Tourner Conjugation in French
tourner means “to turn” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of tourner — 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 tourne à gauche au carrefour.” — “I turn to the left at the crossroads.” 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 tourner 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: tourner
- English: to turn
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en tournant
- Past participle: tourné
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for tourner, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for tourner. 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 | tourne |
| tu | tournes |
| il/elle | tourne |
| nous | tournons |
| vous | tournez |
| ils/elles | tournent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tournai |
| tu | tournas |
| il/elle | tourna |
| nous | tournâmes |
| vous | tournâtes |
| ils/elles | tournèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tournais |
| tu | tournais |
| il/elle | tournait |
| nous | tournions |
| vous | tourniez |
| ils/elles | tournaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tournerai |
| tu | tourneras |
| il/elle | tournera |
| nous | tournerons |
| vous | tournerez |
| ils/elles | tourneront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tournerais |
| tu | tournerais |
| il/elle | tournerait |
| nous | tournerions |
| vous | tourneriez |
| ils/elles | tourneraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai tourné |
| tu | as tourné |
| il/elle | a tourné |
| nous | avons tourné |
| vous | avez tourné |
| ils/elles | ont tourné |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais tourné |
| tu | avais tourné |
| il/elle | avait tourné |
| nous | avions tourné |
| vous | aviez tourné |
| ils/elles | avaient tourné |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai tourné |
| tu | auras tourné |
| il/elle | aura tourné |
| nous | aurons tourné |
| vous | aurez tourné |
| ils/elles | auront tourné |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais tourné |
| tu | aurais tourné |
| il/elle | aurait tourné |
| nous | aurions tourné |
| vous | auriez tourné |
| ils/elles | auraient tourné |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tourne |
| tu | tournes |
| il/elle | tourne |
| nous | tournions |
| vous | tourniez |
| ils/elles | tournent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tournasse |
| tu | tournasses |
| il/elle | tournât |
| nous | tournassions |
| vous | tournassiez |
| ils/elles | tournassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tourne |
| nous | tournons |
| vous | tournez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tourne |
| nous | tournons |
| vous | tournez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en tournant |
| Past participle | tourné |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je tourne à gauche au carrefour.” — “I turn to the left at the crossroads.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu tournas à gauche au carrefour.” — “You turned to the left at the crossroads one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il tournait à gauche au carrefour quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to turn to the left at the crossroads.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous tournerons à gauche au carrefour.” — “We will turn to the left at the crossroads tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous tourneriez à gauche au carrefour.” — “You would turn to the left at the crossroads if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With tourner it is formed with avoir + the past participle tourné. For example: “Ils ont tourné à gauche au carrefour hier.” — “They have turned to the left at the crossroads.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais tourné à gauche au carrefour avant la fête.” — “I had turned to the left at the crossroads before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras tourné à gauche au carrefour.” — “You will have turned to the left at the crossroads by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait tourné à gauche au carrefour.” — “He would have turned to the left at the crossroads if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il faut que je tourne à gauche au carrefour.” — “It is important that I turn to the left at the crossroads.”
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 tournasse à gauche au carrefour.” — “It was important that I turn to the left at the crossroads.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Tourne à gauche au carrefour !” — “Turn to the left at the crossroads!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Tourne à gauche au carrefour !” — “Do not turn to the left at the crossroads!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en tournant — “while turning” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is tourné, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai tourné.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with tourner, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je tourne à gauche au carrefour.” — “I turn to the left at the crossroads.”
- “Tu tournes à gauche au carrefour.” — “You turn to the left at the crossroads.”
- “Il tournait à gauche au carrefour.” — “He used to turn to the left at the crossroads.”
- “Nous tournerons à gauche au carrefour.” — “We will turn to the left at the crossroads tomorrow.”
- “Je tournerais à gauche au carrefour.” — “I would turn to the left at the crossroads if I could.”
- “Tu as tourné à gauche au carrefour.” — “You have turned to the left at the crossroads.”
