toucher Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

toucher — touch — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. toucher is the verb for describing something by touch: it comes up whenever you talk about pressing a button or warning a child not to touch. On this page you will find toucher in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts 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.

Example sentences with toucher

In the present tense

  • “Je touche le mur.” — “I touch the wall.”
  • “Tu touches le bouton.” — “You touch the button.”
  • “Il touche du bois.” — “He touches wood.”
  • “Nous touchons la table.” — “We touch the table.”
  • “Vous touchez le mur.” — “You touch the wall.”
  • “Ils touchent le bouton.” — “They touch the button.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai touché le mur cette semaine.” — “I have touched the wall this week.”
  • “Tu as touché le bouton cette semaine.” — “You have touched the button this week.”
  • “Il a touché du bois cette semaine.” — “He has touched wood this week.”
  • “Nous avons touché la table cette semaine.” — “We have touched the table this week.”
  • “Vous avez touché le mur cette semaine.” — “You have touched the wall this week.”
  • “Ils ont touché le bouton cette semaine.” — “They have touched the button this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je touchais le mur avant.” — “I used to touch the wall before.”
  • “Je toucherai le bouton demain.” — “I will touch the button tomorrow.”
  • “Je toucherais du bois un jour.” — “I would touch wood one day.”
  • “Bien que il touche la table” — “Although he touches the table.”

toucher in context

Je touche le mur. Tu touches le bouton. Il touche du bois. Nous touchons la table.

I touch the wall. You touch the button. He touches wood. We touch the table.

J'ai touché le mur. Il a touché le bouton. Nous avons touché du bois.

I have touched the wall this week. He has touched the button this week. We have touched wood this week.

Common mistakes with toucher

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je toucher le mur.

Right: Je touche le mur.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form touche.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je touchons le bouton.

Right: Je touche le bouton.

touchons is the nous form. With je, use touche.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je touche du bois.

Right: Hier, j'ai touché du bois.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai touché, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je touche la table.

Right: Bien que je touche la table.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive touche.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je touchais le mur hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai touché le mur hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on toucher

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

  1. What is the tu form of toucher in the Present indicative?

    • A) touche
    • B) touches
    • C) touchent
    • D) touchons

  2. What is the nous form of toucher in the Present indicative?

    • A) touchez
    • B) touchons
    • C) touchent
    • D) touches

  3. What is the il/elle form of toucher in the Present perfect?

    • A) ai touché
    • B) a touché
    • C) avons touché
    • D) ont touché

  4. What is the je form of toucher in the Imperfect?

    • A) touchiez
    • B) touchaient
    • C) touchait
    • D) touchais

  5. What is the nous form of toucher in the Future?

    • A) toucheront
    • B) toucherons
    • C) touchera
    • D) toucheras

  6. What is the tu form of toucher in the Conditional?

    • A) toucheriez
    • B) toucherais
    • C) toucheraient
    • D) toucherait

  7. What is the je form of toucher in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) touchiez
    • B) touchions
    • C) touche
    • D) touchent

  8. What is the il/elle form of toucher in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) touchassent
    • B) touchassions
    • C) touchasses
    • D) touchât

  9. What is the gerund of toucher?

    • A) buvant
    • B) touchant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of toucher?

  • A) dormi
  • B) touché
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. B) touches — The tu form of toucher in the present indicative is touches.
  2. B) touchons — The nous form of toucher in the present indicative is touchons.
  3. B) a touché — The il/elle form of toucher in the present perfect is a touché.
  4. D) touchais — The je form of toucher in the imperfect is touchais.
  5. B) toucherons — The nous form of toucher in the future is toucherons.
  6. B) toucherais — The tu form of toucher in the conditional is toucherais.
  7. C) touche — The je form of toucher in the present subjunctive is touche.
  8. D) touchât — The il/elle form of toucher in the imperfect subjunctive is touchât.
  9. B) touchant — The gerund of toucher is en touchant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) touché — The past participle of toucher is touché; perfect tenses use avoir + touché.

Frequently asked questions

What does toucher mean in English?

toucher means “touch”. You use it for describing something by touch, for pressing a button, and for warning a child not to touch.

Is toucher regular or irregular?

toucher is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en touchant and the past participle is touché.

How do I say “I touch” in French?

Say “Je touche le mur.” — “I touch the wall.” The je form of the present is touche.

Where can I see the full conjugation of toucher?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Toucher Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise toucher this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with toucher out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — le mur, le bouton and du bois — and change only the person, so you hear how touche, touches and touche sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai touché and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en touchant and touché in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

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

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