Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Introduction to the verb retourner
The English translation of the French verb retourner is “to return” or “to go back.” The infinitive form is pronounced “ruh-toor-nay.”
Retourner is derived from the Latin verb “tornare” which means “to turn.” In everyday French, it is used to describe the action of going back to a previous place or state. It can also be used figuratively to mean “to go back to a previous topic” or “to change one’s mind.”
Examples:
- Je vais retourner à la maison après le travail. (I am going to return home after work.)
- Elle a décidé de retourner à ses études. (She has decided to go back to her studies.)
- Le débat a rapidement retourné à la politique. (The debate quickly returned to politics.)
Retourner – About the French Present Tense
To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see our article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.
Common Everyday Usage Patterns For Le Present
Interactions with Other Tenses
Table of the Present Tense Conjugation of retourner
Pronoun | Conjugation | Short Example | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
je | retourne | Je retourne chez moi. | I return home. |
tu | retournes | Tu retournes toujours au même endroit. | You always return to the same place. |
il | retourne | Il retourne sa veste. | He changes his mind. |
elle | retourne | Elle retourne son sac pour trouver ses clés. | She turns her bag upside down to find her keys. |
on | retourne | On retourne souvent au restaurant de notre première rencontre. | We often go back to the restaurant of our first date. |
nous | retournons | Nous retournons à la maison après le travail. | We return home after work. |
vous | retournez | Vous retournez vos vêtements avant de les mettre dans la machine à laver. | You turn your clothes inside out before putting them in the washing machine. |
ils | retournent | Ils retournent les tables pour préparer la salle pour la fête. | They turn the tables over to prepare the room for the party. |
elles | retournent | Elles retournent leurs chaises pour faire face à la scène. | They turn their chairs to face the stage. |
Other Conjugations for Retourner.
Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb retourner (this article)
Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb retourner
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