Répondre: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Répondre means “to answer”, 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 répondre, 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 répondre, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je réponds à Marie ce soir tous les jours.” — “I answer to Marie this evening every day.”
  2. “Tu réponds à la question du professeur tous les jours.” — “You answer to the teacher's question every day.”
  3. “J'ai répondu au téléphone tous les jours cette semaine.” — “I have answered on the telephone every day this week.”
  4. “Il répondait à Marie ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to answer to Marie this evening in the past.”
  5. “Nous répondrons à la question du professeur demain.” — “We will answer to the teacher's question tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as répondu au téléphone tous les jours cette semaine.” — “You have answered on the telephone every day this week.”
  7. “Je répondrais à Marie ce soir un jour.” — “I would answer to Marie this evening one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il réponde à la question du professeur.” — “It is important that he answer to the teacher's question.”
  9. “Nous avions répondu au téléphone tous les jours avant la fête.” — “We had answered on the telephone every day before the party.”
  10. “Il répondra à Marie ce soir demain.” — “He will answer to Marie this evening tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils répondent à la question du professeur tous les jours.” — “They answer to the teacher's question every day.”
  12. “Réponds au téléphone tous les jours !” — “Answer on the telephone every day!”

A short dialogue

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

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je réponds à Marie ce soir tous les jours.” — “I answer to Marie this evening every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je répondrai à la question du professeur demain.” — “I will answer to the teacher's question tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai répondu au téléphone tous les jours cette semaine.” — “I have answered on the telephone every day this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je répondrais à Marie ce soir un jour.” — “I would answer to Marie 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.

Répondre in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, répondre describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is réponds: “Je réponds à Marie ce soir tous les jours.” — “I answer to Marie this evening every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, répondre describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is répondait: “Il répondait à la question du professeur autrefois.” — “He used to answer to the teacher's question in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, répondre reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle répondu. The je form is ai répondu: “J'ai répondu au téléphone tous les jours cette semaine.” — “I have answered on the telephone every day this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, répondre talks about what will happen. The nous form is répondrons: “Nous répondrons à Marie ce soir demain.” — “We will answer to Marie this evening tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, répondre talks about what would happen. The tu form is répondrais: “Tu répondrais à la question du professeur un jour.” — “You would answer to the teacher's question one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, répondre appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is réponde, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je réponde au téléphone tous les jours.” — “It is important that I answer on the telephone every day.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je répondre à Marie ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je réponds à Marie ce soir.”

The infinitive répondre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form réponds.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu réponds à Marie ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Tu réponds à Marie ce soir.”

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

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je réponds à Marie ce soir hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai répondu à Marie ce soir hier.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu réponds à la question du professeur.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu répondes à la question du professeur.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je répondu à Marie ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je ai répondu à Marie ce soir.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) répondez
    • B) réponds
    • C) répond
    • D) répondons

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

    • A) répondez
    • B) réponds
    • C) répond
    • D) répondons

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

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

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

    • A) répondais
    • B) répondait
    • C) répondiez
    • D) répondions

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

    • A) répondra
    • B) répondrons
    • C) répondras
    • D) répondrai

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

    • A) répondriez
    • B) répondrais
    • C) répondrait
    • D) répondrions

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

    • A) répondes
    • B) répondions
    • C) répondiez
    • D) réponde

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

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

  9. What is the gerund of répondre?

    • A) en écoutant
    • B) en attendant
    • C) en répondant
    • D) en travaillant

  10. What does répondre mean in English?

  • A) to wait
  • B) to answer
  • C) to work
  • D) to listen to

Answer key

  1. B) réponds — the je form of répondre in the Present indicative is réponds. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) réponds — the tu form of répondre in the Present indicative is réponds. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) a répondu — the il/elle form of répondre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a répondu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) répondions — the nous form of répondre in the Imperfect is répondions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) répondras — the tu form of répondre in the Future is répondras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) répondrais — the je form of répondre in the Conditional is répondrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) réponde — the il/elle form of répondre in the Present subjunctive is réponde. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) avais répondu — the je form of répondre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais répondu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) en répondant — the gerund of répondre is en répondant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to answer — répondre means “to answer” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does répondre mean in English?

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

Is répondre regular or irregular?

répondre is regular in every tense. The gerund is répondant and the past participle is répondu.

How do I practise répondre every day?

Say one sentence with répondre 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 réponds à Marie ce soir tous les jours.”, “J'ai répondu à Marie ce soir cette semaine.” and “Je répondrai à Marie 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 répondre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages