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Verb conjugation

cohabiter

to cohabit, to live together

Usage

To cohabit or live together — used for couples sharing a home before marriage (cohabiter avant le mariage), roommates, or even pets sharing a space, and, in French politics specifically, for a President and Prime Minister from opposing parties forced to share power (la cohabitation).

Examples
  • Ils cohabitent depuis deux ans avant de se marier.They've been living together for two years before getting married.
  • Le président et le premier ministre ont dû cohabiter malgré leurs désaccords.The president and prime minister had to coexist in power despite their disagreements.
  • Deux chats peuvent cohabiter sans problème si on les présente progressivement.Two cats can live together without issue if they're introduced gradually.
Common mistake

In everyday contexts cohabiter just means sharing a home, not necessarily romantically — don't assume it implies a couple, since roommates and even pets cohabitent too.

In real life
  • politics La cohabitationVerified: the French Fifth Republic term for a President and Prime Minister from opposing parties sharing power — occurred three times: Mitterrand/Chirac (1986–88), Mitterrand/Balladur (1993–95), and Chirac/Jospin (1997–2002).

Simple tenses

Present

jecohabite
tucohabites
il/ellecohabite
nouscohabitons
vouscohabitez
ils/ellescohabitent

Imperfect

jecohabitais
tucohabitais
il/ellecohabitait
nouscohabitions
vouscohabitiez
ils/ellescohabitaient

Past historic (passé simple)

jecohabitai
tucohabitas
il/ellecohabita
nouscohabitâmes
vouscohabitâtes
ils/ellescohabitèrent

Future

jecohabiterai
tucohabiteras
il/ellecohabitera
nouscohabiterons
vouscohabiterez
ils/ellescohabiteront

Conditional

jecohabiterais
tucohabiterais
il/ellecohabiterait
nouscohabiterions
vouscohabiteriez
ils/ellescohabiteraient

Subjunctive

jecohabite
tucohabites
il/ellecohabite
nouscohabitions
vouscohabitiez
ils/ellescohabitent

Subjunctive (imperfect)

jecohabitasse
tucohabitasses
il/ellecohabitât
nouscohabitassions
vouscohabitassiez
ils/ellescohabitassent

Imperative

tucohabite
nouscohabitons
vouscohabitez

Compound tenses

Passé composé

jeai cohabité
tuas cohabité
il/ellea cohabité
nousavons cohabité
vousavez cohabité
ils/ellesont cohabité

Plus-que-parfait

jeavais cohabité
tuavais cohabité
il/elleavait cohabité
nousavions cohabité
vousaviez cohabité
ils/ellesavaient cohabité

Passé antérieur

jeeus cohabité
tueus cohabité
il/elleeut cohabité
nouseûmes cohabité
vouseûtes cohabité
ils/elleseurent cohabité

Futur antérieur

jeaurai cohabité
tuauras cohabité
il/elleaura cohabité
nousaurons cohabité
vousaurez cohabité
ils/ellesauront cohabité

Conditionnel passé

jeaurais cohabité
tuaurais cohabité
il/elleaurait cohabité
nousaurions cohabité
vousauriez cohabité
ils/ellesauraient cohabité

Subjonctif passé

jeaie cohabité
tuaies cohabité
il/elleait cohabité
nousayons cohabité
vousayez cohabité
ils/ellesaient cohabité

Subjonctif plus-que-parfait

jeeusse cohabité
tueusses cohabité
il/elleeût cohabité
nouseussions cohabité
vouseussiez cohabité
ils/elleseussent cohabité

Impératif passé

tuaie cohabité
nousayons cohabité
vousayez cohabité

Other

Present participle

cohabitant

Past participle

cohabité

Infinitive

cohabiter

Want to practice? Try a conjugation exercise.

Frequently asked questions

What does "cohabiter" mean?

"cohabiter" means "to cohabit, to live together".

How do you conjugate "cohabiter" in the present tense?

The present of "cohabiter" is: je cohabite, tu cohabites, il/elle cohabite, nous cohabitons, vous cohabitez, ils/elles cohabitent.

What is the Passé composé of "cohabiter"?

The passé composé of "cohabiter" is: je ai cohabité, tu as cohabité, il/elle a cohabité, nous avons cohabité, vous avez cohabité, ils/elles ont cohabité.

What is the Imperative of "cohabiter"?

The imperative of "cohabiter" is: tu cohabite, nous cohabitons, vous cohabitez.