Conjugating the Verb "Skier"

Skier, pronounced "skee ay," is a regular French -er verb that means "to ski," as in:

• Skier en compétition > to ski competitively
• Skier hors piste > to ski off piste
• Tu sais skier? > Do you know how to ski? / Can you ski?
• J'apprends à skier. > I'm learning to ski.
• J'aimerai aller skier plus souvent. > I'd like to go skiing more often.
• Je vais skier tous les dimanches. > I go skiing every Sunday.

An alternative construction is faire du ski, which means "to go skiing." The verb skier is frequently used together with aller in aller skier, which also means "to go skiing." The sport itself is called skiing in French, as it is in English.

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

The majority of French verbs are regular -er verbs, as skier is. (There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -er, -ir, -re; stem-changing; 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 all regular -er verbs share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods.

Verbs Ending in '-ier' Are '-er' Verbs

Below are all the simple conjugations of the verb skier. The compound conjugations, which include a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle skié, are not included.

Don't let the fact that skier ends in -ier throw you. It still takes all the regular -er endings. You will see a double i in several forms of the verb; that is normal and does not need to be corrected. Etudier, another verb ending in -ier on the list below, also functions the same as any other regular -er verb.

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

SOME COMMON FRENCH REGULAR '-ER' VERBS

French regular -er verbs, by far the largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern. 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.

Simple Conjugations of the Regular 'er' Verb 'Skier'

	Present	Future	Imperfect	Present participle
je	skie	skierai	skiais	skiant
tu	skies	skieras	skiais
il	skie	skiera	skiait	Passé composé
nous	skions	skierons	skiions	Auxiliary verb avoir
vous	skiez	skierez	skiiez	Past participle skié
ils	skient	skieront	skiaient
	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé simple	Imperfect subjunctive
je	skie	skierais	skiai	skiasse
tu	skies	skierais	skias	skiasses
il	skie	skierait	skia	skiât
nous	skiions	skierions	skiâmes	skiassions
vous	skiiez	skieriez	skiâtes	skiassiez
ils	skient	skieraient	skièrent	skiassent

	Imperative
(tu)	skie
(nous)	skions
(vous)	skiez