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FRENCH VERB

respecter

to respect

  • #468 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: respecté
  • Present participle: respectant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use respecter

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

  1. Present

    Ici, tout le monde respecte la file d'attente.

    Here, everyone respects the queue.

  2. Past

    Le chauffeur n'a pas respecté le feu rouge.

    The driver didn't stop at the red light.

  3. Imperfect

    Les élèves respectaient énormément cette prof.

    The pupils had enormous respect for that teacher.

  4. Future

    On respectera votre choix, quel qu'il soit.

    We'll respect your choice, whatever it is.

  5. Conditional

    Il respecterait les délais s'il était moins débordé.

    He'd meet the deadlines if he were less swamped.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que vous respectiez les horaires de visite.

    You have to keep to the visiting hours.

  7. Imperative

    Respecte ta sœur, elle est plus âgée que toi.

    Respect your sister, she's older than you.

Good to know

  • Respecter is also to keep to : respecter les délais, la limitation de vitesse, la recette.

Verbs like this one

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