To grow in French 🇫🇷

croître info.

To remember the French word “croître,” which means “to grow,” you might think of “croissant,” the French pastry that “grows” in size as it bakes. Another way is to associate “croître” with “increase,” as something increasing in size is growing.

“Croître” is indeed an infinitive verb in French, and it’s a bit irregular when it comes to conjugations. Here are some of the basic conjugations:

**Présent** (Present):
– je croîs
– tu croîs
– il/elle croît
– nous croissons
– vous croissez
– ils/elles croissent

**Imparfait** (Imperfect):
– je croissais
– tu croissais
– il/elle croissait
– nous croissions
– vous croissiez
– ils/elles croissaient

**Passé simple** (Simple past):
– je crûs
– tu crûs
– il/elle crût
– nous crûmes
– vous crûtes
– ils/elles crûrent

**Futur simple** (Simple Future):
– je croîtrai
– tu croîtras
– il/elle croîtra
– nous croîtrons
– vous croîtrez
– ils/elles croîtront

**Participe passé** (Past participle):
– crû

Here are some example sentences using different conjugations of “croître”:

– Present: “Les plantes croissent rapidement au printemps.” (The plants grow rapidly in the spring.)
– Imperfect: “La ville croissait de manière exponentielle pendant les années 70.” (The city was growing exponentially during the ’70s.)
– Simple past: “La technologie crût de façon incroyable pendant le siècle dernier.” (Technology grew incredibly over the last century.)
– Simple future: “La population mondiale croîtra encore dans les années à venir.” (The world population will continue to grow in the coming years.)

Synonyms for “croître” in French include “grandir” (often used for growing up or increasing in height), “augmenter” (to increase or to augment), and “se développer” (to develop, which often implies growth).

a few seconds ago