Key facts

Incarcérer

To imprison · to imprison/to incarcerate

C1Irregular
Model
cer
Stem
incarcér
Past participle
incarcéré

Examples

J'incarcère Paul.

I incarcerate Paul.

Il n'incarcère pas Marc.

He does not incarcerate Marc.

Nous incarcérions.

We were incarcerating.

Nous avons incarcéré.

We incarcerated.

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'incarcère
Imprison
Tuincarcères
Youimprison
Ilincarcère
Heimprisons
Nousincarcérons
Weimprison
Vousincarcérez
Youimprison
Ilsincarcèrent
Theyimprison

Futur proche

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

Jevais incarcérer
Iam going to imprison
Tuvas incarcérer
Youare going to imprison
Ilva incarcérer
Heis going to imprison
Nousallons incarcérer
Weare going to imprison
Vousallez incarcérer
Youare going to imprison
Ilsvont incarcérer
Theyare going to imprison

Passé récent

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

Jeviens d'incarcérer
Ihave just imprisoned
Tuviens d'incarcérer
Youhave just imprisoned
Ilvient d'incarcérer
Hehas just imprisoned
Nousvenons d'incarcérer
Wehave just imprisoned
Vousvenez d'incarcérer
Youhave just imprisoned
Ilsviennent d'incarcérer
Theyhave just imprisoned

Passé composé

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

J'ai incarcéré
Ihave imprisoned
Tuas incarcéré
Youhave imprisoned
Ila incarcéré
Hehas imprisoned
Nousavons incarcéré
Wehave imprisoned
Vousavez incarcéré
Youhave imprisoned
Ilsont incarcéré
Theyhave imprisoned

Conditionnel présent

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

J'incarcérerais
Iwould imprison
Tuincarcérerais
Youwould imprison
Ilincarcérerait
Hewould imprison
Nousincarcérerions
Wewould imprison
Vousincarcéreriez
Youwould imprison
Ilsincarcéreraient
Theywould imprison

Futur simple

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

J'incarcérerai
Iwill imprison
Tuincarcéreras
Youwill imprison
Ilincarcérera
Hewill imprison
Nousincarcérerons
Wewill imprison
Vousincarcérerez
Youwill imprison
Ilsincarcéreront
Theywill imprison

Imparfait

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

J'incarcérais
Iwas imprisoning
Tuincarcérais
Youwere imprisoning
Ilincarcérait
Hewas imprisoning
Nousincarcérions
Were imprisoning
Vousincarcériez
Youwere imprisoning
Ilsincarcéraient
Theywere imprisoning

Impératif présent

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

(Tu)incarcère
Youimprison
(Nous)incarcérons
Weimprison
(Vous)incarcérez
Youimprison

Participe présent

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

incarcérant
imprisoning

Gérondif présent

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

en incarcérant
imprisoning

Similar conjugation models (Irregular)

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