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FRENCH VERB

observer

to watch, to observe

  • #435 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: observé
  • Present participle: observant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use observer

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

  1. Present

    Le chat observe les oiseaux depuis la fenêtre.

    The cat watches the birds from the window.

  2. Past

    On a observé les étoiles toute la nuit, sans télescope.

    We watched the stars all night, without a telescope.

  3. Imperfect

    Il observait les gens au café en buvant son expresso.

    He watched people in the café while drinking his espresso.

  4. Future

    Le médecin observera l'évolution pendant deux semaines.

    The doctor will monitor how it develops for two weeks.

  5. Conditional

    On observerait des dauphins depuis ce bateau ?

    Would we see dolphins from this boat?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut qu'on observe bien avant de décider.

    We need to watch carefully before deciding.

  7. Imperative

    Observe comment elle fait, puis essaie.

    Watch how she does it, then try.

Good to know

  • Observer is to watch closely; regarder is simply to look.

Verbs like this one

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