How to Conjugate 'Continuer' (to Continue)

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The French verb continuer means "to continue." It is a regular -er verb, which makes conjugating it very simple. 

How to Conjugate the French Verb Continuer

The constant part of regular verb conjugation is the stem, which you get by dropping the -er from the infinitive (continu-). You then add the ending based on the subject pronoun and tense you're using. The charts below show how to do this.

Present Future Imperfect Present participle
je continue continuerai continuais continuant
tu continues continueras continuais
il continue continuera continuait
nous continuons continuerons continuions
vous continuez continuerez continuiez
ils continuent continueront continuaient
Subjunctive Conditional Passé simple Imperfect subjunctive
je continue continuerais continuai continuasse
tu continues continuerais continuas continuasses
il continue continuerait continua continuât
nous continuions continuerions continuâmes continuassions
vous continuiez continueriez continuâtes continuassiez
ils continuent continueraient continuèrent continuassent
Imperative
(tu) continue
(nous) continuons
(vous) continuez

How to Use Continuer in the Past Tense

The passé simple is only used in very formal or literary situations. To render continuer in the past tense, you'll use the passé composé. It requires an auxiliary verb (in this case, avoir) and the verb's past participle (continué).

For example:

Ils ont continué danser après la musique a fini.
The continued to dance after the music ended.

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Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate 'Continuer' (to Continue)." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/continuer-to-continue-1370008. Team, ThoughtCo. (2021, December 6). How to Conjugate 'Continuer' (to Continue). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/continuer-to-continue-1370008 Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate 'Continuer' (to Continue)." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/continuer-to-continue-1370008 (accessed April 26, 2024).