Apprendre Conjugation in French: Full Charts, Tenses & Guide

Mastering the apprendre conjugation in French is essential for any language student. Beyond being the very word for "to learn," apprendre is one of the most frequently used third-group verbs in everyday communication.

Because apprendre is an irregular verb built upon the stem of prendre (to take), its patterns recur across several other French verbs like comprendre (to understand) and surprendre (to surprise). This comprehensive guide walks you through every major tense with clear charts, phonetic cues, and practical sentence structures.

1. Present Indicative (Présent)

The present tense involves stem modifications that you must memorize. Watch closely how the "d" drops in the plural forms, and notice the double "n" in the third-person plural (ils/elles).

Subject Pronoun Conjugation Pronunciation Guide
:--- :--- :---
J' apprends ah-prahn
Tu apprends ah-prahn
Il / Elle / On apprend ah-prahn
Nous apprenons ah-pruh-nohn
Vous apprenez ah-pruh-nay
Ils / Elles apprennent ah-prenn

Grammar Rule: Notice that the singular forms (apprends, apprends, apprend) sound completely identical. Never add a "t" to il apprend—the radical already ends in "d".

2. Past Tenses

Passé Composé

Apprendre uses the auxiliary avoir combined with the past participle appris (ending with a silent "s").

  • J'ai appris (I learned / have learned)
  • Tu as appris
  • Il / Elle / On a appris
  • Nous avons appris
  • Vous avez appris
  • Ils / Elles ont appris

Example: J'ai appris le vocabulaire hier soir. (I learned the vocabulary yesterday evening.)

Imparfait (Imperfect)

To form the imperfect tense, drop the -ons from the present nous form (apprenons) and add the standard endings:

  • J'apprenais
  • Tu apprenais
  • Il apprenait
  • Nous apprenions
  • Vous appreniez
  • Ils apprenaient

    • Plus-que-parfait (Past Perfect)

  • J'avais appris (I had learned)
  • Tu avais appris
  • Il avait appris
  • Nous avions appris
  • Vous aviez appris
  • Ils avaient appris

    • Used for actions that took place before another past action:

    3. Future Simple & Conditional

Both the future and conditional stems drop the final "e" from the infinitive apprendre, using apprendr- as the invariable base.

Futur Simple

  • J'apprendrai (I will learn)
  • Tu apprendras
  • Il apprendra
  • Nous apprendrons
  • Vous apprendrez
  • Ils apprendront

    • Conditionnel Présent

  • J'apprendrais (I would learn)
  • Tu apprendrais
  • Il apprendrait
  • Nous apprendrions
  • Vous apprendriez
  • Ils apprendraient

    • 4. Subjunctive Present (Subjonctif)

The subjunctive stem shifts depending on the subject pronoun. The singular forms and the third-person plural use the double-n stem (apprenn-), while nous and vous retain the single-n stem (appren-).

  • Que j'apprenne
  • Que tu apprennes
  • Qu'il / elle apprenne
  • Que nous apprenions
  • Que vous appreniez
  • Qu'ils / elles apprennent

Example: Il faut que vous appreniez cette règle. (You must learn this rule.)

5. Imperative (Impératif)

Used for commands and advice:

  • Apprends ! (Learn! - singular informal)
  • Apprenons ! (Let's learn!)
  • Apprenez ! (Learn! - plural or formal)

    • 6. Important Usages & Prepositions

Apprendre is a dual-meaning verb in French that can mean both "to learn" and "to teach":

1. Apprendre à + verb: Learning to do something.

  • J'apprends à parler français. (I am learning to speak French.)

2. Apprendre quelque chose à quelqu'un: Teaching something to someone.

  • Elle apprend le piano aux enfants. (She teaches piano to children.)

3. Apprendre par cœur: Idiomatic phrase meaning "to memorize / learn by heart".

4. Apprendre une nouvelle: Meaning "to hear news" or "to find out".

  • J'ai appris la bonne nouvelle ! (I heard the good news!)