S'inquiéter Conjugation in French
s'inquiéter means “to worry” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of s'inquiéter — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “I worry about my children.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: French spelling and endings change with the person and the tense, and s'inquiéter is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: s'inquiéter
- English: to worry
- Verb type: Reflexive -er verb
- Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en inquiétant
- Past participle: inquiété
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
- Reflexive: yes — the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) goes before the verb in most tenses. The tables below show the bare verb form exactly as the verified tables give it; the examples add the pronoun, as in “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants”.
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.
It is a spelling-changing verb: the é of the stem becomes è in the singular and the third-person plural of the present — inquiète, inquiètes, inquiète, inquiètent — while nous and vous keep é: inquiétons, inquiétez. The same accent change appears in the present subjunctive and the imperative, which are built on the present stem.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for s'inquiéter. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiète |
| tu | inquiètes |
| il/elle | inquiète |
| nous | inquiétons |
| vous | inquiétez |
| ils/elles | inquiètent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiétai |
| tu | inquiétas |
| il/elle | inquiéta |
| nous | inquiétâmes |
| vous | inquiétâtes |
| ils/elles | inquiétèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiétais |
| tu | inquiétais |
| il/elle | inquiétait |
| nous | inquiétions |
| vous | inquiétiez |
| ils/elles | inquiétaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiéterai |
| tu | inquiéteras |
| il/elle | inquiétera |
| nous | inquiéterons |
| vous | inquiéterez |
| ils/elles | inquiéteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiéterais |
| tu | inquiéterais |
| il/elle | inquiéterait |
| nous | inquiéterions |
| vous | inquiéteriez |
| ils/elles | inquiéteraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis inquiété |
| tu | es inquiété |
| il/elle | est inquiété |
| nous | sommes inquiété |
| vous | êtes inquiété |
| ils/elles | sont inquiété |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais inquiété |
| tu | étais inquiété |
| il/elle | était inquiété |
| nous | étions inquiété |
| vous | étiez inquiété |
| ils/elles | étaient inquiété |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai inquiété |
| tu | seras inquiété |
| il/elle | sera inquiété |
| nous | serons inquiété |
| vous | serez inquiété |
| ils/elles | seront inquiété |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais inquiété |
| tu | serais inquiété |
| il/elle | serait inquiété |
| nous | serions inquiété |
| vous | seriez inquiété |
| ils/elles | seraient inquiété |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiète |
| tu | inquiètes |
| il/elle | inquiète |
| nous | inquiétions |
| vous | inquiétiez |
| ils/elles | inquiètent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | inquiétasse |
| tu | inquiétasses |
| il/elle | inquiétât |
| nous | inquiétassions |
| vous | inquiétassiez |
| ils/elles | inquiétassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | inquiète |
| nous | inquiétons |
| vous | inquiétez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | inquiète |
| nous | inquiétons |
| vous | inquiétez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en inquiétant |
| Past participle | inquiété |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With s'inquiéter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “I worry about my children.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu t'inquiétas pour mes enfants.” — “You worried about my children one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il s'inquiétait pour mes enfants quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to worry about my children.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous nous inquiéterons pour mes enfants.” — “We will worry about my children tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous vous inquiéteriez pour mes enfants.” — “You would worry about my children if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With s'inquiéter it is formed with être + the past participle inquiété. For example: “Ils se sont inquiété pour mes enfants hier.” — “They have worried about my children.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Je m'étais inquiété pour mes enfants avant la fête.” — “I had worried about my children before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu te seras inquiété pour mes enfants.” — “You will have worried about my children by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il se serait inquiété pour mes enfants.” — “He would have worried about my children if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With s'inquiéter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il faut que je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “It is important that I worry about my children.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mainly in formal writing. For example: “Il fallait que je m'inquiétasse pour mes enfants.” — “It was important that I worry about my children.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With s'inquiéter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne te inquiète pas pour mes enfants !” — “Do not worry about my children!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With s'inquiéter this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne te inquiète pas pour mes enfants !” — “Do not worry about my children!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en inquiétant — “while worrying” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is inquiété, used with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis inquiété.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with s'inquiéter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “I worry about my children.”
