Expliquer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
expliquer — “to explain” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find expliquer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues 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. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves.” — “I explain the lesson to my pupils.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for expliquer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Example sentences with expliquer
In the present tense
- “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves tous les jours.” — “I explain the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Tu expliques la leçon à mes élèves souvent.” — “You explain the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Il explique la leçon à mes élèves chaque matin.” — “He explains the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Nous expliquons la leçon à mes élèves le week-end.” — “We explain the lesson to my pupils.”
In the passé composé
- “J'ai expliqué la leçon à mes élèves hier.” — “I have explained the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Tu as expliqué la leçon à mes élèves ce matin.” — “You have explained the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Il a expliqué la leçon à mes élèves la semaine dernière.” — “He has explained the lesson to my pupils.”
In the imperfect and the future
- “J'expliquais la leçon à mes élèves quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to explain the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Nous expliquions la leçon à mes élèves quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to explain the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Tu expliqueras la leçon à mes élèves demain.” — “You will explain the lesson to my pupils tomorrow.”
- “Ils expliqueront la leçon à mes élèves demain.” — “They will explain the lesson to my pupils tomorrow.”
In other tenses
- “J'expliquerais la leçon à mes élèves si je pouvais.” — “I would explain the lesson to my pupils if I could.”
- “Il faut que je explique la leçon à mes élèves.” — “It is important that I explain the lesson to my pupils.”
- “Explique la leçon à mes élèves !” — “Explain the lesson to my pupils!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “J'avais expliqué la leçon à mes élèves avant la fête.” — “I had explained the lesson to my pupils before the party.”
All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en expliquant and the past participle is expliqué; the perfect tenses use avoir + expliqué, as in ai expliqué.
Expliquer in context
Dialogue 1: every day
Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how expliquer changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.
Marie: “Tu expliques la leçon à mes élèves tous les jours ?” — “You explain the lesson to my pupils.” Paul: “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves tous les jours.” — “I explain the lesson to my pupils.” Marie: “Tu as expliqué la leçon à mes élèves hier ?” — “You have explained the lesson to my pupils.” Paul: “J'ai expliqué la leçon à mes élèves hier.” — “I have explained the lesson to my pupils.” Marie: “Nous expliquerons la leçon à mes élèves demain ?” — “We will explain the lesson to my pupils tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous expliquerons la leçon à mes élèves demain.” — “We will explain the lesson to my pupils tomorrow.”
Dialogue 2: making plans
Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.
Paul: “J'expliquerais la leçon à mes élèves si je pouvais.” — “I would explain the lesson to my pupils if I could.” Marie: “Tu expliques la leçon à mes élèves souvent ?” — “You explain the lesson to my pupils.” Paul: “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves souvent.” — “I explain the lesson to my pupils.” Marie: “Explique la leçon à mes élèves !” — “Explain the lesson to my pupils!” Paul: “Il faut que je explique la leçon à mes élèves.” — “It is important that I explain the lesson to my pupils.” Marie: “Nous avons expliqué la leçon à mes élèves hier.” — “We have explained the lesson to my pupils.”
Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: explique becomes expliques, expliques becomes explique, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — explique*, expliques, explique, expliquons, expliquez, *expliquent — in memory.
Common mistakes with expliquer
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: “Je expliquer la leçon à mes élèves.”
Right: “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves.”
The infinitive expliquer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form explique.
Mistake 2: Confusing expliquer with raconter
Wrong: “J'explique une histoire à mes enfants.” (meant as “raconter”)
Right: “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves.”
expliquer means “to explain” and raconter means “to tell (a story)”. They appear in similar situations, but they are different actions — check the meaning before you choose the verb.
Mistake 3: Using être for the passé composé
Wrong: “Je suis expliqué la leçon à mes élèves.”
Right: “J'ai expliqué la leçon à mes élèves.”
With expliquer the passé composé is formed with avoir: ai expliqué.
Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: “Il faut que je explique la leçon à mes élèves.”
Right: “Il faut que je explique la leçon à mes élèves.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: explique, not the indicative explique.
Mistake 5: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu explique la leçon à mes élèves.”
Right: “Tu expliques la leçon à mes élèves.”
After tu you need expliques, not the je form explique.
Quiz: expliquer in everyday use
What is the je form of expliquer in the Present indicative?
- A) expliques
- B) explique
- C) expliquons
- D) expliquent
What is the ils/elles form of expliquer in the Present indicative?
- A) expliques
- B) expliquez
- C) expliquent
- D) expliquons
What is the tu form of expliquer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as expliqué
- B) avons expliqué
- C) ai expliqué
- D) avez expliqué
What is the nous form of expliquer in the Imperfect?
- A) expliquiez
- B) expliquais
- C) expliquions
- D) expliquaient
What is the il/elle form of expliquer in the Future?
- A) expliquerai
- B) expliquerez
- C) expliquerons
- D) expliquera
What is the je form of expliquer in the Conditional?
- A) expliqueraient
- B) expliquerais
- C) expliquerait
- D) expliquerions
What is the tu form of expliquer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) expliques
- B) expliquiez
- C) expliquent
- D) expliquions
What is the tu form of expliquer in the Imperative (affirmative)?
- A) expliqueriez
- B) explique
- C) expliquons
- D) expliquez
What is the past participle of expliquer?
- A) en expliquant
- B) explique
- C) expliquais
- D) expliqué
What does expliquer mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to explain
- C) to go
- D) to have
Answer key
- B) explique — the je form of expliquer in the present indicative is explique.
- C) expliquent — the ils/elles form of expliquer in the present indicative is expliquent.
- A) as expliqué — the tu form of expliquer in the present perfect (passé composé) is as expliqué.
- C) expliquions — the nous form of expliquer in the imperfect is expliquions.
- D) expliquera — the il/elle form of expliquer in the future is expliquera.
- B) expliquerais — the je form of expliquer in the conditional is expliquerais.
- A) expliques — the tu form of expliquer in the present subjunctive is expliques.
- B) explique — the tu form of expliquer in the imperative (affirmative) is explique.
- D) expliqué — the past participle of expliquer is expliqué; perfect tenses use avoir + expliqué.
- B) to explain — expliquer means “to explain” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does expliquer mean in English?
expliquer means “to explain”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves.” (“I explain the lesson to my pupils.”).
Which auxiliary does expliquer take in the passé composé?
expliquer takes avoir: ai expliqué. Because the auxiliary is avoir, the participle normally stays invariable.
What is the hardest form of expliquer to remember?
Most learners struggle with keeping the six persons apart — explique*, expliques, explique, expliquons, expliquez, *expliquent. Say them in order every day, and use the dialogues above to practise them in real sentences.
Where can I see the full conjugation of expliquer?
On the full conjugation page for expliquer, which has every tense, and on the expliquer present page, which goes deep on one tense.
Say it yourself
Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I explain the lesson to my pupils.” should become “J'explique la leçon à mes élèves”. Then try the passé composé: “I have explained the lesson to my pupils.” should become “J'ai expliqué la leçon à mes élèves”. Finally, try the future: “I will explain the lesson to my pupils tomorrow.” should become “J'expliquerai la leçon à mes élèves”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.
Related pages
- expliquer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- expliquer 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.
- Raconter conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise expliquer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise expliquer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.