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French · Verb · #16 most common

parler

to speak
to talk

Regular1st ending

In the tables below, the stem is shown in black and the ending in purple.

1.

Présent

Current actions, habits, and general truths.

jeparle
tuparles
il/elleparle
nousparlons
vousparlez
ils/ellesparlent

Je parle français avec mes amis.

I speak French with my friends.

Elle parle toujours de ses voyages.

She always talks about her travels.

2.

Passé Composé

Completed past actions with present relevance.

jeai parlé
tuas parlé
il/ellea parlé
nousavons parlé
vousavez parlé
ils/ellesont parlé

Nous avons parlé de nos projets hier.

We talked about our plans yesterday.

Ils ont parlé à leur professeur après le cours.

They spoke to their teacher after class.

3.

Imparfait

Ongoing or habitual past actions, descriptions, and background.

jeparlais
tuparlais
il/elleparlait
nousparlions
vousparliez
ils/ellesparlaient

Quand j'étais enfant, je parlais beaucoup.

When I was a child, I spoke a lot.

Elle parlait doucement pour ne pas réveiller le bébé.

She spoke softly so as not to wake the baby.

4.

Futur Simple

Future events, promises, and formal predictions.

jeparlerai
tuparleras
il/elleparlera
nousparlerons
vousparlerez
ils/ellesparleront

Demain, je parlerai avec le directeur.

Tomorrow, I will speak with the director.

Ils parleront de leurs idées lors de la réunion.

They will talk about their ideas during the meeting.

5.

Conditionnel Présent

Hypothetical outcomes, polite requests, and reported future.

jeparlerais
tuparlerais
il/elleparlerait
nousparlerions
vousparleriez
ils/ellesparleraient

Si j'avais le temps, je parlerais plus souvent.

If I had the time, I would speak more often.

Elle dirait qu'elle parlerait à son ami.

She would say that she would speak to her friend.

6.

Subjonctif Présent

Doubt, desire, necessity, and emotion in subordinate clauses.

jeparle
tuparles
il/elleparle
nousparlions
vousparliez
ils/ellesparlent

Il faut que je parle avec elle avant de partir.

I need to speak with her before leaving.

Je souhaite qu'ils parlent de leurs idées.

I wish that they would talk about their ideas.

7.

Plus-que-parfait

Actions completed before another past action.

jeavais parlé
tuavais parlé
il/elleavait parlé
nousavions parlé
vousaviez parlé
ils/ellesavaient parlé

Avant de partir, j'avais parlé à tous mes collègues.

Before leaving, I had spoken to all my colleagues.

Elle avait déjà parlé de ce sujet auparavant.

She had already talked about this topic before.

"parler" in other languages

Related verbs

Common questions
Is "parler" regular or irregular in French?
"parler" is a regular 1st verb in French. It follows the standard conjugation pattern for 1st verbs.
How do you conjugate "parler" in the present tense?
In the Présent, "parler" conjugates as: parle, parles, parlons, and more. See the full table above.
What is the past tense of "parler" in French?
In the Passé Composé, "parler" conjugates as: ai parlé, as parlé, avons parlé, and more. See the full table above.
How common is "parler" in French?
"parler" (to speak, to talk) is one of the most commonly used verbs in French.