Voler Conjugation in French
voler means “fly” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about birds, for describing a plane, and for watching the sky. 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 voler — 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 vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: voler
- English: fly
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en volant
- Past participle: volé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for voler. 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 | vole |
| tu | voles |
| il/elle | vole |
| nous | volons |
| vous | volez |
| ils/elles | volent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | volai |
| tu | volas |
| il/elle | vola |
| nous | volâmes |
| vous | volâtes |
| ils/elles | volèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | volais |
| tu | volais |
| il/elle | volait |
| nous | volions |
| vous | voliez |
| ils/elles | volaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | volerai |
| tu | voleras |
| il/elle | volera |
| nous | volerons |
| vous | volerez |
| ils/elles | voleront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | volerais |
| tu | volerais |
| il/elle | volerait |
| nous | volerions |
| vous | voleriez |
| ils/elles | voleraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vole |
| tu | voles |
| il/elle | vole |
| nous | volions |
| vous | voliez |
| ils/elles | volent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | volasse |
| tu | volasses |
| il/elle | volât |
| nous | volassions |
| vous | volassiez |
| ils/elles | volassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai volé |
| tu | as volé |
| il/elle | a volé |
| nous | avons volé |
| vous | avez volé |
| ils/elles | ont volé |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais volé |
| tu | avais volé |
| il/elle | avait volé |
| nous | avions volé |
| vous | aviez volé |
| ils/elles | avaient volé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai volé |
| tu | auras volé |
| il/elle | aura volé |
| nous | aurons volé |
| vous | aurez volé |
| ils/elles | auront volé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais volé |
| tu | aurais volé |
| il/elle | aurait volé |
| nous | aurions volé |
| vous | auriez volé |
| ils/elles | auraient volé |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vole |
| nous | volons |
| vous | volez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vole |
| nous | volons |
| vous | volez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en volant |
| Past participle | volé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je vole très haut.” — “I fly very high.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je volai très haut hier.” — “I flew very high yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je volais très haut avant.” — “I used to fly very high before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je volerai très haut demain.” — “I will fly very high tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je volerais très haut un jour.” — “I would fly very high one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je vole très haut” — “Although I fly very high.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je volasse très haut” — “Although I fly very high.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai volé très haut cette semaine.” — “I have flown very high this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais volé très haut avant la fête.” — “I had flown very high before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai volé très haut pour demain.” — “I will have flown very high by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais volé très haut hier.” — “I would have flown very high yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “vole très haut !” — “Fly very high!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne vole pas très haut !” — “Don't fly very high!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en volant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle volé builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai volé vers le sud cette semaine.” — “I have flown towards the south this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with voler, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.”
- “Tu volas très haut hier.” — “You flew very high yesterday.”
- “Il volait vers le sud avant.” — “He used to fly towards the south before.”
- “Je volerai toute la journée demain.” — “I will fly all day tomorrow.”
- “Tu volerais dans le ciel un jour.” — “You would fly in the sky one day.”
- “Il a volé très haut cette semaine.” — “He has flown very high this week.”
- “J'avais volé vers le sud avant la fête.” — “I had flown towards the south before the party.”
- “Tu auras volé toute la journée pour demain.” — “You will have flown all day by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il vole dans le ciel” — “Although he flies in the sky.”
- “vole très haut !” — “Fly very high!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je voler dans le ciel.”
✓ Right: “Je vole dans le ciel.”
The infinitive voler never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form vole.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je volons très haut.”
✓ Right: “Je vole très haut.”
volons is the nous form. With je the present form is vole — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je vole dans le ciel.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai volé dans le ciel.”
The present vole describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai volé.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je volai vers le sud.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai volé vers le sud.”
The passé simple volai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai volé.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je vole dans le ciel.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je vole dans le ciel.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use vole here, not the indicative vole.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je volais toute la journée avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai volé toute la journée avant.”
The imperfect volais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai volé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on voler. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of voler in the Present indicative?
- A) vole
- B) volent
- C) volons
- D) volez
What is the il/elle form of voler in the Passé simple?
- A) volâmes
- B) volai
- C) vola
- D) volas
What is the nous form of voler in the Imperfect?
- A) volais
- B) volions
- C) volait
- D) voliez
What is the tu form of voler in the Future?
- A) volerai
- B) voleras
- C) volerons
- D) voleront
What is the je form of voler in the Conditional?
- A) voleraient
- B) voleriez
- C) volerait
- D) volerais
What is the il/elle form of voler in the Present subjunctive?
- A) volions
- B) voliez
- C) volent
- D) vole
What is the je form of voler in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) volasses
- B) volassent
- C) volassiez
- D) volasse
What is the gerund of voler?
- A) buvant
- B) dormant
- C) volant
What is the past participle of voler?
- A) bu
- B) dormi
- C) volé
What does voler mean in English?
- A) sleep
- B) drink
- C) fly
- D) open
Answer key
- A) vole — The je form of voler in the present indicative is vole.
- C) vola — The il/elle form of voler in the passé simple is vola.
- B) volions — The nous form of voler in the imperfect is volions.
- B) voleras — The tu form of voler in the future is voleras.
- D) volerais — The je form of voler in the conditional is volerais.
- D) vole — The il/elle form of voler in the present subjunctive is vole.
- D) volasse — The je form of voler in the imperfect subjunctive is volasse.
- C) volant — The gerund of voler is en volant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) volé — The past participle of voler is volé; perfect tenses use avoir + volé.
- C) fly — voler means “fly” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does voler mean in English?
voler means “fly”. You use it for talking about birds, for describing a plane, and for watching the sky. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is voler regular or irregular?
voler is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en volant and the past participle is volé.
What are the gerund and past participle of voler?
The gerund is en volant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is volé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai volé.
How do I say “I fly” in French?
Say “Je vole dans le ciel.” — “I fly in the sky.” The je form of the present is vole, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between voler and voyager?
voler means “fly” while voyager means “travel” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for voyager and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Voler Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Voler Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Voyager conjugation
- Aller conjugation
- Regarder conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise voler with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise voler with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise voler with the interactive tool.