# Arriver Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Arrive”

> **Arriver** means “to arrive” — and also “to happen”. Présent: **j’arrive, tu arrives, il arrive, nous arrivons, vous arrivez, ils arrivent**. It takes **être** in the past, so the participle agrees: *je suis arrivé(e)*. And **arriver à** plus an infinitive means “to manage to”.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — regular, and elided

Stem arriv- with the standard endings. Starting with a vowel, it takes j’ and liaises after nous and vous.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’arrive | I arrive |
| tu arrives | you arrive |
| il / elle arrive | he / she arrives |
| nous arrivons | we arrive |
| vous arrivez | you arrive |
| ils / elles arrivent | they arrive |

**J’arrive !** — On its own this is “I’m on my way” or “coming!” — shouted from another room, or said when you are about to leave to meet somebody. It does not mean you have arrived. That is je suis arrivé.

## Passé composé — with être, so it agrees

Arriver is on the short list of movement verbs that take être rather than avoir, so the participle agrees with the subject: je suis arrivé, elle est arrivée, ils sont arrivés.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je suis arrivé(e) | I arrived / have arrived |
| tu es arrivé(e) | you arrived / have arrived |
| il / elle est arrivé(e) | he / she arrived / have arrived |
| nous sommes arrivé(e)s | we arrived / have arrived |
| vous êtes arrivé(e)(s) | you arrived / have arrived |
| ils / elles sont arrivé(e)s | they arrived / have arrived |

**The être verbs, as a group** — Aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, rester, tomber, naître, mourir, retourner, passer — plus every reflexive verb. Most of them are about movement or a change of state, which is the thread that holds the list together.

**None of the agreement is audible** — Arrivé, arrivée, arrivés and arrivées are pronounced identically. This is a writing rule only — but it is marked in every exam.

## Arriver à — to manage to

This is the use you will hear most often in conversation, and it has nothing to do with arriving anywhere.

| French | Means |  |
|---|---|---|
| je n’arrive pas à dormir | I can’t get to sleep | the most common use of all |
| tu y arrives ? | are you managing? | offering help |
| j’arrive à comprendre | I’m managing to understand |  |
| qu’est-ce qui est arrivé ? | what happened? | the “to happen” sense |
| ça arrive | it happens | a shrug — “these things happen” |

**Not the same as pouvoir** — Je ne peux pas dormir says something is preventing you. Je n’arrive pas à dormir says you are trying and failing. French keeps the two apart, and the second is what you want for insomnia, a stuck lid, or a sentence you cannot finish.

**Il arrive que takes the subjunctive** — Il arrive qu’il soit en retard — “he’s sometimes late”. The impersonal il arrive que expresses occasional occurrence and always triggers the subjunctive.

## Imparfait — was arriving

J’arrivais — often the background to something else: j’arrivais quand il est parti.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’arrivais | I used to arrive / was arriving |
| tu arrivais | you used to arrive / was arriving |
| il / elle arrivait | he / she used to arrive / was arriving |
| nous arrivions | we used to arrive / was arriving |
| vous arriviez | you used to arrive / was arriving |
| ils / elles arrivaient | they used to arrive / was arriving |

## Futur and conditionnel

Full infinitive as stem: j’arriverai.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’arriverai | I will arrive |
| tu arriveras | you will arrive |
| il / elle arrivera | he / she will arrive |
| nous arriverons | we will arrive |
| vous arriverez | you will arrive |
| ils / elles arriveront | they will arrive |

## Conditionnel — would arrive

J’arriverais vers huit heures — “I’d get there around eight”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’arriverais | I would arrive |
| tu arriverais | you would arrive |
| il / elle arriverait | he / she would arrive |
| nous arriverions | we would arrive |
| vous arriveriez | you would arrive |
| ils / elles arriveraient | they would arrive |

## Subjonctif — regular

Identical to the présent in four forms. Common after avant que: avant qu’il arrive.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’arrive | (that) I arrive |
| tu arrives | (that) you arrive |
| il / elle arrive | (that) he / she arrive |
| nous arrivions | (that) we arrive |
| vous arriviez | (that) you arrive |
| ils / elles arrivent | (that) they arrive |

## Impératif — rare

Arrive ! is unusual — telling someone to arrive is odd in any language. Arrivez à l’heure, “be on time”, is the realistic version.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| arrive ! | arrive! (to one person you know) |
| arrivons ! | let’s arrive! |
| arrivez ! | arrive! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had arrived

J’étais arrivé — être in the imparfait, participle still agreeing.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’étais arrivé(e) | I had arrived |
| tu étais arrivé(e) | you had arrived |
| il / elle était arrivé(e) | he / she had arrived |
| nous étions arrivé(e)s | we had arrived |
| vous étiez arrivé(e)(s) | you had arrived |
| ils / elles étaient arrivé(e)s | they had arrived |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate arriver in the present tense?

J’arrive, tu arrives, il / elle arrive, nous arrivons, vous arrivez, ils / elles arrivent.

### Does arriver take être or avoir?

Être. Je suis arrivé, and the participle agrees with the subject — arrivée, arrivés, arrivées.

### What does arriver à mean?

“To manage to.” Je n’arrive pas à dormir is “I can’t get to sleep” — you are trying and failing, which is different from je ne peux pas.

### What does j’arrive mean?

“I’m coming” or “on my way” — not “I have arrived”. For that you need the past: je suis arrivé.

### How do you say “what happened?” in French?

Qu’est-ce qui est arrivé ? or qu’est-ce qui s’est passé ? Arriver doubles as “to happen”.

## Related guides

- Rester conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/rester-conjugation
- Venir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/venir-conjugation
- Partir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/partir-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides