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fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

retourner

to go back, to turn over

  • #133 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: retourné
  • Present participle: retournant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use retourner

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

  1. Present

    Je retourne au bureau après le déjeuner.

    I'm going back to the office after lunch.

  2. Past

    On est retournés dans ce restaurant trois fois.

    We went back to that restaurant three times.

  3. Imperfect

    Chaque été, elle retournait dans son village.

    Every summer, she went back to her village.

  4. Future

    Je retournerai chez le médecin si ça ne passe pas.

    I'll go back to the doctor if it doesn't go away.

  5. Conditional

    Tu retournerais vivre à l'étranger ?

    Would you go back to living abroad?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que je retourne chercher mon sac au café.

    I need to go back and get my bag at the café.

  7. Imperative

    Retourne la crêpe, elle va brûler !

    Flip the pancake, it's going to burn!

Good to know

  • Retourner quelque part takes être : je suis retourné à Lyon; retourner une crêpe takes avoir : j'ai retourné la crêpe.

Where you hear retourner

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

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Je la retourne. I turn it over.
  • Je suis retourné à Paris le mois dernier. I went back to Paris last month.
  • J'y retournerai l'été prochain. I'll go back next summer.
15
At the Creperie

Beginner Level 3 · Je la retourne.

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Back from Brittany

Beginner Level 3 · retourner · Tu y retourneras ? · je suis retourné · on retournera

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Verbs like this one

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