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FRENCH VERB

tuer

to kill

  • #222 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: tué
  • Present participle: tuant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use tuer

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

  1. Present

    Ce bruit me tue, je n'arrive pas à dormir.

    This noise is killing me, I can't sleep.

  2. Past

    Tu as tué le moustique ? Il m'embêtait.

    Did you kill the mosquito? It was bothering me.

  3. Imperfect

    Avant, on tuait le cochon à la ferme en hiver.

    We used to kill the pig on the farm in winter.

  4. Future

    Ma mère me tuera si je rentre tard.

    My mum will kill me if I come home late.

  5. Conditional

    Ce travail me tuerait en moins d'un an.

    That job would kill me in less than a year.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas que tu tues l'araignée, sors-la.

    I don't want you to kill the spider, put it outside.

  7. Imperative

    Ne tuez pas les abeilles, elles sont utiles.

    Don't kill the bees, they're useful.

Good to know

  • Tuer le temps is to kill time; ça me tue ! means it drives me mad.

Verbs like this one

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