Consulter Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “consulter”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Consulter means to consult: a doctor, a lawyer, a dictionary, a timetable. It is a regular -er verb, and the point worth learning is that it is directly transitive in French, with no preposition where English says “consult with.”
Consulter is the verb French uses where English often reaches for “check”: consulter ses mails, consulter le site de la SNCF, consulter l'horaire. It is also the standard verb for seeing a medical professional, so consulter un médecin is what you will read on health websites and hear at a pharmacy. In medical French it can even stand alone with no object, where it means to hold surgery hours: le docteur consulte le mardi. It stays a shade more formal than regarder or vérifier, which is why it dominates official notices.
Consulter is a regular first-group verb on the stem consult-, with no stem change: je consulte, tu consultes, il consulte, nous consultons, vous consultez, ils consultent. The endings -e, -es and -ent are all silent, so those four forms sound identical and only the written form tells you which one you have. The future and conditional add their endings to the full infinitive, giving je consulterai and je consulterais, with an e in the middle you write but do not pronounce. The subjunctive is the present again except for nous consultions and vous consultiez. The past participle is consulté.
Consulter in context
Présent
Je consulte les horaires de train avant chaque voyage. I check the train times before every trip.
Imparfait
Avant Internet, on consultait un dictionnaire papier. Before the internet, people used a paper dictionary.
Passé composé
Elle a consulté un cardiologue la semaine dernière. She saw a cardiologist last week.
Futur simple
Nous consulterons les résultats en fin de journée. We'll look at the results at the end of the day.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que tu consultes un médecin si la fièvre continue. You need to see a doctor if the fever doesn't go away.
Common mistakes with consulter
Adding a preposition after consulter
✗ J'ai consulté avec un avocat avant de signer.
✓ J'ai consulté un avocat avant de signer. — I consulted a lawyer before signing.
English “consult with someone” puts a preposition in, but French consulter takes a direct object: consulter un avocat, consulter un spécialiste. If you want the sense of conferring together, the reflexive does that job: ils se sont consultés avant de répondre.
Using consulter for asking a quick question
✗ J'ai consulté mon collègue pour savoir où était la salle.
✓ J'ai demandé à mon collègue où était la salle. — I asked my colleague where the room was.
Consulter means seeking a considered opinion or checking a source, so it sounds heavy for a passing question. For that, use demander à quelqu'un. Keep consulter for professionals, documents and databases.
Reusing the present form in the subjunctive after nous
✗ Il faut que nous consultons le règlement.
✓ Il faut que nous consultions le règlement. — We need to check the rules.
In the singular the subjunctive of an -er verb looks exactly like the present, which makes the plural feel safe when it is not. Nous and vous switch to -ions and -iez: nous consultions, vous consultiez.
Expressions with consulter
consulter un médecin
to see a doctor
consulter ses mails
to check your email
consulter un dictionnaire
to look something up in a dictionary
se consulter
to confer with each other
sans consulter personne
without asking anyone
Frequently asked questions
Is consulter a regular verb?
Yes, it is a regular first-group -er verb with no stem changes: je consulte, nous consultons, past participle consulté, future je consulterai. It takes avoir in compound tenses. Anything you can do with parler you can do with consulter.
Does consulter need a preposition?
No, it takes a direct object: consulter un médecin, consulter le site, consulter les archives. The English pattern “consult with” does not carry over. The only preposition case is the reflexive se consulter, where two or more people confer with one another.
How do you say “I need to see a doctor” in French?
Je dois consulter un médecin, or more simply je dois voir un médecin. On health websites you will also see the impersonal consultez un médecin as an instruction. Consulter alone, with no object, is used by doctors about their own hours: le docteur consulte l'après-midi.
What is the difference between consulter and vérifier?
Consulter is about going to a source for information; vérifier is about confirming whether something is true or correct. You consulter the timetable to find out when the train leaves, and you vérifier that you have the right platform. Regarder is the neutral, everyday alternative to both.
How do you pronounce consulter?
Three syllables, roughly kon-sul-TAY, with a nasal first vowel and the u of tu in the middle. The -ent of ils consultent is silent, so it sounds identical to il consulte. In je consulterai the e before the ending is written but not said, so the word comes out as kon-sul-t'RAY.