S'inquiéter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

s'inquiéter — “to worry” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find s'inquiéter in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “I worry about my children.”

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for s'inquiéter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Example sentences with s'inquiéter

In the present tense

  • “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I worry about my children.”
  • “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants souvent.” — “You worry about my children.”
  • “Il s'inquiète pour mes enfants chaque matin.” — “He worries about my children.”
  • “Nous nous inquiétons pour mes enfants le week-end.” — “We worry about my children.”

In the passé composé

  • “Je me suis inquiété pour mes enfants hier.” — “I have worried about my children.”
  • “Tu t'es inquiété pour mes enfants ce matin.” — “You have worried about my children.”
  • “Il s'est inquiété pour mes enfants la semaine dernière.” — “He has worried about my children.”

In the imperfect and the future

  • “Je m'inquiétais pour mes enfants quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to worry about my children.”
  • “Nous nous inquiétions pour mes enfants quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to worry about my children.”
  • “Tu t'inquiéteras pour mes enfants demain.” — “You will worry about my children tomorrow.”
  • “Ils s'inquiéteront pour mes enfants demain.” — “They will worry about my children tomorrow.”

In other tenses

  • “Je m'inquiéterais pour mes enfants si je pouvais.” — “I would worry about my children if I could.”
  • “Il faut que je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “It is important that I worry about my children.”
  • “Ne te inquiète pas pour mes enfants !” — “Do not worry about my children!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “Je m'étais inquiété pour mes enfants avant la fête.” — “I had worried about my children before the party.”

All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en inquiétant and the past participle is inquiété; the perfect tenses use être + inquiété, as in suis inquiété.

S'inquiéter in context

Dialogue 1: every day

Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how s'inquiéter changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.

Marie: “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants tous les jours ?” — “You worry about my children.” Paul: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I worry about my children.” Marie: “Tu t'es inquiété pour mes enfants hier ?” — “You have worried about my children.” Paul: “Je me suis inquiété pour mes enfants hier.” — “I have worried about my children.” Marie: “Nous nous inquiéterons pour mes enfants demain ?” — “We will worry about my children tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous nous inquiéterons pour mes enfants demain.” — “We will worry about my children tomorrow.”

Dialogue 2: making plans

Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.

Paul: “Je m'inquiéterais pour mes enfants si je pouvais.” — “I would worry about my children if I could.” Marie: “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants souvent ?” — “You worry about my children.” Paul: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants souvent.” — “I worry about my children.” Marie: “Ne te inquiète pas pour mes enfants !” — “Do not worry about my children!” Paul: “Il faut que je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “It is important that I worry about my children.” Marie: “Nous nous sommes inquiété pour mes enfants hier.” — “We have worried about my children.”

Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: inquiète becomes inquiètes, inquiètes becomes inquiète, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — inquiète*, inquiètes, inquiète, inquiétons, inquiétez, *inquiètent — in memory.

Common mistakes with s'inquiéter

Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: “Je s'inquiéter pour mes enfants.”

Right: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.”

The infinitive s'inquiéter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form inquiète.

Mistake 2: Confusing s'inquiéter with se calmer

Wrong: “Je m'inquiète après une longue journée.” (meant as “se calmer”)

Right: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.”

s'inquiéter means “to worry” and se calmer means “to calm down”. They appear in similar situations, but they are different actions — check the meaning before you choose the verb.

Mistake 3: Forgetting the grave accent

Wrong: “inquiéte”

Right: “inquiète”

The accent on inquiète is part of the spelling. Without it the form is wrong.

Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: “Il faut que je inquiète pour mes enfants.”

Right: “Il faut que je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.”

After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: inquiète, not the indicative inquiète.

Mistake 5: Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: “Je inquiète pour mes enfants.”

Right: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.”

s'inquiéter is reflexive: the pronoun is part of the verb.

Quiz: s'inquiéter in everyday use

  1. What is the je form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?

    • A) inquiétons
    • B) inquiètent
    • C) inquiète
    • D) inquiétez

  2. What is the ils/elles form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?

    • A) inquiètes
    • B) inquiètent
    • C) inquiétons
    • D) inquiète

  3. What is the tu form of s'inquiéter in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) sommes inquiété
    • B) es inquiété
    • C) sont inquiété
    • D) suis inquiété

  4. What is the nous form of s'inquiéter in the Imperfect?

    • A) inquiétions
    • B) inquiétait
    • C) inquiétais
    • D) inquiétiez

  5. What is the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the Future?

    • A) inquiéterez
    • B) inquiétera
    • C) inquiéterai
    • D) inquiéteront

  6. What is the je form of s'inquiéter in the Conditional?

    • A) inquiéterais
    • B) inquiéterions
    • C) inquiéteriez
    • D) inquiéteraient

  7. What is the tu form of s'inquiéter in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) inquiète
    • B) inquiétions
    • C) inquiètent
    • D) inquiètes

  8. What is the tu form of s'inquiéter in the Imperative (affirmative)?

    • A) inquiétons
    • B) inquiète
    • C) inquiétât
    • D) inquiétez

  9. What is the past participle of s'inquiéter?

    • A) en inquiétant
    • B) inquiété
    • C) inquiète
    • D) inquiétais

  10. What does s'inquiéter mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to go
  • D) to worry

Answer key

  1. C) inquiète — the je form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiète.
  2. B) inquiètent — the ils/elles form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiètent.
  3. B) es inquiété — the tu form of s'inquiéter in the present perfect (passé composé) is es inquiété.
  4. A) inquiétions — the nous form of s'inquiéter in the imperfect is inquiétions.
  5. B) inquiétera — the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the future is inquiétera.
  6. A) inquiéterais — the je form of s'inquiéter in the conditional is inquiéterais.
  7. D) inquiètes — the tu form of s'inquiéter in the present subjunctive is inquiètes.
  8. B) inquiète — the tu form of s'inquiéter in the imperative (affirmative) is inquiète.
  9. B) inquiété — the past participle of s'inquiéter is inquiété; perfect tenses use être + inquiété.
  10. D) to worry — s'inquiéter means “to worry” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does s'inquiéter mean in English?

s'inquiéter means “to worry”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” (“I worry about my children.”).

Which auxiliary does s'inquiéter take in the passé composé?

s'inquiéter takes être: suis inquiété. Because the auxiliary is être, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

What is the hardest form of s'inquiéter to remember?

Most learners struggle with the irregular forms — for example the present inquiète and the passé composé suis inquiété. Practise those two first, then add the subjunctive inquiète.

Where can I see the full conjugation of s'inquiéter?

On the full conjugation page for s'inquiéter, which has every tense, and on the s'inquiéter present page, which goes deep on one tense.

Say it yourself

Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I worry about my children.” should become “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants”. Then try the passé composé: “I have worried about my children.” should become “Je me suis inquiété pour mes enfants”. Finally, try the future: “I will worry about my children tomorrow.” should become “Je m'inquiéterai pour mes enfants”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.

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