Regarder: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Regarder means “to look at”, 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 regarder, 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 regarder, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I look at a film this evening every day.”
  2. “Tu regardes la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “You look at television in the evening every day.”
  3. “J'ai regardé par la fenêtre tous les matins cette semaine.” — “I have looked at out of the window every morning this week.”
  4. “Il regardait un film ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to look at a film this evening in the past.”
  5. “Nous regarderons la télévision le soir demain.” — “We will look at television in the evening tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as regardé par la fenêtre tous les matins cette semaine.” — “You have looked at out of the window every morning this week.”
  7. “Je regarderais un film ce soir un jour.” — “I would look at a film this evening one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il regarde la télévision le soir.” — “It is important that he look at television in the evening.”
  9. “Nous avions regardé par la fenêtre tous les matins avant la fête.” — “We had looked at out of the window every morning before the party.”
  10. “Il regardera un film ce soir demain.” — “He will look at a film this evening tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils regardent la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “They look at television in the evening every day.”
  12. “Regarde par la fenêtre tous les matins !” — “Look at out of the window every morning!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about a film this evening. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how regarder changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of regarder below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I look at a film this evening every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je regarderai la télévision le soir demain.” — “I will look at television in the evening tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai regardé par la fenêtre tous les matins cette semaine.” — “I have looked at out of the window every morning this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je regarderais un film ce soir un jour.” — “I would look at a film this evening 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.

Regarder in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of regarder that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, regarder describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is regarde: “Je regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I look at a film this evening every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, regarder describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is regardait: “Il regardait la télévision le soir autrefois.” — “He used to look at television in the evening in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, regarder reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle regardé. The je form is ai regardé: “J'ai regardé par la fenêtre tous les matins cette semaine.” — “I have looked at out of the window every morning this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, regarder talks about what will happen. The nous form is regarderons: “Nous regarderons un film ce soir demain.” — “We will look at a film this evening tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, regarder talks about what would happen. The tu form is regarderais: “Tu regarderais la télévision le soir un jour.” — “You would look at television in the evening one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, regarder appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is regarde, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je regarde par la fenêtre tous les matins.” — “It is important that I look at out of the window every morning.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je regarder un film ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je regarde un film ce soir.”

The infinitive regarder never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form regarde.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu regarde un film ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Tu regardes un film ce soir.”

regarde is the je form. With tu you need regardes. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je regarde un film ce soir hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai regardé un film ce soir hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai regardé, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu regardes la télévision le soir.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu regardes la télévision le soir.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: regardes, not the indicative regardes.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je regardé un film ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je ai regardé un film ce soir.”

The passé composé of regarder needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle regardé: the full je form is ai regardé.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) regardons
    • B) regardez
    • C) regarde
    • D) regardes

  2. What is the tu form of regarder in the Present indicative?

    • A) regarde
    • B) regardons
    • C) regardez
    • D) regardes

  3. What is the il/elle form of regarder in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) avons regardé
    • B) a regardé
    • C) ai regardé
    • D) as regardé

  4. What is the nous form of regarder in the Imperfect?

    • A) regardait
    • B) regardiez
    • C) regardions
    • D) regardais

  5. What is the tu form of regarder in the Future?

    • A) regarderas
    • B) regarderai
    • C) regardera
    • D) regarderons

  6. What is the je form of regarder in the Conditional?

    • A) regarderait
    • B) regarderions
    • C) regarderiez
    • D) regarderais

  7. What is the il/elle form of regarder in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) regardions
    • B) regardiez
    • C) regarde
    • D) regardes

  8. What is the je form of regarder in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avions regardé
    • B) aviez regardé
    • C) avais regardé
    • D) avait regardé

  9. What is the gerund of regarder?

    • A) en travaillant
    • B) en regardant
    • C) en cherchant
    • D) en répondant

  10. What does regarder mean in English?

  • A) to look for
  • B) to answer
  • C) to work
  • D) to look at

Answer key

  1. C) regarde — the je form of regarder in the Present indicative is regarde. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) regardes — the tu form of regarder in the Present indicative is regardes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) a regardé — the il/elle form of regarder in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a regardé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. C) regardions — the nous form of regarder in the Imperfect is regardions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) regarderas — the tu form of regarder in the Future is regarderas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) regarderais — the je form of regarder in the Conditional is regarderais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) regarde — the il/elle form of regarder in the Present subjunctive is regarde. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. C) avais regardé — the je form of regarder in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais regardé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) en regardant — the gerund of regarder is en regardant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. D) to look at — regarder means “to look at” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does regarder mean in English?

regarder means “to look at”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is regarder regular or irregular?

regarder is regular in every tense. The gerund is regardant and the past participle is regardé.

How do I practise regarder every day?

Say one sentence with regarder 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 regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.”, “J'ai regardé un film ce soir cette semaine.” and “Je regarderai un film ce soir 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 regarder, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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