Parler Conjugation: How To Conjugate "To Speak" In French

Conjugation charts for parler (to speak, talk) in French

The French verb parler means “to speak” and “to talk”. The conjugation of parler in the present tense is: je parle (I speak), tu parles (you speak), il/elle parle (he/she speaks), nous parlons (we speak), vous parlez (you speak, formal and plural) and ils/elles parlent (they speak.

Parler conjugation in the present tense.

The verb parler is often the first verbs students learn. Parler is a regular -er verb. This means that its endings are the exact same as all other “regular” verbs that end in -er in the infinitive form.

This page on our site covers regular verbs in detail. For now we’ll look at parler in detail, observing its conjugations in nine major tenses necessary for speaking fluently: the present, passé composé, passé simple, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive and the imperative mood.

Parler conjugation chart

Before we go any further, let’s take a look at the verb conjugation charts of parler. Further down the page we’ve presented conjugation tables with example sentences.

Parler conjugation tables with example sentences

In the following section we’ll look at conjugation of parler in six major French verb tenses. This page on our site provides a useful explanation of six verb tenses that are necessary to speak fluently.

Present tense

In the present tense, je parle translates to both “I speak” and “I am speaking”.

Je parle	I speak	Je parle français.	I speak French.
Tu parles	You speak (familiar singular)	Tu parles bien.	You speak well.
Il/elle parle	He/she speaks	Elle parle espagnol.	She speaks Spanish.
Nous parlons	We speak	Nous parlons de Pierre.	We're talking about Pierre.
Vous parlez	You speak (formal, plural)	Vous parlez trop fort.	You're speaking too loudly.
Ils/elles parlent	They speak	Ils parlent ensemble.	They're speaking together.

The following YouTube video by Alexa does a great job teaching the pronunciation of parler when conjugated in the present tense.

Passé composé

The second tense we’ll look at is the passé composé, a commonly used French past tense. This page on our site covers the passé composé in detail.

J'ai parlé	I spoke	J'ai parlé à Pierre.	I spoke to Pierre.
Tu as parlé	You spoke (informal singular)	Tu as parlé au téléphone.	You spoke on the phone.
Il/elle a parlé	He/she spoke	Il a parlé à sa mère.	He spoke to his mother.
Nous avons parlé	We spoke	Nous avons parlé hier.	We spoke yesterday.
Vous avez parlé	You spoke (formal, plural)	Vous avez parlé au patron.	You spoke to the boss.
Ils/elles ont parlé	They spoke	Ils ont parlé aux enfants.	They spoke to the kids.

Passé simplé

The passé simplé is a past tense that appears mainly in literature. It is grammatically equivalent to the passé composé.

Je parlai	I spoke	Je parlai au téléphone avec ton père.	I spoke on the phone with your father.
Tu parlas	You spoke (informal, singular)	Tu parlas beaucoup mais tu ne rien dis.	You spoke a lot but didn't say anything.
Il, elle parla	He, she spoke	Elle para à son fils cinq fois.	She spoke to her son five times.
Nous parlâmes	We spoke	Nous parlâmes ensemble au restaurant.	We spoke together at the restaurant.
Vous parlâtes	You spoke (formal, singular)	Vous parlâtes avec toute la famille.	You spoke with the entire family.
Ils, elles parlèrent	They spoke	Ils ne parlèrent pas du sujet.	They didn't speak about the subject.

Imperfect tense

The imperfect tense, or imparfait is another commonly used French past these. Je parlais can translate to both “I spoke” and “I used to speak”. This page on our site covers the imperfect tense in detail.

Je parlais	I used to speak, was speaking	Je parlais à Martin quand tu es arrivé.	I was speaking to Martin when you arrived.
Tu parlais	You used to speak, were speaking (informal singular)	Tu parlais allemand quand tu étais un enfant.	You used to speak German when you were a child.
Il/elle parlait	He/she used to speak, were speaking	Elle parlait français pendant son enfance.	She used to speak French during her childhood.
Nous parlions	We used to speak, were speaking	Nous parlions de vous quand vous avez téléphoné.	We were talking about you when you called.
Vous parliez	You used to speak, were speaking (plural, formal)	Vous parliez couramment avant.	You used to speak fluently.
Ils/elles parlaient	They used to speak, were speaking	Avant ils se parlaient tout le temps.	They used to speak to each other all the time.

