditions.

J'espérerais
Iwould hope
Tuespérerais
Youwould hope
Ilespérerait
Hewould hope
Nousespérerions
Wewould hope
Vousespéreriez
Youwould hope
Ilsespéreraient
Theywould hope

Futur simple

Simple future — often more formal or literary than the near future; states intentions farther ahead in time.

J'espérerai
Iwill hope
Tuespéreras
Youwill hope
Ilespérera
Hewill hope
Nousespérerons
Wewill hope
Vousespérerez
Youwill hope
Ilsespéreront
Theywill hope

Imparfait

Imperfect — repeated habits in the past, background description, and actions still in progress when something else occurred.

J'espérais
Iwas hoping
Tuespérais
Youwere hoping
Ilespérait
Hewas hoping
Nousespérions
Were hoping
Vousespériez
Youwere hoping
Ilsespéraient
Theywere hoping

Impératif présent

Present imperative — direct commands and friendly requests; only tu, nous, and vous person forms exist.

(Tu)espère
Youhope
(Nous)espérons
Wehope
(Vous)espérez
Youhope

Participe présent

Present participle — the -ant form in subordinate clauses, compound tenses, and many fixed expressions.

espérant
hoping

Gérondif présent

Gerund with en + present participle — simultaneous action, manner, or cause while something else is going on.

en espérant
hoping

Similar conjugation models (Irregular)

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