Overview
The French verb écrire means to write. It is an irregular verb commonly used in both everyday and formal contexts. Since it is irregular, its conjugation deviates from regular -re verbs, especially in the present tense and past participle forms. Understanding how to conjugate écrire helps learners talk about writing activities, letters, texts, or creative works.
Meaning and Usage
Écrire is used to express the act of writing something down, composing text, or issuing written communication. It can be applied in a wide variety of contexts, from writing a letter, an email, a book, or simply jotting down notes. For example, J’écris une lettre means "I am writing a letter."
Present Tense Conjugation
The present tense of écrire is irregular. The stem changes in some persons, and endings are similar to other irregular -re verbs. This tense is used to express current actions or routines involving writing.
| French Pronoun | French Conjugation | English Conjugation | French Example | English Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Je | écris | I write / am writing | J’écris un email. | I am writing an email. |
| Tu | écris | You write / are writing | Tu écris dans ton journal. | You are writing in your journal. |
| Il/Elle/On | écrit | He/She/One writes | Elle écrit une histoire. | She writes a story. |
| Nous | écrivons | We write | Nous écrivons ensemble. | We write together. |
| Vous | écrivez | You (formal/plural) write | Vous écrivez un rapport. | You write a report. |
| Ils/Elles | écrivent | They write | Ils écrivent des poèmes. | They write poems. |
Past Participle and Compound Tenses
The past participle of écrire is écrit. It is used with the auxiliary verb avoir to form compound tenses like the passé composé.
Example:
- J’ai écrit un article.
(I wrote / have written an article.)
This tense describes completed writing actions in the past.
Imperfect Tense
The imperfect tense describes ongoing or habitual past writing activities. The stem is écriv-, and the endings follow the regular imperfect pattern.
Example conjugation:
- J’écrivais (I was writing / used to write)
Example sentence:
- Quand j’étais petit, j’écrivais beaucoup de lettres.
(When I was a child, I used to write many letters.)
Future Tense
To express writing activities that will occur, the future tense uses the stem écrir- plus the future endings.
Example conjugation:
- J’écrirai (I will write)
Example sentence:
- Demain, j’écrirai un poème.
(Tomorrow, I will write a poem.)
Imperative Mood
The imperative is used for commands or requests. For écrire, the forms are:
- Écris ! (Write! [tu])
- Écrivons ! (Let’s write!)
- Écrivez ! (Write! [vous])
Example:
- Écris ta réponse rapidement!
(Write your answer quickly!)
Summary Table of Verb Forms
| Tense | Stem/Formation | Example (Je) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | écri- + present endings | J’écris | I write / am writing |
| Passé composé | aux. avoir + écrit | J’ai écrit | I wrote / have written |
| Imperfect | écriv- + imperfect endings | J’écrivais | I was writing / used to write |
| Future | écrir- + future endings | J’écrirai | I will write |
| Imperative (tu) | écris | Écris ! | Write! |
You can learn more about irregular verbs in the Irregular Verbs page and expand your understanding of French grammar on the Grammar main page.
