How to Conjugate in the French Indicative: The Big 3
All verb moods in French have their own conjugation rules, and the indicative is no exception. Note that you’ve probably seen these conjugations before. What do I mean by the big three? I mean that in this post, we’ll learn how to conjugate the three main verb groups in French, -er, -ir and -re verbs, in the three major tenses of the indicative mood: présent (present), passé composé (past perfect) and imparfait (imperfect).
Conjugating -er verbs
Let’s look at a typical example of an -er verb: aimer (to like). It’s conjugated as follows:
Présent
J’aime (I like)
Tu aimes (You like)
Il/elle/on aime (He/she/it/one likes)
Nous aimons (We like)
Vous aimez (You [polite] / You all like)
Ils/elles aiment (They like)
Example: Il aime sa maison. (He likes his house.)
Passé composé
J’ai aimé (I liked)
Tu as aimé (You liked)
Il/elle/on a aimé (He/she/it/one liked)
Nous avons aimé (We liked)
Vous avez aimé (You [polite] / You all liked)
Ils/elles ont aimé (They liked)
Example: Il a aimé sa maison. (He liked his house.)
Imparfait
J’aimais (I liked)
Tu aimais (You liked)
Il/elle/on aimait (He/she/it/one liked)
Nous aimions (We liked)
Vous aimiez (You [polite] / You all liked)
Ils/elles aimaient (They liked)
Example: Il aimait sa maison. (He liked his house.)
Conjugating -ir verbs
For -ir verbs, let’s look at the example gravir (to climb). It is conjugated as follows:
Présent
Je gravis (I climb)
Tu gravis (You climb)
Il/elle/on gravit (He/she/it/one climbs)
Nous gravissons (We climb)
Vous gravissez (You [polite] / You all climb)
Ils/elles gravissent (They climb)
Example: Je gravis la montagne. (I climb the mountain.)
Passé composé
J’ai gravi (I climbed)
Tu as gravi (You climbed)
Il/elle/on a gravi (He/she/it/one climbed)
Nous avons gravi (We climbed)
Vous avez gravi (You [polite] / You all climbed)
Ils/elles ont gravi (They climbed)
Example: J’ai gravi la montagne. (I climbed the mountain.)
Imparfait
Je gravissais (I climbed)
Tu gravissais (You climbed)
Il/elle/on gravissait (He/she/it/one climbed)
Nous gravissions (We climbed)
Vous gravissiez (You [polite] / You all climbed)
Ils/elles gravissaient (They climbed)
Example: Je gravissais la montagne. (I climbed the mountain.)
Conjugating -re verbs
Finally, let’s look at -re verbs, using the example prendre (to take). It is conjugated as follows:
Présent
Je prends (I take)
Tu prends (You take)
Il/elle/on prend (He/she/it/one takes)
Nous prenons (We take)
Vous prenez (You [polite] / You all take)
Ils/elles prennent (They take)
Example: Nous prenons le bus. (We take the bus.)
Passé composé
J’ai pris (I took)
Tu as pris (You took)
Il/elle/on a pris (He/she/it/one took)
Nous avons pris (We took)
Vous avez pris (You [polite] / You all took)
Ils/elles ont pris (They took)
Example: Nous avons pris le bus. (We took the bus.)
Imparfait
Je prenais (I took)
Tu prenais (You took)
Il/elle/on prenait (He/she/it/one took)
Nous prenions (We took)
Vous preniez (You [polite] / You all took)
Ils/elles prenaient (They took)
Example: Nous prenions le bus. (We took the bus.)
Note that not all French verbs fall under these categories. There are irregular verbs too, some of which are critical, including être (to be) and avoir (to have). We won’t cover irregular conjugations in this post, but it’s good to know that they exist and practice their conjugations, too.
Resources to Study the French Indicative
Looking at conjugation tables will only get you so far when it comes to memorizing and internalizing French indicative conjugations. Read on for a wealth of amazing online resources to suit any learning style.
Resources for Practicing the French Indicative Through Immersion
Each FluentU video comes equipped with interactive subtitles and a full audio transcript so you can follow along as you watch and easily look up difficult words. Plus, each video has a built-in learn mode and comprehension quiz, enabling you to review what you’ve learned after you watch.
Because FluentU’s videos all feature native speakers, you’ll hear all kinds of regular and irregular French verbs conjugated as they are in everyday, spoken French. By watching enough videos, you’ll begin to absorb French conjugation rules until they become second nature—just as though you were a native speaker.
For more targeted practice, you can search FluentU videos by grammar topic. So, for example, you can type “Present Tense” into the search bar and find all videos with a wide variety of present tense verbs. If you’re working on conjugating in a particular tense, this is a perfect way to practice.
If you want to work your indicative conjugating skills and be entertained at the same time, sign up for a FluentU free trial and check it out.
In addition, FluentU now also has a French YouTube channel.
The channel includes a ton of useful information on grammar and vocabulary in the form of engaging videos.
A perfect example is the following one, which takes the trailer of “La Délicatesse” and transforms it into a French lesson:
FluentU’s French Youtube channel will help you master French conjugation while having fun. Subscribe to it today and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss out on any new content!
Resources for Practicing Indicative Conjugation
To Learn French is great for conjugation practice because it provides several fill-in-the-blank exercises for all tenses in the indicative mood. Fill in the blanks and click “check my test” to see the answers and how you stacked up against other users. At the bottom of the answer page, you’ll see similar exercises for more practice.
If you’re looking for detailed information about the indicative tense, check out coLanguage. They do a great job of explaining grammatically every aspect of the indicative tense. I recommend you study the page thoroughly for a theoretical basis of what you learn in your beginning French classes.
Finally, if you’re looking to practice conjugating all forms of French verbs, there’s a great resource at the University of Texas. On the page you can form your own lessons by selecting the verb type (-er, -ir, etc.) and the tense. For example, if you select -er and passé composé, you’ll be prompted to conjugate several verbs by memory, one after another.
Resources for Practicing the Indicative vs. Subjunctive Moods
One of the biggest headaches for French students is learning which mood to use when. Fortunately, the internet is full of resources that deal with the question of whether to use the indicative or subjunctive mood.
For example, check out Quia, which has a great quiz with several questions where you must conjugate either in indicative or subjunctive based on the context. Or, return to the previously mentioned To Learn French for their “indicative vs. subjunctive” quiz.
Another good resource for indicative vs. subjunctive quizzes is FunTrivia, which is similar to Quia but with the added feature of timed quizzes. See how you stack up!
The French indicative is a great place to start when you’re trying to build your French grammatical know-how. With all this information and the above resources, you’ll be conjugating like a pro in no time. And that’s a fact!
