Rétorquer Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “rétorquer”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Rétorquer means “to retort” — to answer back against something that has just been said, usually an accusation or an objection. It belongs to writing and reported speech more than to conversation.
You will meet rétorquer mostly in journalism and narrative, where it introduces what somebody said in reply: il a rétorqué que ce n'était pas son problème. It always implies a previous statement being pushed back against, so it is not a general-purpose word for answering — that is répondre. The usual pattern is rétorquer quelque chose à quelqu'un, with the words spoken as the direct object and the person as the indirect one.
Rétorquer is a fully regular first-group verb: one stem, rétorqu-, plus the ordinary -er endings in every tense (je rétorque, nous rétorquons, je rétorquais, je rétorquerai, que je rétorque). The qu stays intact in front of every ending, including nous rétorquons, so this verb has none of the c/ç or g/ge trouble that placer and manger have. The é in the first syllable is part of the stem and appears in all forms, including the infinitive. The past participle is rétorqué, and because the object is usually a que clause rather than a noun, it rarely has anything to agree with.
Rétorquer takes avoir: j'ai rétorqué. In narrative you will also see it in the passé simple, as in « c'est faux », rétorqua-t-il, which is the tense French uses for reported speech in written stories.
Rétorquer in context
Présent
Quand on lui reproche son retard, il rétorque que le métro était bloqué. When he's told off for being late, he retorts that the metro was stuck.
Imparfait
Elle rétorquait à chaque critique sans jamais lever la voix. She had an answer for every criticism, and never raised her voice.
Passé composé
Je lui ai rétorqué que ce n'était pas mon travail. I shot back that it wasn't my job.
Futur simple
Tu rétorqueras sans doute que personne ne t'avait prévenu. You'll no doubt come back with the fact that nobody had warned you.
Subjonctif présent
Il ne faut pas que vous rétorquiez trop vite en réunion. You shouldn't fire back too quickly in a meeting.
Common mistakes with rétorquer
Making the person a direct object
✗ Je l'ai rétorqué que c'était faux.
✓ Je lui ai rétorqué que c'était faux. — I retorted to him that it wasn't true.
The direct object of rétorquer is what was said, so the person you say it to is indirect and needs lui or leur, not le, la or les. The same pattern governs dire, répondre and répliquer: je lui ai dit, je leur ai répondu.
Dropping the accent on the stem
✗ Je retorque toujours trop vite.
✓ Je rétorque toujours trop vite. — I always fire back too quickly.
The é belongs to the stem and appears in every form, from rétorquer to ils rétorqueront. Nothing in the conjugation ever removes it, so a missing accent here is a spelling error rather than a variant.
Writing the conditional for the future
✗ Je rétorquerais demain si on m'accuse encore.
✓ Je rétorquerai demain si on m'accuse encore. — I'll answer back tomorrow if they accuse me again.
The ending -ai is the future and -ais is the conditional, and the two sound the same for many speakers. With si plus a present tense in the other clause, French wants the future: si on m'accuse, je rétorquerai.
Frequently asked questions
Is rétorquer a regular verb?
Yes. It is a first-group -er verb with a single stem, rétorqu-, and no spelling changes: je rétorque, nous rétorquons, je rétorquais, je rétorquerai, que je rétorque. The qu is kept in front of every ending, so unlike placer or manger it needs no cedilla or extra e.
What is the difference between rétorquer, répondre and répliquer?
Répondre is the neutral verb for answering anything, including a question or an email. Rétorquer means answering back against a claim, so it needs something to push against. Répliquer sits between them and suggests a quick, sharp reply. Only répondre works when there is no disagreement involved.
What is the past participle of rétorquer?
It is rétorqué, giving j'ai rétorqué, elle a rétorqué. It stays invariable in almost every real sentence, because what follows is usually a que clause rather than a noun that could come before the verb. Agreement would only appear in a construction like les arguments qu'il a rétorqués.
How do you use rétorquer in a sentence?
The most common shape is rétorquer que plus the indicative: elle a rétorqué qu'elle n'avait rien signé. You can add the person with à or an indirect pronoun: je lui ai rétorqué que c'était trop tard. In narrative it also follows a quotation directly, with the subject inverted: « pas question », rétorqua-t-elle.
How do you pronounce rétorquer?
Three syllables, ré-tor-ké, with the closed é at both ends and the qu pronounced as a plain k. The r in the middle is the standard French r at the back of the throat. In ils rétorquent the -ent is silent, so the word ends on the k sound: ré-tork.