Consulter Conjugation in French
consulter means “to consult” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 243 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 consulte le livre tous les jours.” — “I consult the book every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: consulter
- English: to consult
- Verb type: Non-reflexive, Regular
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: en consultant
- Past participle: consulté
- 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 consulter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for consulter. 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 | consulte |
| tu | consultes |
| il/elle | consulte |
| nous | consultons |
| vous | consultez |
| ils/elles | consultent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | consultai |
| tu | consultas |
| il/elle | consulta |
| nous | consultâmes |
| vous | consultâtes |
| ils/elles | consultèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | consultais |
| tu | consultais |
| il/elle | consultait |
| nous | consultions |
| vous | consultiez |
| ils/elles | consultaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | consulterai |
| tu | consulteras |
| il/elle | consultera |
| nous | consulterons |
| vous | consulterez |
| ils/elles | consulteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | consulterais |
| tu | consulterais |
| il/elle | consulterait |
| nous | consulterions |
| vous | consulteriez |
| ils/elles | consulteraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai consulté |
| tu | as consulté |
| il/elle | a consulté |
| nous | avons consulté |
| vous | avez consulté |
| ils/elles | ont consulté |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais consulté |
| tu | avais consulté |
| il/elle | avait consulté |
| nous | avions consulté |
| vous | aviez consulté |
| ils/elles | avaient consulté |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai consulté |
| tu | auras consulté |
| il/elle | aura consulté |
| nous | aurons consulté |
| vous | aurez consulté |
| ils/elles | auront consulté |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais consulté |
| tu | aurais consulté |
| il/elle | aurait consulté |
| nous | aurions consulté |
| vous | auriez consulté |
| ils/elles | auraient consulté |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | consulte |
| tu | consultes |
| il/elle | consulte |
| nous | consultions |
| vous | consultiez |
| ils/elles | consultent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | consultasse |
| tu | consultasses |
| il/elle | consultât |
| nous | consultassions |
| vous | consultassiez |
| ils/elles | consultassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | consulte |
| nous | consultons |
| vous | consultez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | consulte |
| nous | consultons |
| vous | consultez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en consultant |
| Past participle | consulté |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je consulte le livre tous les jours.” — “I consult the book every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu consultas le livre la semaine dernière.” — “You consulted the book last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il consultait le livre ce matin.” — “He used to consult the book this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Nous consulterons le livre.” — “We will consult the book.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Vous consulteriez le livre.” — “You would consult the book.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ils ont consulté le livre hier.” — “They have consulted the book yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “J'avais consulté le livre hier.” — “I had consulted the book yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu auras consulté le livre la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have consulted the book next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il aurait consulté le livre ce matin.” — “He would have consulted the book this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il est important que nous consultions le livre tous les jours.” — “It is important that We consult the book 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 consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous consultassiez le livre hier.” — “It was necessary that You consult the book yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Consultez le livre !” — “Consult the book!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With consulter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ne consulte pas le livre !” — “Do not consult the book!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en consultant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En consultant, je commence la journée.” — “While consulting, I start the day.” The past participle consulté is used with avoir in the perfect tenses, as in j'ai consulté — “I have consulted the book yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with consulter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je consulte le livre à la maison.” — “I consult the book at home.”
- “Tu consultas le livre ce matin.” — “You consulted the book this morning.”
- “Il consultait le livre avec Paul.” — “He used to consult the book with Paul.”
- “Je consulterai le livre demain.” — “I will consult the book tomorrow.”
- “Tu consulterais le livre tous les jours.” — “You would consult the book every day.”
- “Il a consulté le livre la semaine dernière.” — “He has consulted the book last week.”
- “J'avais consulté le livre ce matin.” — “I had consulted the book this morning.”
- “Tu auras consulté le livre demain.” — “You will have consulted the book tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il consulte le livre tous les jours.” — “It is important that He consult the book every day.”
- “Consulte le livre !” — “Consult the book!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je consulter le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je consulte le livre tous les jours.”
The infinitive consulter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form consulte.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je consultes le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je consulte le livre tous les jours.”
consultes is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is consulte — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je consulte le livre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai consulté le livre hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai consulté here, not the present consulte.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je consultons le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je consulte le livre tous les jours.”
consultons is the nous form. The je form is consulte — the two persons never share a form in the present of consulter.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis consulté le livre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai consulté le livre hier.”
consulter takes avoir in the compound tenses, not être: ai consulté, never the être form.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous consultons le livre.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous consultions le livre.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use consultions here, not the indicative consultons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on consulter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of consulter in the Present indicative?
- A) consultasse
- B) ai consulté
- C) consultes
- D) consulte
What is the il/elle form of consulter in the Passé simple?
- A) consulta
- B) consultâmes
- C) consultait
- D) aurait consulté
What is the nous form of consulter in the Imperfect?
- A) aurions consulté
- B) avions consulté
- C) consultions
- D) aurons consulté
What is the tu form of consulter in the Future?
- A) consultais
- B) consulterez
- C) as consulté
- D) consulteras
What is the je form of consulter in the Conditional?
- A) consulterais
- B) ai consulté
- C) consultais
- D) consultasse
What is the il/elle form of consulter in the Present subjunctive?
- A) consultent
- B) consultait
- C) consulte
- D) consultât
What is the nous form of consulter in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) consultassions
- B) avez consulté
- C) consultâmes
- D) avons consulté
What is the gerund of consulter?
- A) créant
- B) en consultant
- C) considérant
- D) montrant
What is the past participle of consulter?
- A) cessé
- B) brûlé
- C) consulté
- D) arrangé
What does consulter mean in English?
- A) add
- B) cut
- C) build
- D) consult
Answer key
- D) consulte — the je form of consulter in the present indicative is consulte. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) consulta — the il/elle form of consulter in the passé simple is consulta. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) consultions — the nous form of consulter in the imperfect is consultions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) consulteras — the tu form of consulter in the future is consulteras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) consulterais — the je form of consulter in the conditional is consulterais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) consulte — the il/elle form of consulter in the present subjunctive is consulte. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) avons consulté — the nous form of consulter in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons consulté. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) en consultant — the gerund of consulter is en consultant; 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) consulté — the past participle of consulter is consulté; perfect tenses use avoir + consulté. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) consult — consulter means “to consult” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn consulter in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je consulte, tu consultes, il consulte, nous consultons, vous consultez, ils consultent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: ai consulté shows the pattern, and the participle consulté 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 consulter with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does consulter mean in English?
consulter means “to consult”. It is a non-reflexive, regular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is consulter regular or irregular?
consulter is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none. consulter 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 consulter?
The gerund is en consultant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is consulté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in j'ai consulté.
How do I say “I consult” in French?
Say “Je consulte le livre tous les jours.” — “I consult the book every day.” The je form of the present is consulte, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce consulter?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for consulter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- consulter in the present tense
- consulter examples and quiz
- Contrôler conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Accepter 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.
- Ser Vs Estar Quiz — practise consulter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Ending Analyzer — practise consulter with the interactive tool.
- Future Conjugator — practise consulter with the interactive tool.