Future tense

The following table is of parler conjugated in the futur simple tense. This page on our site covers the two main French future tenses.

Je parlerai	I will speak	Un jour, je parlerai couramment.	I will speak fluently some day.
Tu parleras	You will speak (singular informal)	Un jour, tu parleras le japonais.	Someday you will speak Japanese.
Il/elle parlera	He/she will speak	Il parlera avec sa femme.	He will speak with his wife.
Nous parlerons	We will speak	Nous parlerons au patron.	We will speak to the boss.
Vous parlerez	You will speak (formal, plural)	Vous parlerez du projet.	You will speak about the project.
Ils/elles parleront	They will speak	Ils parleront après le cours.	They will speak after the class.

Futur proche

The futur proche, or the near future tense, equates to “going to” in English. It is formed by combining the present tense of aller (to go) with the infinitive. Je vais parler translates to “I am going to speak”.

Je vais parler	I am going to speak	Je vais paler à ton frère.	I'm going to speak to your brother.
Tu vas parler	You are going to speak (familiar, singular)	Tu vas parler de ton voyage.	You're going to talk about your trip.
Il, elle va parler	He, she is going to speak	Elle va parler à ses enfants.	She's going to speak to her kids.
Nous allons parler	We are going to speak	Nous allons parler du nouveau projet.	We're going to talk about the new project.
Vous allez parler	You are going to speak (formal, plural)	Vous allez parler très couramment un jour.	You are going to speak very fluently some day.
Ils, elles vont parler	They are going to speak	Ils vont parler des nouvelles solutions.	They're going to talk about the new solutions.

Conditional tense

The conditional tense is the “would tense”. Hence, je parlerais means “I would speak”. This page on our site covers the conditional tense in detail.

Je parlerais	I would speak	Je parlerais à Jean si j'avais le temps.	I would speak to Jean if I had the time.
Tu parlerais	You would speak (singular, informal)	Tu parlerais le français si tu étudiais un peu.	You would speak French if you studied a bit.
Il/elle parlerait	He/she would speak	Il parlerait le chinois s'il habitait en Chine.	He would speak Chinese if he lived in China.
Nous parlerions	We would speak	Nous parlerions ensemble mais ce n'est pas possible.	We would speak together but it's no possible.
Vous parleriez	You would speak (formal, plural)	Vous parleriez l'espsgnol si vous habitez au Mexique.	You would speak Spanish if you lived in Mexico.
Ils/elles parleraient	They would speak	Ils se parleraient plus souvent mais ils n'ont pas le temps.	They would speak to each other more often but they don't have the time.

Subjunctive mood

The following table shows the conjugations for parler in the subjunctive mood, which is a tense that’s often used for expressing wishes, emotions and doubts.

que je parle	that I speak	Il faut que je parle français en France.	I have to speak French in France.
que tu parles	that you speak (singular, informal)	Je veux que tu parles plus fort.	I want to to speak louder.
qu'il/elle parle	that he/she speaks	Je doute qu'elle parle le chinois.	I doubt she speaks Chinese.
que nous parlions	that we speak	Il faut que nous parlions demain.	We need to speak tomorrow.
que vous parliez	that you speak (plural, formal)	Je suis heureux que vous parliez ensemble.	I am happy you are speaking together.
qu'ils/elles parlent	that they speak	Je suis ravi qu'ils parlent le japonais.	I'm delighted they speak Japanese.

Imperative mood

The imperative mood is used for giving commands. Parle! translates to “speak!”.

Parle!	Speak! (informal, singular)	Parle plus fort!	Speak louder!
Parlons!	Let's speak!	Parlons français!	Let's speak French!
Parlez!	Speak! (formal, plural)	Parlez moins fort!	Speak softer!

Suggested resource:

One of the most daunting areas that all beginners face is figuring out the right approach to learning French verb conjugations. I have been working with Camille from Frenchtoday.com since 2016 and strongly suggest looking at her post entitled The Secret To Mastering French Verb Conjugation.

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

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