# Regarder Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Watch”

> **Regarder** means “to watch” or “to look at”. Présent: **je regarde, tu regardes, il regarde, nous regardons, vous regardez, ils regardent** — fully regular. The trap is that the “at” is built in: *je regarde la mer*, never “je regarde à la mer”.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — a model -er verb

Stem regard-, standard endings, nothing else. In speech the first e is usually swallowed: je regarde comes out close to “zhuh-GARD”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je regarde | I watch |
| tu regardes | you watch |
| il / elle regarde | he / she watches |
| nous regardons | we watch |
| vous regardez | you watch |
| ils / elles regardent | they watch |

## No preposition — and the verbs that share the habit

A short list of French verbs that take a direct object where English insists on a preposition. They are worth learning together, because the mistake is identical in each.

| French | English needs a word | Means |
|---|---|---|
| je regarde la mer | look at | I’m looking at the sea |
| j’écoute la radio | listen to | I’m listening to the radio |
| j’attends le bus | wait for | I’m waiting for the bus |
| je cherche mes clés | look for | I’m looking for my keys |
| je paie le café | pay for | I’m paying for the coffee |

**⚠ The mirror-image mistake** — French then puts prepositions where English does not: téléphoner à quelqu’un (phone somebody), répondre à une question (answer a question), obéir à (obey). Neither language is being difficult on purpose; the two lists simply do not line up, and both have to be learnt.

## Regarder or voir?

Regarder is deliberate; voir just happens. The difference matters most with films and television, where English uses “watch” and “see” almost interchangeably and French does not.

- Je regarde un film — I’m watching a film, right now, on purpose.
- J’ai vu ce film — I’ve seen that film, it is in my memory.
- Je vois la mer — the sea is in view; I did not choose it.
- Regarde ! — look! An instruction to direct your eyes.

**Regarder la télé** — Television is always regarder: je regarde la télé. Saying je vois la télé means you can physically see the set in the room.

## Passé composé — regardé

Regular: regardé, with avoir. It agrees if a direct object comes before it: la série que j’ai regardée.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai regardé | I watched / have watched |
| tu as regardé | you watched / have watched |
| il / elle a regardé | he / she watched / have watched |
| nous avons regardé | we watched / have watched |
| vous avez regardé | you watched / have watched |
| ils / elles ont regardé | they watched / have watched |

## Imparfait — was watching

Je regardais la télé quand tu es arrivé — the classic imparfait-plus-passé-composé pair: a background activity interrupted by an event.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je regardais | I used to watch / was watching |
| tu regardais | you used to watch / was watching |
| il / elle regardait | he / she used to watch / was watching |
| nous regardions | we used to watch / was watching |
| vous regardiez | you used to watch / was watching |
| ils / elles regardaient | they used to watch / was watching |

## Futur and conditionnel

Full infinitive as stem: je regarderai.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je regarderai | I will watch |
| tu regarderas | you will watch |
| il / elle regardera | he / she will watch |
| nous regarderons | we will watch |
| vous regarderez | you will watch |
| ils / elles regarderont | they will watch |

## Conditionnel — would watch

Je regarderais bien un film — “I could go for a film”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je regarderais | I would watch |
| tu regarderais | you would watch |
| il / elle regarderait | he / she would watch |
| nous regarderions | we would watch |
| vous regarderiez | you would watch |
| ils / elles regarderaient | they would watch |

## Subjonctif — regular

Identical to the présent in four forms.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je regarde | (that) I watch |
| tu regardes | (that) you watch |
| il / elle regarde | (that) he / she watch |
| nous regardions | (that) we watch |
| vous regardiez | (that) you watch |
| ils / elles regardent | (that) they watch |

## Impératif — look

Regarde ! with no s — one of the most-heard imperatives in French, and the reflexive regarde-toi is “look at yourself”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| regarde ! | watch! (to one person you know) |
| regardons ! | let’s watch! |
| regardez ! | watch! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had watched

J’avais regardé.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais regardé | I had watched |
| tu avais regardé | you had watched |
| il / elle avait regardé | he / she had watched |
| nous avions regardé | we had watched |
| vous aviez regardé | you had watched |
| ils / elles avaient regardé | they had watched |

## FAQ

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

Je regarde, tu regardes, il / elle regarde, nous regardons, vous regardez, ils / elles regardent.

### How do you say “look at” in French?

Just regarder — the “at” is already in the verb. Je regarde la mer; adding à would be wrong.

### What is the difference between regarder and voir?

Regarder is deliberate — watching or looking at. Voir is passive — seeing. You regardez a film while it plays and have vu it afterwards.

### Which other French verbs take no preposition?

Écouter (listen to), attendre (wait for), chercher (look for) and payer (pay for) — all direct, where English needs a word.

### How do you say “I’m watching TV” in French?

Je regarde la télé. Television always takes regarder, never voir.

## Related guides

- Voir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/voir-conjugation
- Entendre conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/entendre-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides