Écouter: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Écouter means “to listen to”, 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 écouter, 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 écouter, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “J'écoute la radio le matin tous les jours.” — “I listen to the radio in the morning every day.”
  2. “Tu écoutes de la musique le soir tous les jours.” — “You listen to music in the evening every day.”
  3. “J'ai écouté le professeur en classe cette semaine.” — “I have listened to the teacher in class this week.”
  4. “Il écoutait la radio le matin autrefois.” — “He used to listen to the radio in the morning in the past.”
  5. “Nous écouterons de la musique le soir demain.” — “We will listen to music in the evening tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as écouté le professeur en classe cette semaine.” — “You have listened to the teacher in class this week.”
  7. “J'écouterais la radio le matin un jour.” — “I would listen to the radio in the morning one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il écoute de la musique le soir.” — “It is important that he listen to music in the evening.”
  9. “Nous avions écouté le professeur en classe avant la fête.” — “We had listened to the teacher in class before the party.”
  10. “Il écoutera la radio le matin demain.” — “He will listen to the radio in the morning tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils écoutent de la musique le soir tous les jours.” — “They listen to music in the evening every day.”
  12. “Écoute le professeur en classe !” — “Listen to the teacher in class!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about the radio in the morning. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how écouter changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of écouter below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “J'écoute la radio le matin tous les jours.” — “I listen to the radio in the morning every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “J'écouterai de la musique le soir demain.” — “I will listen to music in the evening tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai écouté le professeur en classe cette semaine.” — “I have listened to the teacher in class this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “J'écouterais la radio le matin un jour.” — “I would listen to the radio in the morning 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.

Écouter in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, écouter describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is écoute: “J'écoute la radio le matin tous les jours.” — “I listen to the radio in the morning every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, écouter describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is écoutait: “Il écoutait de la musique le soir autrefois.” — “He used to listen to music in the evening in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, écouter reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle écouté. The je form is ai écouté: “J'ai écouté le professeur en classe cette semaine.” — “I have listened to the teacher in class this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, écouter talks about what will happen. The nous form is écouterons: “Nous écouterons la radio le matin demain.” — “We will listen to the radio in the morning tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, écouter talks about what would happen. The tu form is écouterais: “Tu écouterais de la musique le soir un jour.” — “You would listen to music in the evening one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, écouter appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is écoute, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que j'écoute le professeur en classe.” — “It is important that I listen to the teacher in class.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je écouter la radio le matin.”

✓ Right: “Je écoute la radio le matin.”

The infinitive écouter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form écoute.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu écoute la radio le matin.”

✓ Right: “Tu écoutes la radio le matin.”

écoute is the je form. With tu you need écoutes. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je écoute la radio le matin hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai écouté la radio le matin hier.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu écoutes de la musique le soir.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu écoutes de la musique le soir.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je écouté la radio le matin.”

✓ Right: “Je ai écouté la radio le matin.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) écoutes
    • B) écoutons
    • C) écoutez
    • D) écoute

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

    • A) écoutes
    • B) écoute
    • C) écoutons
    • D) écoutez

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

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

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

    • A) écoutais
    • B) écoutait
    • C) écoutiez
    • D) écoutions

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

    • A) écouterons
    • B) écouteras
    • C) écouterai
    • D) écoutera

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

    • A) écouterais
    • B) écouterait
    • C) écouterions
    • D) écouteriez

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

    • A) écoutes
    • B) écoutions
    • C) écoutiez
    • D) écoute

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

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

  9. What is the gerund of écouter?

    • A) en mangeant
    • B) en étant
    • C) en écoutant
    • D) en attendant

  10. What does écouter mean in English?

  • A) to wait
  • B) to eat
  • C) to be
  • D) to listen to

Answer key

  1. D) écoute — the je form of écouter in the Present indicative is écoute. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) écoutes — the tu form of écouter in the Present indicative is écoutes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) a écouté — the il/elle form of écouter in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a écouté. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) écoutions — the nous form of écouter in the Imperfect is écoutions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) écouteras — the tu form of écouter in the Future is écouteras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) écouterais — the je form of écouter in the Conditional is écouterais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) écoute — the il/elle form of écouter in the Present subjunctive is écoute. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) avais écouté — the je form of écouter in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais écouté. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) en écoutant — the gerund of écouter is en écoutant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. D) to listen to — écouter means “to listen to” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does écouter mean in English?

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

Is écouter regular or irregular?

écouter is regular in every tense. The gerund is écoutant and the past participle is écouté.

How do I practise écouter every day?

Say one sentence with écouter 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, “J'écoute la radio le matin tous les jours.”, “J'ai écouté la radio le matin cette semaine.” and “J'écouterai la radio le matin 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 écouter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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