Retourner Verb Conjugation: Each Tense Explained With Translations & Examples

In case you’re looking for Retourner verb conjugation, you’re dealing with a French verb that can change meaning depending on context and auxiliary choice. Retourner is used to express going back, returning something, turning over, or going again. This guide explains every tense and mood clearly, with translations and real-life examples that reflect how English actually works.

Let’s start with what makes retourner different from similar verbs.

What You Need To Know Before Conjugating Retourner

Retourner generally means to go back, to return, or to turn over. It usually uses avoir, but it switches to être when it expresses movement back to a place without a direct object. When être is used, the past participle retourné agrees in gender and number.

Understanding this distinction is essential.

Indicative Mood

The indicative mood is used for facts, real actions, habits, movement, and concrete situations.

Present Tense (Présent)

The present tense describes actions happening now, repeated actions, or general truths. In English, retourner often translates as “go back,” “return,” or “am/is/are going back.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	retourne	I go back / I am going back
Tu	retournes	you go back / you are going back
Il / Elle / On	retourne	he / she goes back
Nous	retournons	we go back / we are going back
Vous	retournez	you go back / you are going back
Ils / Elles	retournent	they go back / they are going back

Examples:

• Je retourne au bureau. → I’m going back to the office.
• Elle retourne souvent chez elle. → She often goes back home.
• Ils retournent ensemble. → They are going back together.

To talk about repeated or ongoing returns in the past, French uses a different tense.

Imperfect Tense (Imparfait)

The imperfect tense is used for ongoing past actions, habitual behavior, or background context. In English, it often becomes “was going back” or “used to go back.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	retournais	I was going back / I used to go back
Tu	retournais	you were going back
Il / Elle / On	retournait	he / she was going back
Nous	retournions	we were going back
Vous	retourniez	you were going back
Ils / Elles	retournaient	they were going back

Examples:

• Je retournais toujours là-bas. → I used to go back there.
• Elle retournait tard le soir. → She was going back late at night.
• Ils retournaient chaque été. → They went back every summer.

For a completed return or action, French uses the passé composé.

Passé Composé (Avoir Or Être)

The passé composé expresses completed actions. Retourner uses avoir when there is a direct object and être when expressing movement back without one. The meaning changes slightly depending on the auxiliary.

Structure	Conjugation	English Translation
Avoir	j’ai retourné	I returned / I turned over
Être	je suis retourné(e)	I went back

Examples:

• J’ai retourné la lettre. → I returned the letter.
• Elle est retournée chez elle. → She went back home.
• Nous avons retourné le dossier. → We sent the file back.

To show that a return happened before another past event, French uses another tense.

Plus-Que-Parfait

The plus-que-parfait expresses that an action had already happened before another past action. In English, this usually becomes “had gone back” or “had returned.”

Structure	Conjugation	English Translation
Avoir	j’avais retourné	I had returned
Être	j’étais retourné(e)	I had gone back

Examples:

• J’avais retourné le colis. → I had returned the package.
• Elle était retournée trop tôt. → She had gone back too early.
• Nous avions retourné les documents. → We had sent the documents back.

Some tenses are mainly useful for reading and formal writing.

Passé Simple (Rare – Literary)

The passé simple is not used in spoken French. It mainly appears in novels, historical writing, and formal narratives.

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	retournai	I went back
Tu	retournas	you went back
Il / Elle / On	retourna	he / she went back
Nous	retournâmes	we went back
Vous	retournâtes	you went back
Ils / Elles	retournèrent	they went back

Examples:

• Il retourna au village. → He went back to the village.
• Elle retourna seule. → She went back alone.
• Ils retournèrent ensemble. → They went back together.

French also uses the future tense to talk about returning later.

Simple Future (Futur Simple)

The future tense describes actions that will happen later, including going back or returning something.

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	retournerai	I will go back
Tu	retourneras	you will go back
Il / Elle / On	retournera	he / she will go back
Nous	retournerons	we will go back
Vous	retournerez	you will go back
Ils / Elles	retourneront	they will go back

Examples:

• Je retournerai demain. → I will go back tomorrow.
• Elle retournera au travail. → She will go back to work.
• Nous retournerons ensemble. → We will go back together.

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive is used to express necessity, desire, doubt, emotion, or judgment, especially when the return is expected or uncertain.

Present Subjunctive

In English, this structure usually becomes “for someone to go back” or “that someone should go back.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Que je	retourne	for me to go back / that I should go back
Que tu	retournes	for you to go back / that you should go back
Qu’il / elle / on	retourne	for him/her to go back / that he/she should go back
Que nous	retournions	for us to go back / that we should go back
Que vous	retourniez	for you to go back / that you should go back
Qu’ils / elles	retournent	for them to go back / that they should go back

Examples:

• Il faut que je retourne. → I need to go back.
• Je veux qu’elle retourne. → I want her to go back.
• Bien qu’ils retournent tard… → Although they go back late…

Past Subjunctive

Used when the return happened before the main verb. In English, this often becomes “to have gone back.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Que je	sois retourné(e)	for me to have gone back
Que tu	sois retourné(e)	for you to have gone back
Qu’il / elle / on	soit retourné(e)	for him/her to have gone back
Que nous	soyons retourné(e)s	for us to have gone back
Que vous	soyez retourné(e)(s)	for you to have gone back
Qu’ils / elles	soient retourné(e)s	for them to have gone back

Examples:

• Je regrette qu’il soit retourné. → I regret that he went back.
• Bien qu’elle soit retournée… → Although she went back…
• Je suis content qu’ils soient retournés. → I’m glad they went back.

Conditional Mood

The conditional expresses hypothetical returns, polite suggestions, or imagined outcomes.

Present Conditional

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	retournerais	I would go back
Tu	retournerais	you would go back
Il / Elle / On	retournerait	he / she would go back
Nous	retournerions	we would go back
Vous	retourneriez	you would go back
Ils / Elles	retourneraient	they would go back

Examples:

• Je retournerais si je pouvais. → I would go back if I could.
• Elle retournerait plus tard. → She would go back later.
• Nous retournerions ensemble. → We would go back together.

Imperative Mood

The imperative is used to give instructions, encouragement, or orders, focusing on action rather than time.

Present Imperative

Form	Conjugation	English Translation
(Tu)	retourne	go back
(Nous)	retournons	let’s go back
(Vous)	retournez	go back (formal/plural)

Examples:

• Retourne ici. → Go back here.
• Retournons demain. → Let’s go back tomorrow.
• Retournez maintenant. → Go back now.

Final Takeaway

The Retourner Verb Conjugation becomes clear once you understand how meaning changes with context and auxiliary choice. Whether you are talking about going back, returning an object, or turning something over, mastering retourner gives you a flexible verb you’ll use constantly in real French.