Annuler Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “annuler”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Annuler means “to cancel” — a booking, a meeting, a flight, an order. It is a fully regular -er verb, which makes it one of the most useful verbs you can learn in an afternoon.
Annuler is the verb for travel and admin: annuler une réservation, annuler un rendez-vous, annuler une commande. French usually reports a cancellation in the passive rather than leaving the subject vague, so a departures board says le vol est annulé and an email says la réunion a été annulée. It is narrower than English “cancel,” though: a subscription or a contract is résilié, and a file or a line of text is supprimé.
Annuler is regular throughout. There is one stem, annul-, and the standard first-group endings in every tense: j'annule, nous annulons, j'annulais, j'annulerai, que j'annule. The spelling is the only real trap, because the stem has two n's and a single l in every single form. Since the stem starts with a vowel, je elides to j' in the present, the imparfait and the future. The past participle is annulé, and it agrees when it follows être: la réunion a été annulée, les cours sont annulés.
Annuler takes avoir: j'ai annulé. Because the verb needs an object, the thing cancelled is usually made the subject of a passive with être, which is where the participle agreement comes from: la séance a été annulée.
Annuler in context
Présent
Elle annule toujours au dernier moment. She always cancels at the last minute.
Imparfait
On annulait le cours dès qu'il neigeait. We used to cancel the class as soon as it snowed.
Passé composé
Nous avons annulé notre réservation ce matin. We cancelled our booking this morning.
Futur simple
Si la grève continue, ils annuleront le vol. If the strike goes on, they'll cancel the flight.
Subjonctif présent
Il vaut mieux que tu annules avant vendredi. You'd be better off cancelling before Friday.
Common mistakes with annuler
Getting the double letters wrong
✗ J'anule mon rendez-vous.
✓ J'annule mon rendez-vous. — I'm cancelling my appointment.
The stem is annul-: two n's, one l, in every form of every tense. English pulls in two directions here, since “annul” has the double n but “cancelled” has the double l, and learners often end up doubling the wrong one.
Letting the cancelled thing be the subject
✗ Le vol a annulé.
✓ Le vol a été annulé. — The flight was cancelled.
Annuler is transitive: someone cancels something, and a flight cannot cancel itself. To leave the canceller unnamed, use the passive with être — le vol a été annulé — or the shorter state description le vol est annulé.
Using annuler for a subscription
✗ J'ai annulé mon abonnement à la salle de sport.
✓ J'ai résilié mon abonnement à la salle de sport. — I cancelled my gym membership.
Annuler cancels a one-off event or an order that has not yet taken effect. Ending an ongoing contract, a subscription or an insurance policy is résilier, and that is the word you will see in the terms and conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Is annuler a regular verb?
Yes, completely. It is a first-group -er verb with a single stem, annul-, and no accent or spelling changes anywhere in the paradigm. Every form follows parler: j'annule, nous annulons, j'annulais, j'annulerai, que j'annule.
How do you say “my flight was cancelled” in French?
Mon vol a été annulé reports the event, and mon vol est annulé describes the current situation, which is what a screen at the airport will show. Both need the agreement: ma réservation a été annulée, mes deux vols ont été annulés. In speech people also say on m'a annulé mon vol.
What is the difference between annuler, résilier and supprimer?
Annuler cancels an event, a booking or an order: annuler une réunion. Résilier terminates a running contract: résilier un bail, résilier une assurance. Supprimer deletes something so it no longer exists: supprimer un fichier, supprimer un compte. English “cancel” covers all three, which is why the wrong one slips out easily.
What is the past participle of annuler?
It is annulé. After avoir it agrees only with a direct object that comes before the verb (les vols que j'ai annulés), and after être it agrees with the subject, which is the common case in the passive: la conférence a été annulée. All the agreement endings are silent.
How do you pronounce annuler?
The double n is pronounced as a single n sound, so the verb runs a-nu-lé with three syllables. The u is the tight French u of tu, not the oo of English “rule.” In ils annulent the -ent is silent, giving a-nul, and in j'annule the je disappears into the stem.