Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

voler

to steal

  • #220 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: volé
  • Present participle: volant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use voler

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

  1. Present

    Dans ce quartier, on vole beaucoup de vélos.

    In this neighbourhood, lots of bikes get stolen.

  2. Past

    On m'a volé mon portefeuille dans le métro.

    Someone stole my wallet on the metro.

  3. Imperfect

    Enfant, il volait des pommes chez le voisin.

    As a kid, he used to steal apples from the neighbour.

  4. Future

    Personne ne volera ta voiture ici, c'est tranquille.

    Nobody will steal your car here, it's safe.

  5. Conditional

    Qui volerait un vieux parapluie cassé ?

    Who would steal an old broken umbrella?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ferme bien le sac, j'ai peur qu'on te vole ton téléphone.

    Close your bag properly, I'm afraid someone will steal your phone.

  7. Imperative

    Ne vole jamais, même une petite chose.

    Never steal, not even a small thing.

Good to know

  • Voler is to steal, and also to fly: l'avion vole.
  • "On m'a volé mon sac" is how you say your bag was stolen.

Where you hear voler

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • On vole beaucoup de téléphones dans le tram. A lot of phones get stolen on the tram.
  • On m'a volé mon téléphone. Someone stole my phone.
  • Attention, on va vous voler votre sac ! Careful, someone's going to steal your bag!
23
A Stolen Phone

Beginner Level 2 · volé

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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