Joindre Conjugation in French: The Definitive Guide and Verb Charts

The French verb joindre translates primarily to to join, to reach/contact (by phone or mail), or to attach/enclose (a document). Because of its frequency in formal business correspondence and everyday conversations, mastering the joindre conjugation is essential for French learners.

However, joindre is an irregular 3rd-group verb belonging to the family of verbs ending in -oindre (along with rejoindre, enjoindre, and disjoindre). These verbs undergo an important stem transformation involving the nasal consonant sound -gn- (/ɲ/).

Below, our linguistics team at my-french.com breaks down the complete conjugation of joindre, providing tenses, usage rules, and practical examples.

1. Understanding the Stem Changes of Joindre

To conjugate joindre accurately, keep these three structural rules in mind:

1. Singular Present Forms: The stem is join-, followed by endings -s, -s, -t (je joins, tu joins, il joint). The final consonants are silent; all three sound identical (/ʒwɛ̃/).

2. Plural Forms & Subjunctive: The letter g appears before the n, transforming the stem into joign- (/ʒwaɲ/).

3. Future & Conditional: The stem becomes joindr-, taking standard future and conditional endings.

4. Past Participle: The past participle is joint (masculine) and jointe (feminine).

2. Complete Conjugation Charts for Joindre

Present Indicative (Présent de l'indicatif)

Used for habitual actions and events happening right now.

Subject Pronoun French Form Pronunciation (IPA) English Translation
:--- :--- :--- :---
Je joins /ʒwɛ̃/ I join / I am reaching
Tu joins /ʒwɛ̃/ You join (informal)
Il / Elle / On joint /ʒwɛ̃/ He / She / One joins
Nous joignons /ʒwa.ɲɔ̃/ We join
Vous joignez /ʒwa.ɲe/ You join (formal/plural)
Ils / Elles joignent /ʒwaɲ/ They join

Example: Je joins mon CV à ce message. (I am attaching my resume to this message.)

Compound Past (Passé Composé)

Used for completed actions in the past. It uses avoir as the auxiliary verb.

Subject Pronoun Form English Translation
:--- :--- :---
J' ai joint I joined / I attached
Tu as joint You joined
Il / Elle / On a joint He / She joined
Nous avons joint We joined
Vous avez joint You joined
Ils / Elles ont joint They joined
  • Voici les photos que j'ai jointes. (Here are the pictures that I attached.)

    • Grammar note on agreement: If the direct object precedes the verb, joint agrees in gender and number:

    Imperfect (Imparfait)

Used for continuous or repeated actions in the past. Notice the consistent joign- stem.

Simple Future (Futur Simple)

Subject Pronoun Form English Translation
:--- :--- :---
Je joignais I used to join / was reaching
Tu joignais You used to join
Il / Elle / On joignait He / She used to join
Nous joignions We used to join
Vous joigniez You used to join
Ils / Elles joignaient They used to join

Used for actions that will take place in the future. The stem is joindr-.

Present Conditional (Conditionnel Présent)

Subject Pronoun Form English Translation
:--- :--- :---
Je joindrai I will reach / join
Tu joindras You will reach / join
Il / Elle / On joindra He / She will reach / join
Nous joindrons We will reach / join
Vous joindrez You will reach / join
Ils / Elles joindront They will reach / join

Expresses hypothetical actions or polite requests.

Present Subjunctive (Subjonctif Présent)

Subject Pronoun Form English Translation
:--- :--- :---
Je joindrais I would reach / join
Tu joindrais You would reach / join
Il / Elle / On joindrait He / She would reach / join
Nous joindrions We would reach / join
Vous joindriez You would reach / join
Ils / Elles joindraient They would reach / join

Required after conjunctions expressing necessity, desire, or doubt (e.g., il faut que...).

Imperative (Impératif)

Subject Pronoun Form
:--- :---
Que je joigne
Que tu joignes
Qu'il / elle / on joigne
Que nous joignions
Que vous joigniez
Qu'ils / elles joignent

For direct orders or recommendations.

  • Joins (Tu form): Joins-toi à nous ! (Join us!)
  • Joignons (Nous form): Joignons nos efforts. (Let's combine our efforts.)
  • Joignez (Vous form): Joignez ce document. (Attach this document.)

    • 3. How to Use Joindre in Real Contexts

Here are the three primary contexts where you will encounter joindre in French:

A. Reaching Someone by Phone or Message

  • Je n'arrive pas à joindre Sophie. (I can't get hold of Sophie.)
  • Vous pouvez me joindre au 06 12 34 56 78. (You can reach me at 06 12 34 56 78.)

    • In spoken French, joindre is the standard term for successfully contacting someone:

    B. Professional Emails and Letters

  • Veuillez trouver ci-joint mon dossier de candidature. (Please find enclosed my application file.)

    • The phrase ci-joint (attached / enclosed) is standard business French:

    C. Reflexive Form: Se joindre à

  • Est-ce que je peux me joindre à vous ? (May I join you?)

    • When you want to join an ongoing activity, meeting, or group of people, use the reflexive pronoun:

    D. Idioms with Joindre

  • Joindre les deux bouts : To make ends meet financially.
  • Joindre l'utile à l'agréable : To combine business with pleasure.
  • Joindre le geste à la parole : To put words into action.

    • 4. Top Mistakes English Speakers Make

1. Inventing a regular past participle: Saying j'ai joindu is incorrect. Always use j'ai joint.

2. Missing the "g" in plurals: Writing nous joinons is a spelling error. The nasal [ɲ] requires gn: nous joignons.

3. Confusing joindre and rejoindre: While joindre means to contact or connect things, rejoindre usually means to meet up with someone at a destination (Je vous rejoins au restaurant = I'll meet you at the restaurant).

With these charts and rules, you can confidently conjugate and use joindre in any French setting!