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FRENCH VERB

appartenir

to belong

  • #339 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: appartenu
  • Present participle: appartenant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I belong
  2. tu you belong
  3. il, elle, on he/she belongs
  4. nous we belong
  5. vous you belong
  6. ils, elles they belong

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I belonged
  2. tu you belonged
  3. il, elle, on he/she belonged
  4. nous we belonged
  5. vous you belonged
  6. ils, elles they belonged

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to belong
  2. tu you used to belong
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to belong
  4. nous we used to belong
  5. vous you used to belong
  6. ils, elles they used to belong

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will belong
  2. tu you will belong
  3. il, elle, on he/she will belong
  4. nous we will belong
  5. vous you will belong
  6. ils, elles they will belong

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would belong
  2. tu you would belong
  3. il, elle, on he/she would belong
  4. nous we would belong
  5. vous you would belong
  6. ils, elles they would belong

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I belong
  2. tu (that) you belong
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she belong
  4. nous (that) we belong
  5. vous (that) you belong
  6. ils, elles (that) they belong

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu belong!
  2. nous belong! (let’s)
  3. vous belong! (plural, or formal)

How to use appartenir

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Ce parapluie appartient à quelqu'un ?

    Does this umbrella belong to anyone?

  2. Past

    Cette montre a appartenu à mon grand-père.

    This watch belonged to my grandfather.

  3. Imperfect

    Avant, ces champs appartenaient à l'église.

    These fields used to belong to the church.

  4. Future

    Dans un an, l'appartement nous appartiendra enfin.

    In a year, the flat will finally be ours.

  5. Conditional

    Sans ce papier, la voiture appartiendrait encore au garage.

    Without that paper, the car would still belong to the garage.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne crois pas que ce chien appartienne aux voisins.

    I don't think that dog belongs to the neighbours.

  7. Imperative

    Appartenez à un club, c'est le meilleur moyen de rencontrer des gens.

    Belong to a club, it's the best way to meet people.

Good to know

  • Appartenir à : ça m'appartient is it's mine. It goes like tenir.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.