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FRENCH VERB

tomber

to fall

  • #84 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: tombé
  • Present participle: tombant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use tomber

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

  1. Present

    Attention, ton écharpe tombe par terre !

    Careful, your scarf is falling on the floor!

  2. Past

    Je suis tombée dans l'escalier ce matin.

    I fell on the stairs this morning.

  3. Imperfect

    La neige tombait depuis le matin.

    The snow had been falling since morning.

  4. Future

    Fais attention, tu tomberas avec ces chaussures.

    Be careful, you'll fall in those shoes.

  5. Conditional

    Sans la rampe, je tomberais sûrement.

    Without the handrail, I'd surely fall.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Tiens le vélo, j'ai peur qu'il tombe.

    Hold the bike, I'm afraid it'll fall.

  7. Imperative

    Ne tombe pas, le sol est mouillé !

    Don't fall, the floor's wet!

Good to know

  • "Tomber amoureux" is to fall in love; "tomber malade" is to fall ill.

Where you hear tomber

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • En automne, les feuilles tombent. In autumn, the leaves fall.
  • Je suis tombée de vélo hier. I fell off my bike yesterday.
  • Attention, tu vas tomber ! Careful, you're going to fall!

French · Beginner Level 3

  • La neige tombe. The snow is falling.
  • Il est tombé dans l'escalier. He fell on the stairs.
  • Attention, tu vas tomber ! Careful, you're going to fall!
16
At the Doctor's

Beginner Level 2 · tomber · je suis tombée · il est tombé

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We Kissed

Beginner Level 3 · il est tombé

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Verbs like this one

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