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FRENCH VERB

sembler

to seem

  • #37 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: semblé
  • Present participle: semblant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use sembler

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

  1. Present

    Tu sembles fatigué, tu as mal dormi ?

    You seem tired, did you sleep badly?

  2. Past

    Le serveur a semblé surpris par ma question.

    The waiter seemed surprised by my question.

  3. Imperfect

    La maison semblait vide quand on est arrivés.

    The house seemed empty when we arrived.

  4. Future

    Le trajet te semblera long sans musique.

    The journey will seem long to you without music.

  5. Conditional

    Il semblerait que le vol soit annulé.

    It would appear the flight is cancelled.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Bien que ça semble facile, c'est un vrai casse-tête.

    Even though it seems easy, it's a real puzzle.

  7. Imperative

    Semblez intéressés, le directeur nous regarde !

    Look interested, the manager is watching us!

Good to know

  • Il me semble que is it seems to me that; ça me semble bien, that seems fine to me.

Verbs like this one

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