Raconter Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of raconter — “to tell (a story)” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for raconter, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je raconte une histoire à mes enfants.” — “I tell a story to my children.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for raconter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of raconter
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for raconter. raconter is a regular -er verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — raconter
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | raconte |
| tu | racontes |
| il/elle | raconte |
| nous | racontons |
| vous | racontez |
| ils/elles | racontent |
The gerund of raconter is en racontant and the past participle is raconté. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of raconter is formed
For a regular -er verb, the present tense is built on the stem racont- (the infinitive raconter without its -er ending) plus the present tense endings: je → raconte, tu → racontes, il/elle → raconte, nous → racontons, vous → racontez, ils/elles → racontent. So raconter gives raconte, racontes, raconte, racontons, racontez, racontent.
When to use the present tense of raconter
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with raconter: “Je raconte une histoire à mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I tell a story to my children.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with raconter: “Tu racontes une histoire à mes enfants en général.” — “You tell a story to my children.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with raconter: “Il raconte une histoire à mes enfants maintenant.” — “He tells a story to my children.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with raconter: “Nous racontons une histoire à mes enfants demain.” — “We tell a story to my children.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with raconter: “Ils racontent une histoire à mes enfants souvent.” — “They tell a story to my children.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: raconter now, raconter later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “Je raconte une histoire à mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I tell a story to my children.”
Future: “Je raconterai une histoire à mes enfants demain.” — “I will tell a story to my children tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu racontes une histoire à mes enfants maintenant.” — “You tell a story to my children.”
Future: “Tu raconteras une histoire à mes enfants demain.” — “You will tell a story to my children tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous racontons une histoire à mes enfants en classe.” — “We tell a story to my children.”
Future: “Nous raconterons une histoire à mes enfants demain.” — “We will tell a story to my children tomorrow.”
Example sentences: raconter in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of raconter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je raconte une histoire à mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I tell a story to my children.”
- “Tu racontes une histoire à mes enfants chaque matin.” — “You tell a story to my children.”
- “Il raconte une histoire à mes enfants souvent.” — “He tells a story to my children.”
- “Nous racontons une histoire à mes enfants maintenant.” — “We tell a story to my children.”
- “Vous racontez une histoire à mes enfants en général.” — “You tell a story to my children.”
- “Ils racontent une histoire à mes enfants le week-end.” — “They tell a story to my children.”
Common mistakes with raconter in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je raconter une histoire à mes enfants.”
Right: “Je raconte une histoire à mes enfants.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form raconte.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu raconte une histoire à mes enfants.”
Right: “Tu racontes une histoire à mes enfants.”
After tu you need racontes, not the je form raconte. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “Je raconterai une histoire à mes enfants.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “Je raconte une histoire à mes enfants tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (raconterai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai raconté une histoire à mes enfants tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “Je raconte une histoire à mes enfants tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: raconter in the present tense
What is the je form of raconter in the Present indicative?
- A) raconte
- B) racontes
- C) racontez
- D) racontons
What is the tu form of raconter in the Present indicative?
- A) raconte
- B) racontez
- C) racontes
- D) racontons
What is the il/elle form of raconter in the Present indicative?
- A) racontes
- B) racontez
- C) racontons
- D) raconte
What is the nous form of raconter in the Present indicative?
- A) racontons
- B) racontez
- C) racontes
- D) racontent
What is the vous form of raconter in the Present indicative?
- A) racontent
- B) raconte
- C) racontons
- D) racontez
What is the ils/elles form of raconter in the Present indicative?
- A) racontes
- B) racontons
- C) racontent
- D) raconte
What is the gerund of raconter?
- A) raconterai
- B) raconté
- C) raconte
- D) en racontant
What does raconter mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to go
- C) to have
- D) to tell (a story)
Answer key
- A) raconte — the je form of raconter in the present indicative is raconte.
- C) racontes — the tu form of raconter in the present indicative is racontes.
- D) raconte — the il/elle form of raconter in the present indicative is raconte.
- A) racontons — the nous form of raconter in the present indicative is racontons.
- D) racontez — the vous form of raconter in the present indicative is racontez.
- C) racontent — the ils/elles form of raconter in the present indicative is racontent.
- D) en racontant — the gerund of raconter is en racontant.
- D) to tell (a story) — raconter means “to tell (a story)” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of raconter formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is raconte and the ils form is racontent.
When do I use the present tense of raconter?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (raconte), while the future is for what will happen (raconterai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of raconter?
On the full conjugation page for raconter, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of raconter in order, without looking: raconte, racontes, raconte, racontons, racontez, racontent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using raconte, ai raconté and raconterai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- raconter in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- raconter 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.
- Expliquer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Discuter conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise raconter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise raconter with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.