Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

insister

to insist

  • #298 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: insisté
  • Present participle: insistant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use insister

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

  1. Present

    J'insiste, c'est moi qui paie ce soir.

    I insist, I'm paying tonight.

  2. Past

    Elle a insisté pour nous prêter sa voiture.

    She insisted on lending us her car.

  3. Imperfect

    Il insistait tellement que j'ai dit oui.

    He insisted so much that I said yes.

  4. Future

    Si tu refuses, elle insistera encore plus.

    If you refuse, she'll insist even more.

  5. Conditional

    Je n'insisterais pas, il a l'air fatigué.

    I wouldn't push it, he looks tired.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas que tu insistes, c'est non.

    I don't want you to insist, it's a no.

  7. Imperative

    N'insiste pas, elle a dit non.

    Don't push, she said no.

Good to know

  • Insister pour + infinitive : il a insisté pour payer. J'insiste is a polite I insist.

Where you hear insister

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

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Non, j'insiste. No, I insist.
  • Hugo a insisté pour payer. Hugo insisted on paying.
  • La prochaine fois, je vais insister. Next time, I'm going to insist.
22
Dinner with Hugo

Beginner Level 3 · j'insiste

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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