Battre Conjugation in French
battre means “to beat” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 200 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -re verb, and this page gives you its complete conjugation — 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: “Je bats le tambour tous les jours.” — “I beat the drum every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: battre
- English: to beat
- Verb type: Non-reflexive, Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en battant
- Past participle: battu
- 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 battre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for battre. 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 | bats |
| tu | bats |
| il/elle | bat |
| nous | battons |
| vous | battez |
| ils/elles | battent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | battis |
| tu | battis |
| il/elle | battit |
| nous | battîmes |
| vous | battîtes |
| ils/elles | battirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | battais |
| tu | battais |
| il/elle | battait |
| nous | battions |
| vous | battiez |
| ils/elles | battaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | battrai |
| tu | battras |
| il/elle | battra |
| nous | battrons |
| vous | battrez |
| ils/elles | battront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | battrais |
| tu | battrais |
| il/elle | battrait |
| nous | battrions |
| vous | battriez |
| ils/elles | battraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai battu |
| tu | as battu |
| il/elle | a battu |
| nous | avons battu |
| vous | avez battu |
| ils/elles | ont battu |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais battu |
| tu | avais battu |
| il/elle | avait battu |
| nous | avions battu |
| vous | aviez battu |
| ils/elles | avaient battu |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai battu |
| tu | auras battu |
| il/elle | aura battu |
| nous | aurons battu |
| vous | aurez battu |
| ils/elles | auront battu |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais battu |
| tu | aurais battu |
| il/elle | aurait battu |
| nous | aurions battu |
| vous | auriez battu |
| ils/elles | auraient battu |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | batte |
| tu | battes |
| il/elle | batte |
| nous | battions |
| vous | battiez |
| ils/elles | battent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | battisse |
| tu | battisses |
| il/elle | battît |
| nous | battissions |
| vous | battissiez |
| ils/elles | battissent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | bats |
| nous | battons |
| vous | battez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | bats |
| nous | battons |
| vous | battez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en battant |
| Past participle | battu |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With battre 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: “Je bats le tambour tous les jours.” — “I beat the drum every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With battre 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: “Tu battis le tambour la semaine dernière.” — “You beat the drum last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Il battait le tambour ce matin.” — “He used to beat the drum this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Nous battrons le tambour.” — “We will beat the drum.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Vous battriez le tambour.” — “You would beat the drum.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Ils ont battu le tambour hier.” — “They have beaten the drum yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “J'avais battu le tambour hier.” — “I had beaten the drum yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Tu auras battu le tambour la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have beaten the drum next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Il aurait battu le tambour ce matin.” — “He would have beaten the drum this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With battre 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 est important que nous battions le tambour tous les jours.” — “It is important that We beat the drum every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mostly in formal and literary French. With battre this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -re pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous battissiez le tambour hier.” — “It was necessary that You beat the drum yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With battre 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: “Battez le tambour !” — “Beat the drum!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With battre 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: “Ne bats pas le tambour !” — “Do not beat the drum!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en battant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En battant, je commence la journée.” — “While beating, I start the day.” The past participle battu is used with avoir in the perfect tenses, as in j'ai battu — “I have beaten the drum yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with battre, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je bats le tambour à la maison.” — “I beat the drum at home.”
- “Tu battis le tambour ce matin.” — “You beat the drum this morning.”
- “Il battait le tambour avec Paul.” — “He used to beat the drum with Paul.”
- “Je battrai le tambour demain.” — “I will beat the drum tomorrow.”
- “Tu battrais le tambour tous les jours.” — “You would beat the drum every day.”
- “Il a battu le tambour la semaine dernière.” — “He has beaten the drum last week.”
- “J'avais battu le tambour ce matin.” — “I had beaten the drum this morning.”
- “Tu auras battu le tambour demain.” — “You will have beaten the drum tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il batte le tambour tous les jours.” — “It is important that He beat the drum every day.”
- “Bats le tambour !” — “Beat the drum!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je battre le tambour.”
✓ Right: “Je bats le tambour tous les jours.”
The infinitive battre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form bats.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je bats le tambour.”
✓ Right: “Je bats le tambour tous les jours.”
bats is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is bats — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je bats le tambour hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai battu le tambour hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai battu here, not the present bats.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je battons le tambour.”
✓ Right: “Je bats le tambour tous les jours.”
battre is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis battu le tambour hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai battu le tambour hier.”
battre takes avoir in the compound tenses, not être: ai battu, never the être form.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous battons le tambour.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous battions le tambour.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use battions here, not the indicative battons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on battre. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of battre in the Present indicative?
- A) battez
- B) battrais
- C) bats
- D) battis
What is the il/elle form of battre in the Passé simple?
- A) battit
- B) battait
- C) battît
- D) battrait
What is the nous form of battre in the Imperfect?
- A) battait
- B) battions
- C) battîmes
- D) battissions
What is the tu form of battre in the Future?
- A) battrons
- B) as battu
- C) battras
- D) battrais
What is the je form of battre in the Conditional?
- A) battrais
- B) battis
- C) battraient
- D) ai battu
What is the il/elle form of battre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) battent
- B) battait
- C) batte
- D) battions
What is the nous form of battre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai battu
- B) aurons battu
- C) avons battu
- D) battions
What is the gerund of battre?
- A) admettant
- B) en battant
- C) créant
- D) apercevant
What is the past participle of battre?
- A) chargé
- B) créé
- C) battu
- D) contrôlé
What does battre mean in English?
- A) cut
- B) accompany
- C) beat
- D) break
Answer key
- C) bats — the je form of battre in the present indicative is bats. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) battit — the il/elle form of battre in the passé simple is battit. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) battions — the nous form of battre in the imperfect is battions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) battras — the tu form of battre in the future is battras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) battrais — the je form of battre in the conditional is battrais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) batte — the il/elle form of battre in the present subjunctive is batte. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) avons battu — the nous form of battre in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons battu. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) en battant — the gerund of battre is en battant; it is used with en for actions happening at the same time as the main verb. The other options are the present participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) battu — the past participle of battre is battu; perfect tenses use avoir + battu. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) beat — battre means “to beat” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn battre in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je bats, tu bats, il bat, nous battons, vous battez, ils battent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: ai battu shows the pattern, and the participle battu is the same in every perfect tense. Third, add one new tense a day, always in a sentence, and test yourself the next day before you learn the next one. A verb you can use in a sentence is learnt; a verb you can only recite is not. Use the Verb Quiz and the Verb Conjugator to check what has stuck, and compare battre with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does battre mean in English?
battre means “to beat”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is battre regular or irregular?
battre is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. battre is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.
What are the gerund and past participle of battre?
The gerund is en battant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is battu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in j'ai battu.
How do I say “I beat” in French?
Say “Je bats le tambour tous les jours.” — “I beat the drum every day.” The je form of the present is bats, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce battre?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for battre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- battre in the passé composé tense
- battre examples and quiz
- Bouger conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Allumer conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Preterite Conjugator — practise battre with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise battre with the interactive tool.
- Stem Change Finder — practise battre with the interactive tool.