How to Conjugate "Corriger" (to Correct) in French

In French, you will use the verb corriger for "to correct." When you want to say "correcting" or "corrected," a verb conjugation is required and this lesson will walk you through that.

Conjugating the French Verb Corriger

Verb conjugations are required to express whether the action happens in the past, present or future. In English, we use -ing and -ed endings, but it's a bit more complicated in French. This is because the verb changes with the subject pronoun as well as the tense.

Corriger is a spelling change verb and that makes it a tricky one, particularly when writing it. While the pronunciation remains the same, you will notice that a few of these conjugations change the  -ge- to -gi-. This is done in -ger verbs to retain the proper 'G' sound.

Use the table to study the various conjugations of corriger. You will match the subject pronoun -- the je, tu, nous, etc. -- with the present, future, or imperfect past tense. For instance, "I am correcting" is "je corrige" and "we will correct" is "nous corrigerons."

The Present Participle of Corriger

To form the present participle of corriger, -ant is added to the verb stem. This produces corrigeant and it works as an adjective, gerund, or noun as well as a verb.

Corriger's Past Participle and Passé Composé

The passé composé is a familiar way to express the past tense of "corrected." To use this, you must first conjugate avoir, which is an auxiliary, or "helping" verb. The past participle corrigé is then added to complete the phrase.

For instance, "I corrected" is "j'ai corrigé" and "we corrected" is "nous avons corrigé." Notice how ai and avons are conjugates of avoir and that the past participle does not change.

More Simple Corriger Conjugations to Learn

Beginning French students should concentrate on the past, present, and future verb forms of corriger. There may, however, be instances when one of the following conjugations is necessary.

The subjunctive verb mood is used when the action is uncertain or subjective. Likewise, the conditional verb mood is reserved for those times when the action may or may not happen because it's dependent on something. 

It's likely that you will not use the passé simple because it tends to be used in formal French writing. However, you should be able to recognize and associate it with corriger. The same can be said of the imperfect subjunctive form.

The imperative verb form may be useful as well. This is used in short and often direct commands or requests. When using the imperative, the subject pronoun is not required, so you can say "corrige" rather than "tu corrige."