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FRENCH VERB

arrêter

to stop

  • #85 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: arrêté
  • Present participle: arrêtant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use arrêter

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

  1. Present

    J'arrête le café, j'ai trop de mal à dormir.

    I'm giving up coffee, I have too much trouble sleeping.

  2. Past

    Elle a arrêté de fumer il y a deux ans.

    She stopped smoking two years ago.

  3. Imperfect

    La pluie n'arrêtait pas, on est restés à l'intérieur.

    The rain wouldn't stop, so we stayed inside.

  4. Future

    On arrêtera la voiture à la prochaine aire.

    We'll stop the car at the next rest area.

  5. Conditional

    Il arrêterait bien de travailler le week-end.

    He'd like to stop working weekends.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je voudrais que tu arrêtes de regarder ton téléphone.

    I'd like you to stop looking at your phone.

  7. Imperative

    Arrête, tu me fais rire !

    Stop it, you're making me laugh!

Good to know

  • Arrêter de + infinitive is to stop doing something : arrête de bouger.
  • S'arrêter is for a person or a bus that stops; arrêter is to stop something.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.