Chercher: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Chercher means “to look for”, 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 chercher, 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 chercher, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I look for my keys in the living room every day.”
  2. “Tu cherches un bon restaurant à Paris tous les jours.” — “You look for a good restaurant in Paris every day.”
  3. “J'ai cherché un travail depuis juin cette semaine.” — “I have looked for a job since June this week.”
  4. “Il cherchait mes clés dans le salon autrefois.” — “He used to look for my keys in the living room in the past.”
  5. “Nous chercherons un bon restaurant à Paris demain.” — “We will look for a good restaurant in Paris tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as cherché un travail depuis juin cette semaine.” — “You have looked for a job since June this week.”
  7. “Je chercherais mes clés dans le salon un jour.” — “I would look for my keys in the living room one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il cherche un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “It is important that he look for a good restaurant in Paris.”
  9. “Nous avions cherché un travail depuis juin avant la fête.” — “We had looked for a job since June before the party.”
  10. “Il cherchera mes clés dans le salon demain.” — “He will look for my keys in the living room tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils cherchent un bon restaurant à Paris tous les jours.” — “They look for a good restaurant in Paris every day.”
  12. “Cherche un travail depuis juin !” — “Look for a job since June!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about my keys in the living room. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how chercher changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of chercher below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I look for my keys in the living room every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je chercherai un bon restaurant à Paris demain.” — “I will look for a good restaurant in Paris tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai cherché un travail depuis juin cette semaine.” — “I have looked for a job since June this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je chercherais mes clés dans le salon un jour.” — “I would look for my keys in the living room 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.

Chercher in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, chercher describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is cherche: “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I look for my keys in the living room every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, chercher describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is cherchait: “Il cherchait un bon restaurant à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to look for a good restaurant in Paris in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, chercher reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle cherché. The je form is ai cherché: “J'ai cherché un travail depuis juin cette semaine.” — “I have looked for a job since June this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, chercher talks about what will happen. The nous form is chercherons: “Nous chercherons mes clés dans le salon demain.” — “We will look for my keys in the living room tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, chercher talks about what would happen. The tu form is chercherais: “Tu chercherais un bon restaurant à Paris un jour.” — “You would look for a good restaurant in Paris one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, chercher appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is cherche, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je cherche un travail depuis juin.” — “It is important that I look for a job since June.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je chercher mes clés dans le salon.”

✓ Right: “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon.”

The infinitive chercher never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form cherche.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu cherche mes clés dans le salon.”

✓ Right: “Tu cherches mes clés dans le salon.”

cherche is the je form. With tu you need cherches. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai cherché mes clés dans le salon hier.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu cherches un bon restaurant à Paris.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu cherches un bon restaurant à Paris.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je cherché mes clés dans le salon.”

✓ Right: “Je ai cherché mes clés dans le salon.”

The passé composé of chercher needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle cherché: the full je form is ai cherché.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) cherchons
    • B) cherchez
    • C) cherche
    • D) cherches

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

    • A) cherche
    • B) cherchons
    • C) cherchez
    • D) cherches

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

    • A) avons cherché
    • B) a cherché
    • C) ai cherché
    • D) as cherché

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

    • A) cherchait
    • B) cherchiez
    • C) cherchions
    • D) cherchais

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

    • A) chercheras
    • B) chercherai
    • C) cherchera
    • D) chercherons

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

    • A) chercherait
    • B) chercherions
    • C) chercheriez
    • D) chercherais

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

    • A) cherchions
    • B) cherchiez
    • C) cherche
    • D) cherches

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

    • A) avions cherché
    • B) aviez cherché
    • C) avais cherché
    • D) avait cherché

  9. What is the gerund of chercher?

    • A) en écoutant
    • B) en cherchant
    • C) en répondant
    • D) en travaillant

  10. What does chercher mean in English?

  • A) to listen to
  • B) to look for
  • C) to answer
  • D) to work

Answer key

  1. C) cherche — the je form of chercher in the Present indicative is cherche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) cherches — the tu form of chercher in the Present indicative is cherches. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) a cherché — the il/elle form of chercher in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a cherché. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. C) cherchions — the nous form of chercher in the Imperfect is cherchions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) chercheras — the tu form of chercher in the Future is chercheras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) chercherais — the je form of chercher in the Conditional is chercherais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) cherche — the il/elle form of chercher in the Present subjunctive is cherche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. C) avais cherché — the je form of chercher in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais cherché. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) en cherchant — the gerund of chercher is en cherchant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to look for — chercher means “to look for” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does chercher mean in English?

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

Is chercher regular or irregular?

chercher is regular in every tense. The gerund is cherchant and the past participle is cherché.

How do I practise chercher every day?

Say one sentence with chercher 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, “Je cherche mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.”, “J'ai cherché mes clés dans le salon cette semaine.” and “Je chercherai mes clés dans le salon 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 chercher, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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