French Conjugation Quiz: Test Your Verb Skills by Tense and Level

Key takeaways

• French verb conjugation requires knowing not just the verb form but the tense and mood, since the same verb (like avoir or être) behaves differently in present, passé composé, imparfait, and conditional
• Regular -er verbs (parler, aimer, travailler) follow a completely predictable pattern and form the backbone of French conjugation: mastering one regular -er verb gives you the template for thousands of others
• The passé composé is formed with avoir or être as auxiliary verbs plus the past participle. Knowing which verbs take être (mostly verbs of motion and the 17 Dr. Mrs. Vandertrampp verbs) is essential
• Self-testing with fill-in-the-blank exercises is one of the most efficient ways to build automatic recall of conjugation forms, particularly for irregular verbs that must be memorized

French verb conjugation is one of the core skills that separates confident speakers from learners who hesitate before every verb. The best way to build that confidence is through repeated practice: seeing the verb, knowing which tense is required, and producing the correct form without looking it up.

italki connects learners with French teachers who can quiz you in real time, correct your errors, and explain the patterns behind the forms you miss.

This guide covers a five-part conjugation quiz on the present tense, passé composé, imparfait, futur simple, and conditional, with 8 fill-in-the-blank questions per section followed by answers and grammar notes.

How to use this quiz

• Cover the answers section before you start each quiz.
• Write your answers on paper or say them aloud before checking.
• After each section, review the answer key and read the grammar notes for any questions you missed.
• Re-take the same section a few days later without looking at your previous answers.

This quiz assumes you know: the difference between regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs; the concept of auxiliary verbs for passé composé; and the general meaning of each tense. If any of these are unfamiliar, review them before starting.

Quiz 1: Present tense

Fill in the blank with the correct present tense form.

1. Nous _______ (parler) français à la maison.

2. Tu _______ (finir) ton travail à quelle heure ?

3. Il _______ (être) médecin depuis dix ans.

4. Vous _______ (avoir) une voiture ?

5. Elles _______ (aller) au marché tous les samedis.

6. Je _______ (vouloir) un café, s’il vous plaît.

7. On _______ (prendre) le train à huit heures.

8. Ils _______ (savoir) où vous habitez.

Answers: Quiz 1

1. parlons (regular -er: nous parle- + -ons)
2. finis (regular -ir: tu fini- + -s)
3. est (être, irregular: je suis / tu es / il est / nous sommes / vous êtes / ils sont)
4. avez (avoir, irregular: j’ai / tu as / il a / nous avons / vous avez / ils ont)
5. vont (aller, irregular: je vais / tu vas / il va / nous allons / vous allez / ils vont)
6. veux (vouloir, irregular: je veux / tu veux / il veut / nous voulons / vous voulez / ils veulent)
7. prend (prendre, irregular: je prends / tu prends / il prend / nous prenons / vous prenez / ils prennent)
8. savent (savoir, irregular: je sais / tu sais / il sait / nous savons / vous savez / ils savent)

Grammar note: The most common mistakes in the present tense come from irregular verbs. The six forms of être and avoir must be memorized completely, as they also function as auxiliary verbs in the passé composé. Avoir conjugation in French and aller conjugation in French cover the full forms with examples.

A French tutor can give you immediate correction when you produce an incorrect form, which is more effective than finding the error yourself after writing it down.

Quiz 2: Passé composé

Fill in the blank with the correct passé composé form. Note which verbs take avoir and which take être.

1. Hier soir, j’_______ (manger) une bonne pizza.

2. Elle _______ (partir) tôt ce matin.

3. Nous _______ (finir) le projet la semaine dernière.

4. Ils _______ (aller) à Paris en juillet.

5. Tu _______ (voir) ce film ? Il est excellent !

6. Vous _______ (arriver) à quelle heure ?

7. Il _______ (se lever) tard aujourd’hui.

8. Les enfants _______ (apprendre) une nouvelle chanson.

Answers: Quiz 2

1. ai mangé (avoir + mangé; manger takes avoir)
2. est partie (être + partie; partir takes être; feminine agreement on the past participle)
3. avons fini (avoir + fini; finir takes avoir)
4. sont allés (être + allés; aller takes être; masculine plural agreement)
5. as vu (avoir + vu; voir takes avoir)
6. êtes arrivé(e)(s) (être + arrivé; arriver takes être; agreement depends on gender of vous)
7. s’est levé (être + levé; reflexive verbs always take être in passé composé)
8. ont appris (avoir + appris; apprendre takes avoir; past participle = appris)

