Appeler: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Appeler means “to call”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for appeler, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with appeler, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “J'appelle Marie tous les soirs tous les jours.” — “I call Marie every evening every day.”
  2. “Tu appelles le médecin ce matin tous les jours.” — “You call the doctor this morning every day.”
  3. “J'ai appelé mes amis à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have called my friends in Paris this week.”
  4. “Il appelait Marie tous les soirs autrefois.” — “He used to call Marie every evening in the past.”
  5. “Nous appellerons le médecin ce matin demain.” — “We will call the doctor this morning tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as appelé mes amis à Paris cette semaine.” — “You have called my friends in Paris this week.”
  7. “J'appellerais Marie tous les soirs un jour.” — “I would call Marie every evening one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il appelle le médecin ce matin.” — “It is important that he call the doctor this morning.”
  9. “Nous avions appelé mes amis à Paris avant la fête.” — “We had called my friends in Paris before the party.”
  10. “Il appellera Marie tous les soirs demain.” — “He will call Marie every evening tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils appellent le médecin ce matin tous les jours.” — “They call the doctor this morning every day.”
  12. “Appelle mes amis à Paris !” — “Call my friends in Paris!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about Marie every evening. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how appeler changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of appeler below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “J'appelle Marie tous les soirs tous les jours.” — “I call Marie every evening every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “J'appellerai le médecin ce matin demain.” — “I will call the doctor this morning tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai appelé mes amis à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have called my friends in Paris this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “J'appellerais Marie tous les soirs un jour.” — “I would call Marie every evening one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Appeler in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of appeler that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, appeler describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is appelle: “J'appelle Marie tous les soirs tous les jours.” — “I call Marie every evening every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, appeler describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is appelait: “Il appelait le médecin ce matin autrefois.” — “He used to call the doctor this morning in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, appeler reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle appelé. The je form is ai appelé: “J'ai appelé mes amis à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have called my friends in Paris this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, appeler talks about what will happen. The nous form is appellerons: “Nous appellerons Marie tous les soirs demain.” — “We will call Marie every evening tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, appeler talks about what would happen. The tu form is appellerais: “Tu appellerais le médecin ce matin un jour.” — “You would call the doctor this morning one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, appeler appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is appelle, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que j'appelle mes amis à Paris.” — “It is important that I call my friends in Paris.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je appeler Marie tous les soirs.”

✓ Right: “Je appelle Marie tous les soirs.”

The infinitive appeler never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form appelle.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu appelle Marie tous les soirs.”

✓ Right: “Tu appelles Marie tous les soirs.”

appelle is the je form. With tu you need appelles. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je appelle Marie tous les soirs hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai appelé Marie tous les soirs hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai appelé, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu appelles le médecin ce matin.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu appelles le médecin ce matin.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: appelles, not the indicative appelles.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je appelé Marie tous les soirs.”

✓ Right: “Je ai appelé Marie tous les soirs.”

The passé composé of appeler needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle appelé: the full je form is ai appelé.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on appeler. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of appeler in the Present indicative?

    • A) appelez
    • B) appelle
    • C) appelles
    • D) appelons

  2. What is the tu form of appeler in the Present indicative?

    • A) appelons
    • B) appelez
    • C) appelles
    • D) appelle

  3. What is the il/elle form of appeler in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) a appelé
    • B) ai appelé
    • C) as appelé
    • D) avons appelé

  4. What is the nous form of appeler in the Imperfect?

    • A) appeliez
    • B) appelions
    • C) appelais
    • D) appelait

  5. What is the tu form of appeler in the Future?

    • A) appellerai
    • B) appellera
    • C) appellerons
    • D) appelleras

  6. What is the je form of appeler in the Conditional?

    • A) appellerions
    • B) appelleriez
    • C) appellerais
    • D) appellerait

  7. What is the il/elle form of appeler in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) appeliez
    • B) appelle
    • C) appelles
    • D) appelions

  8. What is the je form of appeler in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) aviez appelé
    • B) avais appelé
    • C) avait appelé
    • D) avions appelé

  9. What is the gerund of appeler?

    • A) en appelant
    • B) en permettant
    • C) en regardant
    • D) en cherchant

  10. What does appeler mean in English?

  • A) to look for
  • B) to call
  • C) to allow
  • D) to look at

Answer key

  1. B) appelle — the je form of appeler in the Present indicative is appelle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) appelles — the tu form of appeler in the Present indicative is appelles. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. A) a appelé — the il/elle form of appeler in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a appelé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) appelions — the nous form of appeler in the Imperfect is appelions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. D) appelleras — the tu form of appeler in the Future is appelleras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) appellerais — the je form of appeler in the Conditional is appellerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) appelle — the il/elle form of appeler in the Present subjunctive is appelle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) avais appelé — the je form of appeler in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais appelé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) en appelant — the gerund of appeler is en appelant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to call — appeler means “to call” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does appeler mean in English?

appeler means “to call”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is appeler regular or irregular?

appeler is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is appelant and the past participle is appelé.

How do I practise appeler every day?

Say one sentence with appeler in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “J'appelle Marie tous les soirs tous les jours.”, “J'ai appelé Marie tous les soirs cette semaine.” and “J'appellerai Marie tous les soirs demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for appeler, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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