Demander: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Demander means “to ask”, 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 demander, 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 demander, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “I ask a question to the teacher every day.”
  2. “Tu demandes de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You ask some help from my brother every day.”
  3. “J'ai demandé l'heure à Marie cette semaine.” — “I have asked the time from Marie this week.”
  4. “Il demandait une question au professeur autrefois.” — “He used to ask a question to the teacher in the past.”
  5. “Nous demanderons de l'aide à mon frère demain.” — “We will ask some help from my brother tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as demandé l'heure à Marie cette semaine.” — “You have asked the time from Marie this week.”
  7. “Je demanderais une question au professeur un jour.” — “I would ask a question to the teacher one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il demande de l'aide à mon frère.” — “It is important that he ask some help from my brother.”
  9. “Nous avions demandé l'heure à Marie avant la fête.” — “We had asked the time from Marie before the party.”
  10. “Il demandera une question au professeur demain.” — “He will ask a question to the teacher tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils demandent de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “They ask some help from my brother every day.”
  12. “Demande l'heure à Marie !” — “Ask the time from Marie!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about a question to the teacher. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how demander changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of demander below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “I ask a question to the teacher every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je demanderai de l'aide à mon frère demain.” — “I will ask some help from my brother tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai demandé l'heure à Marie cette semaine.” — “I have asked the time from Marie this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je demanderais une question au professeur un jour.” — “I would ask a question to the teacher 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.

Demander in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, demander describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is demande: “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “I ask a question to the teacher every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, demander describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is demandait: “Il demandait de l'aide à mon frère autrefois.” — “He used to ask some help from my brother in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, demander reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle demandé. The je form is ai demandé: “J'ai demandé l'heure à Marie cette semaine.” — “I have asked the time from Marie this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, demander talks about what will happen. The nous form is demanderons: “Nous demanderons une question au professeur demain.” — “We will ask a question to the teacher tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, demander talks about what would happen. The tu form is demanderais: “Tu demanderais de l'aide à mon frère un jour.” — “You would ask some help from my brother one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, demander appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is demande, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je demande l'heure à Marie.” — “It is important that I ask the time from Marie.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je demander une question au professeur.”

✓ Right: “Je demande une question au professeur.”

The infinitive demander never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form demande.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu demande une question au professeur.”

✓ Right: “Tu demandes une question au professeur.”

demande is the je form. With tu you need demandes. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je demande une question au professeur hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai demandé une question au professeur hier.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu demandes de l'aide à mon frère.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu demandes de l'aide à mon frère.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je demandé une question au professeur.”

✓ Right: “Je ai demandé une question au professeur.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) demandons
    • B) demandez
    • C) demande
    • D) demandes

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

    • A) demande
    • B) demandons
    • C) demandez
    • D) demandes

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

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

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

    • A) demandait
    • B) demandiez
    • C) demandions
    • D) demandais

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

    • A) demanderas
    • B) demanderai
    • C) demandera
    • D) demanderons

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

    • A) demanderait
    • B) demanderions
    • C) demanderiez
    • D) demanderais

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

    • A) demandions
    • B) demandiez
    • C) demande
    • D) demandes

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

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

  9. What is the gerund of demander?

    • A) en portant
    • B) en demandant
    • C) en passant
    • D) en tenant

  10. What does demander mean in English?

  • A) to hold
  • B) to carry, to wear
  • C) to ask
  • D) to pass, to spend

Answer key

  1. C) demande — the je form of demander in the Present indicative is demande. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) demandes — the tu form of demander in the Present indicative is demandes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) a demandé — the il/elle form of demander in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a demandé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. C) demandions — the nous form of demander in the Imperfect is demandions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) demanderas — the tu form of demander in the Future is demanderas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) demanderais — the je form of demander in the Conditional is demanderais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) demande — the il/elle form of demander in the Present subjunctive is demande. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. C) avais demandé — the je form of demander in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais demandé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) en demandant — the gerund of demander is en demandant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to ask — demander means “to ask” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does demander mean in English?

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

Is demander regular or irregular?

demander is regular in every tense. The gerund is demandant and the past participle is demandé.

How do I practise demander every day?

Say one sentence with demander 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 demande une question au professeur tous les jours.”, “J'ai demandé une question au professeur cette semaine.” and “Je demanderai une question au professeur 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 demander, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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