Languages › French How to Conjugate "Employer" (to Use) "Use" Your French Verb Conjugation Skills for This Lesson Print Dan Dalton / Getty Images French Grammar Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Team Updated on November 04, 2019 How would you say "to use" in French? If you answered with employer, then you are correct. It's a simple word and one that we use all the time in English, though it most commonly refers to our work or job. Yet, we also "employ" the use of tools and other things to help us out. It's time to "employ" your verb conjugation skills for a quick lesson on employer. Conjugating the French Verb Employer Employer is a stem-changing verb, which is common with verbs that end in -yer. Throughout the conjugations, you will notice that the 'Y' often changes to an 'I' and that is to retain the correct pronunciation as various endings are added. Other than that small change, these conjugations are relatively simple. If you've worked with a few verbs before, then you should recognize some patterns here. In French, verb conjugations help us make sense of our sentences. They tell us which endings to add to the verb stem in order to match the appropriate tense to the subject pronoun. For example, "I use" becomes "j'emploie" while "we will use" is "nous emploierons." Read More How to Conjugate "Utiliser" (to Use) in French By ThoughtCo Team Did you notice the stem change? When practicing these in context, it's a good idea to write them down at the same time. This will help you memorize the spelling for each conjugation. Subject Present Future Imperfect j' emploie emploierai employais tu emploies emploieras employais il emploie emploiera employait nous employons emploierons employions vous employez emploierez employiez ils emploient emploieront employaient The Present Participle of Employer The present participle of employer is employant. It acts as an adjective, gerund, or noun in many circumstances, though it most often remains a verb. The Past Participle and Passé Composé The passé composé is a common way to express the past tense "used" in French. To construct it, attach the past participle employé to the conjugate of avoir (an auxiliary verb) and the subject pronoun. For instance, "I used" is "j'ai employé" while "we used" is "nous avons employé." More Simple Employer Conjugations There will be times when the action of using is subjective or uncertain. For these, the subjunctive verb form is quite useful. In a similar fashion, the conditional verb mood is used when the action is dependent -- if this happens, then something will be "used." The passé simple is primarily found in literature, so you may not see or use it often. The same is true for the imperfect subjunctive. However, it's a good idea to be familiar with these anyway. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passé Simple Imperfect Subjunctive j' emploie emploierais employai employasse tu emploies emploierais employas employasses il emploie emploierait employa employât nous employions emploierions employâmes employassions vous employiez emploieriez employâtes employassiez ils emploient emploieraient employèrent employassent For short, direct statements that request or demand, use the imperative form of employer. When doing so, there's no need to include the subject pronoun: use "emploie" rather than "tu emploie." Imperative (tu) emploie (nous) employons (vous) employez Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate "Employer" (to Use)." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/employer-to-use-1370213. Team, ThoughtCo. (2021, December 6). How to Conjugate "Employer" (to Use). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/employer-to-use-1370213 Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate "Employer" (to Use)." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/employer-to-use-1370213 (accessed April 23, 2024). copy citation By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies