Pratiquer Conjugation in French
pratiquer means “to practise” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of pratiquer — 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 pratique le piano chaque soir.” — “I practise the piano every evening.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: French spelling and endings change with the person and the tense, and pratiquer is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: pratiquer
- English: to practise
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en pratiquant
- Past participle: pratiqué
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for pratiquer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pratiquer. 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 | pratique |
| tu | pratiques |
| il/elle | pratique |
| nous | pratiquons |
| vous | pratiquez |
| ils/elles | pratiquent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pratiquai |
| tu | pratiquas |
| il/elle | pratiqua |
| nous | pratiquâmes |
| vous | pratiquâtes |
| ils/elles | pratiquèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pratiquais |
| tu | pratiquais |
| il/elle | pratiquait |
| nous | pratiquions |
| vous | pratiquiez |
| ils/elles | pratiquaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pratiquerai |
| tu | pratiqueras |
| il/elle | pratiquera |
| nous | pratiquerons |
| vous | pratiquerez |
| ils/elles | pratiqueront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pratiquerais |
| tu | pratiquerais |
| il/elle | pratiquerait |
| nous | pratiquerions |
| vous | pratiqueriez |
| ils/elles | pratiqueraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai pratiqué |
| tu | as pratiqué |
| il/elle | a pratiqué |
| nous | avons pratiqué |
| vous | avez pratiqué |
| ils/elles | ont pratiqué |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais pratiqué |
| tu | avais pratiqué |
| il/elle | avait pratiqué |
| nous | avions pratiqué |
| vous | aviez pratiqué |
| ils/elles | avaient pratiqué |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai pratiqué |
| tu | auras pratiqué |
| il/elle | aura pratiqué |
| nous | aurons pratiqué |
| vous | aurez pratiqué |
| ils/elles | auront pratiqué |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais pratiqué |
| tu | aurais pratiqué |
| il/elle | aurait pratiqué |
| nous | aurions pratiqué |
| vous | auriez pratiqué |
| ils/elles | auraient pratiqué |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pratique |
| tu | pratiques |
| il/elle | pratique |
| nous | pratiquions |
| vous | pratiquiez |
| ils/elles | pratiquent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pratiquasse |
| tu | pratiquasses |
| il/elle | pratiquât |
| nous | pratiquassions |
| vous | pratiquassiez |
| ils/elles | pratiquassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pratique |
| nous | pratiquons |
| vous | pratiquez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | pratique |
| nous | pratiquons |
| vous | pratiquez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en pratiquant |
| Past participle | pratiqué |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir.” — “I practise the piano every evening.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu pratiquas le piano chaque soir.” — “You practised the piano every evening one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il pratiquait le piano chaque soir quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to practise the piano every evening.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous pratiquerons le piano chaque soir.” — “We will practise the piano every evening tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous pratiqueriez le piano chaque soir.” — “You would practise the piano every evening if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With pratiquer it is formed with avoir + the past participle pratiqué. For example: “Ils ont pratiqué le piano chaque soir hier.” — “They have practised the piano every evening.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais pratiqué le piano chaque soir avant la fête.” — “I had practised the piano every evening before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras pratiqué le piano chaque soir.” — “You will have practised the piano every evening by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait pratiqué le piano chaque soir.” — “He would have practised the piano every evening if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il faut que je pratique le piano chaque soir.” — “It is important that I practise the piano every evening.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mainly in formal writing. For example: “Il fallait que je pratiquasse le piano chaque soir.” — “It was important that I practise the piano every evening.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Pratique le piano chaque soir !” — “Practise the piano every evening!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Pratique le piano chaque soir !” — “Do not practise the piano every evening!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en pratiquant — “while practising” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is pratiqué, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai pratiqué.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with pratiquer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je pratique le piano chaque soir.” — “I practise the piano every evening.”
- “Tu pratiques le piano chaque soir.” — “You practise the piano every evening.”
- “Il pratiquait le piano chaque soir.” — “He used to practise the piano every evening.”
- “Nous pratiquerons le piano chaque soir.” — “We will practise the piano every evening tomorrow.”
- “Je pratiquerais le piano chaque soir.” — “I would practise the piano every evening if I could.”
- “Tu as pratiqué le piano chaque soir.” — “You have practised the piano every evening.”
