Divorcer Conjugation in French
divorcer means “to divorce” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of divorcer — 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 divorce après dix ans de mariage.” — “I divorce after ten years of marriage.” 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 divorcer 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: divorcer
- English: to divorce
- Verb type: Irregular -er verb
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en divorçant
- Past participle: divorcé
- 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 divorcer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
It is a spelling-changing verb: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, to keep the soft [s] sound. You can see it in divorçons (present indicative, nous), divorçai (passé simple, je), divorças (passé simple, tu). Before e and i the c stays plain, as in divorce.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for divorcer. 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 | divorce |
| tu | divorces |
| il/elle | divorce |
| nous | divorçons |
| vous | divorcez |
| ils/elles | divorcent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | divorçai |
| tu | divorças |
| il/elle | divorça |
| nous | divorçâmes |
| vous | divorçâtes |
| ils/elles | divorcèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | divorçais |
| tu | divorçais |
| il/elle | divorçait |
| nous | divorçions |
| vous | divorçiez |
| ils/elles | divorçaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | divorcerai |
| tu | divorceras |
| il/elle | divorcera |
| nous | divorcerons |
| vous | divorcerez |
| ils/elles | divorceront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | divorcerais |
| tu | divorcerais |
| il/elle | divorcerait |
| nous | divorcerions |
| vous | divorceriez |
| ils/elles | divorceraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai divorcé |
| tu | as divorcé |
| il/elle | a divorcé |
| nous | avons divorcé |
| vous | avez divorcé |
| ils/elles | ont divorcé |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais divorcé |
| tu | avais divorcé |
| il/elle | avait divorcé |
| nous | avions divorcé |
| vous | aviez divorcé |
| ils/elles | avaient divorcé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai divorcé |
| tu | auras divorcé |
| il/elle | aura divorcé |
| nous | aurons divorcé |
| vous | aurez divorcé |
| ils/elles | auront divorcé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais divorcé |
| tu | aurais divorcé |
| il/elle | aurait divorcé |
| nous | aurions divorcé |
| vous | auriez divorcé |
| ils/elles | auraient divorcé |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | divorce |
| tu | divorces |
| il/elle | divorce |
| nous | divorçions |
| vous | divorçiez |
| ils/elles | divorcent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | divorçasse |
| tu | divorçasses |
| il/elle | divorçât |
| nous | divorçassions |
| vous | divorçassiez |
| ils/elles | divorçassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | divorce |
| nous | divorçons |
| vous | divorcez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | divorce |
| nous | divorçons |
| vous | divorcez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en divorçant |
| Past participle | divorcé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With divorcer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je divorce après dix ans de mariage.” — “I divorce after ten years of marriage.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu divorças après dix ans de mariage.” — “You divorced after ten years of marriage one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il divorçait après dix ans de mariage quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to divorce after ten years of marriage.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous divorcerons après dix ans de mariage.” — “We will divorce after ten years of marriage tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous divorceriez après dix ans de mariage.” — “You would divorce after ten years of marriage if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With divorcer it is formed with avoir + the past participle divorcé. For example: “Ils ont divorcé après dix ans de mariage hier.” — “They have divorced after ten years of marriage.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais divorcé après dix ans de mariage avant la fête.” — “I had divorced after ten years of marriage 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 divorcé après dix ans de mariage.” — “You will have divorced after ten years of marriage by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait divorcé après dix ans de mariage.” — “He would have divorced after ten years of marriage if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With divorcer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il faut que je divorce après dix ans de mariage.” — “It is important that I divorce after ten years of marriage.”
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 divorçasse après dix ans de mariage.” — “It was important that I divorce after ten years of marriage.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With divorcer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Divorce après dix ans de mariage !” — “Divorce after ten years of marriage!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With divorcer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Divorce après dix ans de mariage !” — “Do not divorce after ten years of marriage!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en divorçant — “while divorcing” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is divorcé, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai divorcé.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with divorcer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je divorce après dix ans de mariage.” — “I divorce after ten years of marriage.”
- “Tu divorces après dix ans de mariage.” — “You divorce after ten years of marriage.”
- “Il divorçait après dix ans de mariage.” — “He used to divorce after ten years of marriage.”
- “Nous divorcerons après dix ans de mariage.” — “We will divorce after ten years of marriage tomorrow.”
