How to Conjugate the Verb 'Créer' (to Create) in French

In French, the verb créer means "to create." When you want to change it to another tense like "created" or "creating," you will need to conjugate it. The good news is that this verb is relatively straightforward and similar to the majority of French verbs.

Conjugating the French Verb Créer

French verb conjugations are different than those in English. When conjugating a French verb, we must change the verb ending to match both the subject pronoun and the desired tense. Doing this can be confusing for French students, but it becomes easier with each new verb you learn.

Créer is a regular -ER verb and it follows a very common verb conjugation pattern. Simply pair the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense needed for your sentence. For instance, "I created" is "j'ai créé" and "we will create" is "nous créerons." Practicing these in context will help with memorization.

Subject	Present	Future	Imperfect
je	crée	créerai	créais
tu	crées	créeras	créais
il	crée	créera	créait
nous	créons	créerons	créions
vous	créez	créerez	créiez
ils	créent	créeront	créaient

The Present Participle of Créer

The present participle of créer is créant. This acts as a verb, though it can also become a gerund, adjective, or noun in some contexts.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

A common way to express the past tense "created" in French is with the passé composé. To construct this, begin with the subject pronoun and the proper conjugate of the auxiliary verb avoir. Then, add the past participle créé.

As an example, "I created" is "j'ai créé" and "we created" is "nous avons créé." Notice how ai and avons are conjugates of avoir and that the past participle does not change.

More Simple Créer Conjugations

The subjunctive verb mood will be used when the verb is uncertain. Similarly, the conditional implies that something may not happen unless something else also happens. The passé composé and imperfect subjunctive are primarily literary forms and are often found in writing.

While you may not use all these forms, it's important to at least know about them.

Subject	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
je	crée	créerais	créai	créasse
tu	crées	créerais	créas	créasses
il	crée	créerait	créa	créât
nous	créions	créerions	créâmes	créassions
vous	créiez	créeriez	créâtes	créassiez
ils	créent	créeraient	créèrent	créassent

To express créer in the imperative form is easy. Keep things short and sweet for these assertive sentences and skip the subject pronoun. Rather than "tu crée," use "crée" alone.

	Imperative
(tu)	crée
(nous)	créons
(vous)	créez