Trouver Conjugation in French
trouver means “to find” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 14 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about finding my keys in the living room, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of trouver — 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 trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I find my keys in the living room every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: trouver
- English: to find
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: trouvant
- Past participle: trouvé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read trouver in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about trouver
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -er pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle trouvé. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is trouvant and the participle is trouvé: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for trouver. 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 | trouve |
| tu | trouves |
| il/elle | trouve |
| nous | trouvons |
| vous | trouvez |
| ils/elles | trouvent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je trouve un bon restaurant à Paris tous les jours.” — “I find a good restaurant in Paris every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | trouvai |
| tu | trouvas |
| il/elle | trouva |
| nous | trouvâmes |
| vous | trouvâtes |
| ils/elles | trouvèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu trouvas un bon restaurant à Paris hier.” — “You found a good restaurant in Paris yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | trouvais |
| tu | trouvais |
| il/elle | trouvait |
| nous | trouvions |
| vous | trouviez |
| ils/elles | trouvaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il trouvait un bon restaurant à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to find a good restaurant in Paris in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | trouverai |
| tu | trouveras |
| il/elle | trouvera |
| nous | trouverons |
| vous | trouverez |
| ils/elles | trouveront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je trouverai un bon restaurant à Paris demain.” — “I will find a good restaurant in Paris tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | trouverais |
| tu | trouverais |
| il/elle | trouverait |
| nous | trouverions |
| vous | trouveriez |
| ils/elles | trouveraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu trouverais un bon restaurant à Paris un jour.” — “You would find a good restaurant in Paris one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai trouvé |
| tu | as trouvé |
| il/elle | a trouvé |
| nous | avons trouvé |
| vous | avez trouvé |
| ils/elles | ont trouvé |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a trouvé un bon restaurant à Paris cette semaine.” — “He has found a good restaurant in Paris this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais trouvé |
| tu | avais trouvé |
| il/elle | avait trouvé |
| nous | avions trouvé |
| vous | aviez trouvé |
| ils/elles | avaient trouvé |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais trouvé un bon restaurant à Paris avant la fête.” — “I had found a good restaurant in Paris before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai trouvé |
| tu | auras trouvé |
| il/elle | aura trouvé |
| nous | aurons trouvé |
| vous | aurez trouvé |
| ils/elles | auront trouvé |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras trouvé un bon restaurant à Paris pour demain.” — “You will have found a good restaurant in Paris by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais trouvé |
| tu | aurais trouvé |
| il/elle | aurait trouvé |
| nous | aurions trouvé |
| vous | auriez trouvé |
| ils/elles | auraient trouvé |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait trouvé un bon restaurant à Paris hier.” — “He would have found a good restaurant in Paris yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | trouve |
| tu | trouves |
| il/elle | trouve |
| nous | trouvions |
| vous | trouviez |
| ils/elles | trouvent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que je trouve un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “It is important that I find a good restaurant in Paris.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | trouvasse |
| tu | trouvasses |
| il/elle | trouvât |
| nous | trouvassions |
| vous | trouvassiez |
| ils/elles | trouvassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu trouvasses un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “It is important that you find a good restaurant in Paris.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | trouve |
| nous | trouvons |
| vous | trouvez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Trouve un bon restaurant à Paris !” — “Find a good restaurant in Paris!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | trouve |
| nous | trouvons |
| vous | trouvez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne trouve pas un bon restaurant à Paris.” — “Do not find a good restaurant in Paris.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en trouvant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En trouvant mes clés dans le salon, je passe un bon moment.” — “While finding my keys in the living room, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | trouvé |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai trouvé mes clés dans le salon cette semaine.” — “I have found my keys in the living room this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with trouver, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I find my keys in the living room every day.”
- “Tu trouvas un bon restaurant à Paris hier.” — “You found a good restaurant in Paris yesterday.”
- “Il trouvait la réponse dans le livre autrefois.” — “He used to find the answer in the book in the past.”
- “Je trouverai mes clés dans le salon demain.” — “I will find my keys in the living room tomorrow.”
- “Tu trouverais un bon restaurant à Paris un jour.” — “You would find a good restaurant in Paris one day.”
- “Il a trouvé la réponse dans le livre cette semaine.” — “He has found the answer in the book this week.”
- “J'avais trouvé mes clés dans le salon avant la fête.” — “I had found my keys in the living room before the party.”
- “Tu auras trouvé un bon restaurant à Paris pour demain.” — “You will have found a good restaurant in Paris by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il trouve la réponse dans le livre.” — “It is important that he find the answer in the book.”
- “Trouve mes clés dans le salon !” — “Find my keys in the living room!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form trouve.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je trouvent mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon.”
trouvent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with trouve.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je trouvai mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.”
The passé simple trouvai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present trouve.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je trouve mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je trouve mes clés dans le salon.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use trouve here, not the indicative trouve.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis trouvé mes clés dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je ai trouvé mes clés dans le salon.”
The passé composé of trouver is formed with avoir plus the past participle trouvé: the je form is ai trouvé. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “trouve” written without its accent
✓ Right: “trouve”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on trouver. Choose the right form, 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 il/elle form of trouver in the Passé simple?
- A) trouvai
- B) trouvas
- C) trouvâmes
- D) trouva
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 perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as trouvé
- B) avons trouvé
- C) a trouvé
- D) ai trouvé
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 Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) trouvasse
- B) trouvasses
- C) trouvât
- D) trouvassions
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.
- D) trouva — the il/elle form of trouver in the Passé simple is trouva. 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.
- 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) trouve — the il/elle form of trouver in the Present subjunctive is trouve. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) trouvasse — the je form of trouver in the Imperfect subjunctive is trouvasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en trouvant — the gerund of trouver is en trouvant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. 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: it follows the ordinary -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is trouvant and the past participle is trouvé.
What are the gerund and past participle of trouver?
The gerund is trouvant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is trouvé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai trouvé.
Which auxiliary does trouver take in the passé composé?
trouver takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai trouvé. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle trouvé.
How do I say “I find” in French?
Say “Je trouve mes clés dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I find my keys in the living room every day.” The je form of the present is trouve, and it is the form you will use most often.
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 Conjugator — practise trouver with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise trouver with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise trouver with the interactive tool.