Craindre Conjugation French: Full Charts, Rules, and Usage Guide

Craindre Conjugation French: Full Charts, Rules, and Usage Guide

The French verb craindre translates directly to "to fear" or "to be afraid of". Categorized as an irregular 3rd-group verb, it belongs to the distinct family of verbs ending in -aindre, -eindre, and -oindre.

Because of its irregular stem shifts—switching between crain-, craign-, and craindr-—it frequently trips up intermediate French learners. In this comprehensive guide, you will find complete conjugation tables for every tense, pronunciation insights, and advanced syntax tips to speak and write French accurately.

1. Present Tense (Présent de l'indicatif)

In the present tense, notice how the singular subjects drop the "d" and end in -s, -s, -t, while the plural forms introduce the nasal consonant sound /ɲ/ (spelled gn) :

• Note: Je crains, tu crains, and il craint sound identical in spoken French (/kʁɛ̃/).

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2. Past Tenses

Passé Composé (Compound Past)

Craindre takes the auxiliary verb avoir. Its past participle is craint.

• J'ai craint
• Tu as craint
• Il / Elle / On a craint
• Nous avons craint
• Vous avez craint
• Ils / Elles ont craint

> Example: Elle a craint pour sa sécurité. (She feared for her safety.)

Imparfait (Imperfect)

To form the imperfect tense, take the stem of the nous form in the present indicative (craign-) and add the standard imperfect endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient) :

• Je craignais
• Tu craignais
• Il / Elle craignait
• Nous craignions
• Vous craigniez
• Ils / Elles craignaient

Passé Simple

In formal texts and literature, craindre uses the -is simple past endings:

• Je craignis
• Tu craignis
• Il craignit
• Nous craignîmes
• Vous craignîtes
• Ils craignirent

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3. Future Simple and Conditional

Both the future and conditional stems are built on craindr- followed by their standard respective suffixes.

Futur Simple

• Je craindrai
• Tu craindras
• Il / Elle craindra
• Nous craindrons
• Vous craindrez
• Ils / Elles craindront

Conditionnel Présent

• Je craindrais
• Tu craindrais
• Il / Elle craindrait
• Nous craindrions
• Vous craindriez
• Ils / Elles craindraient

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4. Subjunctive (Subjonctif Présent)

The subjunctive mood reflects uncertainty, doubt, and emotions. For craindre, the entire subjunctive uses the craign- root:

• Que je craigne
• Que tu craignes
• Qu'il / elle craigne
• Que nous craignions
• Que vous craigniez
• Qu'ils / elles craignent

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5. Imperative (Impératif)

Use the imperative to give advice or direct orders without personal pronouns:

• Crains (Singular informal)
• Craignons (Let's fear)
• Craignez (Plural / Formal)

> Example: Ne crains rien ! (Fear nothing! / Don't worry!)

6. Advanced Syntax: The Expletive "Ne" (Ne Explétif)

In formal French, when craindre que introduces a dependent clause, it requires the subjunctive mood and frequently incorporates the ne explétif:

• Je crains qu'il ne soit trop tard. (I fear that it might be too late.)

Here, ne does not signify a negative meaning; it is an untranslatable stylistic marker. If you intend an actual negative statement, you must include pas:

• Je crains qu'il ne vienne pas. (I fear that he is not coming.)

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7. The Related Verbs Pattern (-aindre, -eindre, -oindre)

Once you learn how to conjugate craindre, you unlock an entire family of 3rd-group French verbs that follow the exact same phonetic and orthographic model:

1. Plaindre (to pity / se plaindre = to complain) -> je plains, nous plaignons, plaint

2. Contraindre (to compel / force) -> je contrains, nous contraignons, contraint

3. Peindre (to paint) -> je peins, nous peignons, peint

4. Éteindre (to turn off / extinguish) -> j'éteins, nous éteignons, éteint

5. Joindre (to join / attach) -> je joins, nous joignons, joint

Commit the alternation between crain- (singular present), craign- (plural & subjunctive), and craindr- (future & conditional) to memory, and you will conjugate these verbs with total confidence.