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Verb conjugation

agir

to act, to do (something); to work, to have an effect; (followed by sur) to act (on)

Usage

Agir means to act or to take action — doing something concrete rather than just talking or thinking about it (il faut agir maintenant). The impersonal construction il s'agit de is extremely common and means "it's about/it concerns", a separate idiomatic use worth learning early.

Examples
  • Il faut agir vite avant qu'il ne soit trop tard. — We need to act fast before it's too late.
  • Elle a toujours agi selon ses principes. — She has always acted according to her principles.
  • De quoi s'agit-il exactement dans ce rapport? — What exactly is this report about?
Common mistake

Learners try to translate "it's about X" word for word instead of using the fixed impersonal form il s'agit de X — this construction never changes subject (always il), regardless of what "it" refers to in English.

Simple tenses

Present

jeagis
tuagis
il/elleagit
nousagissons
vousagissez
ils/ellesagissent

Imperfect

jeagissais
tuagissais
il/elleagissait
nousagissions
vousagissiez
ils/ellesagissaient

Past historic (passé simple)

jeagis
tuagis
il/elleagit
nousagîmes
vousagîtes
ils/ellesagirent

Future

jeagirai
tuagiras
il/elleagira
nousagirons
vousagirez
ils/ellesagiront

Conditional

jeagirais
tuagirais
il/elleagirait
nousagirions
vousagiriez
ils/ellesagiraient

Subjunctive

jeagisse
tuagisses
il/elleagisse
nousagissions
vousagissiez
ils/ellesagissent

Subjunctive (imperfect)

jeagisse
tuagisses
il/elleagît
nousagissions
vousagissiez
ils/ellesagissent

Imperative

tuagis
nousagissons
vousagissez

Compound tenses

Passé composé

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

Plus-que-parfait

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

Passé antérieur

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

Futur antérieur

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

Conditionnel passé

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

Subjonctif passé

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

Subjonctif plus-que-parfait

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

Impératif passé

tuaie agi
nousayons agi
vousayez agi

Other

Present participle

agissant

Past participle

agi

Infinitive

agir

Want to practice? Try a conjugation exercise.

Frequently asked questions

What does "agir" mean?

"agir" means "to act, to do (something); to work, to have an effect; (followed by sur) to act (on)".

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

The present of "agir" is: je agis, tu agis, il/elle agit, nous agissons, vous agissez, ils/elles agissent.

What is the Passé composé of "agir"?

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

What is the Imperative of "agir"?

The imperative of "agir" is: tu agis, nous agissons, vous agissez.