voler Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of voler — fly — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. voler is the verb for talking about birds: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a plane or watching the sky. This page gives you the complete present table for voler, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.”

Present conjugation of voler

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for voler. voler is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — voler

Person Form
je vole
tu voles
il/elle vole
nous volons
vous volez
ils/elles volent

The gerund of voler is en volant and the past participle is volé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of voler is formed

The present of voler is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are vole, voles, vole, volons, volez and volent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example vole — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for voler: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of voler

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il vole très haut.” — “He flies very high.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous volons vers le sud.” — “We fly towards the south.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je vole toute la journée.” — “I fly all day.”

Present vs passé composé: voler finished, voler in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with voler. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai volé dans le ciel cette semaine.” — “I have flown in the sky this week.”

  • Present: “Il vole très haut.” — “He flies very high.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a volé très haut cette semaine.” — “He has flown very high this week.”

  • Present: “Nous volons vers le sud.” — “We fly towards the south.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons volé vers le sud cette semaine.” — “We have flown towards the south this week.”

Example sentences: voler in the present

Six sentences using only the present of voler, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Je vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.”
  • “Tu voles très haut.” — “You fly very high.”
  • “Il vole vers le sud.” — “He flies towards the south.”
  • “Nous volons toute la journée.” — “We fly all day.”
  • “Vous volez dans le ciel.” — “You fly in the sky.”
  • “Ils volent très haut.” — “They fly very high.”

Common mistakes in the present of voler

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je volons dans le ciel.”

✓ Right: “Je vole dans le ciel.”

volons is the nous form. With je the present form is vole.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je voler très haut.”

✓ Right: “Je vole très haut.”

The infinitive voler never takes a subject. After je you need vole.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai volé vers le sud.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je vole vers le sud.”

A habit needs the present vole, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je vole toute la journée tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je volais toute la journée tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect volais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu vole dans le ciel.”

✓ Right: “Tu voles dans le ciel.”

With tu the present form is voles, not vole. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of voler

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

  1. What is the je form of voler in the Present indicative?

    • A) volent
    • B) vole
    • C) volez
    • D) volons

  2. What is the tu form of voler in the Present indicative?

    • A) vole
    • B) volons
    • C) volent
    • D) voles

  3. What is the il/elle form of voler in the Present indicative?

    • A) volent
    • B) volez
    • C) voles
    • D) vole

  4. What is the nous form of voler in the Present indicative?

    • A) volons
    • B) volent
    • C) vole
    • D) voles

  5. What is the vous form of voler in the Present indicative?

    • A) volez
    • B) volent
    • C) vole
    • D) volons

  6. What is the ils/elles form of voler in the Present indicative?

    • A) volent
    • B) voles
    • C) volez
    • D) volons

  7. What is the je form of voler in the Present perfect?

    • A) a volé
    • B) as volé
    • C) avez volé
    • D) ai volé

  8. What is the gerund of voler?

    • A) dormant
    • B) volant
    • C) buvant

  9. What is the past participle of voler?

    • A) volé
    • B) dormi
    • C) bu

  10. What does voler mean in English?

  • A) drink
  • B) fly
  • C) open
  • D) sleep

Answer key

  1. B) vole — The je form of voler in the present indicative is vole.
  2. D) voles — The tu form of voler in the present indicative is voles.
  3. D) vole — The il/elle form of voler in the present indicative is vole.
  4. A) volons — The nous form of voler in the present indicative is volons.
  5. A) volez — The vous form of voler in the present indicative is volez.
  6. A) volent — The ils/elles form of voler in the present indicative is volent.
  7. D) ai volé — The je form of voler in the present perfect is ai volé.
  8. B) volant — The gerund of voler is en volant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) volé — The past participle of voler is volé; perfect tenses use avoir + volé.
  10. B) fly — voler means “fly” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of voler?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For voler that covers talking about birds, describing a plane and watching the sky.

Is the present of voler regular?

voler is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of voler?

The past participle is volé. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + volé.

How do I say “I fly” in the present?

Say “Je vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.” The je form is vole.

Pronunciation

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

Related pages