Compter Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “compter”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Compter means “to count”, but it does much more work than that. With a bare infinitive it means to intend to do something, with sur it means to rely on someone, and used alone it means to matter.
You will learn compter as the verb for counting objects, and then meet it constantly in three other jobs. Je compte partir tôt is how French says “I'm planning to leave early”. Je compte sur toi is how you tell someone you are relying on them. And c'est ce qui compte means “that's what matters”. None of these needs a new verb form, only a new construction, which makes compter one of the highest-return regular verbs in the language.
The conjugation is completely regular and the stem never moves: je compte, tu comptes, il compte, nous comptons, vous comptez, ils comptent. The imparfait is je comptais, the future je compterai, the subjunctive que je compte, and the participle compté with avoir. The p is silent in every form, which is why compter sounds identical to conter, “to tell a story”, and why the spelling has to be learned by eye. Note too that compte, comptes and comptent are pronounced the same, so in speech only the subject tells you which one is meant.
Compter in context
Présent
Je compte partir vers huit heures. I'm planning to leave around eight.
Imparfait
Enfant, il comptait les voitures rouges pendant les trajets. As a child, he used to count the red cars during car journeys.
Passé composé
Nous avons compté les places avant de réserver. We counted the seats before booking.
Futur simple
Vous compterez le stock lundi matin. You'll do the stock count on Monday morning.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que tu comptes la caisse avant de fermer. You need to count the till before closing up.
Common mistakes with compter
Adding de before the infinitive
✗ Je compte de partir demain.
✓ Je compte partir demain. — I'm planning to leave tomorrow.
Compter takes a bare infinitive in the sense of intending: je compte venir, elle compte s'installer à Lyon. No preposition at all. This puts it in the same group as espérer, vouloir and penser, rather than with décider de or essayer de.
Choosing the wrong preposition for relying on someone
✗ Je compte à toi pour l'organisation.
✓ Je compte sur toi pour l'organisation. — I'm counting on you to organise it.
The fixed construction is compter sur quelqu'un, exactly like English “count on”. Compter à does not exist in this meaning. Keep the three patterns apart: compter quelque chose (count it), compter faire quelque chose (intend to), compter sur quelqu'un (rely on).
Writing conter for compter
✗ Je conte sur toi.
✓ Je compte sur toi. — I'm counting on you.
Compter and conter are pronounced identically, because the p of compter is silent. Conter means to tell or recount a story and is quite literary — un conte is a fairy tale. Nothing in the sound distinguishes them, so this is purely a spelling decision.
Expressions with compter
compter sur quelqu'un
to count on someone
tout compte fait
all things considered
sans compter
not to mention; generously
à compter de
as of, with effect from
compter pour du beurre
to count for nothing
Frequently asked questions
Is compter a regular verb?
Yes. Compter is a first-group -er verb with no stem change: je compte, nous comptons, j'ai compté, je compterai, que je compte. All of its difficulty is in the constructions that follow it and in the silent p, which makes the spelling harder than the conjugation.
What does compter plus an infinitive mean?
It expresses intention: je compte déménager en juin means “I'm planning to move in June”. No preposition comes between the two verbs. It is slightly firmer than j'espère (hoping) and slightly less committed than j'ai décidé de, so it maps well onto English “I intend to” or “I'm planning to”.
How do you say “count on me” in French?
Compte sur moi in the familiar form, comptez sur moi when addressing someone formally or a group. The construction is compter sur plus a person or thing: on peut compter sur elle, je compte sur ta discrétion. The negative is equally common: ne compte pas sur moi.
What is the difference between compter and conter?
They sound the same but share no meaning. Compter is to count, intend or matter. Conter means to tell a story and is largely literary, surviving mainly in un conte (a tale) and in conter fleurette, an old-fashioned way of saying to flirt. In everyday French, raconter has taken over the storytelling sense.
How do you say “that's what matters” in French?
C'est ce qui compte, using compter in its intransitive sense of mattering. Related forms are just as useful: ça ne compte pas (that doesn't count), ce qui compte, c'est l'intention, and il compte beaucoup pour moi (he means a lot to me). No extra word for “matter” is needed.