forcer — French conjugation

to force

Frequency#241IrregularReflexivese forcer — to force oneself

Indicative

Present (Présent) Irregular

Use the présent for habits, what is true now, and what is about to happen soon. A single set of endings covers what English often splits into “I speak” and “I am speaking”.

Elle parle arabe et français.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeforceI force
tuforcesyou force
il/elleforcehe/she/it forces
nousforçonswe force
vousforcezyou (pl.) force
ils/ellesforcentthey force

Simple past (Passé simple) Irregular

The passé simple narrates completed past events in a literary or very formal style. In everyday conversation people use the passé composé instead, so you mostly meet this form in books and journalism.

Ils virent le roi s'approcher.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeforçaiI forced
tuforçasyou forced
il/elleforçahe/she/it forced
nousforçâmeswe forced
vousforçâtesyou (pl.) forced
ils/ellesforcèrentthey forced

Imperfect (Imparfait) Irregular

The imparfait describes ongoing or repeated past actions and sets the background — how things were, what used to happen, weather, feelings. The passé composé, by contrast, marks single completed events.

Quand j'étais petit, j'allais souvent à la piscine.

PronounFrench
jeforçais
tuforçais
il/elleforçait
nousforcions
vousforciez
ils/ellesforçaient

Conditional (Conditionnel) Regular

The conditionnel is for polite questions and requests, “would”-type hypotheticals, and what someone said would happen. It is also the usual consequent clause in si + imparfait → conditionnel patterns.

Pourriez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît ?

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeforceraisI would force
tuforceraisyou would force
il/elleforceraithe/she/it would force
nousforcerionswe would force
vousforceriezyou (pl.) would force
ils/ellesforceraientthey would force

Future (Futur) Regular

The futur is for future plans and objective predictions. In speech, aller + infinitive is often clearer for the immediate future, while the simple future is common for facts further ahead or in writing.

Demain, nous dînerons chez eux.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jeforceraiI will force
tuforcerasyou will force
il/elleforcerahe/she/it will force
nousforceronswe will force
vousforcerezyou (pl.) will force
ils/ellesforcerontthey will force

Present perfect (Passé composé) Regular

The passé composé is the main spoken past for completed, bounded actions (often with a time adverb). Use avoir with most verbs; être is required for a fixed group of motion/inchange and all pronominal verbs, with participle agreement when necessary.

Elle est venue tôt, puis elle a téléphoné.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jej'ai forcéI have forced
tutu as forcéyou have forced
il/elleil/elle a forcéhe/she/it has forced
nousnous avons forcéwe have forced
vousvous avez forcéyou (pl.) have forced
ils/ellesils/elles ont forcéthey have forced

Pluperfect (Plus-que-parfait) Regular

The plus-que-parfait is the “earlier past”: one action was already over before another past moment. It answers “had already” when a story is anchored in a past time.

Déjà, il avait fini quand je suis arrivé.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jej'avais forcéI had forced
tutu avais forcéyou had forced
il/elleil/elle avait forcéhe/she/it had forced
nousnous avions forcéwe had forced
vousvous aviez forcéyou (pl.) had forced
ils/ellesils/elles avaient forcéthey had forced

Conditional perfect (Conditionnel passé) Regular

The conditionnel passé states what would have been true, plans that failed, and unreal past if-clauses (often with si + plus-que-parfait in the apodose).

J'aurais dit oui, mais c'était impossible.

PronounFrench
jej'aurais forcé
tutu aurais forcé
il/elleil/elle aurait forcé
nousnous aurions forcé
vousvous auriez forcé
ils/ellesils/elles auraient forcé

Future perfect (Futur antérieur) Regular

The futur antérieur marks an action that will be finished before a later future moment (by then I will have…). It can also suggest a conjecture about a recent past fact in formal or literary use.

D'ici samedi, j'aurai lu le rapport.

PronounFrenchEnglish
jej'aurai forcéI will have forced
tutu auras forcéyou will have forced
il/elleil/elle aura forcéhe/she/it will have forced
nousnous aurons forcéwe will have forced
vousvous aurez forcéyou (pl.) will have forced
ils/ellesils/elles auront forcéthey will have forced

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjonctif présent) Regular

The present subjunctive appears in subordinate clauses after desire, doubt, fear, need, and many impersonals, usually when the subject of the subordinate is different. Learn common triggers: il faut que, je veux que, je doute que…

Il faut qu'il parte avant midi.

PronounFrench
jeforce
tuforces
il/elleforce
nousforcions
vousforciez
ils/ellesforcent

Imperfect subjunctive (Subjonctif imparfait) Regular

The imparfait du subjonctif is a literary and formal past subjunctive. In modern speech, the present subjunctive usually replaces it for the same meaning.

Bien qu'il fût fatigué, il continua.

PronounFrench
jeforçasse
tuforçasses
il/elleforçât
nousforçassions
vousforçassiez
ils/ellesforçassent

Other forms

Imperative (Impératif) Regular

The imperative is for direct orders and advice to tu, nous, and vous. For many -er verbs, the tu form drops the final -s of the present (parle!); negatives use the subjunctive-like forms in practice.

Fermons la porte, s'il vous plaît !

PronounFrench
tuforce
nousforçons
vousforcez