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FRENCH VERB

travailler

to work

  • #47 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: travaillé
  • Present participle: travaillant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use travailler

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

  1. Present

    Je travaille de neuf heures à dix-huit heures.

    I work from nine to six.

  2. Past

    Elle a travaillé dix ans dans un hôpital.

    She worked ten years in a hospital.

  3. Imperfect

    À l'époque, mon père travaillait la nuit.

    Back then, my father worked nights.

  4. Future

    Tu travailleras samedi ou tu es libre ?

    Are you working Saturday or are you free?

  5. Conditional

    Je travaillerais moins si je pouvais.

    I'd work less if I could.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il est possible que je travaille ce week-end.

    I might be working this weekend.

  7. Imperative

    Travaille bien, et appelle-moi ce soir.

    Work hard, and call me tonight.

Good to know

  • Travailler dans is for a field or a company : je travaille dans une banque.

Where you hear travailler

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

French · Beginner Level 1

  • Je travaille à l'hôpital. I work at the hospital.
  • Hier, j'ai travaillé jusqu'à minuit. Yesterday I worked until midnight.
  • Demain, je vais travailler à huit heures. Tomorrow I'm going to work at eight.

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Je travaille à l'hôpital. I work at the hospital.
  • Hier, j'ai travaillé jusqu'à minuit. Yesterday I worked until midnight.
  • Demain, je vais travailler à huit heures. Tomorrow I'm going to work at eight.
14
On the Train

Beginner Level 1 · je travaille · tu travailles

Needs a subscription 18
Your Family

Beginner Level 1 · ils travaillent

Needs a subscription 25
The Boat Trip

Beginner Level 1 · j'ai travaillé

Needs a subscription 28
When Are You Leaving?

Beginner Level 1 · vous travaillez

Needs a subscription 2
The Interview

Beginner Level 2 · travailler

Free 9
How the Building Works

Beginner Level 2 · nous travaillons

Needs a subscription 17
When I Was Little

Beginner Level 2 · je travaillais · il travaillait

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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