Parler: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Parler means “to speak”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for parler, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with parler, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.” — “I speak French with my friends every day.”
- “Tu parles de ce livre avec Marie tous les jours.” — “You speak about this book with Marie every day.”
- “J'ai parlé tous les jours au travail cette semaine.” — “I have spoken every day at work this week.”
- “Il parlait français avec mes amis autrefois.” — “He used to speak French with my friends in the past.”
- “Nous parlerons de ce livre avec Marie demain.” — “We will speak about this book with Marie tomorrow.”
- “Tu as parlé tous les jours au travail cette semaine.” — “You have spoken every day at work this week.”
- “Je parlerais français avec mes amis un jour.” — “I would speak French with my friends one day.”
- “Il est important que il parle de ce livre avec Marie.” — “It is important that he speak about this book with Marie.”
- “Nous avions parlé tous les jours au travail avant la fête.” — “We had spoken every day at work before the party.”
- “Il parlera français avec mes amis demain.” — “He will speak French with my friends tomorrow.”
- “Ils parlent de ce livre avec Marie tous les jours.” — “They speak about this book with Marie every day.”
- “Parle tous les jours au travail !” — “Speak every day at work!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about French with my friends. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how parler changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of parler below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.” — “I speak French with my friends every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je parlerai de ce livre avec Marie demain.” — “I will speak about this book with Marie tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai parlé tous les jours au travail cette semaine.” — “I have spoken every day at work this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je parlerais français avec mes amis un jour.” — “I would speak French with my friends one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Parler in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of parler that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, parler describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is parle: “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.” — “I speak French with my friends every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, parler describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is parlait: “Il parlait de ce livre avec Marie autrefois.” — “He used to speak about this book with Marie in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, parler reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle parlé. The je form is ai parlé: “J'ai parlé tous les jours au travail cette semaine.” — “I have spoken every day at work this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, parler talks about what will happen. The nous form is parlerons: “Nous parlerons français avec mes amis demain.” — “We will speak French with my friends tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, parler talks about what would happen. The tu form is parlerais: “Tu parlerais de ce livre avec Marie un jour.” — “You would speak about this book with Marie one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, parler appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is parle, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je parle tous les jours au travail.” — “It is important that I speak every day at work.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je parler français avec mes amis.”
✓ Right: “Je parle français avec mes amis.”
The infinitive parler never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form parle.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu parle français avec mes amis.”
✓ Right: “Tu parles français avec mes amis.”
parle is the je form. With tu you need parles. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je parle français avec mes amis hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai parlé français avec mes amis hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai parlé, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu parles de ce livre avec Marie.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu parles de ce livre avec Marie.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: parles, not the indicative parles.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je parlé français avec mes amis.”
✓ Right: “Je ai parlé français avec mes amis.”
The passé composé of parler needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle parlé: the full je form is ai parlé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on parler. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of parler in the Present indicative?
- A) parle
- B) parles
- C) parlons
- D) parlez
What is the tu form of parler in the Present indicative?
- A) parlez
- B) parles
- C) parle
- D) parlons
What is the il/elle form of parler in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai parlé
- B) as parlé
- C) avons parlé
- D) a parlé
What is the nous form of parler in the Imperfect?
- A) parlions
- B) parlais
- C) parlait
- D) parliez
What is the tu form of parler in the Future?
- A) parlera
- B) parlerons
- C) parleras
- D) parlerai
What is the je form of parler in the Conditional?
- A) parleriez
- B) parlerais
- C) parlerait
- D) parlerions
What is the il/elle form of parler in the Present subjunctive?
- A) parle
- B) parles
- C) parlions
- D) parliez
What is the je form of parler in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avais parlé
- B) avait parlé
- C) avions parlé
- D) aviez parlé
What is the gerund of parler?
- A) en demandant
- B) en passant
- C) en tenant
- D) en parlant
What does parler mean in English?
- A) to hold
- B) to speak
- C) to ask
- D) to pass, to spend
Answer key
- A) parle — the je form of parler in the Present indicative is parle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) parles — the tu form of parler in the Present indicative is parles. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) a parlé — the il/elle form of parler in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a parlé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) parlions — the nous form of parler in the Imperfect is parlions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) parleras — the tu form of parler in the Future is parleras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) parlerais — the je form of parler in the Conditional is parlerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) parle — the il/elle form of parler in the Present subjunctive is parle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) avais parlé — the je form of parler in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais parlé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en parlant — the gerund of parler is en parlant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to speak — parler means “to speak” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does parler mean in English?
parler means “to speak”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is parler regular or irregular?
parler is regular in every tense. The gerund is parlant and the past participle is parlé.
How do I practise parler every day?
Say one sentence with parler in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.”, “J'ai parlé français avec mes amis cette semaine.” and “Je parlerai français avec mes amis demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for parler, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of parler — every tense of parler in one place.
- Parler in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Parler examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Demander conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Passer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Tenir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise parler with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise parler with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise parler with the interactive tool.