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FRENCH VERB

apprendre

to learn

  • #59 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: appris
  • Present participle: apprenant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use apprendre

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

  1. Present

    J'apprends le français depuis six mois.

    I've been learning French for six months.

  2. Past

    J'ai appris la nouvelle ce matin.

    I heard the news this morning.

  3. Imperfect

    Elle apprenait vite, tout le monde le disait.

    She learned fast, everyone said so.

  4. Future

    Tu apprendras à conduire cet été ?

    Will you learn to drive this summer?

  5. Conditional

    J'apprendrais bien le piano, un jour.

    I'd like to learn the piano, one day.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que les enfants apprennent à nager.

    The kids need to learn to swim.

  7. Imperative

    Apprenez dix mots par jour, pas plus.

    Learn ten words a day, no more.

Good to know

  • Apprendre à faire is to learn to do; apprendre quelque chose à quelqu'un is to teach them.

Where you hear apprendre

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

French · Beginner Level 1

  • J'apprends le français. I'm learning French.
  • J'ai appris beaucoup de choses. I learned a lot of things.
  • Je vais apprendre l'anglais. I'm going to learn English.

French · Beginner Level 2

  • J'apprends à faire la cuisine. I'm learning to cook.
  • J'ai appris le français en France. I learned French in France.
  • Je vais apprendre l'italien. I'm going to learn Italian.
22
The Old Port

Beginner Level 1 · apprendre

Needs a subscription 29
The Last Evening

Beginner Level 1 · tu as appris · j'ai appris

Needs a subscription 30
A Year in France

Beginner Level 2 · j'ai appris à

Needs a subscription 28
The Loan

Beginner Level 3 · j'apprendrai

Needs a subscription 29
Painting the Walls

Beginner Level 3 · on apprend

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Verbs like this one

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