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FRENCH VERB

brûler

to burn

  • #444 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: brûlé
  • Present participle: brûlant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use brûler

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

  1. Present

    Ça brûle ! Baisse le feu sous la poêle.

    It's burning! Turn down the heat under the pan.

  2. Past

    J'ai brûlé le gâteau, on achètera un dessert.

    I burnt the cake, we'll buy a dessert.

  3. Imperfect

    Le soleil brûlait, on est rentrés à midi.

    The sun was scorching, so we went back at noon.

  4. Future

    Tu brûleras si tu restes sans crème solaire.

    You'll burn if you stay out without sunscreen.

  5. Conditional

    Le bois sec brûlerait mieux que ces bûches humides.

    Dry wood would burn better than these damp logs.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Surveille le pain pour qu'il ne brûle pas.

    Keep an eye on the bread so it doesn't burn.

  7. Imperative

    Ne brûle pas les étapes, apprends d'abord les bases.

    Don't skip steps, learn the basics first.

Good to know

  • Se brûler is to burn yourself : je me suis brûlé la langue.
  • Brûler un feu rouge is to run a red light.

Verbs like this one

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