How to Conjugate "Posséder" (to Possess) in French

When you first see the French verb posséder, you might think that it means "to possess" and you would be correct. While that is pretty easy to remember, you'll still need to know its conjugations. This lesson will introduce you to the most essential of those so you can say "possessed" and "possessing" in French.

The Basic Conjugations of Posséder

Posséder is a stem-changing verb and that may seem like it complicates things, but it's actually not too bad. The stem change occurs in the accented é of the verb's stem (or radical). As you'll notice in the indicative mood, there are some conjugations that change the accent to è. Also in the future tense, you have the option of which to use.

Beyond that minor issue—which you do need to pay close attention to—posséder is conjugated like a regular -er verb. In that sense, this lesson is a little easier, especially if you've studied similar verbs.

To study the endings you'll need, simply pair the subject pronoun with the present, future, or imperfect past tense. This results in things such as je possède for "I am possessing" and nous possédions for "we possessed." Practicing these in short sentences will help you memorize them faster.

	Present	Future	Imperfect
je	possède	posséderai possèderai	possédais
tu	possèdes	posséderas possèderas	possédais
il	possède	possédera possèdera	possédait
nous	possédons	posséderons possèderons	possédions
vous	possédez	posséderez possèderez	possédiez
ils	possèdent	posséderont possèderont	possédaient

The Present Participle of Posséder

The present participle of posséder is easy to form. Like regular -er verbs, you'll simply add -ant to the radical to produce possédant.

Posséder in the Compound Past Tense

For the past tense, the passé composé is a popular alternative to the imperfect. It's a compound, so you will need an auxiliary verb as well as the past participle possédé.

The only conjugation you need to worry about is avoir in the present tense. You'll then attach the past participle, which indicates that something is already in someone's possession. It comes together quickly: j'ai possédé means "I possessed" and nous avons possédé means "we possessed."

More Simple Conjugations of Posséder

Studying a few more basic conjugations of posséder is a good idea, though the forms above should be your priority. Keep in mind that you'll need to watch for that stem change and that the conditional—used for "if...then" situations—gives you an option.

When you don't know if something will be possessed, you can use the subjunctive. The passé simple and the imperfect subjunctive are found primarily in written French, though they're still good to know.

	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
je	possède	posséderais possèderais	possédai	possédasse
tu	possèdes	posséderais possèderais	possédas	possédasses
il	possède	posséderait possèderait	posséda	possédât
nous	possédions	posséderions possèderions	possédâmes	possédassions
vous	possédiez	posséderiez possèderiez	possédâtes	possédassiez
ils	possèdent	posséderaient possèderaient	possédèrent	possédassent

You may not have many uses for posséder in the imperative. When you do use it, it's good to know that you can drop the subject pronoun, simplifying it from tu possède to possède.

	Imperative
(tu)	possède
(nous)	possédons
(vous)	possédez