Arriver: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Arriver means “to arrive”, 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 arriver, 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 arriver, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.”
  2. “Tu arrives en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “You arrive late this morning every day.”
  3. “Je suis arrivé demain avec Marie cette semaine.” — “I have arrived tomorrow with Marie this week.”
  4. “Il arrivait à Paris à huit heures autrefois.” — “He used to arrive in Paris at eight o'clock in the past.”
  5. “Nous arriverons en retard ce matin demain.” — “We will arrive late this morning tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu es arrivé demain avec Marie cette semaine.” — “You have arrived tomorrow with Marie this week.”
  7. “J'arriverais à Paris à huit heures un jour.” — “I would arrive in Paris at eight o'clock one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il arrive en retard ce matin.” — “It is important that he arrive late this morning.”
  9. “Nous étions arrivé demain avec Marie avant la fête.” — “We had arrived tomorrow with Marie before the party.”
  10. “Il arrivera à Paris à huit heures demain.” — “He will arrive in Paris at eight o'clock tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils arrivent en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “They arrive late this morning every day.”
  12. “Arrive demain avec Marie !” — “Arrive tomorrow with Marie!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about in Paris at eight o'clock. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how arriver changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of arriver below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “J'arriverai en retard ce matin demain.” — “I will arrive late this morning tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “Je suis arrivé demain avec Marie cette semaine.” — “I have arrived tomorrow with Marie this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “J'arriverais à Paris à huit heures un jour.” — “I would arrive in Paris at eight o'clock 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.

Arriver in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, arriver describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is arrive: “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, arriver describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is arrivait: “Il arrivait en retard ce matin autrefois.” — “He used to arrive late this morning in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, arriver reports one finished action, built with être plus the participle arrivé. The je form is suis arrivé: “Je suis arrivé demain avec Marie cette semaine.” — “I have arrived tomorrow with Marie this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, arriver talks about what will happen. The nous form is arriverons: “Nous arriverons à Paris à huit heures demain.” — “We will arrive in Paris at eight o'clock tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, arriver talks about what would happen. The tu form is arriverais: “Tu arriverais en retard ce matin un jour.” — “You would arrive late this morning one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, arriver appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is arrive, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que j'arrive demain avec Marie.” — “It is important that I arrive tomorrow with Marie.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je arriver à Paris à huit heures.”

✓ Right: “Je arrive à Paris à huit heures.”

The infinitive arriver never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form arrive.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu arrive à Paris à huit heures.”

✓ Right: “Tu arrives à Paris à huit heures.”

arrive is the je form. With tu you need arrives. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je arrive à Paris à huit heures hier.”

✓ Right: “Je suis arrivé à Paris à huit heures hier.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu arrives en retard ce matin.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu arrives en retard ce matin.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je arrivé à Paris à huit heures.”

✓ Right: “Je suis arrivé à Paris à huit heures.”

The passé composé of arriver needs the auxiliary être plus the participle arrivé: the full je form is suis arrivé.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) arrives
    • B) arrivons
    • C) arrivez
    • D) arrive

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

    • A) arrives
    • B) arrive
    • C) arrivons
    • D) arrivez

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

    • A) suis arrivé
    • B) es arrivé
    • C) sommes arrivé
    • D) est arrivé

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

    • A) arrivais
    • B) arrivait
    • C) arriviez
    • D) arrivions

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

    • A) arriverons
    • B) arriveras
    • C) arriverai
    • D) arrivera

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

    • A) arriverais
    • B) arriverait
    • C) arriverions
    • D) arriveriez

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

    • A) arrives
    • B) arrivions
    • C) arriviez
    • D) arrive

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

    • A) étiez arrivé
    • B) étais arrivé
    • C) était arrivé
    • D) étions arrivé

  9. What is the gerund of arriver?

    • A) en sortant
    • B) en partant
    • C) en arrivant
    • D) en entendant

  10. What does arriver mean in English?

  • A) to arrive
  • B) to hear
  • C) to go out
  • D) to leave

Answer key

  1. D) arrive — the je form of arriver in the Present indicative is arrive. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) arrives — the tu form of arriver in the Present indicative is arrives. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) est arrivé — the il/elle form of arriver in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est arrivé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) arrivions — the nous form of arriver in the Imperfect is arrivions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) arriveras — the tu form of arriver in the Future is arriveras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) arriverais — the je form of arriver in the Conditional is arriverais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) arrive — the il/elle form of arriver in the Present subjunctive is arrive. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) étais arrivé — the je form of arriver in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étais arrivé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) en arrivant — the gerund of arriver is en arrivant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to arrive — arriver means “to arrive” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does arriver mean in English?

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

Is arriver regular or irregular?

arriver is regular in every tense. The gerund is arrivant and the past participle is arrivé.

How do I practise arriver every day?

Say one sentence with arriver 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'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.”, “Je suis arrivé à Paris à huit heures cette semaine.” and “J'arriverai à Paris à huit heures 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 arriver, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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