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FRENCH VERB

fuir

to flee

  • #405 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: fui
  • Present participle: fuyant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use fuir

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

  1. Present

    Le robinet de la cuisine fuit depuis hier soir.

    The kitchen tap has been leaking since last night.

  2. Past

    Ils ont fui la guerre il y a dix ans.

    They fled the war ten years ago.

  3. Imperfect

    Petit, je fuyais les fêtes de famille.

    As a kid, I used to avoid family parties.

  4. Future

    Tout le monde fuira Paris au mois d'août.

    Everyone will flee Paris in August.

  5. Conditional

    À sa place, je fuirais ce genre de patron.

    In his place, I'd steer clear of that kind of boss.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il est normal que les touristes fuient la chaleur.

    It's normal that tourists flee the heat.

  7. Imperative

    Fuis les grandes avenues, prends les petites rues.

    Avoid the big avenues, take the little streets.

Good to know

  • Fuir quelqu'un, fuir un pays : no preposition. Fuir quelque chose is also to avoid it : il fuit les conflits.
  • Fuir is also to leak : le robinet fuit. S'enfuir is to run away from somewhere.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.