← All verbs
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.