Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

décrocher

to pick up (the phone), to take down

  • #416 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: décroché
  • Present participle: décrochant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use décrocher

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

  1. Present

    Il ne décroche jamais quand il conduit.

    He never picks up when he's driving.

  2. Past

    Elle a décroché un poste à Bordeaux !

    She landed a job in Bordeaux!

  3. Imperfect

    Le téléphone sonnait, mais personne ne décrochait.

    The phone was ringing, but nobody picked up.

  4. Future

    On décrochera les décorations après le week-end.

    We'll take the decorations down after the weekend.

  5. Conditional

    À ta place, je décrocherais pour voir qui c'est.

    If I were you, I'd pick up to see who it is.

  6. Present subjunctive

    J'attends qu'il décroche, ça sonne depuis une minute.

    I'm waiting for him to pick up, it's been ringing for a minute.

  7. Imperative

    Décroche, c'est peut-être le médecin !

    Pick up, it might be the doctor!

Good to know

  • Décrocher un travail is to land a job.
  • Décrocher is also to tune out : j'ai décroché au bout de dix minutes.

Verbs like this one

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