- “Tu t'inquiètes pour mes enfants.” — “You worry about my children.”
- “Il s'inquiétait pour mes enfants.” — “He used to worry about my children.”
- “Nous nous inquiéterons pour mes enfants.” — “We will worry about my children tomorrow.”
- “Je m'inquiéterais pour mes enfants.” — “I would worry about my children if I could.”
- “Tu t'es inquiété pour mes enfants.” — “You have worried about my children.”
- “Il s'était inquiété pour mes enfants.” — “He had worried about my children before the party.”
- “Nous nous serons inquiété pour mes enfants.” — “We will have worried about my children by tomorrow evening.”
- “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!”
Common mistakes
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.
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”; se calmer means “to calm down”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Forgetting the grave accent
✗ Wrong: “inquiéte”
✓ Right: “inquiète”
The accent on inquiète is part of the spelling: é becomes è in the singular and third-person plural of the present. Without it the form is wrong.
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, so use inquiète here, not the indicative inquiète.
5. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
✗ Wrong: “Je inquiète pour mes enfants.”
✓ Right: “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.”
s'inquiéter is reflexive: the pronoun (me for je) is part of the verb. Without it the sentence means something else, or nothing at all.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiétons
- B) inquiètent
- C) inquiète
- D) inquiétez
What is the ils/elles form of s'inquiéter in the Present indicative?
- A) inquiètes
- B) inquiètent
- C) inquiétons
- D) inquiète
What is the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the Passé simple?
- A) inquiétai
- B) inquiétâtes
- C) inquiéta
- D) inquiétèrent
What is the nous form of s'inquiéter in the Imperfect?
- A) inquiétions
- B) inquiétait
- C) inquiétais
- D) inquiétiez
What is the tu form of s'inquiéter in the Future?
- A) inquiéterons
- B) inquiéterai
- C) inquiéteront
- D) inquiéteras
What is the je form of s'inquiéter in the Conditional?
- A) inquiéterais
- B) inquiéterions
- C) inquiéteriez
- D) inquiéteraient
What is the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) êtes inquiété
- B) es inquiété
- C) est inquiété
- D) sommes inquiété
What is the vous form of s'inquiéter in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) étais inquiété
- B) étiez inquiété
- C) étions inquiété
- D) étaient inquiété
What is the gerund of s'inquiéter?
- A) inquiéterai
- B) inquiété
- C) en inquiétant
- D) inquiète
What is the past participle of s'inquiéter?
- A) en inquiétant
- B) inquiété
- C) inquiète
- D) inquiétais
Answer key
- C) inquiète — the je form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiète.
- B) inquiètent — the ils/elles form of s'inquiéter in the present indicative is inquiètent.
- C) inquiéta — the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the passé simple is inquiéta.
- A) inquiétions — the nous form of s'inquiéter in the imperfect is inquiétions.
- D) inquiéteras — the tu form of s'inquiéter in the future is inquiéteras.
- A) inquiéterais — the je form of s'inquiéter in the conditional is inquiéterais.
- C) est inquiété — the il/elle form of s'inquiéter in the present perfect (passé composé) is est inquiété.
- B) étiez inquiété — the vous form of s'inquiéter in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étiez inquiété.
- C) en inquiétant — the gerund of s'inquiéter is en inquiétant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) inquiété — the past participle of s'inquiéter is inquiété; perfect tenses use être + inquiété.
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.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is s'inquiéter regular or irregular?
s'inquiéter is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en inquiétant and the past participle is inquiété.
What are the gerund and past participle of s'inquiéter?
The gerund is en inquiétant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is inquiété — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis inquiété.
What is the difference between s'inquiéter and se calmer?
s'inquiéter means “to worry”, while se calmer means “to calm down”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for se calmer and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I worry” in French?
Say “Je m'inquiète pour mes enfants.” — “I worry about my children.” The je form of the present is inquiète, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn s'inquiéter
Start with the present tense: inquiète, inquiètes, inquiète, inquiétons, inquiétez, inquiètent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — suis inquiété — and the imperfect — inquiétais. Next, learn the future (inquiéterai) and the conditional (inquiéterais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (inquiète) and the imperative (inquiète). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the present-tense quiz.
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.