Choisir Conjugation in French
choisir means “to choose” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of choisir — 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 choisis un livre à la librairie.” — “I choose a book at the bookshop.” 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 choisir 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: choisir
- English: to choose
- Verb type: Regular -ir verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en choisissant
- Past participle: choisi
- 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 choisir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for choisir. 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 | choisis |
| tu | choisis |
| il/elle | choisit |
| nous | choisissons |
| vous | choisissez |
| ils/elles | choisissent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | choisis |
| tu | choisis |
| il/elle | choisit |
| nous | choisîmes |
| vous | choisîtes |
| ils/elles | choisirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | choisissais |
| tu | choisissais |
| il/elle | choisissait |
| nous | choisissions |
| vous | choisissiez |
| ils/elles | choisissaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | choisirai |
| tu | choisiras |
| il/elle | choisira |
| nous | choisirons |
| vous | choisirez |
| ils/elles | choisiront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | choisirais |
| tu | choisirais |
| il/elle | choisirait |
| nous | choisirions |
| vous | choisiriez |
| ils/elles | choisiraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai choisi |
| tu | as choisi |
| il/elle | a choisi |
| nous | avons choisi |
| vous | avez choisi |
| ils/elles | ont choisi |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais choisi |
| tu | avais choisi |
| il/elle | avait choisi |
| nous | avions choisi |
| vous | aviez choisi |
| ils/elles | avaient choisi |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai choisi |
| tu | auras choisi |
| il/elle | aura choisi |
| nous | aurons choisi |
| vous | aurez choisi |
| ils/elles | auront choisi |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais choisi |
| tu | aurais choisi |
| il/elle | aurait choisi |
| nous | aurions choisi |
| vous | auriez choisi |
| ils/elles | auraient choisi |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | choisisse |
| tu | choisisses |
| il/elle | choisisse |
| nous | choisissions |
| vous | choisissiez |
| ils/elles | choisissent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | choisisse |
| tu | choisisses |
| il/elle | choisît |
| nous | choisissions |
| vous | choisissiez |
| ils/elles | choisissent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | choisis |
| nous | choisissons |
| vous | choisissez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | choisis |
| nous | choisissons |
| vous | choisissez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en choisissant |
| Past participle | choisi |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je choisis un livre à la librairie.” — “I choose a book at the bookshop.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu choisis un livre à la librairie.” — “You chose a book at the bookshop one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il choisissait un livre à la librairie quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to choose a book at the bookshop.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous choisirons un livre à la librairie.” — “We will choose a book at the bookshop tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous choisiriez un livre à la librairie.” — “You would choose a book at the bookshop if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With choisir it is formed with avoir + the past participle choisi. For example: “Ils ont choisi un livre à la librairie hier.” — “They have chosen a book at the bookshop.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais choisi un livre à la librairie avant la fête.” — “I had chosen a book at the bookshop 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 choisi un livre à la librairie.” — “You will have chosen a book at the bookshop by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait choisi un livre à la librairie.” — “He would have chosen a book at the bookshop if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il faut que je choisisse un livre à la librairie.” — “It is important that I choose a book at the bookshop.”
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 choisisse un livre à la librairie.” — “It was important that I choose a book at the bookshop.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Choisis un livre à la librairie !” — “Choose a book at the bookshop!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Choisis un livre à la librairie !” — “Do not choose a book at the bookshop!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en choisissant — “while choosing” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is choisi, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai choisi.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with choisir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je choisis un livre à la librairie.” — “I choose a book at the bookshop.”
- “Tu choisis un livre à la librairie.” — “You choose a book at the bookshop.”
- “Il choisissait un livre à la librairie.” — “He used to choose a book at the bookshop.”
- “Nous choisirons un livre à la librairie.” — “We will choose a book at the bookshop tomorrow.”
- “Je choisirais un livre à la librairie.” — “I would choose a book at the bookshop if I could.”
- “Tu as choisi un livre à la librairie.” — “You have chosen a book at the bookshop.”
