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FRENCH VERB

prévoir

to plan, to expect

  • #355 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: prévu
  • Present participle: prévoyant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use prévoir

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

  1. Present

    Ils prévoient de la pluie pour tout le week-end.

    They're forecasting rain for the whole weekend.

  2. Past

    Tu as prévu quelque chose pour les vacances ?

    Have you planned anything for the holidays?

  3. Imperfect

    On prévoyait de partir tôt, mais on a traîné.

    We were planning to leave early, but we dawdled.

  4. Future

    Je prévoirai un parapluie, on ne sait jamais.

    I'll plan on an umbrella, you never know.

  5. Conditional

    Je prévoirais un peu plus de temps pour la route.

    I'd allow a bit more time for the drive.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que vous prévoyiez de l'eau pour la randonnée.

    You need to plan on water for the hike.

  7. Imperative

    Prévois des chaussures confortables, on va beaucoup marcher.

    Bring comfortable shoes, we're going to walk a lot.

Good to know

  • Unlike voir, prévoir keeps a regular future : je prévoirai.
  • Comme prévu is as planned; la météo prévoit de la pluie, rain is forecast.

Verbs like this one

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