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FRENCH VERB

utiliser

to use

  • #65 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: utilisé
  • Present participle: utilisant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use utiliser

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

  1. Present

    J'utilise cette application pour trouver mon bus.

    I use this app to find my bus.

  2. Past

    Tu as utilisé toute l'eau chaude !

    You used all the hot water!

  3. Imperfect

    Avant, on utilisait des cartes en papier pour voyager.

    We used paper maps to travel before.

  4. Future

    J'utiliserai ta carte pour payer le parking.

    I'll use your card to pay for the parking.

  5. Conditional

    Tu utiliserais moins d'essence en roulant moins vite.

    You'd use less petrol driving more slowly.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il vaut mieux que vous utilisiez l'autre entrée.

    You'd better use the other entrance.

  7. Imperative

    Utilise le code promo avant minuit, après c'est fini.

    Use the promo code before midnight, after that it's over.

Good to know

  • Se servir de means the same thing : je me sers de mon téléphone comme GPS.

Verbs like this one

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