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FRENCH VERB

s'occuper

to take care of, to deal with

  • #69 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: occupé
  • Present participle: s’occupant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use s'occuper

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

  1. Present

    Qui s'occupe du chat pendant vos vacances ?

    Who's looking after the cat during your holiday?

  2. Past

    Je me suis occupée des billets, toi de l'hôtel.

    I took care of the tickets, you of the hotel.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma tante s'occupait de nous le mercredi.

    My aunt looked after us on Wednesdays.

  4. Future

    Ne t'inquiète pas, je m'occuperai de tout.

    Don't worry, I'll take care of everything.

  5. Conditional

    Tu t'occuperais des courses si je cuisine ?

    Would you do the shopping if I cook?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que quelqu'un s'occupe de ce problème aujourd'hui.

    Someone needs to deal with this problem today.

  7. Imperative

    Occupez-vous de la table, j'apporte les plats.

    Take care of the table, I'll bring the dishes.

Good to know

  • S'occuper de quelqu'un or de quelque chose : je m'occupe des enfants, je m'occupe du dîner.
  • Occupe-toi de tes affaires means mind your own business.

Verbs like this one

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