aider Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

aider — help — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. aider is the verb for offering help at home: it comes up whenever you talk about helping a friend move house or helping children with homework. On this page you will find aider in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with aider

In the present tense

  • “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.”
  • “Tu aides ma mère.” — “You help my mother.”
  • “Il aide les enfants.” — “He helps the children.”
  • “Nous aidons mon voisin.” — “We help my neighbour.”
  • “Vous aidez mon ami.” — “You help my friend.”
  • “Ils aident ma mère.” — “They help my mother.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai aidé mon ami cette semaine.” — “I have helped my friend this week.”
  • “Tu as aidé ma mère cette semaine.” — “You have helped my mother this week.”
  • “Il a aidé les enfants cette semaine.” — “He has helped the children this week.”
  • “Nous avons aidé mon voisin cette semaine.” — “We have helped my neighbour this week.”
  • “Vous avez aidé mon ami cette semaine.” — “You have helped my friend this week.”
  • “Ils ont aidé ma mère cette semaine.” — “They have helped my mother this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “J'aidais mon ami avant.” — “I used to help my friend before.”
  • “J'aiderai ma mère demain.” — “I will help my mother tomorrow.”
  • “J'aiderais les enfants un jour.” — “I would help the children one day.”
  • “Bien que il aide mon voisin” — “Although he helps my neighbour.”

aider in context

J'aide mon ami. Tu aides ma mère. Il aide les enfants. Nous aidons mon voisin.

I help my friend. You help my mother. He helps the children. We help my neighbour.

J'ai aidé mon ami. Il a aidé ma mère. Nous avons aidé les enfants.

I have helped my friend this week. He has helped my mother this week. We have helped the children this week.

Common mistakes with aider

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je aider mon ami.

Right: Je aide mon ami.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form aide.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je aidons ma mère.

Right: Je aide ma mère.

aidons is the nous form. With je, use aide.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je aide les enfants.

Right: Hier, j'ai aidé les enfants.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai aidé, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je aide mon voisin.

Right: Bien que je aide mon voisin.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive aide.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je aidais mon ami hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai aidé mon ami hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on aider

Ten questions on aider. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aidons
    • B) aidez
    • C) aides
    • D) aident

  2. What is the nous form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aidons
    • B) aident
    • C) aidez
    • D) aide

  3. What is the il/elle form of aider in the Present perfect?

    • A) as aidé
    • B) avons aidé
    • C) a aidé
    • D) ont aidé

  4. What is the je form of aider in the Imperfect?

    • A) aidait
    • B) aidaient
    • C) aidais
    • D) aidions

  5. What is the nous form of aider in the Future?

    • A) aiderons
    • B) aiderai
    • C) aidera
    • D) aideras

  6. What is the tu form of aider in the Conditional?

    • A) aiderions
    • B) aideriez
    • C) aideraient
    • D) aiderais

  7. What is the je form of aider in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) aide
    • B) aidions
    • C) aides
    • D) aident

  8. What is the il/elle form of aider in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) aidassiez
    • B) aidât
    • C) aidasse
    • D) aidassent

  9. What is the gerund of aider?

    • A) buvant
    • B) dormant
    • C) aidant

  10. What is the past participle of aider?

  • A) dormi
  • B) aidé
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. C) aides — The tu form of aider in the present indicative is aides.
  2. A) aidons — The nous form of aider in the present indicative is aidons.
  3. C) a aidé — The il/elle form of aider in the present perfect is a aidé.
  4. C) aidais — The je form of aider in the imperfect is aidais.
  5. A) aiderons — The nous form of aider in the future is aiderons.
  6. D) aiderais — The tu form of aider in the conditional is aiderais.
  7. A) aide — The je form of aider in the present subjunctive is aide.
  8. B) aidât — The il/elle form of aider in the imperfect subjunctive is aidât.
  9. C) aidant — The gerund of aider is en aidant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) aidé — The past participle of aider is aidé; perfect tenses use avoir + aidé.

Frequently asked questions

What does aider mean in English?

aider means “help”. You use it for offering help at home, for helping a friend move house, and for helping children with homework.

Is aider regular or irregular?

aider is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en aidant and the past participle is aidé.

How do I say “I help” in French?

Say “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.” The je form of the present is aide.

Where can I see the full conjugation of aider?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Aider Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise aider this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with aider out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — mon ami, ma mère and les enfants — and change only the person, so you hear how aide, aides and aide sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai aidé and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en aidant and aidé in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for aider, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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