How to Conjugate the French Verb Étudier (to Study)

Étudier ("to learn or study") is a regular French -er verb, which means it belongs to the largest group of verbs in the French language. They share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods.

To use étudier, begin by removing the -er ending from the infinitive. This gives you the stem of the verb. To conjugate the verb, add the endings in the table below to the stem.

Note that the table lists only simple conjugations. Compound conjugations, which consist of a form of the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle étudié, are not included.

Verb Categories

Generally speaking, there are five main categories of verbs in French: regular -er, -ir and -re; stem-changing; and irregular. Once you've learned the rules of conjugation for each of the three regular verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The majority by far of French verbs is regular -er verbs.

All regular -er verbs are conjugated according to regular -er verb conjugation patterns, except for one small irregularity: Verbs that end in -ger and -cer require a slight spelling change, the insertion of an e after the g and c wherever there is no e, so these letters are consistently pronounced as soft consonants throughout, as in manger.

Take care with verbs such as étudier that end in -ier. They are conjugated like all other regular -er verbs, but their spelling can be tricky. Follow the table below to the letter, and you won't have a problem.

Étudier: Uses and Expressions

Examples of how to use etudier:

• Elle étudie piano. > She's learning to play the piano.
• Il a fait ses études. > He studied. / He was a student.
• étudier le terrain > to survey the land
• être très étudié > to be specially designed
• c'est étudié pour > that's what it's for

Common Regular French '-er' Verbs

Other -er  verbs include:

• aimer > to like, to love
• arriver > to arrive, to happen
• chanter > to sing
• chercher > to look for
• commencer > to begin
• danser > to dance
• demander > to ask for
• dépenser > to spend (money)
• détester > to hate
• donner > to give
• écouter > to listen to
• étudier > to study
• fermer > to close
• goûter > to taste
• jouer > to play
• laver > to wash
• manger > to eat
• nager > to swim
• parler > to talk, to speak
• passer > to pass, spend (time)
• penser > to think
• porter > to wear, to carry
• regarder > to watch, to look at
• rêver > to dream
• sembler > to seem
• skier > to ski
• travailler > to work
• trouver > to find
• visiter > to visit (a place)
• voler > to fly, to steal

Conjugations of the Regular French -er Verb 'Étudier'

These are simple conjugations:

	Present	Future	Imperfect	Present participle
j'	étudie	étudierai	étudiais	étudiant
tu	étudies	étudieras	étudiais
il	étudie	étudiera	étudiait	Passé composé
nous	étudions	étudierons	étudiions	Auxiliary verb avoir
vous	étudiez	étudierez	étudiiez	Past participle étudié
ils	étudient	étudieront	étudiaient
	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé simple	Imperfect subjunctive
j'	étudie	étudierais	étudiai	étudiasse
tu	étudies	étudierais	étudias	étudiasses
il	étudie	étudierait	étudia	étudiât
nous	étudiions	étudierions	étudiâmes	étudiassions
vous	étudiiez	étudieriez	étudiâtes	étudiassiez
ils	étudient	étudieraient	étudièrent	étudiassent
	Imperative
(tu)	étudie
(nous)	étudions
(vous)	étudiez