Trouver: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Trouver means “to find”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for trouver, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with trouver, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I find my keys in the living room every day.”
- “Tu trouves un bon restaurant à Paris tous les jours.” — “You find a good restaurant in Paris every day.”
- “J'ai trouvé la réponse dans le livre cette semaine.” — “I have found the answer in the book this week.”
- “Il trouvait mes clés dans le salon autrefois.” — “He used to find my keys in the living room in the past.”
- “Nous trouverons un bon restaurant à Paris demain.” — “We will find a good restaurant in Paris tomorrow.”
- “Tu as trouvé la réponse dans le livre cette semaine.” — “You have found the answer in the book this week.”
- “Je trouverais mes clés dans le salon un jour.” — “I would find my keys in the living room one day.”
- “Il est important que il trouve un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “It is important that he find a good restaurant in Paris.”
- “Nous avions trouvé la réponse dans le livre avant la fête.” — “We had found the answer in the book before the party.”
- “Il trouvera mes clés dans le salon demain.” — “He will find my keys in the living room tomorrow.”
- “Ils trouvent un bon restaurant à Paris tous les jours.” — “They find a good restaurant in Paris every day.”
- “Trouve la réponse dans le livre !” — “Find the answer in the book!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about my keys in the living room. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how trouver changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of trouver below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I find my keys in the living room every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je trouverai un bon restaurant à Paris demain.” — “I will find a good restaurant in Paris tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai trouvé la réponse dans le livre cette semaine.” — “I have found the answer in the book this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je trouverais mes clés dans le salon un jour.” — “I would find my keys in the living room one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Trouver in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of trouver that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, trouver describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is trouve: “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I find my keys in the living room every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, trouver describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is trouvait: “Il trouvait un bon restaurant à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to find a good restaurant in Paris in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, trouver reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle trouvé. The je form is ai trouvé: “J'ai trouvé la réponse dans le livre cette semaine.” — “I have found the answer in the book this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, trouver talks about what will happen. The nous form is trouverons: “Nous trouverons mes clés dans le salon demain.” — “We will find my keys in the living room tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, trouver talks about what would happen. The tu form is trouverais: “Tu trouverais un bon restaurant à Paris un jour.” — “You would find a good restaurant in Paris one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, trouver appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is trouve, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je trouve la réponse dans le livre.” — “It is important that I find the answer in the book.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je trouver mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon.”
The infinitive trouver never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form trouve.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu trouve mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Tu trouves mes clés dans le salon.”
trouve is the je form. With tu you need trouves. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai trouvé mes clés dans le salon hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai trouvé, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu trouves un bon restaurant à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu trouves un bon restaurant à Paris.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: trouves, not the indicative trouves.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je trouvé mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je ai trouvé mes clés dans le salon.”
The passé composé of trouver needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle trouvé: the full je form is ai trouvé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on trouver. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of trouver in the Present indicative?
- A) trouves
- B) trouvons
- C) trouvez
- D) trouve
What is the tu form of trouver in the Present indicative?
- A) trouves
- B) trouve
- C) trouvons
- D) trouvez
What is the il/elle form of trouver in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as trouvé
- B) avons trouvé
- C) a trouvé
- D) ai trouvé
What is the nous form of trouver in the Imperfect?
- A) trouvais
- B) trouvait
- C) trouviez
- D) trouvions
What is the tu form of trouver in the Future?
- A) trouverons
- B) trouveras
- C) trouverai
- D) trouvera
What is the je form of trouver in the Conditional?
- A) trouverais
- B) trouverait
- C) trouverions
- D) trouveriez
What is the il/elle form of trouver in the Present subjunctive?
- A) trouves
- B) trouvions
- C) trouviez
- D) trouve
What is the je form of trouver in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avait trouvé
- B) avions trouvé
- C) aviez trouvé
- D) avais trouvé
What is the gerund of trouver?
- A) en demandant
- B) en passant
- C) en trouvant
- D) en parlant
What does trouver mean in English?
- A) to find
- B) to speak
- C) to ask
- D) to pass, to spend
Answer key
- D) trouve — the je form of trouver in the Present indicative is trouve. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) trouves — the tu form of trouver in the Present indicative is trouves. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) a trouvé — the il/elle form of trouver in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a trouvé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) trouvions — the nous form of trouver in the Imperfect is trouvions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) trouveras — the tu form of trouver in the Future is trouveras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) trouverais — the je form of trouver in the Conditional is trouverais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) trouve — the il/elle form of trouver in the Present subjunctive is trouve. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) avais trouvé — the je form of trouver in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais trouvé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en trouvant — the gerund of trouver is en trouvant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to find — trouver means “to find” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does trouver mean in English?
trouver means “to find”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is trouver regular or irregular?
trouver is regular in every tense. The gerund is trouvant and the past participle is trouvé.
How do I practise trouver every day?
Say one sentence with trouver in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.”, “J'ai trouvé mes clés dans le salon cette semaine.” and “Je trouverai mes clés dans le salon demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for trouver, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of trouver — every tense of trouver in one place.
- Trouver in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Trouver examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Parler conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Demander conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Passer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise trouver with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise trouver with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise trouver with the interactive tool.