Grammar note: The verbs that take être as auxiliary are primarily: verbs of motion (aller, venir, partir, arriver, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, passer, retourner, naître, mourir) and all reflexive verbs (se lever, se coucher, se souvenir). When être is the auxiliary, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. When avoir is the auxiliary, the past participle does not agree with the subject (but may agree with a preceding direct object in complex constructions).

Quiz 3: Imparfait

Fill in the blank with the correct imparfait form.

1. Quand j’_______ (être) enfant, j’adorais lire.

2. Tous les étés, nous _______ (aller) à la mer.

3. Elle _______ (travailler) jusqu’à très tard chaque soir.

4. Il _______ (pleuvoir) quand je suis sorti.

5. Vous _______ (habiter) à Lyon à cette époque ?

6. Les enfants _______ (jouer) dans le jardin quand le téléphone a sonné.

7. Tu _______ (avoir) l’air fatigué hier.

8. Je ne _______ (savoir) pas qu’elle était là.

Answers: Quiz 3

1. étais (être in imparfait: j’étais / tu étais / il était / nous étions / vous étiez / ils étaient)
2. allions (aller: j’allais / tu allais / il allait / nous allions / vous alliez / ils allaient)
3. travaillait (regular -er: travaill- + -ait)
4. pleuvait (pleuvoir imparfait: il pleuvait; this verb only exists in the third-person singular)
5. habitiez (regular -er: habit- + -iez)
6. jouaient (regular -er: jou- + -aient)
7. avais (avoir imparfait: j’avais / tu avais / il avait / nous avions / vous aviez / ils avaient)
8. savais (savoir imparfait: je savais / tu savais / il savait / nous savions / vous saviez / ils savaient)

Grammar note: The imparfait is formed from the nous present-tense stem + the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. For almost all verbs, take the nous present form, drop -ons, and add the imparfait endings. Être is the only verb with an irregular imparfait stem (ét-).

The imparfait versus passé composé distinction is one of the hardest in French. Imparfait describes background, ongoing states, habits, and interrupted actions. Passé composé describes specific completed events that interrupted or occurred against a background. In question 6: jouaient (imparfait: ongoing background action) + a sonné (passé composé: the interrupting event).

Passé composé in French and passé composé vs imparfait help you compare completed actions with background or habitual past actions.

Quiz 4: Futur simple

Fill in the blank with the correct futur simple form.

1. Demain, il _______ (faire) beau.

2. Nous _______ (partir) à huit heures précises.

3. Tu _______ (avoir) les résultats la semaine prochaine.

4. Je vous _______ (appeler) dès que j’arrive.

5. Ils _______ (venir) nous rendre visite en décembre.

6. Elle _______ (finir) ses études l’année prochaine.

7. Vous _______ (pouvoir) réserver en ligne.

8. On _______ (être) en retard si on ne part pas maintenant.

Answers: Quiz 4

1. fera (faire: irregular futur stem = fer-)
2. partirons (partir: regular -ir, futur = partir- + -ons)
3. auras (avoir: irregular futur stem = aur-)
4. appellerai (appeler: doubles the l in futur: appeller- + -ai; note: regular stem is the infinitive)
5. viendront (venir: irregular futur stem = viendr-)
6. finira (regular -ir: finir- + -a)
7. pourrez (pouvoir: irregular futur stem = pourr-)
8. sera (être: irregular futur stem = ser-)

Grammar note: The futur simple uses the infinitive as its stem for most verbs (parler: parler-, finir: finir-, vendre: vendr- without the final -e). The endings are the same for all verbs: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. The most common irregular futur stems to memorize: être (ser-), avoir (aur-), aller (ir-), faire (fer-), venir (viendr-), voir (verr-), savoir (saur-), pouvoir (pourr-), vouloir (voudr-), devoir (devr-).

Quiz 5: Conditional present

Fill in the blank with the correct conditional present form (le conditionnel présent).

