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FRENCH VERB

excuser

to excuse, to apologize

  • #198 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: excusé
  • Present participle: excusant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use excuser

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

  1. Present

    Je t'excuse pour cette fois.

    I'll let you off this time.

  2. Past

    Il s'est excusé pour le retard.

    He apologized for the delay.

  3. Imperfect

    Elle s'excusait tout le temps, même pour rien.

    She apologized all the time, even for nothing.

  4. Future

    Tu m'excuseras auprès de ta mère.

    Make my apologies to your mother.

  5. Conditional

    Vous m'excuseriez une minute ? Je dois répondre.

    Would you excuse me a minute? I have to answer this.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je veux que tu t'excuses auprès de ta sœur.

    I want you to apologize to your sister.

  7. Imperative

    Excusez-moi, vous avez l'heure, s'il vous plaît ?

    Excuse me, do you have the time, please?

Good to know

  • Excusez-moi gets someone's attention or says sorry; je m'excuse is also said, though excusez-moi is more polite.

Where you hear excuser

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

French · Beginner Level 1

  • Je m'excuse pour mon retard. I apologize for being late.
  • Je me suis excusée. I apologized.
  • Je vais m'excuser. I'm going to apologize.
8
I'm Lost

Beginner Level 1 · Excusez-moi.

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Verbs like this one

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