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FRENCH VERB

galérer

to struggle, to have a hard time

  • #366 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: galéré
  • Present participle: galérant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use galérer

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

  1. Present

    Je galère avec ce nouveau logiciel depuis ce matin.

    I've been struggling with this new software since this morning.

  2. Past

    On a galéré pour trouver une place de parking.

    We had a hard time finding a parking space.

  3. Imperfect

    À Paris, je galérais pour payer mon loyer.

    In Paris, I struggled to pay my rent.

  4. Future

    Tu galéreras moins avec un GPS, crois-moi.

    You'll struggle less with a GPS, believe me.

  5. Conditional

    Sans toi, je galérerais encore avec ces cartons.

    Without you, I'd still be struggling with these boxes.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas que tu galères comme moi.

    I don't want you to struggle like I did.

  7. Imperative

    Ne galère pas tout seul, demande de l'aide.

    Don't struggle on your own, ask for help.

Good to know

  • Galérer is slang for having a hard time; la galère is a struggle : quelle galère !

Verbs like this one

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