Avancer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
avancer — “to advance” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find avancer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “J'avance lentement dans la file.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for avancer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Example sentences with avancer
In the present tense
- “J'avance lentement dans la file tous les jours.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Tu avances lentement dans la file souvent.” — “You move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Il avance lentement dans la file chaque matin.” — “He moves forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Nous avançons lentement dans la file le week-end.” — “We move forward slowly in the queue.”
In the passé composé
- “J'ai avancé lentement dans la file hier.” — “I have moved forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Tu as avancé lentement dans la file ce matin.” — “You have moved forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Il a avancé lentement dans la file la semaine dernière.” — “He has moved forward slowly in the queue.”
In the imperfect and the future
- “J'avançais lentement dans la file quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Nous avançions lentement dans la file quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Tu avanceras lentement dans la file demain.” — “You will move forward slowly in the queue tomorrow.”
- “Ils avanceront lentement dans la file demain.” — “They will move forward slowly in the queue tomorrow.”
In other tenses
- “J'avancerais lentement dans la file si je pouvais.” — “I would move forward slowly in the queue if I could.”
- “Il faut que je avance lentement dans la file.” — “It is important that I move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Avance lentement dans la file !” — “Move forward slowly in the queue!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “J'avais avancé lentement dans la file avant la fête.” — “I had moved forward slowly in the queue before the party.”
All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en avançant and the past participle is avancé; the perfect tenses use avoir + avancé, as in ai avancé.
Avancer in context
Dialogue 1: every day
Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how avancer changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.
Marie: “Tu avances lentement dans la file tous les jours ?” — “You move forward slowly in the queue.” Paul: “J'avance lentement dans la file tous les jours.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.” Marie: “Tu as avancé lentement dans la file hier ?” — “You have moved forward slowly in the queue.” Paul: “J'ai avancé lentement dans la file hier.” — “I have moved forward slowly in the queue.” Marie: “Nous avancerons lentement dans la file demain ?” — “We will move forward slowly in the queue tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous avancerons lentement dans la file demain.” — “We will move forward slowly in the queue tomorrow.”
Dialogue 2: making plans
Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.
Paul: “J'avancerais lentement dans la file si je pouvais.” — “I would move forward slowly in the queue if I could.” Marie: “Tu avances lentement dans la file souvent ?” — “You move forward slowly in the queue.” Paul: “J'avance lentement dans la file souvent.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.” Marie: “Avance lentement dans la file !” — “Move forward slowly in the queue!” Paul: “Il faut que je avance lentement dans la file.” — “It is important that I move forward slowly in the queue.” Marie: “Nous avons avancé lentement dans la file hier.” — “We have moved forward slowly in the queue.”
Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: avance becomes avances, avances becomes avance, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — avance*, avances, avance, avançons, avancez, *avancent — in memory.
Common mistakes with avancer
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: “Je avancer lentement dans la file.”
Right: “J'avance lentement dans la file.”
The infinitive avancer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form avance.
Mistake 2: Confusing avancer with reculer
Wrong: “J'avance d’un pas prudent.” (meant as “reculer”)
Right: “J'avance lentement dans la file.”
avancer means “to advance” and reculer means “to reverse”. They appear in similar situations, but they are different actions — check the meaning before you choose the verb.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the cedilla
Wrong: “avancons”
Right: “avançons”
The cedilla in avançons keeps the c soft before o.
Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: “Il faut que je avance lentement dans la file.”
Right: “Il faut que je avance lentement dans la file.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: avance, not the indicative avance.
Mistake 5: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu avance lentement dans la file.”
Right: “Tu avances lentement dans la file.”
After tu you need avances, not the je form avance.
Quiz: avancer in everyday use
What is the je form of avancer in the Present indicative?
- A) avançons
- B) avance
- C) avancez
- D) avances
What is the ils/elles form of avancer in the Present indicative?
- A) avances
- B) avançons
- C) avancez
- D) avancent
What is the tu form of avancer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a avancé
- B) avez avancé
- C) as avancé
- D) ai avancé
What is the nous form of avancer in the Imperfect?
- A) avançions
- B) avançait
- C) avançais
- D) avançaient
What is the il/elle form of avancer in the Future?
- A) avancerai
- B) avanceront
- C) avanceras
- D) avancera
What is the je form of avancer in the Conditional?
- A) avancerais
- B) avanceriez
- C) avancerait
- D) avancerions
What is the tu form of avancer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) avançiez
- B) avances
- C) avancent
- D) avance
What is the tu form of avancer in the Imperative (affirmative)?
- A) avancez
- B) auras avancé
- C) avance
- D) avançons
What is the past participle of avancer?
- A) avançais
- B) avance
- C) avancé
- D) en avançant
What does avancer mean in English?
- A) to have
- B) to be
- C) to advance
- D) to go
Answer key
- B) avance — the je form of avancer in the present indicative is avance.
- D) avancent — the ils/elles form of avancer in the present indicative is avancent.
- C) as avancé — the tu form of avancer in the present perfect (passé composé) is as avancé.
- A) avançions — the nous form of avancer in the imperfect is avançions.
- D) avancera — the il/elle form of avancer in the future is avancera.
- A) avancerais — the je form of avancer in the conditional is avancerais.
- B) avances — the tu form of avancer in the present subjunctive is avances.
- C) avance — the tu form of avancer in the imperative (affirmative) is avance.
- C) avancé — the past participle of avancer is avancé; perfect tenses use avoir + avancé.
- C) to advance — avancer means “to advance” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does avancer mean in English?
avancer means “to advance”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “J'avance lentement dans la file.” (“I move forward slowly in the queue.”).
Which auxiliary does avancer take in the passé composé?
avancer takes avoir: ai avancé. Because the auxiliary is avoir, the participle normally stays invariable.
What is the hardest form of avancer to remember?
Most learners struggle with the irregular forms — for example the present avance and the passé composé ai avancé. Practise those two first, then add the subjunctive avance.
Where can I see the full conjugation of avancer?
On the full conjugation page for avancer, which has every tense, and on the avancer present page, which goes deep on one tense.
Say it yourself
Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I move forward slowly in the queue.” should become “J'avance lentement dans la file”. Then try the passé composé: “I have moved forward slowly in the queue.” should become “J'ai avancé lentement dans la file”. Finally, try the future: “I will move forward slowly in the queue tomorrow.” should become “J'avancerai lentement dans la file”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.
Related pages
- avancer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- avancer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Reculer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise avancer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise avancer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.