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FRENCH VERB

prier

to ask, to beg

  • #258 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: prié
  • Present participle: priant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use prier

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

  1. Present

    Je vous prie de m'excuser pour le retard.

    Please forgive me for being late.

  2. Past

    Je l'ai prié de rester, il est parti quand même.

    I begged him to stay, he left anyway.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma grand-mère priait tous les soirs.

    My grandmother prayed every evening.

  4. Future

    On priera pour qu'il fasse beau samedi.

    We'll pray it's sunny on Saturday.

  5. Conditional

    Je vous prierais de parler moins fort.

    I'd ask you to keep your voice down.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Elle n'aime pas qu'on la prie.

    She doesn't like being begged.

  7. Imperative

    Priez pour moi, j'ai mon examen demain !

    Pray for me, I've got my exam tomorrow!

Good to know

  • Je vous en prie answers merci, and also means go ahead. Prier is also to pray.

Where you hear prier

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

French · Beginner Level 1

  • Je vous prie de patienter. Please wait.
  • Je l'ai prié de m'attendre. I asked him to wait for me.
  • Je vais le prier de revenir demain. I'm going to ask him to come back tomorrow.
8
I'm Lost

Beginner Level 1 · en prie · vous en prie · Je vous en prie.

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Verbs like this one

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