1. Si j’avais plus d’argent, je _______ (voyager) plus souvent.

2. Tu _______ (pouvoir) m’aider, s’il te plaît ?

3. Nous _______ (vouloir) une table pour quatre personnes.

4. Il _______ (être) utile de réserver à l’avance.

5. Vous _______ (avoir) une minute ?

6. Elle _______ (aimer) apprendre à cuisiner.

7. Ils ne _______ (savoir) pas quoi faire sans toi.

8. Je _______ (prendre) le menu du jour, s’il vous plaît.

Answers: Quiz 5

1. voyagerais (regular -er: voyager- + -ais; note: voyager adds an e before the -ais endings to preserve the soft g sound: voyagerais)
2. pourrais (pouvoir: irregular conditional stem = pourr-; endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient)
3. voudrions (vouloir: irregular conditional stem = voudr-)
4. serait (être: irregular conditional stem = ser-)
5. auriez (avoir: irregular conditional stem = aur-)
6. aimerait (regular -er: aimer- + -ait)
7. sauraient (savoir: irregular conditional stem = saur-)
8. prendrais (prendre: conditional stem = prendr-)

Grammar note: The conditional présent uses the same irregular stems as the futur simple (ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-, viendr-, etc.) but with imparfait endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient). This is why mastering futur stems unlocks the conditional almost automatically. The conditional is used for polite requests (questions 2, 5), wishes and hypotheticals (questions 1, 6), and reported speech where the future of the original statement becomes conditional.

French reflexive verbs are another useful verb category to practice because their pronouns and passé composé rules add extra moving parts.

Your score and what it means

Count your correct answers across all five quizzes (40 questions total).

Score	What it suggests
35-40 correct	Strong command of the five core tenses; focus on subjunctive and more complex structures
25-34 correct	Solid foundation with identifiable gaps; target irregular verbs and tense selection
15-24 correct	Intermediate level with significant conjugation gaps; systematic review recommended
Under 15 correct	Beginning level; start with present tense regular verbs before tackling compound tenses

Note where your errors cluster: if you missed mostly passé composé, review auxiliary verb selection and past participles. If you missed conditional, revisit futur stems. If imparfait questions tripped you, focus on the passé composé vs imparfait distinction.

Practice French conjugation with a tutor

Self-quizzing builds recall, but it does not build the speed and automaticity you need for real conversation, where you cannot pause to conjugate before speaking. A conversation partner who asks you questions in real time and expects immediate answers is the fastest path from I know how to I can do it naturally. italki has 30,000+ expert tutors trusted by over 10 million learners worldwide, including French tutors who can run verb drills, identify your weakest tenses, and set targeted conjugation exercises at your level. Book a trial lesson and close the gap between knowing conjugation rules and using them fluently.

FAQ

What are the most important French tenses to learn first?

The practical priority order for most learners is: (1) present tense (le présent), since it handles current actions, habitual actions, and commands in many forms; (2) passé composé, since it handles most conversational past tense; (3) imparfait, since it handles descriptions, habits, and background in the past; (4) futur simple or futur proche (aller + infinitive), since the futur proche is often simpler to use in conversation; (5) conditional, for polite requests and hypotheticals. The subjunctive (le subjonctif) is important but can be approached after these five are stable.

What is the difference between futur proche and futur simple?

The futur proche (near future) is formed with the present tense of aller + infinitive: je vais partir (I am going to leave). It expresses an action in the immediate or planned future. The futur simple is a full tense conjugation (je partirai: I will leave) and is more formal or refers to more distant or less certain future events. In spoken French, the futur proche is used far more often than the futur simple for everyday future plans. The futur simple appears more in writing, formal speech, and when the future action feels more hypothetical or remote.

How many French verb tenses do I need to know for the DELF B2 exam?

The DELF B2 exam requires active control of: présent, passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait (past perfect), futur simple, futur antérieur (future perfect), conditionnel présent, conditionnel passé, and subjonctif présent. The subjonctif passé and other rare tenses (passé simple, passé antérieur) may appear in reading texts but are rarely required for production at B2 level. Building toward B2 means systematically working through each tense with a tutor who can test your production, not just recognition.