- “Il avait tourné à gauche au carrefour.” — “He had turned to the left at the crossroads before the party.”
- “Nous aurons tourné à gauche au carrefour.” — “We will have turned to the left at the crossroads by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je tourne à gauche au carrefour.” — “It is important that I turn to the left at the crossroads.”
- “Tourne à gauche au carrefour !” — “Turn to the left at the crossroads!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je tourner à gauche au carrefour.”
✓ Right: “Je tourne à gauche au carrefour.”
The infinitive tourner never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form tourne.
2. Confusing tourner with traverser
✗ Wrong: “Je tourne la rue avec prudence.” (meant as “traverser”)
✓ Right: “Je tourne à gauche au carrefour.”
tourner means “to turn”; traverser means “to cross”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis tourné à gauche au carrefour.”
✓ Right: “J'ai tourné à gauche au carrefour.”
With tourner the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai tourné.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je tourne à gauche au carrefour.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je tourne à gauche au carrefour.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use tourne here, not the indicative tourne.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je tourne à gauche au carrefour hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai tourné à gauche au carrefour hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai tourné), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of tourner in the Present indicative?
- A) tournez
- B) tourne
- C) tournons
- D) tournes
What is the ils/elles form of tourner in the Present indicative?
- A) tournes
- B) tournez
- C) tournons
- D) tournent
What is the il/elle form of tourner in the Passé simple?
- A) tourna
- B) tournâtes
- C) tournai
- D) tournèrent
What is the nous form of tourner in the Imperfect?
- A) tournaient
- B) tournais
- C) tournions
- D) tourniez
What is the tu form of tourner in the Future?
- A) tourneront
- B) tournerez
- C) tourneras
- D) tournerons
What is the je form of tourner in the Conditional?
- A) tournerais
- B) tournerions
- C) tournerait
- D) tourneraient
What is the il/elle form of tourner in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as tourné
- B) avons tourné
- C) avez tourné
- D) a tourné
What is the vous form of tourner in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avions tourné
- B) avais tourné
- C) aviez tourné
- D) avait tourné
What is the gerund of tourner?
- A) tourne
- B) en tournant
- C) tourné
- D) tournerai
What is the past participle of tourner?
- A) en tournant
- B) tourne
- C) tourné
- D) tournais
Answer key
- B) tourne — the je form of tourner in the present indicative is tourne.
- D) tournent — the ils/elles form of tourner in the present indicative is tournent.
- A) tourna — the il/elle form of tourner in the passé simple is tourna.
- C) tournions — the nous form of tourner in the imperfect is tournions.
- C) tourneras — the tu form of tourner in the future is tourneras.
- A) tournerais — the je form of tourner in the conditional is tournerais.
- D) a tourné — the il/elle form of tourner in the present perfect (passé composé) is a tourné.
- C) aviez tourné — the vous form of tourner in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez tourné.
- B) en tournant — the gerund of tourner is en tournant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) tourné — the past participle of tourner is tourné; perfect tenses use avoir + tourné.
Frequently asked questions
What does tourner mean in English?
tourner means “to turn”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je tourne à gauche au carrefour.” (“I turn to the left at the crossroads.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is tourner regular or irregular?
tourner is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en tournant and the past participle is tourné.
What are the gerund and past participle of tourner?
The gerund is en tournant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is tourné — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai tourné.
What is the difference between tourner and traverser?
tourner means “to turn”, while traverser means “to cross”. 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 traverser and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I turn” in French?
Say “Je tourne à gauche au carrefour.” — “I turn to the left at the crossroads.” The je form of the present is tourne, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn tourner
Start with the present tense: tourne, tournes, tourne, tournons, tournez, tournent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai tourné — and the imperfect — tournais. Next, learn the future (tournerai) and the conditional (tournerais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (tourne) and the imperative (tourne). 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
- tourner in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- tourner examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Traverser conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Sarreter conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise tourner with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise tourner with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.