- “Il avait choisi un livre à la librairie.” — “He had chosen a book at the bookshop before the party.”
- “Nous aurons choisi un livre à la librairie.” — “We will have chosen a book at the bookshop by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je choisisse un livre à la librairie.” — “It is important that I choose a book at the bookshop.”
- “Choisis un livre à la librairie !” — “Choose a book at the bookshop!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je choisir un livre à la librairie.”
✓ Right: “Je choisis un livre à la librairie.”
The infinitive choisir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form choisis.
2. Confusing choisir with décider
✗ Wrong: “Je choisis de partir demain.” (meant as “décider”)
✓ Right: “Je choisis un livre à la librairie.”
choisir means “to choose”; décider means “to decide”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis choisi un livre à la librairie.”
✓ Right: “J'ai choisi un livre à la librairie.”
With choisir the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai choisi.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je choisis un livre à la librairie.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je choisisse un livre à la librairie.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use choisisse here, not the indicative choisis.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je choisis un livre à la librairie hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai choisi un livre à la librairie hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai choisi), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of choisir in the Present indicative?
- A) choisissez
- B) choisissent
- C) choisit
- D) choisis
What is the ils/elles form of choisir in the Present indicative?
- A) choisissent
- B) choisissons
- C) choisis
- D) choisissez
What is the il/elle form of choisir in the Passé simple?
- A) choisirent
- B) choisîmes
- C) choisit
- D) choisis
What is the nous form of choisir in the Imperfect?
- A) choisissions
- B) choisissiez
- C) choisissais
- D) choisissaient
What is the tu form of choisir in the Future?
- A) choisiront
- B) choisirez
- C) choisiras
- D) choisirons
What is the je form of choisir in the Conditional?
- A) choisiriez
- B) choisirions
- C) choisirais
- D) choisiraient
What is the il/elle form of choisir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ont choisi
- B) avons choisi
- C) a choisi
- D) avez choisi
What is the vous form of choisir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avait choisi
- B) avaient choisi
- C) aviez choisi
- D) avais choisi
What is the gerund of choisir?
- A) choisirai
- B) choisi
- C) en choisissant
- D) choisis
What is the past participle of choisir?
- A) choisis
- B) choisi
- C) choisissais
- D) en choisissant
Answer key
- D) choisis — the je form of choisir in the present indicative is choisis.
- A) choisissent — the ils/elles form of choisir in the present indicative is choisissent.
- C) choisit — the il/elle form of choisir in the passé simple is choisit.
- A) choisissions — the nous form of choisir in the imperfect is choisissions.
- C) choisiras — the tu form of choisir in the future is choisiras.
- C) choisirais — the je form of choisir in the conditional is choisirais.
- C) a choisi — the il/elle form of choisir in the present perfect (passé composé) is a choisi.
- C) aviez choisi — the vous form of choisir in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez choisi.
- C) en choisissant — the gerund of choisir is en choisissant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) choisi — the past participle of choisir is choisi; perfect tenses use avoir + choisi.
Frequently asked questions
What does choisir mean in English?
choisir means “to choose”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je choisis un livre à la librairie.” (“I choose a book at the bookshop.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is choisir regular or irregular?
choisir is regular: its endings follow the standard -ir pattern in every tense. The gerund is en choisissant and the past participle is choisi.
What are the gerund and past participle of choisir?
The gerund is en choisissant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is choisi — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai choisi.
What is the difference between choisir and décider?
choisir means “to choose”, while décider means “to decide”. 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 décider and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I choose” in French?
Say “Je choisis un livre à la librairie.” — “I choose a book at the bookshop.” The je form of the present is choisis, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn choisir
Start with the present tense: choisis, choisis, choisit, choisissons, choisissez, choisissent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai choisi — and the imperfect — choisissais. Next, learn the future (choisirai) and the conditional (choisirais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (choisisse) and the imperative (choisis). 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
- choisir in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- choisir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Decider conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise choisir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise choisir with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.