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FRENCH VERB

enseigner

to teach

  • #290 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: enseigné
  • Present participle: enseignant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use enseigner

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

  1. Present

    J'enseigne l'anglais dans un lycée à Lyon.

    I teach English at a secondary school in Lyon.

  2. Past

    Mon grand-père a enseigné pendant quarante ans.

    My grandfather taught for forty years.

  3. Imperfect

    Elle enseignait le piano aux enfants du quartier.

    She taught piano to the local children.

  4. Future

    L'année prochaine, j'enseignerai à Paris.

    Next year I'll be teaching in Paris.

  5. Conditional

    J'enseignerais bien le français à l'étranger.

    I'd like to teach French abroad.

  6. Present subjunctive

    L'école cherche quelqu'un qui enseigne l'espagnol.

    The school is looking for someone who teaches Spanish.

  7. Imperative

    Enseigne-lui à nager, il adore l'eau.

    Teach him to swim, he loves the water.

Good to know

  • Enseigner quelque chose à quelqu'un: elle enseigne le français aux enfants.

Where you hear enseigner

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • J'enseigne l'anglais aux adultes. I teach English to adults.
  • J'ai enseigné pendant cinq ans à Chicago. I taught for five years in Chicago.
  • Je vais enseigner l'espagnol aux enfants. I'm going to teach Spanish to children.
11
The First Day

Beginner Level 2 · enseigner · j'enseigne · tu enseignes

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Verbs like this one

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