Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

décrire

to describe

  • #430 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: décrit
  • Present participle: décrivant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use décrire

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

  1. Present

    Je vous décris l'homme : grand, brun, avec une barbe.

    I'll describe the man for you: tall, dark, with a beard.

  2. Past

    Le témoin a décrit la voiture à la police.

    The witness described the car to the police.

  3. Imperfect

    Il décrivait sa ville avec beaucoup d'amour.

    He described his town with a lot of love.

  4. Future

    Je vous décrirai le quartier au téléphone.

    I'll describe the neighbourhood to you on the phone.

  5. Conditional

    Comment tu décrirais ta sœur en trois mots ?

    How would you describe your sister in three words?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que vous décriviez le sac exactement.

    You need to describe the bag exactly.

  7. Imperative

    Décrivez-moi votre journée type, s'il vous plaît.

    Describe a typical day for me, please.

Where you hear décrire

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Je décris l'homme au policier. I describe the man to the police officer.
  • J'ai décrit son manteau. I described his coat.
  • Vous allez décrire le sac ? Are you going to describe the bag?
23
A Stolen Phone

Beginner Level 2 · décrire

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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