étudier Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

étudier — study — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. étudier is the verb for talking about school and university: it comes up whenever you talk about describing revision or explaining your studies. On this page you will find étudier 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 étudier

In the present tense

  • “J'étudie le français.” — “I study French.”
  • “Tu étudies l'histoire.” — “You study history.”
  • “Il étudie à la bibliothèque.” — “He studies at the library.”
  • “Nous étudions tous les jours.” — “We study every day.”
  • “Vous étudiez le français.” — “You study French.”
  • “Ils étudient l'histoire.” — “They study history.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai étudié le français cette semaine.” — “I have studied French this week.”
  • “Tu as étudié l'histoire cette semaine.” — “You have studied history this week.”
  • “Il a étudié à la bibliothèque cette semaine.” — “He has studied at the library this week.”
  • “Nous avons étudié tous les jours cette semaine.” — “We have studied every day this week.”
  • “Vous avez étudié le français cette semaine.” — “You have studied French this week.”
  • “Ils ont étudié l'histoire cette semaine.” — “They have studied history 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'étudiais le français avant.” — “I used to study French before.”
  • “J'étudierai l'histoire demain.” — “I will study history tomorrow.”
  • “J'étudierais à la bibliothèque un jour.” — “I would study at the library one day.”
  • “Bien que il étudie tous les jours” — “Although he studies every day.”

étudier in context

J'étudie le français. Tu étudies l'histoire. Il étudie à la bibliothèque. Nous étudions tous les jours.

I study French. You study history. He studies at the library. We study every day.

J'ai étudié le français. Il a étudié l'histoire. Nous avons étudié à la bibliothèque.

I have studied French this week. He has studied history this week. We have studied at the library this week.

Common mistakes with étudier

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je étudier le français.

Right: Je étudie le français.

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

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je étudions l'histoire.

Right: Je étudie l'histoire.

étudions is the nous form. With je, use étudie.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je étudie à la bibliothèque.

Right: Hier, j'ai étudié à la bibliothèque.

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

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je étudie tous les jours.

Right: Bien que je étudie tous les jours.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive étudie.

Mistake 5

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

Right: J'ai étudié le français hier.

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

Quiz: test yourself on étudier

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

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

    • A) étudiez
    • B) étudies
    • C) étudient
    • D) étudions

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

    • A) étudient
    • B) étudions
    • C) étudies
    • D) étudiez

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

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

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

    • A) étudiiez
    • B) étudiions
    • C) étudiaient
    • D) étudiais

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

    • A) étudierons
    • B) étudieras
    • C) étudiera
    • D) étudieront

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

    • A) étudierait
    • B) étudieriez
    • C) étudierions
    • D) étudierais

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

    • A) étudiions
    • B) étudient
    • C) étudie
    • D) étudies

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

    • A) étudiasses
    • B) étudiassent
    • C) étudiât
    • D) étudiassions

  9. What is the gerund of étudier?

    • A) étudiant
    • B) dormant
    • C) buvant

  10. What is the past participle of étudier?

  • A) bu
  • B) étudié
  • C) dormi

Answer key

  1. B) étudies — The tu form of étudier in the present indicative is étudies.
  2. B) étudions — The nous form of étudier in the present indicative is étudions.
  3. B) a étudié — The il/elle form of étudier in the present perfect is a étudié.
  4. D) étudiais — The je form of étudier in the imperfect is étudiais.
  5. A) étudierons — The nous form of étudier in the future is étudierons.
  6. D) étudierais — The tu form of étudier in the conditional is étudierais.
  7. C) étudie — The je form of étudier in the present subjunctive is étudie.
  8. C) étudiât — The il/elle form of étudier in the imperfect subjunctive is étudiât.
  9. A) étudiant — The gerund of étudier is en étudiant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) étudié — The past participle of étudier is étudié; perfect tenses use avoir + étudié.

Frequently asked questions

What does étudier mean in English?

étudier means “study”. You use it for talking about school and university, for describing revision, and for explaining your studies.

Is étudier regular or irregular?

étudier is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en étudiant and the past participle is étudié.

How do I say “I study” in French?

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

Where can I see the full conjugation of étudier?

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

How to practise étudier this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with étudier 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, l'histoire and à la bibliothèque — and change only the person, so you hear how étudie, étudies and étudie sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai étudié 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 étudiant and étudié 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 étudier, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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