How to Conjugate the French Verb 'Participer' ('to Participate')

Participer ("to participate, take part, partake, share") is a regular French -er verb that shares conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods with every other regular French verb ending in -er, by far the largest group of French verbs. To conjugate participer, remove the -er ending to reveal the stem particip-, then add the regular -er endings shown in the table at the bottom of the page.

Note that this table includes simple conjugations only. Compound conjugations, which consist of a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle participé, are not included.

Examples and Usage of 'Participer'

participer à to un événement > to take part in an event, to contribute to an event

participer à aux frais > to contribute to the costs

participer àu succès de qn > to share in someone's success

participer aux bénéfices / pertes > to share in the profits / losses

participer à une réunion > attend a meeting

Je voudrais participer aux frais. > I would like to contribute to the costs. 

André va participer à la course. > André is going to take part in the race.

participer aux décisions​ > to be involved in decision making

Tous ses collègues ont participé au cadeau. > All her colleagues contributed something towards the present.

l'important est de participer, pas de gagne. > The important thing is not to have won, to have fought

paticiper au projet > to be involved in a project

participer de > to partake of

participer de bon cœur à qch > to enter into the spirit of something

Elle montrait un grand empressement à participer. > She showed a great keenness to participate / join in.

J'aimerais te voir participer plus souvent aux tâches ménagères. > I'd like to see you taking on a greater share of the household chores.

tout ce qui participe de la philosophie > everything pertaining / relating to philosophy

'Participer' Is a Regular French '-er' Verb

The majority of French verbs are regular -er verbs, as participeris. (There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -er, -ir, -re verbs; stem-changing verbs; and irregular verbs.)

To conjugate a regular French -er verb, remove the -er ending from the infinitive to reveal the verb's stem.

Then add the regular -er endings to the stem. Note that regular -er verbs share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods.

Apply the same endings in the table to any of the regular French -er verbs listed below.

Simple Conjugations of the Regular French '-er' Verb 'Participer'

	Present	Future	Imperfect	Present participle
je	participe	participerai	participais	participant
tu	participes	participeras	participais
il	participe	participera	participait	Passé composé
nous	participons	participerons	participions	Auxiliary verb avoir
vous	participez	participerez	participiez	Past participle participé
ils	participent	participeront	participaient
	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé simple	Imperfect subjunctive
je	participe	participerais	participai	participasse
tu	participes	participerais	participas	participasses
il	participe	participerait	participa	participât
nous	participions	participerions	participâmes	participassions
vous	participiez	participeriez	participâtes	participassiez
ils	participent	participeraient	participèrent	participassent

	Imperative
(tu)	participe
(nous)	participons
(vous)	participez

More Common French Regular '-er' Verbs

French regular -er verbs, by far the largest group of French verbs, share conjugation patterns. Here are just a few of the most common regular -er verbs:

• aimer > to like, to love
• arriver > to arrive, to happen
• chanter > to sing
• chercher > to look for
• commencer* > to begin
• danse > to dance
• demander > to ask for
• dépenser > to spend (money)
• détester > to hate
• donner > to give
• écouter > to listen to
• étudier** > to study
• fermer > to close
• goûte > to taste
• jouer > to play
• laver > to wash
• manger* > to eat
• nager* > to swim
• parler > to talk, to speak
• passe > to pass, spend (time)
• penser > to think
• porter > to wear, to carry
• regarder > to watch, to look at
• rêver > to dream
• sembler > to seem
• skier** > to ski
• travailler > to work
• trouve > to find
• visiter > to visit (a place)

• voler > to fly, to steal

*All regular -er verbs are conjugated according to the regular -er verb conjugation pattern, except for one small irregularity in verbs that end in -ger and -cer, known as spelling-change verbs.
**Though conjugated just like regular -er verbs, watch out for verbs that end in -ier.