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FRENCH VERB

obliger

to force

  • #400 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: obligé
  • Present participle: obligeant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use obliger

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

  1. Present

    Personne ne t'oblige à venir, tu sais.

    Nobody's forcing you to come, you know.

  2. Past

    La pluie nous a obligés à rentrer plus tôt.

    The rain forced us to go home earlier.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma mère m'obligeait à finir mon assiette.

    My mum made me finish my plate.

  4. Future

    Le nouveau règlement obligera tout le monde à porter un casque.

    The new rule will require everyone to wear a helmet.

  5. Conditional

    Je n'obligerais jamais un enfant à manger des épinards.

    I'd never force a child to eat spinach.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas qu'on m'oblige à choisir.

    I don't want to be forced to choose.

  7. Imperative

    N'obligez pas les gens à parler s'ils ne veulent pas.

    Don't force people to talk if they don't want to.

Good to know

  • Être obligé de is to have to : je suis obligé de partir tôt.

Verbs like this one

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