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FRENCH VERB

marcher

to work (a machine), to walk

  • #53 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: marché
  • Present participle: marchant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use marcher

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

  1. Present

    Le chauffage ne marche plus depuis hier.

    The heating hasn't worked since yesterday.

  2. Past

    On a marché deux heures le long du fleuve.

    We walked for two hours along the river.

  3. Imperfect

    Avant, cette machine marchait très bien.

    This machine used to work very well.

  4. Future

    Avec une nouvelle pile, ça marchera.

    With a new battery, it'll work.

  5. Conditional

    Ça marcherait mieux si tu lisais le mode d'emploi.

    It'd work better if you read the instructions.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que ça marche du premier coup.

    It has to work the first time.

  7. Imperative

    Marchez jusqu'au feu, puis tournez à droite.

    Walk to the traffic light, then turn right.

Good to know

  • "Ça marche !" is "that works" or "OK, deal!".

Where you hear marcher

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • La douche ne marche pas. The shower doesn't work.
  • Hier, j'ai marché pendant trois heures. Yesterday I walked for three hours.
  • Maintenant, ça va marcher. Now it's going to work.

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Je marche sur la plage. I'm walking on the beach.
  • On marchait sur la plage quand il a commencé à pleuvoir. We were walking on the beach when it started to rain.
  • On va marcher jusqu'au phare. We're going to walk to the lighthouse.
8
No Hot Water

Beginner Level 2 · Ça ne marche pas. · Ça marche !

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At the Doctor's

Beginner Level 2 · marcher

Needs a subscription 20
Back from Annecy

Beginner Level 2 · on a marché

Needs a subscription 16
The Tide

Beginner Level 3 · on marchait · je marchais

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Verbs like this one

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