French guides · Verb tables + audio
Répondre: you answer to things in French.
Répondre means “to answer”, and it conjugates exactly like vendre with nothing irregular in the table. It is worth its own page for the opposite reason to attendre: where that verb refuses the preposition English wants, this one insists on one English does not have. You do not answer a question in French — you answer to it, and that changes which pronoun you have to use.
Présent — the regular -re pattern
Stem répond-, endings -s, -s, —, -ons, -ez, -ent. The accent on the é never moves.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je réponds | I answer | |
| tu réponds | you answer | |
| il / elle répond | he / she answers | |
| nous répondons | we answer | |
| vous répondez | you answer | |
| ils / elles répondent | they answer |
The à, and what it does to the pronoun
Because what you answer follows à, it is an indirect object — and French has a separate set of pronouns for those.
| French | Means | |
|---|---|---|
| je réponds à la question | I answer the question | à is compulsory |
| j’y réponds | I’ll answer it | a thing → y |
| je lui réponds | I answer him / her | a person → lui |
| je leur réponds | I answer them | |
| répondre au téléphone | to answer the phone | à + le → au |
Le and la replace direct objects, and répondre has none. Use y for a thing and lui or leur for a person. The one thing you can put directly after the verb is what you actually said: il a répondu oui.
French verbs that take à where English takes nothing: répondre à, téléphoner à, obéir à, ressembler à, plaire à. Exactly the reverse of the attendre / écouter group.
Passé composé — répondu
Regular -u participle with avoir: j’ai répondu.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’ai répondu | I answered / have answered | |
| tu as répondu | you answered / have answered | |
| il / elle a répondu | he / she answered / have answered | |
| nous avons répondu | we answered / have answered | |
| vous avez répondu | you answered / have answered | |
| ils / elles ont répondu | they answered / have answered |
Because répondre takes no direct object, the participle has nothing to agree with — it stays répondu whatever comes before it. Les questions auxquelles j’ai répondu, not “répondues”.
Imparfait — used to answer
Je répondais, from the nous stem.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je répondais | I used to answer / was answering | |
| tu répondais | you used to answer / was answering | |
| il / elle répondait | he / she used to answer / was answering | |
| nous répondions | we used to answer / was answering | |
| vous répondiez | you used to answer / was answering | |
| ils / elles répondaient | they used to answer / was answering |
Futur and conditionnel
Drop the final e: je répondrai.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je répondrai | I will answer | |
| tu répondras | you will answer | |
| il / elle répondra | he / she will answer | |
| nous répondrons | we will answer | |
| vous répondrez | you will answer | |
| ils / elles répondront | they will answer |
Conditionnel — would answer
Je répondrais. Useful for hedging: je répondrais que ça dépend.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je répondrais | I would answer | |
| tu répondrais | you would answer | |
| il / elle répondrait | he / she would answer | |
| nous répondrions | we would answer | |
| vous répondriez | you would answer | |
| ils / elles répondraient | they would answer |
Subjonctif — regular
From the plural stem, unchanged.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je réponde | (that) I answer | |
| tu répondes | (that) you answer | |
| il / elle réponde | (that) he / she answer | |
| nous répondions | (that) we answer | |
| vous répondiez | (that) you answer | |
| ils / elles répondent | (that) they answer |
Impératif — answer me
Réponds ! keeping its s. With a pronoun: réponds-moi — and note it is moi, the stressed form, after a positive imperative.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| réponds ! | answer! (to one person you know) | |
| répondons ! | let’s answer! | |
| répondez ! | answer! (formal, or to a group) |
Plus-que-parfait — had answered
J’avais répondu.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’avais répondu | I had answered | |
| tu avais répondu | you had answered | |
| il / elle avait répondu | he / she had answered | |
| nous avions répondu | we had answered | |
| vous aviez répondu | you had answered | |
| ils / elles avaient répondu | they had answered |
Hear it, then say it
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Quick answers
Répondre, answered.
The questions that come up while you are learning the table.