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FRENCH VERB

étonner

to surprise

  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: étonné
  • Present participle: étonnant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use étonner

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

  1. Present

    Ta question m'étonne, on en a parlé hier.

    Your question surprises me, we talked about it yesterday.

  2. Past

    Son calme a étonné tout le monde pendant la réunion.

    His calm surprised everyone during the meeting.

  3. Imperfect

    Rien n'étonnait plus mon grand-père.

    Nothing surprised my grandfather any more.

  4. Future

    Ça n'étonnera personne s'il arrive en retard.

    It won't surprise anyone if he arrives late.

  5. Conditional

    Ça m'étonnerait qu'il pleuve ce week-end.

    I'd be surprised if it rained this weekend.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je suis surprise que ça t'étonne encore.

    I'm surprised it still surprises you.

  7. Imperative

    Étonne-moi, montre-moi ce que tu sais faire.

    Surprise me, show me what you can do.

Good to know

  • Ça m'étonnerait ! is I doubt it; ça ne m'étonne pas is I'm not surprised.
  • S'étonner de quelque chose is to be surprised at it.

Where you hear étonner

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

French · Intermediate Level 1

  • Son anglais étonne tout le monde. His English surprises everyone.
  • Sa réponse m'a étonnée. His answer surprised me.
  • Ta réponse va étonner tes parents ! Your answer is going to surprise your parents!
22
Stay Together in a Crowd

Intermediate Level 1 · Ça m'étonnerait ! · Ça m'étonnerait que ce soit juste un ami!

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Verbs like this one

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