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fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

obtenir

to get, to obtain

  • #336 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: obtenu
  • Present participle: obtenant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use obtenir

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

  1. Present

    On obtient le visa en trois semaines environ.

    You get the visa in about three weeks.

  2. Past

    Elle a obtenu son diplôme en juin dernier.

    She got her degree last June.

  3. Imperfect

    À l'époque, on obtenait un rendez-vous en un jour.

    Back then, you could get an appointment in a day.

  4. Future

    Tu obtiendras une réponse par courrier.

    You'll get an answer by post.

  5. Conditional

    Avec ce dossier, vous obtiendriez le prêt facilement.

    With this file, you'd get the loan easily.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que j'obtienne l'accord du propriétaire.

    I need to get the landlord's agreement.

  7. Imperative

    Obtiens d'abord son numéro, on verra ensuite.

    Get his number first, we'll see after that.

Good to know

  • Obtenir goes like tenir and takes avoir : j'ai obtenu. Avoir is the everyday word : j'ai eu mon permis.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.