enseigner Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

enseigner — teach — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. enseigner is the verb for talking about a teacher's job: it comes up whenever you talk about describing school subjects or explaining a lesson. On this page you will find enseigner in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with enseigner

In the present tense

  • “J'enseigne le français.” — “I teach French.”
  • “Tu enseignes les mathématiques.” — “You teach mathematics.”
  • “Il enseigne à l'école.” — “He teaches at school.”
  • “Nous enseignons l'histoire.” — “We teach history.”
  • “Vous enseignez le français.” — “You teach French.”
  • “Ils enseignent les mathématiques.” — “They teach mathematics.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai enseigné le français cette semaine.” — “I have taught French this week.”
  • “Tu as enseigné les mathématiques cette semaine.” — “You have taught mathematics this week.”
  • “Il a enseigné à l'école cette semaine.” — “He has taught at school this week.”
  • “Nous avons enseigné l'histoire cette semaine.” — “We have taught history this week.”
  • “Vous avez enseigné le français cette semaine.” — “You have taught French this week.”
  • “Ils ont enseigné les mathématiques cette semaine.” — “They have taught mathematics this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “J'enseignais le français avant.” — “I used to teach French before.”
  • “J'enseignerai les mathématiques demain.” — “I will teach mathematics tomorrow.”
  • “J'enseignerais à l'école un jour.” — “I would teach at school one day.”
  • “Bien que il enseigne l'histoire” — “Although he teaches history.”

enseigner in context

J'enseigne le français. Tu enseignes les mathématiques. Il enseigne à l'école. Nous enseignons l'histoire.

I teach French. You teach mathematics. He teaches at school. We teach history.

J'ai enseigné le français. Il a enseigné les mathématiques. Nous avons enseigné à l'école.

I have taught French this week. He has taught mathematics this week. We have taught at school this week.

Common mistakes with enseigner

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je enseigner le français.

Right: Je enseigne le français.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form enseigne.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je enseignons les mathématiques.

Right: Je enseigne les mathématiques.

enseignons is the nous form. With je, use enseigne.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je enseigne à l'école.

Right: Hier, j'ai enseigné à l'école.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai enseigné, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je enseigne l'histoire.

Right: Bien que je enseigne l'histoire.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive enseigne.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je enseignais le français hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai enseigné le français hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on enseigner

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

  1. What is the tu form of enseigner in the Present indicative?

    • A) enseigne
    • B) enseignes
    • C) enseignez
    • D) enseignons

  2. What is the nous form of enseigner in the Present indicative?

    • A) enseignons
    • B) enseigne
    • C) enseignent
    • D) enseignez

  3. What is the il/elle form of enseigner in the Present perfect?

    • A) ont enseigné
    • B) ai enseigné
    • C) avez enseigné
    • D) a enseigné

  4. What is the je form of enseigner in the Imperfect?

    • A) enseignais
    • B) enseignions
    • C) enseignaient
    • D) enseignait

  5. What is the nous form of enseigner in the Future?

    • A) enseignerons
    • B) enseignera
    • C) enseignerai
    • D) enseigneront

  6. What is the tu form of enseigner in the Conditional?

    • A) enseignerait
    • B) enseigneraient
    • C) enseignerais
    • D) enseignerions

  7. What is the je form of enseigner in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) enseigniez
    • B) enseignent
    • C) enseigne
    • D) enseignes

  8. What is the il/elle form of enseigner in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) enseignât
    • B) enseignassent
    • C) enseignasses
    • D) enseignasse

  9. What is the gerund of enseigner?

    • A) buvant
    • B) enseignant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of enseigner?

  • A) dormi
  • B) enseigné
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. B) enseignes — The tu form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseignes.
  2. A) enseignons — The nous form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseignons.
  3. D) a enseigné — The il/elle form of enseigner in the present perfect is a enseigné.
  4. A) enseignais — The je form of enseigner in the imperfect is enseignais.
  5. A) enseignerons — The nous form of enseigner in the future is enseignerons.
  6. C) enseignerais — The tu form of enseigner in the conditional is enseignerais.
  7. C) enseigne — The je form of enseigner in the present subjunctive is enseigne.
  8. A) enseignât — The il/elle form of enseigner in the imperfect subjunctive is enseignât.
  9. B) enseignant — The gerund of enseigner is en enseignant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) enseigné — The past participle of enseigner is enseigné; perfect tenses use avoir + enseigné.

Frequently asked questions

What does enseigner mean in English?

enseigner means “teach”. You use it for talking about a teacher's job, for describing school subjects, and for explaining a lesson.

Is enseigner regular or irregular?

enseigner is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en enseignant and the past participle is enseigné.

How do I say “I teach” in French?

Say “J'enseigne le français.” — “I teach French.” The je form of the present is enseigne.

Where can I see the full conjugation of enseigner?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Enseigner Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise enseigner this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with enseigner out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — le français, les mathématiques and à l'école — and change only the person, so you hear how enseigne, enseignes and enseigne sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai enseigné and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en enseignant and enseigné in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for enseigner, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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