French reference
retourner
to go back; to turn over; to send back
Regular · 19 form tables
Includes indicative, conditional, subjunctive and imperative forms. Literary categories and supplied participle agreement forms are labeled separately.
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Indicative
Present
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I go back |
| tu | you go back |
| il/elle/on | he/she goes back |
| nous | we go back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) go back |
| ils/elles | they go back |
Compound past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I went back; I have gone back |
| tu | you went back; you have gone back |
| il/elle/on | he/she went back; he/she has gone back |
| nous | we went back; we have gone back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) went back; you (plural/formal) have gone back |
| ils/elles | they went back; they have gone back |
Imperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I used to go back |
| tu | you used to go back |
| il/elle/on | he/she used to go back |
| nous | we used to go back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) used to go back |
| ils/elles | they used to go back |
Pluperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had gone back |
| tu | you had gone back |
| il/elle/on | he/she had gone back |
| nous | we had gone back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had gone back |
| ils/elles | they had gone back |
Future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will go back |
| tu | you will go back |
| il/elle/on | he/she will go back |
| nous | we will go back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will go back |
| ils/elles | they will go back |
Future perfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will have gone back |
| tu | you will have gone back |
| il/elle/on | he/she will have gone back |
| nous | we will have gone back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will have gone back |
| ils/elles | they will have gone back |
Near future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I am going to go back |
| tu | you are going to go back |
| il/elle/on | he/she is going to go back |
| nous | we are going to go back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) are going to go back |
| ils/elles | they are going to go back |
Recent past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I have just gone back |
| tu | you have just gone back |
| il/elle/on | he/she has just gone back |
| nous | we have just gone back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) have just gone back |
| ils/elles | they have just gone back |
Simple past (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I went back |
| tu | you went back |
| il/elle/on | he/she went back |
| nous | we went back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) went back |
| ils/elles | they went back |
Past anterior (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had gone back |
| tu | you had gone back |
| il/elle/on | he/she had gone back |
| nous | we had gone back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had gone back |
| ils/elles | they had gone back |
Conditional
Conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would go back |
| tu | you would go back |
| il/elle/on | he/she would go back |
| nous | we would go back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would go back |
| ils/elles | they would go back |
Past conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have gone back |
| tu | you would have gone back |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have gone back |
| nous | we would have gone back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have gone back |
| ils/elles | they would have gone back |
Past conditional, second form (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have gone back |
| tu | you would have gone back |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have gone back |
| nous | we would have gone back |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have gone back |
| ils/elles | they would have gone back |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I go back |
| tu | (that) you go back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she goes back |
| nous | (that) we go back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) go back |
| ils/elles | (that) they go back |
Past subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I have gone back |
| tu | (that) you have gone back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she has gone back |
| nous | (that) we have gone back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) have gone back |
| ils/elles | (that) they have gone back |
Imperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I went back |
| tu | (that) you went back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she went back |
| nous | (that) we went back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) went back |
| ils/elles | (that) they went back |
Pluperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I had gone back |
| tu | (that) you had gone back |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she had gone back |
| nous | (that) we had gone back |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) had gone back |
| ils/elles | (that) they had gone back |
Imperative
Imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| tu | go back! |
| nous | let's go back! |
| vous | go back! (plural/formal) |
Past imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| tu | have gone back by then! |
| nous | let's have gone back by then! |
| vous | have gone back by then! (plural/formal) |
Additional forms
- Gerund
- Present participle
- Past participle
- / / /
- Past infinitive
- Perfect participle
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all French entries.