Learn the Basic Conjugations of "Sonner" (to Sing)

When you want to talk about singing in French, use the verb sonner. Literally meaning "to sing," you'll need to know the conjugations in order to say things such as "she is singing" or "we sang." This lesson will introduce you to the essential forms of sonner that you need to know.

The Basic Conjugations of Sonner

While verb conjugations are not the most enjoyable lessons for many French students, they are necessary. They help you form complete sentences by placing each verb into the proper tense. Luckily, a verb like sonner is a little easier than many others.

Sonner is a regular -er verb, so it falls into the largest category of French verbs. When it comes to remembering its conjugates, you can apply the same endings you learned for similar verbs to this one.

Using the verb stem sonn-, study the chart to determine which ending is added to form the proper conjugate. Simply match the subject pronoun with either the present, future, or imperfect past tense. This gives you results like je sonne (I am singing) and nous sonnions (we sang). Practicing these in context will also help you memorize them.

	Present	Future	Imperfect
je	sonne	sonnerai	sonnais
tu	sonnes	sonneras	sonnais
il	sonne	sonnera	sonnait
nous	sonnons	sonnerons	sonnions
vous	sonnez	sonnerez	sonniez
ils	sonnent	sonneront	sonnaient

The Present Participle of Sonner

As with all regular -er verbs, sonner's present participle is formed by adding -ant to the verb stem. This results in the word sonnant.

Sonner in the Compound Past Tense

For the compound past tense known as passé composé in French, you will need two elements. The first is a present tense conjugate of the auxiliary verb avoir. The second is the past participle sonné. Combining the two, you get results such as j'ai sonné (I sang) and nous avons sonné (we sang).

More Simple Conjugations of Sonner

A few more basic conjugations will round off this lesson on sonner and each has a purpose. For instance, the subjunctive is used when you're uncertain if someone is singing. In a similar fashion, the conditional is used when it's dependent on something else. The passé simple and imperfect subjunctive are literary tenses and found almost exclusively in formal French writing.

	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
je	sonne	sonnerais	sonnai	sonnasse
tu	sonnes	sonnerais	sonnas	sonnasses
il	sonne	sonnerait	sonna	sonnât
nous	sonnions	sonnerions	sonnâmes	sonnassions
vous	sonniez	sonneriez	sonnâtes	sonnassiez
ils	sonnent	sonneraient	sonnèrent	sonnassent

When you want to tell someone to "Sing!" or use sonner in an equally assertive statement, use the imperative. There's no need to include the subject pronoun, so it can be as simple as "Sonne !"

	Imperative
(tu)	sonne
(nous)	sonnons
(vous)	sonnez