Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

expliquer

to explain

  • #88 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: expliqué
  • Present participle: expliquant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use expliquer

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

  1. Present

    Je vous explique le chemin, c'est simple.

    I'll explain the way to you, it's simple.

  2. Past

    Le guide nous a expliqué l'histoire du château.

    The guide explained the castle's history to us.

  3. Imperfect

    La prof expliquait très bien les règles de grammaire.

    The teacher explained the grammar rules very well.

  4. Future

    Je t'expliquerai tout ça autour d'un verre.

    I'll explain all that to you over a drink.

  5. Conditional

    Tu m'expliquerais comment marche cette machine ?

    Could you explain to me how this machine works?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que quelqu'un m'explique ce formulaire.

    Someone needs to explain this form to me.

  7. Imperative

    Expliquez-moi encore une fois, plus lentement.

    Explain it to me once more, more slowly.

Good to know

  • Expliquer quelque chose à quelqu'un : explique-moi ça.

Verbs like this one

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