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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.