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FRENCH VERB

souffrir

to suffer

  • #386 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: souffert
  • Present participle: souffrant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use souffrir

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

  1. Present

    Elle souffre du dos depuis son déménagement.

    She's had back pain since she moved.

  2. Past

    Il a beaucoup souffert après son opération.

    He suffered a lot after his operation.

  3. Imperfect

    Le chien souffrait de la chaleur en voiture.

    The dog was suffering from the heat in the car.

  4. Future

    Tu ne souffriras pas, c'est juste une piqûre.

    You won't suffer, it's just a jab.

  5. Conditional

    Les plantes souffriraient trop sur ce balcon plein sud.

    The plants would suffer too much on this south-facing balcony.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas qu'il souffre pour rien.

    I don't want him to suffer for nothing.

  7. Imperative

    Ne souffre pas en silence, parle à quelqu'un.

    Don't suffer in silence, talk to someone.

Good to know

  • Souffrir de is to suffer from : il souffre du dos. Tu souffres ? asks if it hurts.

Verbs like this one

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