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FRENCH VERB

démarrer

to start (a car)

  • #260 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: démarré
  • Present participle: démarrant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use démarrer

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

  1. Present

    La voiture ne démarre pas, la batterie est à plat.

    The car won't start, the battery's flat.

  2. Past

    Le moteur a démarré du premier coup.

    The engine started first time.

  3. Imperfect

    Le matin, en hiver, le scooter démarrait mal.

    In the morning, in winter, the scooter was hard to start.

  4. Future

    Le cours démarrera à neuf heures pile.

    The class will start at nine sharp.

  5. Conditional

    Avec une batterie neuve, elle démarrerait sans problème.

    With a new battery, it would start without a problem.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Attends que le moteur démarre avant d'accélérer.

    Wait for the engine to start before accelerating.

  7. Imperative

    Démarre, le feu est vert !

    Go, the light's green!

Good to know

  • Démarrer is also to get going : le film démarre à vingt heures.

Where you hear démarrer

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

French · Beginner Level 3

  • La voiture ne démarre pas ! The car won't start!
  • J'ai démarré doucement. I started gently.
  • Vous allez démarrer au feu vert. You're going to start at the green light.
6
The Driving Lesson

Beginner Level 3 · Démarrez. · elle ne démarre pas

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Verbs like this one

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