Échouer Conjugation in French
échouer means “to fail” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of échouer — 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: “J'échoue à mon premier examen.” — “I fail in my first exam.” 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 échouer 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: échouer
- English: to fail
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en échouant
- Past participle: échoué
- 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 échouer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for échouer. 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 | échoue |
| tu | échoues |
| il/elle | échoue |
| nous | échouons |
| vous | échouez |
| ils/elles | échouent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | échouai |
| tu | échouas |
| il/elle | échoua |
| nous | échouâmes |
| vous | échouâtes |
| ils/elles | échouèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | échouais |
| tu | échouais |
| il/elle | échouait |
| nous | échouions |
| vous | échouiez |
| ils/elles | échouaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | échouerai |
| tu | échoueras |
| il/elle | échouera |
| nous | échouerons |
| vous | échouerez |
| ils/elles | échoueront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | échouerais |
| tu | échouerais |
| il/elle | échouerait |
| nous | échouerions |
| vous | échoueriez |
| ils/elles | échoueraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai échoué |
| tu | as échoué |
| il/elle | a échoué |
| nous | avons échoué |
| vous | avez échoué |
| ils/elles | ont échoué |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais échoué |
| tu | avais échoué |
| il/elle | avait échoué |
| nous | avions échoué |
| vous | aviez échoué |
| ils/elles | avaient échoué |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai échoué |
| tu | auras échoué |
| il/elle | aura échoué |
| nous | aurons échoué |
| vous | aurez échoué |
| ils/elles | auront échoué |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais échoué |
| tu | aurais échoué |
| il/elle | aurait échoué |
| nous | aurions échoué |
| vous | auriez échoué |
| ils/elles | auraient échoué |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | échoue |
| tu | échoues |
| il/elle | échoue |
| nous | échouions |
| vous | échouiez |
| ils/elles | échouent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | échouasse |
| tu | échouasses |
| il/elle | échouât |
| nous | échouassions |
| vous | échouassiez |
| ils/elles | échouassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | échoue |
| nous | échouons |
| vous | échouez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | échoue |
| nous | échouons |
| vous | échouez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en échouant |
| Past participle | échoué |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'échoue à mon premier examen.” — “I fail in my first exam.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu échouas à mon premier examen.” — “You failed in my first exam one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il échouait à mon premier examen quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to fail in my first exam.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous échouerons à mon premier examen.” — “We will fail in my first exam tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous échoueriez à mon premier examen.” — “You would fail in my first exam if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With échouer it is formed with avoir + the past participle échoué. For example: “Ils ont échoué à mon premier examen hier.” — “They have failed in my first exam.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais échoué à mon premier examen avant la fête.” — “I had failed in my first exam 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 échoué à mon premier examen.” — “You will have failed in my first exam by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait échoué à mon premier examen.” — “He would have failed in my first exam 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 échoue à mon premier examen.” — “It is important that I fail in my first exam.”
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 échouasse à mon premier examen.” — “It was important that I fail in my first exam.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Échoue à mon premier examen !” — “Fail in my first exam!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Échoue à mon premier examen !” — “Do not fail in my first exam!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en échouant — “while failing” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is échoué, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai échoué.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with échouer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'échoue à mon premier examen.” — “I fail in my first exam.”
- “Tu échoues à mon premier examen.” — “You fail in my first exam.”
- “Il échouait à mon premier examen.” — “He used to fail in my first exam.”
- “Nous échouerons à mon premier examen.” — “We will fail in my first exam tomorrow.”
- “J'échouerais à mon premier examen.” — “I would fail in my first exam if I could.”
- “Tu as échoué à mon premier examen.” — “You have failed in my first exam.”
- “Il avait échoué à mon premier examen.” — “He had failed in my first exam before the party.”
- “Nous aurons échoué à mon premier examen.” — “We will have failed in my first exam by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je échoue à mon premier examen.” — “It is important that I fail in my first exam.”
- “Échoue à mon premier examen !” — “Fail in my first exam!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je échouer à mon premier examen.”
✓ Right: “J'échoue à mon premier examen.”
The infinitive échouer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form échoue.
2. Confusing échouer with réussir
✗ Wrong: “J'échoue à mon examen de français.” (meant as “réussir”)
✓ Right: “J'échoue à mon premier examen.”
échouer means “to fail”; réussir means “to succeed”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis échoué à mon premier examen.”
✓ Right: “J'ai échoué à mon premier examen.”
With échouer the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai échoué.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je échoue à mon premier examen.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je échoue à mon premier examen.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use échoue here, not the indicative échoue.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “J'échoue à mon premier examen hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai échoué à mon premier examen hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai échoué), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échoues
- B) échouons
- C) échouez
- D) échoue
What is the ils/elles form of échouer in the Present indicative?
- A) échoues
- B) échouez
- C) échouent
- D) échoue
What is the il/elle form of échouer in the Passé simple?
- A) échouâtes
- B) échoua
- C) échouèrent
- D) échouai
What is the nous form of échouer in the Imperfect?
- A) échouiez
- B) échouait
- C) échouaient
- D) échouions
What is the tu form of échouer in the Future?
- A) échoueras
- B) échouerons
- C) échouerai
- D) échoueront
What is the je form of échouer in the Conditional?
- A) échoueraient
- B) échouerions
- C) échouerait
- D) échouerais
What is the il/elle form of échouer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ont échoué
- B) a échoué
- C) as échoué
- D) ai échoué
What is the vous form of échouer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avions échoué
- B) aviez échoué
- C) avais échoué
- D) avait échoué
What is the gerund of échouer?
- A) en échouant
- B) échoue
- C) échoué
- D) échouerai
What is the past participle of échouer?
- A) échoue
- B) échoué
- C) en échouant
- D) échouais
Answer key
- D) échoue — the je form of échouer in the present indicative is échoue.
- C) échouent — the ils/elles form of échouer in the present indicative is échouent.
- B) échoua — the il/elle form of échouer in the passé simple is échoua.
- D) échouions — the nous form of échouer in the imperfect is échouions.
- A) échoueras — the tu form of échouer in the future is échoueras.
- D) échouerais — the je form of échouer in the conditional is échouerais.
- B) a échoué — the il/elle form of échouer in the present perfect (passé composé) is a échoué.
- B) aviez échoué — the vous form of échouer in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez échoué.
- A) en échouant — the gerund of échouer is en échouant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) échoué — the past participle of échouer is échoué; perfect tenses use avoir + échoué.
Frequently asked questions
What does échouer mean in English?
échouer means “to fail”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “J'échoue à mon premier examen.” (“I fail in my first exam.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is échouer regular or irregular?
échouer is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en échouant and the past participle is échoué.
What are the gerund and past participle of échouer?
The gerund is en échouant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is échoué — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai échoué.
What is the difference between échouer and réussir?
échouer means “to fail”, while réussir means “to succeed”. 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 réussir and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I fail” in French?
Say “J'échoue à mon premier examen.” — “I fail in my first exam.” The je form of the present is échoue, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn échouer
Start with the present tense: échoue, échoues, échoue, échouons, échouez, échouent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai échoué — and the imperfect — échouais. Next, learn the future (échouerai) and the conditional (échouerais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (échoue) and the imperative (échoue). 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
- 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.