“Répondre” – Conjugation of the French Verb

French verbs can be a bit tricky, especially when it comes to conjugation. One such verb that often confounds learners is “répondre”, which means “to answer” or “to reply.” In this article, we will look into the conjugation of the verb “répondre” in different tenses and moods to help you master its usage.

 

Present Tense (Présent)

In the present tense, “répondre” is conjugated as follows:

– Je réponds (I answer)
– Tu réponds (You answer)
– Il/Elle/On répond (He/She/One answers)
– Nous répondons (We answer)
– Vous répondez (You answer)
– Ils/Elles répondent (They answer)

 

Past Tense (Passé Composé)

To express actions in the past, the passé composé tense is used, which is formed with the auxiliary verb “avoir” and the past participle “répondu” for “répondre.” Here's how it looks:

– J'ai répondu (I answered)
– Tu as répondu (You answered)
– Il/Elle/On a répondu (He/She/One answered)
– Nous avons répondu (We answered)
– Vous avez répondu (You answered)
– Ils/Elles ont répondu (They answered)

 

Imperfect Tense (Imparfait)

The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past. For “répondre”, it is conjugated as follows:

– Je répondais (I was answering)
– Tu répondais (You were answering)
– Il/Elle/On répondait (He/She/One was answering)
– Nous répondions (We were answering)
– Vous répondiez (You were answering)
– Ils/Elles répondaient (They were answering)

 

Future Tense (Futur Simple)

To express actions that will happen in the future, you can use the future tense. For “répondre”, it is formed as follows:

– Je répondrai (I will answer)
– Tu répondras (You will answer)
– Il/Elle/On répondra (He/She/One will answer)
– Nous répondrons (We will answer)
– Vous répondrez (You will answer)
– Ils/Elles répondront (They will answer)

 

Conditional Mood (Conditionnel Présent)

The conditional mood is used to express hypothetical actions or polite requests. The conditional form of “répondre” looks like this:

– Je répondrais (I would answer)
– Tu répondrais (You would answer)
– Il/Elle/On répondrait (He/She/One would answer)
– Nous répondrions (We would answer)
– Vous répondriez (You would answer)
– Ils/Elles répondraient (They would answer)

 

10 example sentences with the word “répondre”

Here are 10 example sentences with the word “répondre” in different grammatical tenses:

1. Je réponds à la question. (I answer the question) – Present Tense
2. Tu as répondu à son appel. (You answered his call) – Past Tense (Passé Composé)
3. Il répondait toujours poliment. (He used to answer politely) – Imperfect Tense
4. Nous répondrons demain matin. (We will answer tomorrow morning) – Future Tense
5. Si j'avais su, je t'aurais répondu. (If I had known, I would have answered you) – Conditional Mood
6. Elle répondra à toutes les questions. (She will answer all the questions) – Future Tense
7. Vous avez répondu à l'invitation. (You answered the invitation) – Past Tense (Passé Composé)
8. Ils répondent rapidement aux emails. (They answer emails quickly) – Present Tense
9. Quand répondrez-vous à son message ? (When will you answer his message?) – Future Tense
10. Nous répondions avec gentillesse. (We were answering with kindness) – Imperfect Tense