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FRENCH VERB

trembler

to shake, to tremble

  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: tremblé
  • Present participle: tremblant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use trembler

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

  1. Present

    Mes mains tremblent avant de parler en public.

    My hands shake before I speak in public.

  2. Past

    La terre a tremblé cette nuit, tu as senti ?

    The earth shook last night, did you feel it?

  3. Imperfect

    Le chien tremblait de peur sous la table.

    The dog was trembling with fear under the table.

  4. Future

    Tu trembleras moins avec un pull de plus.

    You'll shiver less with one more jumper.

  5. Conditional

    Je tremblerais aussi devant trois cents personnes.

    I'd shake too in front of three hundred people.

  6. Present subjunctive

    C'est normal que tu trembles, il fait moins cinq.

    It's normal that you're shivering, it's minus five.

  7. Imperative

    Ne tremble pas comme ça, le vaccin ne fait pas mal.

    Don't shake like that, the jab doesn't hurt.

Good to know

  • Trembler de froid, de peur; la terre tremble is an earthquake.

Where you hear trembler

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

French · Fluency Level 1

  • J'ai les mains qui tremblent. My hands are shaking.
  • Elle a tremblé en ouvrant la lettre. She shook as she opened the letter.
  • Je tremblerai jusqu'au douze mars. I'll be shaking until the twelfth of March.

Verbs like this one

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