Casser Conjugation in French
casser means “to break” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 213 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a non-reflexive, regular -er 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 casse le verre tous les jours.” — “I break the glass every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: casser
- English: to break
- Verb type: Non-reflexive, Regular
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: en cassant
- Past participle: cassé
- 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 casser, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for casser. 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 | casse |
| tu | casses |
| il/elle | casse |
| nous | cassons |
| vous | cassez |
| ils/elles | cassent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cassai |
| tu | cassas |
| il/elle | cassa |
| nous | cassâmes |
| vous | cassâtes |
| ils/elles | cassèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cassais |
| tu | cassais |
| il/elle | cassait |
| nous | cassions |
| vous | cassiez |
| ils/elles | cassaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | casserai |
| tu | casseras |
| il/elle | cassera |
| nous | casserons |
| vous | casserez |
| ils/elles | casseront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | casserais |
| tu | casserais |
| il/elle | casserait |
| nous | casserions |
| vous | casseriez |
| ils/elles | casseraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai cassé |
| tu | as cassé |
| il/elle | a cassé |
| nous | avons cassé |
| vous | avez cassé |
| ils/elles | ont cassé |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais cassé |
| tu | avais cassé |
| il/elle | avait cassé |
| nous | avions cassé |
| vous | aviez cassé |
| ils/elles | avaient cassé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai cassé |
| tu | auras cassé |
| il/elle | aura cassé |
| nous | aurons cassé |
| vous | aurez cassé |
| ils/elles | auront cassé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais cassé |
| tu | aurais cassé |
| il/elle | aurait cassé |
| nous | aurions cassé |
| vous | auriez cassé |
| ils/elles | auraient cassé |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | casse |
| tu | casses |
| il/elle | casse |
| nous | cassions |
| vous | cassiez |
| ils/elles | cassent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | cassasse |
| tu | cassasses |
| il/elle | cassât |
| nous | cassassions |
| vous | cassassiez |
| ils/elles | cassassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | casse |
| nous | cassons |
| vous | cassez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | casse |
| nous | cassons |
| vous | cassez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en cassant |
| Past participle | cassé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je casse le verre tous les jours.” — “I break the glass every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu cassas le verre la semaine dernière.” — “You broke the glass last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il cassait le verre ce matin.” — “He used to break the glass this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Nous casserons le verre.” — “We will break the glass.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Vous casseriez le verre.” — “You would break the glass.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ils ont cassé le verre hier.” — “They have broken the glass yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “J'avais cassé le verre hier.” — “I had broken the glass yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu auras cassé le verre la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have broken the glass next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il aurait cassé le verre ce matin.” — “He would have broken the glass this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il est important que nous cassions le verre tous les jours.” — “It is important that We break the glass 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 casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous cassassiez le verre hier.” — “It was necessary that You break the glass yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Cassez le verre !” — “Break the glass!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With casser this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ne casse pas le verre !” — “Do not break the glass!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en cassant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En cassant, je commence la journée.” — “While breaking, I start the day.” The past participle cassé is used with avoir in the perfect tenses, as in j'ai cassé — “I have broken the glass yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with casser, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je casse le verre à la maison.” — “I break the glass at home.”
- “Tu cassas le verre ce matin.” — “You broke the glass this morning.”
- “Il cassait le verre avec Paul.” — “He used to break the glass with Paul.”
- “Je casserai le verre demain.” — “I will break the glass tomorrow.”
- “Tu casserais le verre tous les jours.” — “You would break the glass every day.”
- “Il a cassé le verre la semaine dernière.” — “He has broken the glass last week.”
- “J'avais cassé le verre ce matin.” — “I had broken the glass this morning.”
- “Tu auras cassé le verre demain.” — “You will have broken the glass tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il casse le verre tous les jours.” — “It is important that He break the glass every day.”
- “Casse le verre !” — “Break the glass!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je casser le verre.”
✓ Right: “Je casse le verre tous les jours.”
The infinitive casser never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form casse.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je casses le verre.”
✓ Right: “Je casse le verre tous les jours.”
casses is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is casse — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je casse le verre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai cassé le verre hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai cassé here, not the present casse.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je cassons le verre.”
✓ Right: “Je casse le verre tous les jours.”
cassons is the nous form. The je form is casse — the two persons never share a form in the present of casser.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis cassé le verre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai cassé le verre hier.”
casser takes avoir in the compound tenses, not être: ai cassé, never the être form.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous cassons le verre.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous cassions le verre.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use cassions here, not the indicative cassons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on casser. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of casser in the Present indicative?
- A) aurais cassé
- B) cassent
- C) aurai cassé
- D) casse
What is the il/elle form of casser in the Passé simple?
- A) a cassé
- B) cassa
- C) casse
- D) cassait
What is the nous form of casser in the Imperfect?
- A) cassons
- B) aurons cassé
- C) cassions
- D) aurions cassé
What is the tu form of casser in the Future?
- A) as cassé
- B) casseras
- C) casserons
- D) casserez
What is the je form of casser in the Conditional?
- A) cassai
- B) ai cassé
- C) casserais
- D) cassasse
What is the il/elle form of casser in the Present subjunctive?
- A) cassiez
- B) a cassé
- C) casse
- D) aura cassé
What is the nous form of casser in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avons cassé
- B) aurons cassé
- C) avions cassé
- D) cassassions
What is the gerund of casser?
- A) éteignant
- B) réparant
- C) en cassant
- D) créant
What is the past participle of casser?
- A) cassé
- B) lavé
- C) brillé
- D) attiré
What does casser mean in English?
- A) break
- B) turn off
- C) accompany
- D) stop
Answer key
- D) casse — the je form of casser in the present indicative is casse. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) cassa — the il/elle form of casser in the passé simple is cassa. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) cassions — the nous form of casser in the imperfect is cassions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) casseras — the tu form of casser in the future is casseras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) casserais — the je form of casser in the conditional is casserais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) casse — the il/elle form of casser in the present subjunctive is casse. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) avons cassé — the nous form of casser in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons cassé. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) en cassant — the gerund of casser is en cassant; 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.
- A) cassé — the past participle of casser is cassé; perfect tenses use avoir + cassé. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) break — casser means “to break” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn casser in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je casse, tu casses, il casse, nous cassons, vous cassez, ils cassent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: ai cassé shows the pattern, and the participle cassé 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 casser with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does casser mean in English?
casser means “to break”. It is a non-reflexive, regular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is casser regular or irregular?
casser is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none. casser is regular: every form follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict.
What are the gerund and past participle of casser?
The gerund is en cassant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is cassé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in j'ai cassé.
How do I say “I break” in French?
Say “Je casse le verre tous les jours.” — “I break the glass every day.” The je form of the present is casse, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce casser?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for casser, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- casser in the present tense
- casser examples and quiz
- Couper conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Appartenir 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.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise casser with the interactive tool.
- Tense Comparison — practise casser with the interactive tool.
- Pronunciation Guide — practise casser with the interactive tool.