French guides · Verb tables + audio
Appeler: the double L, and how you say your name.
Appeler means “to call”, and you almost certainly met it before you met any conjugation table at all — je m’appelle is usually the first full sentence anyone learns in French. It is a regular -er verb with one spelling habit: the l doubles in the four forms where the vowel in front of it is actually pronounced.
Présent — one L or two
Double l in the singular and for ils; single l for nous and vous. The same boot as acheter, solving the same problem by different means.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’appelle | I call | |
| tu appelles | you call | |
| il / elle appelle | he / she calls | |
| nous appelons | we call | |
| vous appelez | you call | |
| ils / elles appellent | they call |
Acheter writes è to show the vowel is pronounced; appeler doubles the consonant instead. Both are telling you the same thing: j’appelle is “ja-PELL”, while nous appelons is “noo-za-PLOHN” with the vowel swallowed. French has two spellings for one rule, and which verb uses which is simply learnt.
Jeter (to throw) doubles its t in exactly the same four places: je jette, nous jetons. So does rappeler (to call back, to remind).
S’appeler — what you are called
French does not say what your name is. It says what you call yourself — a reflexive verb, with the pronoun changing to match.
| French | Literally | Means |
|---|---|---|
| je m’appelle Marie | I call myself Marie | my name is Marie |
| tu t’appelles comment ? | you call yourself how? | what’s your name? |
| comment vous appelez-vous ? | how do you call yourself? | what’s your name? (formal) |
| il s’appelle Paul | he calls himself Paul | his name is Paul |
| ça s’appelle comment ? | it calls itself how? | what’s that called? |
Mon nom est Marie is grammatical and sounds translated — it is what a form asks for, not what a person says. Use je m’appelle. And the reflexive pronoun changes with the subject: me, te, se, nous, vous, se.
The plain, non-reflexive verb is for calling somebody else — on the phone, or by shouting: j’appelle un taxi, appelle-moi ce soir.
Passé composé — appelé
Regular: appelé, single l, with avoir. The reflexive form takes être instead and agrees — elle s’est appelée.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’ai appelé | I called / have called | |
| tu as appelé | you called / have called | |
| il / elle a appelé | he / she called / have called | |
| nous avons appelé | we called / have called | |
| vous avez appelé | you called / have called | |
| ils / elles ont appelé | they called / have called |
Imparfait — single L throughout
Built from appelons, so there is no doubling anywhere: j’appelais.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’appelais | I used to call / was calling | |
| tu appelais | you used to call / was calling | |
| il / elle appelait | he / she used to call / was calling | |
| nous appelions | we used to call / was calling | |
| vous appeliez | you used to call / was calling | |
| ils / elles appelaient | they used to call / was calling |
Futur and conditionnel — the double L comes back
Like acheter’s accent, the doubling survives into the futur in every form: j’appellerai, nous appellerons. Two ls and an r — worth writing out once, because it looks wrong.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’appellerai | I will call | |
| tu appelleras | you will call | |
| il / elle appellera | he / she will call | |
| nous appellerons | we will call | |
| vous appellerez | you will call | |
| ils / elles appelleront | they will call |
Conditionnel — would call
J’appellerais, doubling intact.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’appellerais | I would call | |
| tu appellerais | you would call | |
| il / elle appellerait | he / she would call | |
| nous appellerions | we would call | |
| vous appelleriez | you would call | |
| ils / elles appelleraient | they would call |
Subjonctif — the boot again
Double l in the boot, single outside it — the présent’s pattern exactly.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’appelle | (that) I call | |
| tu appelles | (that) you call | |
| il / elle appelle | (that) he / she call | |
| nous appelions | (that) we call | |
| vous appeliez | (that) you call | |
| ils / elles appellent | (that) they call |
Impératif — call me
Appelle ! with no s, doubled l. With a pronoun attached it hyphenates: appelle-moi.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| appelle ! | call! (to one person you know) | |
| appelons ! | let’s call! | |
| appelez ! | call! (formal, or to a group) |
Plus-que-parfait — had called
J’avais appelé.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’avais appelé | I had called | |
| tu avais appelé | you had called | |
| il / elle avait appelé | he / she had called | |
| nous avions appelé | we had called | |
| vous aviez appelé | you had called | |
| ils / elles avaient appelé | they had called |
Hear it, then say it
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Quick answers
Appeler, answered.
The questions that come up while you are learning the table.