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FRENCH VERB

tourner

to turn

  • #166 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: tourné
  • Present participle: tournant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use tourner

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

  1. Present

    Vous tournez à droite après la banque.

    You turn right after the bank.

  2. Past

    On a tourné trop tôt, je crois.

    We turned too early, I think.

  3. Imperfect

    La clé tournait, mais la porte ne s'ouvrait pas.

    The key was turning, but the door wouldn't open.

  4. Future

    Au prochain feu, tu tourneras à gauche.

    At the next light, you'll turn left.

  5. Conditional

    À ta place, je tournerais ici pour éviter les bouchons.

    In your place, I'd turn here to avoid the traffic.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que vous tourniez juste avant l'église.

    You need to turn just before the church.

  7. Imperative

    Tourne à gauche, puis tout droit jusqu'à la gare.

    Turn left, then straight on to the station.

Good to know

  • Tourner à gauche, tourner à droite : the directions you will hear most.

Where you hear tourner

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

French · Beginner Level 1

  • Vous tournez à droite. You turn right.
  • J'ai tourné à gauche, pas à droite ! I turned left, not right!
  • Vous allez tourner à gauche. You're going to turn left.
8
I'm Lost

Beginner Level 1 · vous tournez

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Verbs like this one

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