Oublier Conjugation in French

oublier means “forget” 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 forgetting, for describing a busy day, and for missing an appointment. 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 oublier — 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'oublie mes clés.” — “I forget my keys.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: oublier
  • English: forget
  • Verb type: Regular
  • Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
  • Gerund: en oubliant
  • Past participle: oublié
  • 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 oublier, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for oublier. 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 oublie
tu oublies
il/elle oublie
nous oublions
vous oubliez
ils/elles oublient

Passé simple

Person Form
je oubliai
tu oublias
il/elle oublia
nous oubliâmes
vous oubliâtes
ils/elles oublièrent

Imperfect

Person Form
je oubliais
tu oubliais
il/elle oubliait
nous oubliions
vous oubliiez
ils/elles oubliaient

Future

Person Form
je oublierai
tu oublieras
il/elle oubliera
nous oublierons
vous oublierez
ils/elles oublieront

Conditional

Person Form
je oublierais
tu oublierais
il/elle oublierait
nous oublierions
vous oublieriez
ils/elles oublieraient

Present subjunctive

Person Form
je oublie
tu oublies
il/elle oublie
nous oubliions
vous oubliiez
ils/elles oublient

Imperfect subjunctive

Person Form
je oubliasse
tu oubliasses
il/elle oubliât
nous oubliassions
vous oubliassiez
ils/elles oubliassent

Present perfect

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

Pluperfect (past perfect)

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

Future perfect

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

Conditional perfect

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

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu oublie
nous oublions
vous oubliez

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu oublie
nous oublions
vous oubliez

Gerund and past participle

Form French
Gerund en oubliant
Past participle oublié

When to use each tense

Present indicative

The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'oublie mon parapluie.” — “I forget my umbrella.”

Passé simple

The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “J'oubliai mon parapluie hier.” — “I forgot my umbrella yesterday.”

Imperfect

The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “J'oubliais mon parapluie avant.” — “I used to forget my umbrella before.”

Future

The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “J'oublierai mon parapluie demain.” — “I will forget my umbrella tomorrow.”

Conditional

The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “J'oublierais mon parapluie un jour.” — “I would forget my umbrella one day.”

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que j'oublie mon parapluie” — “Although I forget my umbrella.”

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'oubliasse mon parapluie” — “Although I forget my umbrella.”

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 oublié mon parapluie cette semaine.” — “I have forgotten my umbrella this week.”

Pluperfect (past perfect)

The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais oublié mon parapluie avant la fête.” — “I had forgotten my umbrella 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 oublié mon parapluie pour demain.” — “I will have forgotten my umbrella by tomorrow.”

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais oublié mon parapluie hier.” — “I would have forgotten my umbrella yesterday.”

Imperative (affirmative)

The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “oublie mon parapluie !” — “Forget my umbrella!”

Imperative (negative)

The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne oublie pas mon parapluie !” — “Don't forget my umbrella!”

Gerund and past participle

The gerund en oubliant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle oublié builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai oublié le rendez-vous cette semaine.” — “I have forgotten the appointment this week.”

Example sentences

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

  1. “J'oublie mes clés.” — “I forget my keys.”
  2. “Tu oublias mon parapluie hier.” — “You forgot my umbrella yesterday.”
  3. “Il oubliait le rendez-vous avant.” — “He used to forget the appointment before.”
  4. “J'oublierai son nom demain.” — “I will forget his name tomorrow.”
  5. “Tu oublierais mes clés un jour.” — “You would forget my keys one day.”
  6. “Il a oublié mon parapluie cette semaine.” — “He has forgotten my umbrella this week.”
  7. “J'avais oublié le rendez-vous avant la fête.” — “I had forgotten the appointment before the party.”
  8. “Tu auras oublié son nom pour demain.” — “You will have forgotten his name by tomorrow.”
  9. “Bien que il oublie mes clés” — “Although he forgets my keys.”
  10. “oublie mon parapluie !” — “Forget my umbrella!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je oublier mes clés.”

✓ Right: “Je oublie mes clés.”

The infinitive oublier never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form oublie.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je oublions mon parapluie.”

✓ Right: “Je oublie mon parapluie.”

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

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je oublie mes clés.”

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai oublié mes clés.”

The present oublie describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai oublié.

4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je oubliai le rendez-vous.” (in casual conversation)

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai oublié le rendez-vous.”

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

5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Bien que je oublie mes clés.”

✓ Right: “Bien que je oublie mes clés.”

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

6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action

✗ Wrong: “Je oubliais son nom avant.” (said of one finished moment)

✓ Right: “J'ai oublié son nom avant.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) oublie
    • B) oublies
    • C) oubliez
    • D) oublions

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

    • A) oubliâtes
    • B) oublia
    • C) oublias
    • D) oubliâmes

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

    • A) oubliiez
    • B) oubliait
    • C) oubliions
    • D) oubliais

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

    • A) oublieras
    • B) oublierons
    • C) oublierai
    • D) oubliera

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

    • A) oublierais
    • B) oublieriez
    • C) oublierait
    • D) oublierions

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

    • A) oubliiez
    • B) oublie
    • C) oublient
    • D) oublies

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

    • A) oubliasse
    • B) oubliât
    • C) oubliassions
    • D) oubliassent

  8. What is the gerund of oublier?

    • A) oubliant
    • B) buvant
    • C) dormant

  9. What is the past participle of oublier?

    • A) dormi
    • B) oublié
    • C) bu

  10. What does oublier mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. A) oublie — The je form of oublier in the present indicative is oublie.
  2. B) oublia — The il/elle form of oublier in the passé simple is oublia.
  3. C) oubliions — The nous form of oublier in the imperfect is oubliions.
  4. A) oublieras — The tu form of oublier in the future is oublieras.
  5. A) oublierais — The je form of oublier in the conditional is oublierais.
  6. B) oublie — The il/elle form of oublier in the present subjunctive is oublie.
  7. A) oubliasse — The je form of oublier in the imperfect subjunctive is oubliasse.
  8. A) oubliant — The gerund of oublier is en oubliant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) oublié — The past participle of oublier is oublié; perfect tenses use avoir + oublié.
  10. A) forget — oublier means “forget” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does oublier mean in English?

oublier means “forget”. You use it for talking about forgetting, for describing a busy day, and for missing an appointment. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is oublier regular or irregular?

oublier is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en oubliant and the past participle is oublié.

What are the gerund and past participle of oublier?

The gerund is en oubliant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is oublié — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai oublié.

How do I say “I forget” in French?

Say “J'oublie mes clés.” — “I forget my keys.” The je form of the present is oublie, and it is the form you will use most often.

What is the difference between oublier and perdre?

oublier means “forget” while perdre means “lose” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for perdre and check the meaning in context before you choose.

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