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fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

exister

to exist

  • #322 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: existé
  • Present participle: existant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use exister

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

  1. Present

    Ce magasin n'existe plus depuis dix ans.

    That shop hasn't existed for ten years.

  2. Past

    Cette rue a existé bien avant la gare.

    That street existed long before the station.

  3. Imperfect

    À l'époque, les portables n'existaient pas.

    Back then, mobile phones didn't exist.

  4. Future

    Ce métier existera encore dans vingt ans ?

    Will that job still exist in twenty years?

  5. Conditional

    Sans toi, ce projet n'existerait pas.

    Without you, this project wouldn't exist.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je doute qu'il existe une solution parfaite.

    I doubt a perfect solution exists.

  7. Imperative

    Existe un peu, dis ce que tu penses !

    Make yourself heard a bit, say what you think!

Good to know

  • Ça existe ? is is there such a thing? Ça n'existe pas is there's no such thing.

Verbs like this one

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