S'inquiéter Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of s'inquiéter — “to worry” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for s'inquiéter, 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 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.
Present Tense conjugation of s'inquiéter
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for s'inquiéter. s'inquiéter is spelling-changing in the present: é becomes è in the singular and third-person plural, as the table shows.
Present indicative — s'inquiéter
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiète |
| tu | inquiètes |
| il/elle | inquiète |
| nous | inquiétons |
| vous | inquiétez |
| ils/elles | inquiètent |
The gerund of s'inquiéter is en inquiétant and the past participle is inquiété. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of s'inquiéter is formed
The present tense of s'inquiéter does not follow the regular pattern, so the stem-and-endings description above is only a starting point: je → inquiète, tu → inquiètes, il/elle → inquiète, nous → inquiétons, vous → inquiétez, ils/elles → inquiètent. Learn these six forms as a set — they are the forms you will use most often, and the subjunctive and imperative are built on them. A note on spelling: the written accent in this tense is part of the form, not decoration. In the present tense, inquiète carries a grave accent, and leaving it out or writing the acute accent changes the form, so copy the forms from the table above exactly, accents included. s'inquiéter is reflexive: the pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) goes before the verb — “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants”. The tables show the bare verb form; the examples add the pronoun.
When to use the present tense of s'inquiéter
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with s'inquiéter: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I worry about 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 s'inquiéter: “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants en général.” — “You worry about 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 s'inquiéter: “Il s'inquiète pour mes enfants maintenant.” — “He worries about 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 s'inquiéter: “Nous nous inquiétons pour mes enfants demain.” — “We worry about 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 s'inquiéter: “Ils s'inquiètent pour mes enfants souvent.” — “They worry about my children.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: s'inquiéter now, s'inquiéter 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 m'inquiète pour mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I worry about my children.”
Future: “Je m'inquiéterai pour mes enfants demain.” — “I will worry about my children tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants maintenant.” — “You worry about my children.”
Future: “Tu t'inquiéteras pour mes enfants demain.” — “You will worry about my children tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous nous inquiétons pour mes enfants en classe.” — “We worry about my children.”
Future: “Nous nous inquiéterons pour mes enfants demain.” — “We will worry about my children tomorrow.”
Example sentences: s'inquiéter in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of s'inquiéter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants tous les jours.” — “I worry about my children.”
- “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants chaque matin.” — “You worry about my children.”
- “Il s'inquiète pour mes enfants souvent.” — “He worries about my children.”
- “Nous nous inquiétons pour mes enfants maintenant.” — “We worry about my children.”
- “Vous vous inquiétez pour mes enfants en général.” — “You worry about my children.”
- “Ils s'inquiètent pour mes enfants le week-end.” — “They worry about my children.”
Common mistakes with s'inquiéter in the present tense
Mistake 1: Forgetting the grave accent
Wrong: “inquiéte”
Right: “inquiète”
The accent on inquiète is part of the spelling in the present. Without it the form is wrong.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu inquiète pour mes enfants.”
Right: “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants.”
After tu you need inquiètes, not the je form inquiète. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “Je m'inquiéterai pour mes enfants.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (inquiéterai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: 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 the present tense
What is the je form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiétons
- B) inquiètent
- C) inquiète
- D) inquiétez
What is the tu form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiètes
- B) inquiétez
- C) inquiète
- D) inquiétons
What is the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiétez
- B) inquiète
- C) inquiètent
- D) inquiétons
What is the nous form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiétons
- B) inquiètent
- C) inquiète
- D) inquiétez
What is the vous form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiète
- B) inquiétez
- C) inquiétons
- D) inquiètes
What is the ils/elles form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiète
- B) inquiétons
- C) inquiètent
- D) inquiètes
What is the gerund of s'inquiéter?
- A) inquiéterai
- B) inquiète
- C) en inquiétant
- D) inquiété
What does s'inquiéter mean in English?
- A) to worry
- B) to have
- C) to go
- D) to be
Answer key
- C) inquiète — the je form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiète.
- A) inquiètes — the tu form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiètes.
- B) inquiète — the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiète.
- A) inquiétons — the nous form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiétons.
- B) inquiétez — the vous form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiétez.
- C) inquiètent — the ils/elles form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiètent.
- C) en inquiétant — the gerund of s'inquiéter is en inquiétant.
- A) to worry — s'inquiéter means “to worry” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of s'inquiéter formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is inquiète and the ils form is inquiètent. The accent changes from é to è in the singular and third-person plural.
When do I use the present tense of s'inquiéter?
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 (inquiète), while the future is for what will happen (inquiéterai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of s'inquiéter?
On the full conjugation page for s'inquiéter, 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 s'inquiéter in order, without looking: inquiète, inquiètes, inquiète, inquiétons, inquiétez, inquiètent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using inquiète, suis inquiété and inquiéterai. 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
- s'inquiéter in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- s'inquiéter examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Se calmer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise s'inquiéter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise s'inquiéter with the interactive tool.
- Reflexive Verb Conjugator — practise reflexive verbs with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.