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FRENCH VERB

échanger

to exchange, to swap

  • #347 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: échangé
  • Present participle: échangeant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use échanger

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

  1. Present

    On échange nos places ? Tu verras mieux.

    Shall we swap seats? You'll see better.

  2. Past

    J'ai échangé le pull, il était trop petit.

    I exchanged the jumper, it was too small.

  3. Imperfect

    Au collège, on échangeait nos cartes à la récré.

    At secondary school we swapped our cards at break.

  4. Future

    On échangera nos numéros à la fin du cours.

    We'll exchange numbers at the end of the class.

  5. Conditional

    Tu échangerais ta place contre la mienne ?

    Would you swap your seat for mine?

  6. Present subjunctive

    J'aimerais qu'on échange plus souvent, tous les deux.

    I'd like the two of us to talk more often.

  7. Imperative

    Échangez vos adresses avant de partir !

    Swap addresses before you leave!

Good to know

  • Échanger contre : échanger un pull contre une taille plus grande. Échanger avec quelqu'un is to chat.

Verbs like this one

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