Battre Conjugation French: The Ultimate Master Guide

The French verb battre (meaning to beat, to hit, or to defeat) is one of the most frequently used verbs in everyday French. While it belongs to the irregular third group (3ème groupe), its conjugation pattern is logical and consistent. Once you grasp how battre works, you can easily conjugate all of its prefix derivatives, such as combattre (to fight) and débattre (to debate).

This comprehensive guide from my-french.com covers every tense you need to know, clear conjugation charts, common idioms, and expert learning tips.

The Core Rule: One 't' vs. Two 't's

  • In the singular persons (je, tu, il/elle/on), the stem loses a « t », ending in -s, -s, - : je bats, tu bats, il bat.
  • In the plural persons (nous, vous, ils/elles), the double « t » remains intact: nous battons, vous battez, ils battent.

    • The main hurdle for learners conjugating battre in the present indicative is the stem change:

The past participle is battu, conjugated in compound tenses with the auxiliary avoir (or être in the reflexive form se battre).

Indicative Mood (L'indicatif)

Present (Présent)

  • Je bats (I beat / I am beating)
  • Tu bats (You beat)
  • Il / Elle / On bat (He / She / One beats)
  • Nous battons (We beat)
  • Vous battez (You beat)
  • Ils / Elles battent (They beat)

    • Used for habitual actions and ongoing events.

    Compound Past (Passé Composé)

  • J'ai battu (I beat / I have beaten)
  • Tu as battu (You beat)
  • Il / Elle / On a battu (He / She beat)
  • Nous avons battu (We beat)
  • Vous avez battu (You beat)
  • Ils / Elles ont battu (They beat)

    • Used for completed past events.

    Imperfect (Imparfait)

  • Je battais (I was beating / used to beat)
  • Tu battais (You were beating)
  • Il / Elle / On battait (He / She was beating)
  • Nous battions (We were beating)
  • Vous battiez (You were beating)
  • Ils / Elles battaient (They were beating)

    • Used for continuous past actions or descriptions.

    Future Simple (Futur Simple)

  • Je battrai (I will beat)
  • Tu battras (You will beat)
  • Il / Elle / On battra (He / She will beat)
  • Nous battrons (We will beat)
  • Vous battrez (You will beat)
  • Ils / Elles battront (They will beat)

    • Used for future actions and predictions.

    Pluperfect (Plus-que-parfait)

  • J'avais battu (I had beaten)
  • Tu avais battu (You had beaten)
  • Il / Elle / On avait battu (He / She had beaten)
  • Nous avions battu (We had beaten)
  • Vous aviez battu (You had beaten)
  • Ils / Elles avaient battu (They had beaten)

    • Simple Past (Passé Simple)

  • Je battis
  • Tu battis
  • Il / Elle / On battit
  • Nous battîmes
  • Vous battîtes
  • Ils / Elles battirent

    • Found primarily in formal writing and literature.

    Subjunctive Mood (Le subjonctif)

    Present Subjunctive

  • Que je batte (That I beat)
  • Que tu battes (That you beat)
  • Qu'il / elle / on batte (That he/she beat)
  • Que nous battions (That we beat)
  • Que vous battiez (That you beat)
  • Qu'ils / elles battent (That they beat)

    • The subjunctive keeps the double « t » (batt-) for every subject pronoun.

    Conditional Mood (Le conditionnel)

    Present Conditional

  • Je battrais (I would beat)
  • Tu battrais (You would beat)
  • Il / Elle / On battrait (He / She would beat)
  • Nous battrions (We would beat)
  • Vous battriez (You would beat)
  • Ils / Elles battraient (They would beat)

    • Formed using the infinitive base battr- plus imperfect endings.

    Past Conditional

  • J'aurais battu (I would have beaten)
  • Tu aurais battu (You would have beaten)
  • Il / Elle / On aurait battu (He / She would have beaten)
  • Nous aurions battu (We would have beaten)
  • Vous auriez battu (You would have beaten)
  • Ils / Elles auraient battu (They would have beaten)

    • Imperative & Participles

    Imperative (L'impératif)

  • Bats ! (Beat! - singular informal)
  • Battons ! (Let's beat!)
  • Battez ! (Beat! - plural / formal)

    • Participles

  • Present Participle: battant (beating)
  • Past Participle: battu (beaten)

    • Common Verbs Following the Same Conjugation

  • Abattre: to knock down, to slaughter, to shoot down
  • Combattre: to fight, to combat
  • Débattre: to debate, to discuss
  • Rabattre: to pull down, to fold back
  • Rebattre: to beat again, to reshuffle (cards)
  • Se battre: to fight each other (pronominal: ils se sont battus)

    • All verbs ending in -battre follow this exact same pattern:

    Popular French Idioms with « Battre »

Learning idiomatic expressions will make your French sound natural and fluent:

1. Battre le fer tant qu'il est chaud: Strike while the iron is hot.

2. Avoir le cœur qui bat la chamade: To have one's heart pounding wildly.

3. Battre en retraite: To retreat / back down.

4. Battre de l'aile: To be struggling or failing (literally: fluttering a broken wing).

5. Battre les cartes: To shuffle the deck of cards.

Key Takeaways and Practical Tips

  • Remember the singular drop: Je bats, tu bats, il bat (no double 't').
  • Keep the double 't' everywhere else: Plural present (nous battons), imperfect (je battais), and subjunctive (que je batte).
  • Check pronominal agreements: When using se battre, use être as the auxiliary verb (Elle s'est battue pour réussir).