- “Il avait pratiqué le piano chaque soir.” — “He had practised the piano every evening before the party.”
- “Nous aurons pratiqué le piano chaque soir.” — “We will have practised the piano every evening by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je pratique le piano chaque soir.” — “It is important that I practise the piano every evening.”
- “Pratique le piano chaque soir !” — “Practise the piano every evening!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je pratiquer le piano chaque soir.”
✓ Right: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir.”
The infinitive pratiquer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form pratique.
2. Confusing pratiquer with s'entraîner
✗ Wrong: “Je pratique au gymnase chaque semaine.” (meant as “s'entraîner”)
✓ Right: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir.”
pratiquer means “to practise”; s'entraîner means “to train”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis pratiqué le piano chaque soir.”
✓ Right: “J'ai pratiqué le piano chaque soir.”
With pratiquer the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai pratiqué.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je pratique le piano chaque soir.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je pratique le piano chaque soir.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use pratique here, not the indicative pratique.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai pratiqué le piano chaque soir hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai pratiqué), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratiquons
- B) pratiquent
- C) pratiquez
- D) pratique
What is the ils/elles form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratiquons
- B) pratique
- C) pratiquez
- D) pratiquent
What is the il/elle form of pratiquer in the Passé simple?
- A) pratiquai
- B) pratiquas
- C) pratiquâmes
- D) pratiqua
What is the nous form of pratiquer in the Imperfect?
- A) pratiquaient
- B) pratiquais
- C) pratiquions
- D) pratiquait
What is the tu form of pratiquer in the Future?
- A) pratiquerons
- B) pratiqueras
- C) pratiqueront
- D) pratiquerai
What is the je form of pratiquer in the Conditional?
- A) pratiquerait
- B) pratiqueriez
- C) pratiquerais
- D) pratiqueraient
What is the il/elle form of pratiquer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as pratiqué
- B) ont pratiqué
- C) a pratiqué
- D) avez pratiqué
What is the vous form of pratiquer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avions pratiqué
- B) avaient pratiqué
- C) avait pratiqué
- D) aviez pratiqué
What is the gerund of pratiquer?
- A) en pratiquant
- B) pratiqué
- C) pratiquerai
- D) pratique
What is the past participle of pratiquer?
- A) pratique
- B) pratiqué
- C) en pratiquant
- D) pratiquais
Answer key
- D) pratique — the je form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratique.
- D) pratiquent — the ils/elles form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratiquent.
- D) pratiqua — the il/elle form of pratiquer in the passé simple is pratiqua.
- C) pratiquions — the nous form of pratiquer in the imperfect is pratiquions.
- B) pratiqueras — the tu form of pratiquer in the future is pratiqueras.
- C) pratiquerais — the je form of pratiquer in the conditional is pratiquerais.
- C) a pratiqué — the il/elle form of pratiquer in the present perfect (passé composé) is a pratiqué.
- D) aviez pratiqué — the vous form of pratiquer in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez pratiqué.
- A) en pratiquant — the gerund of pratiquer is en pratiquant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) pratiqué — the past participle of pratiquer is pratiqué; perfect tenses use avoir + pratiqué.
Frequently asked questions
What does pratiquer mean in English?
pratiquer means “to practise”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je pratique le piano chaque soir.” (“I practise the piano every evening.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is pratiquer regular or irregular?
pratiquer is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en pratiquant and the past participle is pratiqué.
What are the gerund and past participle of pratiquer?
The gerund is en pratiquant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is pratiqué — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai pratiqué.
What is the difference between pratiquer and s'entraîner?
pratiquer means “to practise”, while s'entraîner means “to train”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for s'entraîner and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I practise” in French?
Say “Je pratique le piano chaque soir.” — “I practise the piano every evening.” The je form of the present is pratique, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn pratiquer
Start with the present tense: pratique, pratiques, pratique, pratiquons, pratiquez, pratiquent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai pratiqué — and the imperfect — pratiquais. Next, learn the future (pratiquerai) and the conditional (pratiquerais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (pratique) and the imperative (pratique). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the present-tense quiz.
Related pages
- pratiquer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- pratiquer 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.
- Sentrainer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise pratiquer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise pratiquer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.