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FRENCH VERB

atteindre

to reach

  • #337 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: atteint
  • Present participle: atteignant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use atteindre

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

  1. Present

    Je n'atteins pas l'étagère du haut, tu m'aides ?

    I can't reach the top shelf, can you help me?

  2. Past

    On a atteint le sommet juste avant midi.

    We reached the summit just before noon.

  3. Imperfect

    En été, la température atteignait quarante degrés.

    In summer, the temperature reached forty degrees.

  4. Future

    On atteindra le village avant la nuit ?

    Will we reach the village before dark?

  5. Conditional

    Sans embouteillages, on atteindrait Lyon en deux heures.

    Without traffic jams, we'd reach Lyon in two hours.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que l'équipe atteigne ses objectifs ce trimestre.

    The team has to hit its targets this quarter.

  7. Imperative

    Atteignez le sommet avant dix heures, après il fait trop chaud.

    Reach the top before ten, after that it's too hot.

Good to know

  • Atteindre goes like peindre. Être atteint de is to suffer from an illness.

Verbs like this one

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