Learn How to Conjugate Préparer (to Prepare) in French

When you want to say I am preparing in French, youll use the verb  prà ©parer, which means to prepare. Yet, to get it into the present tense, youll also need to know how to conjugate it. This lesson will introduce you to the simplest conjugations of this very common word so you can use it in the present, past, or future tense whenever you need to. The Basic Conjugations of  Prà ©parer Many French students dislike verb conjugations because there are many words that you have to memorize. Where English often just adds an -ing or -ed ending, French changes the ending for every subject pronoun within each tense. However, the good news is that  prà ©parer  is a  regular -er verb. It uses the same endings as verbs like  monter  (to go up) and  rà ©veiller  (to wake up), along with the majority of other French verbs. This means that you can apply what you learned for those conjugations to this one and each new one becomes just a little easier. Well begin with the indicative mood, which includes the most basic conjugations for the present, future, and imperfect past tenses. These are the most important and youll use them all the time, so concentrate on these before moving forward. To begin, identify the verb stem (or radical): prà ©par-. Using the chart, youll find the proper endings that match both the subject and the tense of your sentence. For example, I am preparing is je prà ©pare and we will prepare is nous prà ©parerons. Present Future Imperfect je prpare prparerai prparais tu prpares prpareras prparais il prpare prparera prparait nous prparons prparerons prparions vous prparez prparerez prpariez ils prparent prpareront prparaient The Present Participle of Prà ©parer As with most regular verbs, to form the  present participle  of  prà ©parer, you simply add an -ant  to the radical. This gives you the word  prà ©parant. Prà ©parer  in the Compound Past Tense Another way to express the past tense is with the  passà © composà ©. Its a compound and actually a little easier than memorizing all those imperfect forms. To form it, begin by conjugating  the auxiliary verb avoir  into the present tense according to your subject. Then, simply attach the  past participle  prà ©parà ©, which will indicate that someone has already prepared. For example, I prepared is  jai prà ©parà ©Ã‚  and we prepared is  nous avons prà ©parà ©. More Simple Conjugations of  Prà ©parer You will also find times in your French conversations when you want to imply uncertainty to the act of preparing. For those, you can use the subjunctive. On the other hand, if something will be prepared only if something else happens, then the conditional is useful. Used with less frequency, you may also encounter either the passà © simple  or  the imperfect subjunctive. They are good to know or, at the least, be able to recognize as a form of  prà ©parer. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je prpare prparerais prparai prparasse tu prpares prparerais prparas prparasses il prpare prparerait prpara prpart nous prparions prparerions prparmes prparassions vous prpariez prpareriez prpartes prparassiez ils prparent prpareraient prparrent prparassent When you need to quickly tell someone to prepare, its acceptable to skip the subject pronoun and use  the imperative form. For these, youll shorten  nous prà ©parons  to  prà ©parons. Imperative (tu) prpare (nous) prparons (vous) prparez