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FRENCH VERB

rattraper

to catch up

  • #408 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: rattrapé
  • Present participle: rattrapant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use rattraper

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

  1. Present

    Je vous rattrape, j'ai oublié mon sac.

    I'll catch up with you, I forgot my bag.

  2. Past

    Le train a rattrapé son retard avant Marseille.

    The train made up its delay before Marseille.

  3. Imperfect

    Il rattrapait ses cours le soir après le travail.

    He caught up on his classes in the evening after work.

  4. Future

    Partez devant, je vous rattraperai à vélo.

    Go on ahead, I'll catch up with you by bike.

  5. Conditional

    On rattraperait le temps perdu en prenant l'autoroute.

    We'd make up the lost time by taking the motorway.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que je rattrape mon sommeil ce week-end.

    I need to catch up on sleep this weekend.

  7. Imperative

    Rattrape ton frère, il a oublié son téléphone !

    Catch up with your brother, he forgot his phone!

Good to know

  • Rattraper quelqu'un is to catch up with them; rattraper son retard, to make up lost time.
  • Se rattraper is to make up for it : je me rattraperai à Noël.

Verbs like this one

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