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Verb conjugation

abuser

to mislead; to take advantage [with de ‘of’] (especially sexually)

Usage

"To abuse" or "to overdo it" — abuser de means to take excessive or unfair advantage of something or someone (abuser de sa patience, abuser de l'alcool); used alone in casual speech, tu abuses ! means "you're going too far!"

Examples
  • Il abuse de la patience de ses collègues. — He takes excessive advantage of his colleagues' patience.
  • Ne pas abuser de l'alcool pendant les fêtes. — Don't overdo it with alcohol during the holidays.
  • Tu abuses, tu es encore en retard ! — You're going too far, you're late again!
Common mistake

Learners translate "to abuse someone" directly and miss that abuser de qn can also mean to sexually abuse someone in a legal/serious context — the meaning shifts sharply with context, so register matters more than with the English word "abuse."

Simple tenses

Present

jeabuse
tuabuses
il/elleabuse
nousabusons
vousabusez
ils/ellesabusent

Imperfect

jeabusais
tuabusais
il/elleabusait
nousabusions
vousabusiez
ils/ellesabusaient

Past historic (passé simple)

jeabusai
tuabusas
il/elleabusa
nousabusâmes
vousabusâtes
ils/ellesabusèrent

Future

jeabuserai
tuabuseras
il/elleabusera
nousabuserons
vousabuserez
ils/ellesabuseront

Conditional

jeabuserais
tuabuserais
il/elleabuserait
nousabuserions
vousabuseriez
ils/ellesabuseraient

Subjunctive

jeabuse
tuabuses
il/elleabuse
nousabusions
vousabusiez
ils/ellesabusent

Subjunctive (imperfect)

jeabusasse
tuabusasses
il/elleabusât
nousabusassions
vousabusassiez
ils/ellesabusassent

Imperative

tuabuse
nousabusons
vousabusez

Compound tenses

Passé composé

jeai abusé
tuas abusé
il/ellea abusé
nousavons abusé
vousavez abusé
ils/ellesont abusé

Plus-que-parfait

jeavais abusé
tuavais abusé
il/elleavait abusé
nousavions abusé
vousaviez abusé
ils/ellesavaient abusé

Passé antérieur

jeeus abusé
tueus abusé
il/elleeut abusé
nouseûmes abusé
vouseûtes abusé
ils/elleseurent abusé

Futur antérieur

jeaurai abusé
tuauras abusé
il/elleaura abusé
nousaurons abusé
vousaurez abusé
ils/ellesauront abusé

Conditionnel passé

jeaurais abusé
tuaurais abusé
il/elleaurait abusé
nousaurions abusé
vousauriez abusé
ils/ellesauraient abusé

Subjonctif passé

jeaie abusé
tuaies abusé
il/elleait abusé
nousayons abusé
vousayez abusé
ils/ellesaient abusé

Subjonctif plus-que-parfait

jeeusse abusé
tueusses abusé
il/elleeût abusé
nouseussions abusé
vouseussiez abusé
ils/elleseussent abusé

Impératif passé

tuaie abusé
nousayons abusé
vousayez abusé

Other

Present participle

abusant

Past participle

abusé

Infinitive

abuser

Want to practice? Try a conjugation exercise.

Frequently asked questions

What does "abuser" mean?

"abuser" means "to mislead; to take advantage [with de ‘of’] (especially sexually)".

How do you conjugate "abuser" in the present tense?

The present of "abuser" is: je abuse, tu abuses, il/elle abuse, nous abusons, vous abusez, ils/elles abusent.

What is the Passé composé of "abuser"?

The passé composé of "abuser" is: je ai abusé, tu as abusé, il/elle a abusé, nous avons abusé, vous avez abusé, ils/elles ont abusé.

What is the Imperative of "abuser"?

The imperative of "abuser" is: tu abuse, nous abusons, vous abusez.