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FRENCH VERB

diminuer

to decrease

  • #344 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: diminué
  • Present participle: diminuant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use diminuer

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

  1. Present

    Les jours diminuent déjà, c'est bientôt l'automne.

    The days are already getting shorter, autumn's coming.

  2. Past

    La fièvre a diminué dans la nuit.

    The fever went down in the night.

  3. Imperfect

    Avec l'âge, sa vue diminuait doucement.

    With age, his eyesight was slowly getting weaker.

  4. Future

    La douleur diminuera avec les médicaments.

    The pain will ease with the medicine.

  5. Conditional

    Sans voiture, nos dépenses diminueraient beaucoup.

    Without a car, our spending would drop a lot.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut qu'on diminue le sucre à la maison.

    We need to cut down on sugar at home.

  7. Imperative

    Diminue un peu la vitesse, ça glisse.

    Slow down a bit, it's slippery.

Good to know

  • Diminuer la lumière, le son, la vitesse is to turn them down; baisser is the other everyday word.

Verbs like this one

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