Étudier Conjugation in French

étudier means “study” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about school and university, for describing revision, and for explaining your studies. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of étudier — 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'étudie le français.” — “I study French.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: étudier
  • English: study
  • Verb type: Regular
  • Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
  • Gerund: en étudiant
  • Past participle: étudié
  • Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)

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.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for étudier. 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 étudie
tu étudies
il/elle étudie
nous étudions
vous étudiez
ils/elles étudient

Passé simple

Person Form
je étudiai
tu étudias
il/elle étudia
nous étudiâmes
vous étudiâtes
ils/elles étudièrent

Imperfect

Person Form
je étudiais
tu étudiais
il/elle étudiait
nous étudiions
vous étudiiez
ils/elles étudiaient

Future

Person Form
je étudierai
tu étudieras
il/elle étudiera
nous étudierons
vous étudierez
ils/elles étudieront

Conditional

Person Form
je étudierais
tu étudierais
il/elle étudierait
nous étudierions
vous étudieriez
ils/elles étudieraient

Present subjunctive

Person Form
je étudie
tu étudies
il/elle étudie
nous étudiions
vous étudiiez
ils/elles étudient

Imperfect subjunctive

Person Form
je étudiasse
tu étudiasses
il/elle étudiât
nous étudiassions
vous étudiassiez
ils/elles étudiassent

Present perfect

Person Form
je ai étudié
tu as étudié
il/elle a étudié
nous avons étudié
vous avez étudié
ils/elles ont étudié

Pluperfect (past perfect)

Person Form
je avais étudié
tu avais étudié
il/elle avait étudié
nous avions étudié
vous aviez étudié
ils/elles avaient étudié

Future perfect

Person Form
je aurai étudié
tu auras étudié
il/elle aura étudié
nous aurons étudié
vous aurez étudié
ils/elles auront étudié

Conditional perfect

Person Form
je aurais étudié
tu aurais étudié
il/elle aurait étudié
nous aurions étudié
vous auriez étudié
ils/elles auraient étudié

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu étudie
nous étudions
vous étudiez

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu étudie
nous étudions
vous étudiez

Gerund and past participle

Form French
Gerund en étudiant
Past participle étudié

When to use each tense

Present indicative

The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'étudie l'histoire.” — “I study history.”

Passé simple

The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “J'étudiai l'histoire hier.” — “I studied history yesterday.”

Imperfect

The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “J'étudiais l'histoire avant.” — “I used to study history before.”

Future

The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “J'étudierai l'histoire demain.” — “I will study history tomorrow.”

Conditional

The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “J'étudierais l'histoire un jour.” — “I would study history one day.”

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que j'étudie l'histoire” — “Although I study history.”

Imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que j'étudiasse l'histoire” — “Although I study history.”

Present perfect

The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai étudié l'histoire cette semaine.” — “I have studied history this week.”

Pluperfect (past perfect)

The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais étudié l'histoire avant la fête.” — “I had studied history before the party.”

Future perfect

The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai étudié l'histoire pour demain.” — “I will have studied history by tomorrow.”

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais étudié l'histoire hier.” — “I would have studied history yesterday.”

Imperative (affirmative)

The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “étudie l'histoire !” — “Study history!”

Imperative (negative)

The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne étudie pas l'histoire !” — “Don't study history!”

Gerund and past participle

The gerund en étudiant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle étudié builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai étudié à la bibliothèque cette semaine.” — “I have studied at the library this week.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with étudier, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “J'étudie le français.” — “I study French.”
  2. “Tu étudias l'histoire hier.” — “You studied history yesterday.”
  3. “Il étudiait à la bibliothèque avant.” — “He used to study at the library before.”
  4. “J'étudierai tous les jours demain.” — “I will study every day tomorrow.”
  5. “Tu étudierais le français un jour.” — “You would study French one day.”
  6. “Il a étudié l'histoire cette semaine.” — “He has studied history this week.”
  7. “J'avais étudié à la bibliothèque avant la fête.” — “I had studied at the library before the party.”
  8. “Tu auras étudié tous les jours pour demain.” — “You will have studied every day by tomorrow.”
  9. “Bien que il étudie le français” — “Although he studies French.”
  10. “étudie l'histoire !” — “Study history!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je étudier le français.”

✓ Right: “Je étudie le français.”

The infinitive étudier never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form étudie.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je étudions l'histoire.”

✓ Right: “Je étudie l'histoire.”

étudions is the nous form. With je the present form is étudie — check the person in the table before you speak.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je étudie le français.”

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai étudié le français.”

The present étudie describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai étudié.

4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je étudiai à la bibliothèque.” (in casual conversation)

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

The passé simple étudiai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai étudié.

5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Bien que je étudie le français.”

✓ Right: “Bien que je étudie le français.”

After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use étudie here, not the indicative étudie.

6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action

✗ Wrong: “Je étudiais tous les jours avant.” (said of one finished moment)

✓ Right: “J'ai étudié tous les jours avant.”

The imperfect étudiais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai étudié.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

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

  2. What is the il/elle form of étudier in the Passé simple?

    • A) étudias
    • B) étudiai
    • C) étudièrent
    • D) étudia

  3. What is the nous form of étudier in the Imperfect?

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

  4. What is the tu form of étudier in the Future?

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

  5. What is the je form of étudier in the Conditional?

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

  6. What is the il/elle form of étudier in the Present subjunctive?

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

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

    • A) étudiasse
    • B) étudiassiez
    • C) étudiassent
    • D) étudiât

  8. What is the gerund of étudier?

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

  9. What is the past participle of étudier?

    • A) étudié
    • B) dormi
    • C) bu

  10. What does étudier mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) study
  • C) drink
  • D) open

Answer key

  1. C) étudie — The je form of étudier in the present indicative is étudie.
  2. D) étudia — The il/elle form of étudier in the passé simple is étudia.
  3. B) étudiions — The nous form of étudier in the imperfect is étudiions.
  4. C) étudieras — The tu form of étudier in the future is étudieras.
  5. B) étudierais — The je form of étudier in the conditional is étudierais.
  6. D) étudie — The il/elle form of étudier in the present subjunctive is étudie.
  7. A) étudiasse — The je form of étudier in the imperfect subjunctive is étudiasse.
  8. C) étudiant — The gerund of étudier is en étudiant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) étudié — The past participle of étudier is étudié; perfect tenses use avoir + étudié.
  10. B) study — étudier means “study” in English.

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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

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.

What are the gerund and past participle of étudier?

The gerund is en étudiant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is étudié — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.

What is the difference between étudier and apprendre?

étudier means “study” while apprendre means “learn” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for apprendre and check the meaning in context before you choose.

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