Parler Conjugation in French
parler means “to speak” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 17 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about speaking French with my friends, and 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 parler — 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: “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.” — “I speak French with my friends every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: parler
- English: to speak
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: parlant
- Past participle: parlé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read parler in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about parler
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -er pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle parlé. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is parlant and the participle is parlé: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for parler. 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 | parle |
| tu | parles |
| il/elle | parle |
| nous | parlons |
| vous | parlez |
| ils/elles | parlent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je parle de ce livre avec Marie tous les jours.” — “I speak about this book with Marie every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | parlai |
| tu | parlas |
| il/elle | parla |
| nous | parlâmes |
| vous | parlâtes |
| ils/elles | parlèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu parlas de ce livre avec Marie hier.” — “You spoke about this book with Marie yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | parlais |
| tu | parlais |
| il/elle | parlait |
| nous | parlions |
| vous | parliez |
| ils/elles | parlaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il parlait de ce livre avec Marie autrefois.” — “He used to speak about this book with Marie in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | parlerai |
| tu | parleras |
| il/elle | parlera |
| nous | parlerons |
| vous | parlerez |
| ils/elles | parleront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je parlerai de ce livre avec Marie demain.” — “I will speak about this book with Marie tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | parlerais |
| tu | parlerais |
| il/elle | parlerait |
| nous | parlerions |
| vous | parleriez |
| ils/elles | parleraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu parlerais de ce livre avec Marie un jour.” — “You would speak about this book with Marie one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai parlé |
| tu | as parlé |
| il/elle | a parlé |
| nous | avons parlé |
| vous | avez parlé |
| ils/elles | ont parlé |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a parlé de ce livre avec Marie cette semaine.” — “He has spoken about this book with Marie this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais parlé |
| tu | avais parlé |
| il/elle | avait parlé |
| nous | avions parlé |
| vous | aviez parlé |
| ils/elles | avaient parlé |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais parlé de ce livre avec Marie avant la fête.” — “I had spoken about this book with Marie before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai parlé |
| tu | auras parlé |
| il/elle | aura parlé |
| nous | aurons parlé |
| vous | aurez parlé |
| ils/elles | auront parlé |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras parlé de ce livre avec Marie pour demain.” — “You will have spoken about this book with Marie by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais parlé |
| tu | aurais parlé |
| il/elle | aurait parlé |
| nous | aurions parlé |
| vous | auriez parlé |
| ils/elles | auraient parlé |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait parlé de ce livre avec Marie hier.” — “He would have spoken about this book with Marie yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | parle |
| tu | parles |
| il/elle | parle |
| nous | parlions |
| vous | parliez |
| ils/elles | parlent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que je parle de ce livre avec Marie.” — “It is important that I speak about this book with Marie.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | parlasse |
| tu | parlasses |
| il/elle | parlât |
| nous | parlassions |
| vous | parlassiez |
| ils/elles | parlassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu parlasses de ce livre avec Marie.” — “It is important that you speak about this book with Marie.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | parle |
| nous | parlons |
| vous | parlez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Parle de ce livre avec Marie !” — “Speak about this book with Marie!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | parle |
| nous | parlons |
| vous | parlez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne parle pas de ce livre avec Marie.” — “Do not speak about this book with Marie.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en parlant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En parlant français avec mes amis, je passe un bon moment.” — “While speaking French with my friends, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | parlé |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai parlé français avec mes amis cette semaine.” — “I have spoken French with my friends this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with parler, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.” — “I speak French with my friends every day.”
- “Tu parlas de ce livre avec Marie hier.” — “You spoke about this book with Marie yesterday.”
- “Il parlait tous les jours au travail autrefois.” — “He used to speak every day at work in the past.”
- “Je parlerai français avec mes amis demain.” — “I will speak French with my friends tomorrow.”
- “Tu parlerais de ce livre avec Marie un jour.” — “You would speak about this book with Marie one day.”
- “Il a parlé tous les jours au travail cette semaine.” — “He has spoken every day at work this week.”
- “J'avais parlé français avec mes amis avant la fête.” — “I had spoken French with my friends before the party.”
- “Tu auras parlé de ce livre avec Marie pour demain.” — “You will have spoken about this book with Marie by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il parle tous les jours au travail.” — “It is important that he speak every day at work.”
- “Parle français avec mes amis !” — “Speak French with my friends!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form parle.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je parlent français avec mes amis.”
✓ Right: “Je parle français avec mes amis.”
parlent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with parle.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je parlai français avec mes amis tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.”
The passé simple parlai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present parle.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je parle français avec mes amis.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je parle français avec mes amis.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use parle here, not the indicative parle.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis parlé français avec mes amis.”
✓ Right: “Je ai parlé français avec mes amis.”
The passé composé of parler is formed with avoir plus the past participle parlé: the je form is ai parlé. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “parle” written without its accent
✓ Right: “parle”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on parler. Choose the right form, 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 il/elle form of parler in the Passé simple?
- A) parla
- B) parlai
- C) parlas
- D) parlâmes
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 perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai parlé
- B) as parlé
- C) avons parlé
- D) a parlé
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 Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) parlassions
- B) parlasse
- C) parlasses
- D) parlât
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.
- A) parla — the il/elle form of parler in the Passé simple is parla. 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.
- 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) parle — the il/elle form of parler in the Present subjunctive is parle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) parlasse — the je form of parler in the Imperfect subjunctive is parlasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en parlant — the gerund of parler is en parlant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. 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: it follows the ordinary -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is parlant and the past participle is parlé.
What are the gerund and past participle of parler?
The gerund is parlant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is parlé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai parlé.
Which auxiliary does parler take in the passé composé?
parler takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai parlé. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle parlé.
How do I say “I speak” in French?
Say “Je parle français avec mes amis tous les jours.” — “I speak French with my friends every day.” The je form of the present is parle, and it is the form you will use most often.
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 Conjugator — practise parler with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise parler with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise parler with the interactive tool.