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FRENCH VERB

rire

to laugh

  • #183 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: ri
  • Present participle: riant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use rire

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

  1. Present

    On rit beaucoup avec elle, elle est drôle.

    We laugh a lot with her, she's funny.

  2. Past

    J'ai ri toute la soirée, j'ai mal au ventre.

    I laughed all evening, my stomach hurts.

  3. Imperfect

    Mon grand-père riait si fort que la table tremblait.

    My grandfather laughed so hard the table shook.

  4. Future

    Tu riras de tout ça dans quelques années.

    You'll laugh about all this in a few years.

  5. Conditional

    Je rirais bien, mais ce n'est pas drôle.

    I'd laugh, but it isn't funny.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ça me fait plaisir que les enfants rient autant.

    I'm glad the kids are laughing so much.

  7. Imperative

    Ris un bon coup, ça fait du bien !

    Have a good laugh, it does you good!

Good to know

  • Rire de quelqu'un is to laugh at someone; pour rire, as a joke; tu rigoles ? you're kidding?

Verbs like this one

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