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FRENCH VERB

se coucher

to go to bed

  • #75 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: couché
  • Present participle: se couchant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use se coucher

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

  1. Present

    Je me couche tôt en semaine, vers vingt-deux heures.

    I go to bed early on weekdays, around ten.

  2. Past

    On s'est couchés à deux heures du matin.

    We went to bed at two in the morning.

  3. Imperfect

    En vacances, les enfants se couchaient très tard.

    On holiday, the kids went to bed very late.

  4. Future

    Ce soir, je me coucherai de bonne heure.

    Tonight I'll go to bed early.

  5. Conditional

    Je me coucherais bien, mais j'ai du travail.

    I'd happily go to bed, but I've got work.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que tu te couches, tu as cours demain.

    You need to go to bed, you've got class tomorrow.

  7. Imperative

    Couchez-vous, il est presque minuit !

    Go to bed, it's almost midnight!

Good to know

  • Se coucher is to go to bed; the sun also "se couche".

Where you hear se coucher

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Je me couche à minuit. I go to bed at midnight.
  • Hier, je me suis couchée tôt. Yesterday, I went to bed early.
  • Ce soir, je vais me coucher tôt. Tonight, I'm going to go to bed early.

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Je me couche tôt quand je suis fatiguée. I go to bed early when I'm tired.
  • Je me suis couchée tôt à Chicago. I went to bed early in Chicago.
  • Ce soir, tu vas te coucher tôt. This evening, you're going to go to bed early.
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Beginner Level 2 · je me couche · tu te couches

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Verbs like this one

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