Conjugating the Simple French Tenses of "Obtenir" (Obtain, Get)

Obtenir is a common French irregular verb that is conjugated the same as other verbs ending in -tenir and -venir. Note that the conjugations in the table below are only those for simple tenses; compound conjugations, which include a form of the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle obtenu, are not included.

Meanings and Use

Obtenir is an exceedingly useful transitive verb meaning "to obtain, get, secure, win, reach." Here are some examples of how it can be used:

• Obtenir un prix > to win a prize
• Obtenir, acquérir un baccalauréat / une licence d'économie > To get, earn a BA / a degree in economics
• Obtenir an accord > to reach an accord
• Obtenir la garde d'un enfant > to get / win custody of a child
• Obtenir le droit de vote > to win the right to vote / to get the vote
• Elle lui a obtenu une augmentation. > She got him a raise.
• Obtenir quelque chose à quelqu'un > to get something for someone
• En divisant par deux on obtient 24. > If you divide by two, you get 24.
• Obtenir de: Il a obtenu de repousser le rendez-vous. > He managed to get the meeting postponed.
• S'obtenir (pronominal): Le résultat demandé s'obtient en multipliant 3 par 5. > To arrive at / to get the required result, multiply 3 by 5.

Other FRENCH VERBS ENDING IN '-TENIR'

Verbs that end in -tenir follow the same conjugation pattern as other verbs ending in -tenir. They all take avoir as their auxiliary verb.

• s'abstenir > to refrain, abstain from
• appartenir > to belong to
• contenir > to contain
• détenir > to detain
• entretenir > to look after, support, foster, keep alive
• maintenir  > to maintain
• retenir > to retain
• soutenir > to support
• tenir > to hold, keep

FRENCH VERBS ENDING IN '-VENIR'

Most verbs that end in -venir use être as their auxiliary verb. A few, such as circonvenir, prévenir and se souvenir (see below) use avoir.

• advenir > to happen
• circonvenir > to circumvent, get around
• contrevenir > to contravene
• convenir > to suit, be suitable
• devenir > to become
• intervenir > to intervene
• parvenir > to reach, achieve
• prévenir > to warn
• provenir > to come from, be due to
• revenir > to come back
• se souvenir de > to remember
• subvenir > to provide for
• survenir > to occur, take place

HOW TO MEMORIZE FRENCH VERB CONJUGATIONS

Tip: Concentrate on the most useful tenses (présent, imparfait, passé composé) and get used to using them in context. Once you've mastered them, move on to the rest.

Training with an audio source such as the French Verb Drills Audiobook Series may also be helpful. There are many liaisons, elisions and modern glidings used with French verbs, and the written form may mislead you such that you end up using the wrong pronunciation.

Simple Conjugations of the Irregular French Verb 'Obtenir"

	Present	Future	Imperfect	Present participle
j'	obtiens	obtiendrai	obtenais	obtenant
tu	obtiens	obtiendras	obtenais
il	obtient	obtiendra	obtenait	Passé composé
nous	obtenons	obtiendrons	obtenions	Auxiliary verb avoir
vous	obtenez	obtiendrez	obteniez	Past participle obtenu
ils	obtiennent	obtiendront	obtenaient
	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé simple	Imperfect subjunctive
j'	obtienne	obtiendrais	obtins	obtinsse
tu	obtiennes	obtiendrais	obtins	obtinsses
il	obtienne	obtiendrait	obtint	obtînt
nous	obtenions	obtiendrions	obtînmes	obtinssions
vous	obteniez	obtiendriez	obtîntes	obtinssiez
ils	obtiennent	obtiendraient	obtinrent	obtinssent

	Imperative
(tu)	obtiens
(nous)	obtenons
(vous)	obtenez