Échouer Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of échouer — “to fail” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for échouer, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'échoue à mon premier examen.” — “I fail in my first exam.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for échouer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of échouer
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for échouer. échouer is a regular -er verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — échouer
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | échoue |
| tu | échoues |
| il/elle | échoue |
| nous | échouons |
| vous | échouez |
| ils/elles | échouent |
The gerund of échouer is en échouant and the past participle is échoué. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of échouer is formed
For a regular -er verb, the present tense is built on the stem échou- (the infinitive échouer without its -er ending) plus the present tense endings: je → échoue, tu → échoues, il/elle → échoue, nous → échouons, vous → échouez, ils/elles → échouent. So échouer gives échoue, échoues, échoue, échouons, échouez, échouent.
When to use the present tense of échouer
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with échouer: “J'échoue à mon premier examen tous les jours.” — “I fail in my first exam.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with échouer: “Tu échoues à mon premier examen en général.” — “You fail in my first exam.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with échouer: “Il échoue à mon premier examen maintenant.” — “He fails in my first exam.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with échouer: “Nous échouons à mon premier examen demain.” — “We fail in my first exam.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with échouer: “Ils échouent à mon premier examen souvent.” — “They fail in my first exam.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: échouer now, échouer later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “J'échoue à mon premier examen tous les jours.” — “I fail in my first exam.”
Future: “J'échouerai à mon premier examen demain.” — “I will fail in my first exam tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu échoues à mon premier examen maintenant.” — “You fail in my first exam.”
Future: “Tu échoueras à mon premier examen demain.” — “You will fail in my first exam tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous échouons à mon premier examen en classe.” — “We fail in my first exam.”
Future: “Nous échouerons à mon premier examen demain.” — “We will fail in my first exam tomorrow.”
Example sentences: échouer in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of échouer, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “J'échoue à mon premier examen tous les jours.” — “I fail in my first exam.”
- “Tu échoues à mon premier examen chaque matin.” — “You fail in my first exam.”
- “Il échoue à mon premier examen souvent.” — “He fails in my first exam.”
- “Nous échouons à mon premier examen maintenant.” — “We fail in my first exam.”
- “Vous échouez à mon premier examen en général.” — “You fail in my first exam.”
- “Ils échouent à mon premier examen le week-end.” — “They fail in my first exam.”
Common mistakes with échouer in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je échouer à mon premier examen.”
Right: “J'échoue à mon premier examen.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form échoue.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu échoue à mon premier examen.”
Right: “Tu échoues à mon premier examen.”
After tu you need échoues, not the je form échoue. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “J'échouerai à mon premier examen.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “J'échoue à mon premier examen tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (échouerai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai échoué à mon premier examen tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “J'échoue à mon premier examen tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: échouer in the present tense
What is the je form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échoues
- B) échouons
- C) échouez
- D) échoue
What is the tu form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échoues
- B) échouent
- C) échouons
- D) échoue
What is the il/elle form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échouez
- B) échoues
- C) échoue
- D) échouons
What is the nous form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échouons
- B) échoue
- C) échoues
- D) échouez
What is the vous form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échoue
- B) échouons
- C) échouez
- D) échouent
What is the ils/elles form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échouez
- B) échoues
- C) échouent
- D) échoue
What is the gerund of échouer?
- A) échoue
- B) en échouant
- C) échouerai
- D) échoué
What does échouer mean in English?
- A) to fail
- B) to be
- C) to go
- D) to have
Answer key
- D) échoue — the je form of échouer in the present indicative is échoue.
- A) échoues — the tu form of échouer in the present indicative is échoues.
- C) échoue — the il/elle form of échouer in the present indicative is échoue.
- A) échouons — the nous form of échouer in the present indicative is échouons.
- C) échouez — the vous form of échouer in the present indicative is échouez.
- C) échouent — the ils/elles form of échouer in the present indicative is échouent.
- B) en échouant — the gerund of échouer is en échouant.
- A) to fail — échouer means “to fail” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of échouer formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is échoue and the ils form is échouent.
When do I use the present tense of échouer?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (échoue), while the future is for what will happen (échouerai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of échouer?
On the full conjugation page for échouer, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of échouer in order, without looking: échoue, échoues, échoue, échouons, échouez, échouent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using échoue, ai échoué and échouerai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- échouer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- échouer 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.
- Reussir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Manquer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise échouer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise échouer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.