- “Je divorcerais après dix ans de mariage.” — “I would divorce after ten years of marriage if I could.”
- “Tu as divorcé après dix ans de mariage.” — “You have divorced after ten years of marriage.”
- “Il avait divorcé après dix ans de mariage.” — “He had divorced after ten years of marriage before the party.”
- “Nous aurons divorcé après dix ans de mariage.” — “We will have divorced after ten years of marriage by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je divorce après dix ans de mariage.” — “It is important that I divorce after ten years of marriage.”
- “Divorce après dix ans de mariage !” — “Divorce after ten years of marriage!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je divorcer après dix ans de mariage.”
✓ Right: “Je divorce après dix ans de mariage.”
The infinitive divorcer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form divorce.
2. Confusing divorcer with se marier
✗ Wrong: “Je divorce en juin à Paris.” (meant as “se marier”)
✓ Right: “Je divorce après dix ans de mariage.”
divorcer means “to divorce”; se marier means “to get married”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Forgetting the cedilla
✗ Wrong: “divorcons”
✓ Right: “divorçons”
The cedilla in divorçons keeps the c soft before o. Writing divorcons would make the c hard, so always write the ç.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je divorce après dix ans de mariage.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je divorce après dix ans de mariage.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use divorce here, not the indicative divorce.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je divorce après dix ans de mariage hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai divorcé après dix ans de mariage hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai divorcé), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of divorcer in the Present indicative?
- A) divorces
- B) divorcent
- C) divorce
- D) divorçons
What is the ils/elles form of divorcer in the Present indicative?
- A) divorces
- B) divorcez
- C) divorce
- D) divorcent
What is the il/elle form of divorcer in the Passé simple?
- A) divorçai
- B) divorças
- C) divorçâtes
- D) divorça
What is the nous form of divorcer in the Imperfect?
- A) divorçait
- B) divorçiez
- C) divorçaient
- D) divorçions
What is the tu form of divorcer in the Future?
- A) divorcerez
- B) divorceront
- C) divorceras
- D) divorcerai
What is the je form of divorcer in the Conditional?
- A) divorcerions
- B) divorcerait
- C) divorcerais
- D) divorceriez
What is the il/elle form of divorcer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avons divorcé
- B) as divorcé
- C) a divorcé
- D) ai divorcé
What is the vous form of divorcer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avions divorcé
- B) aviez divorcé
- C) avaient divorcé
- D) avait divorcé
What is the gerund of divorcer?
- A) divorce
- B) divorcerai
- C) en divorçant
- D) divorcé
What is the past participle of divorcer?
- A) en divorçant
- B) divorçais
- C) divorce
- D) divorcé
Answer key
- C) divorce — the je form of divorcer in the present indicative is divorce.
- D) divorcent — the ils/elles form of divorcer in the present indicative is divorcent.
- D) divorça — the il/elle form of divorcer in the passé simple is divorça.
- D) divorçions — the nous form of divorcer in the imperfect is divorçions.
- C) divorceras — the tu form of divorcer in the future is divorceras.
- C) divorcerais — the je form of divorcer in the conditional is divorcerais.
- C) a divorcé — the il/elle form of divorcer in the present perfect (passé composé) is a divorcé.
- B) aviez divorcé — the vous form of divorcer in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez divorcé.
- C) en divorçant — the gerund of divorcer is en divorçant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- D) divorcé — the past participle of divorcer is divorcé; perfect tenses use avoir + divorcé.
Frequently asked questions
What does divorcer mean in English?
divorcer means “to divorce”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je divorce après dix ans de mariage.” (“I divorce after ten years of marriage.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is divorcer regular or irregular?
divorcer is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en divorçant and the past participle is divorcé.
What are the gerund and past participle of divorcer?
The gerund is en divorçant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is divorcé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai divorcé.
What is the difference between divorcer and se marier?
divorcer means “to divorce”, while se marier means “to get married”. 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 se marier and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I divorce” in French?
Say “Je divorce après dix ans de mariage.” — “I divorce after ten years of marriage.” The je form of the present is divorce, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn divorcer
Start with the present tense: divorce, divorces, divorce, divorçons, divorcez, divorcent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai divorcé — and the imperfect — divorçais. Next, learn the future (divorcerai) and the conditional (divorcerais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (divorce) and the imperative (divorce). 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
- divorcer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- divorcer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Se marier conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Se disputer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise divorcer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise divorcer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.