Avancer Conjugation in French
avancer means “to advance” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of avancer — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “J'avance lentement dans la file.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: French spelling and endings change with the person and the tense, and avancer is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: avancer
- English: to advance
- Verb type: Irregular -er verb
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en avançant
- Past participle: avancé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
It is a spelling-changing verb: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, to keep the soft [s] sound. You can see it in avançons (present indicative, nous), avançai (passé simple, je), avanças (passé simple, tu). Before e and i the c stays plain, as in avance.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for avancer. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avance |
| tu | avances |
| il/elle | avance |
| nous | avançons |
| vous | avancez |
| ils/elles | avancent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avançai |
| tu | avanças |
| il/elle | avança |
| nous | avançâmes |
| vous | avançâtes |
| ils/elles | avancèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avançais |
| tu | avançais |
| il/elle | avançait |
| nous | avançions |
| vous | avançiez |
| ils/elles | avançaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avancerai |
| tu | avanceras |
| il/elle | avancera |
| nous | avancerons |
| vous | avancerez |
| ils/elles | avanceront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avancerais |
| tu | avancerais |
| il/elle | avancerait |
| nous | avancerions |
| vous | avanceriez |
| ils/elles | avanceraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai avancé |
| tu | as avancé |
| il/elle | a avancé |
| nous | avons avancé |
| vous | avez avancé |
| ils/elles | ont avancé |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais avancé |
| tu | avais avancé |
| il/elle | avait avancé |
| nous | avions avancé |
| vous | aviez avancé |
| ils/elles | avaient avancé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai avancé |
| tu | auras avancé |
| il/elle | aura avancé |
| nous | aurons avancé |
| vous | aurez avancé |
| ils/elles | auront avancé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais avancé |
| tu | aurais avancé |
| il/elle | aurait avancé |
| nous | aurions avancé |
| vous | auriez avancé |
| ils/elles | auraient avancé |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avance |
| tu | avances |
| il/elle | avance |
| nous | avançions |
| vous | avançiez |
| ils/elles | avancent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avançasse |
| tu | avançasses |
| il/elle | avançât |
| nous | avançassions |
| vous | avançassiez |
| ils/elles | avançassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | avance |
| nous | avançons |
| vous | avancez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | avance |
| nous | avançons |
| vous | avancez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en avançant |
| Past participle | avancé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With avancer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “J'avance lentement dans la file.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu avanças lentement dans la file.” — “You moved forward slowly in the queue one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il avançait lentement dans la file quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to move forward slowly in the queue.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous avancerons lentement dans la file.” — “We will move forward slowly in the queue tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous avanceriez lentement dans la file.” — “You would move forward slowly in the queue if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With avancer it is formed with avoir + the past participle avancé. For example: “Ils ont avancé lentement dans la file hier.” — “They have moved forward slowly in the queue.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais avancé lentement dans la file avant la fête.” — “I had moved forward slowly in the queue before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras avancé lentement dans la file.” — “You will have moved forward slowly in the queue by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait avancé lentement dans la file.” — “He would have moved forward slowly in the queue if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With avancer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il faut que je avance lentement dans la file.” — “It is important that I move forward slowly in the queue.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mainly in formal writing. For example: “Il fallait que je avançasse lentement dans la file.” — “It was important that I move forward slowly in the queue.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With avancer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Avance lentement dans la file !” — “Move forward slowly in the queue!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With avancer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Avance lentement dans la file !” — “Do not move forward slowly in the queue!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en avançant — “while moving forward” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is avancé, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai avancé.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with avancer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'avance lentement dans la file.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Tu avances lentement dans la file.” — “You move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Il avançait lentement dans la file.” — “He used to move forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Nous avancerons lentement dans la file.” — “We will move forward slowly in the queue tomorrow.”
- “J'avancerais lentement dans la file.” — “I would move forward slowly in the queue if I could.”
- “Tu as avancé lentement dans la file.” — “You have moved forward slowly in the queue.”
- “Il avait avancé lentement dans la file.” — “He had moved forward slowly in the queue before the party.”
- “Nous aurons avancé lentement dans la file.” — “We will have moved forward slowly in the queue by tomorrow evening.”
- “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!”
Common mistakes
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.
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”; reculer means “to reverse”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Forgetting the cedilla
✗ Wrong: “avancons”
✓ Right: “avançons”
The cedilla in avançons keeps the c soft before o. Writing avancons would make the c hard, so always write the ç.
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, so use avance here, not the indicative avance.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “J'avance lentement dans la file hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai avancé lentement dans la file hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai avancé), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
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 il/elle form of avancer in the Passé simple?
- A) avançai
- B) avança
- C) avanças
- D) avançâmes
What is the nous form of avancer in the Imperfect?
- A) avançions
- B) avançait
- C) avançais
- D) avançaient
What is the tu form of avancer in the Future?
- A) avancera
- B) avanceras
- C) avanceront
- D) avancerons
What is the je form of avancer in the Conditional?
- A) avancerais
- B) avanceriez
- C) avancerait
- D) avancerions
What is the il/elle form of avancer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avons avancé
- B) a avancé
- C) ont avancé
- D) ai avancé
What is the vous form of avancer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avait avancé
- B) avais avancé
- C) avaient avancé
- D) aviez avancé
What is the gerund of avancer?
- A) avancerai
- B) avance
- C) en avançant
- D) avancé
What is the past participle of avancer?
- A) en avançant
- B) avançais
- C) avance
- D) avancé
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.
- B) avança — the il/elle form of avancer in the passé simple is avança.
- A) avançions — the nous form of avancer in the imperfect is avançions.
- B) avanceras — the tu form of avancer in the future is avanceras.
- A) avancerais — the je form of avancer in the conditional is avancerais.
- B) a avancé — the il/elle form of avancer in the present perfect (passé composé) is a avancé.
- D) aviez avancé — the vous form of avancer in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez avancé.
- C) en avançant — the gerund of avancer is en avançant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- D) avancé — the past participle of avancer is avancé; perfect tenses use avoir + avancé.
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.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is avancer regular or irregular?
avancer is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en avançant and the past participle is avancé.
What are the gerund and past participle of avancer?
The gerund is en avançant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is avancé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai avancé.
What is the difference between avancer and reculer?
avancer means “to advance”, while reculer means “to reverse”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for reculer and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I move forward” in French?
Say “J'avance lentement dans la file.” — “I move forward slowly in the queue.” The je form of the present is avance, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn avancer
Start with the present tense: avance, avances, avance, avançons, avancez, avancent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai avancé — and the imperfect — avançais. Next, learn the future (avancerai) and the conditional (avancerais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (avance) and the imperative (avance). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the present-tense quiz.
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.