Aider Conjugation in French
aider means “help” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for offering help at home, for helping a friend move house, and for helping children with homework. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of aider — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: aider
- English: help
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en aidant
- Past participle: aidé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for aider. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aide |
| tu | aides |
| il/elle | aide |
| nous | aidons |
| vous | aidez |
| ils/elles | aident |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aidai |
| tu | aidas |
| il/elle | aida |
| nous | aidâmes |
| vous | aidâtes |
| ils/elles | aidèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aidais |
| tu | aidais |
| il/elle | aidait |
| nous | aidions |
| vous | aidiez |
| ils/elles | aidaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aiderai |
| tu | aideras |
| il/elle | aidera |
| nous | aiderons |
| vous | aiderez |
| ils/elles | aideront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aiderais |
| tu | aiderais |
| il/elle | aiderait |
| nous | aiderions |
| vous | aideriez |
| ils/elles | aideraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aide |
| tu | aides |
| il/elle | aide |
| nous | aidions |
| vous | aidiez |
| ils/elles | aident |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aidasse |
| tu | aidasses |
| il/elle | aidât |
| nous | aidassions |
| vous | aidassiez |
| ils/elles | aidassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai aidé |
| tu | as aidé |
| il/elle | a aidé |
| nous | avons aidé |
| vous | avez aidé |
| ils/elles | ont aidé |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais aidé |
| tu | avais aidé |
| il/elle | avait aidé |
| nous | avions aidé |
| vous | aviez aidé |
| ils/elles | avaient aidé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai aidé |
| tu | auras aidé |
| il/elle | aura aidé |
| nous | aurons aidé |
| vous | aurez aidé |
| ils/elles | auront aidé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais aidé |
| tu | aurais aidé |
| il/elle | aurait aidé |
| nous | aurions aidé |
| vous | auriez aidé |
| ils/elles | auraient aidé |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | aide |
| nous | aidons |
| vous | aidez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | aide |
| nous | aidons |
| vous | aidez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en aidant |
| Past participle | aidé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'aide ma mère.” — “I help my mother.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “J'aidai ma mère hier.” — “I helped my mother yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “J'aidais ma mère avant.” — “I used to help my mother before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “J'aiderai ma mère demain.” — “I will help my mother tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “J'aiderais ma mère un jour.” — “I would help my mother one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que j'aide ma mère” — “Although I help my mother.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que j'aidasse ma mère” — “Although I help my mother.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai aidé ma mère cette semaine.” — “I have helped my mother this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais aidé ma mère avant la fête.” — “I had helped my mother before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai aidé ma mère pour demain.” — “I will have helped my mother by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais aidé ma mère hier.” — “I would have helped my mother yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “aide ma mère !” — “Help my mother!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne aide pas ma mère !” — “Don't help my mother!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en aidant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle aidé builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai aidé les enfants cette semaine.” — “I have helped the children this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with aider, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.”
- “Tu aidas ma mère hier.” — “You helped my mother yesterday.”
- “Il aidait les enfants avant.” — “He used to help the children before.”
- “J'aiderai mon voisin demain.” — “I will help my neighbour tomorrow.”
- “Tu aiderais mon ami un jour.” — “You would help my friend one day.”
- “Il a aidé ma mère cette semaine.” — “He has helped my mother this week.”
- “J'avais aidé les enfants avant la fête.” — “I had helped the children before the party.”
- “Tu auras aidé mon voisin pour demain.” — “You will have helped my neighbour by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il aide mon ami” — “Although he helps my friend.”
- “aide ma mère !” — “Help my mother!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je aider mon ami.”
✓ Right: “Je aide mon ami.”
The infinitive aider never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form aide.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je aidons ma mère.”
✓ Right: “Je aide ma mère.”
aidons is the nous form. With je the present form is aide — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je aide mon ami.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai aidé mon ami.”
The present aide describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai aidé.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je aidai les enfants.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai aidé les enfants.”
The passé simple aidai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai aidé.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je aide mon ami.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je aide mon ami.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use aide here, not the indicative aide.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je aidais mon voisin avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai aidé mon voisin avant.”
The imperfect aidais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai aidé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on aider. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of aider in the Present indicative?
- A) aident
- B) aidons
- C) aide
- D) aides
What is the il/elle form of aider in the Passé simple?
- A) aidas
- B) aidai
- C) aidèrent
- D) aida
What is the nous form of aider in the Imperfect?
- A) aidait
- B) aidions
- C) aidaient
- D) aidiez
What is the tu form of aider in the Future?
- A) aideras
- B) aidera
- C) aideront
- D) aiderai
What is the je form of aider in the Conditional?
- A) aideriez
- B) aiderions
- C) aiderais
- D) aiderait
What is the il/elle form of aider in the Present subjunctive?
- A) aide
- B) aidions
- C) aident
- D) aidiez
What is the je form of aider in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) aidassions
- B) aidasse
- C) aidât
- D) aidassent
What is the gerund of aider?
- A) buvant
- B) aidant
- C) dormant
What is the past participle of aider?
- A) dormi
- B) aidé
- C) bu
What does aider mean in English?
- A) drink
- B) sleep
- C) open
- D) help
Answer key
- C) aide — The je form of aider in the present indicative is aide.
- D) aida — The il/elle form of aider in the passé simple is aida.
- B) aidions — The nous form of aider in the imperfect is aidions.
- A) aideras — The tu form of aider in the future is aideras.
- C) aiderais — The je form of aider in the conditional is aiderais.
- A) aide — The il/elle form of aider in the present subjunctive is aide.
- B) aidasse — The je form of aider in the imperfect subjunctive is aidasse.
- B) aidant — The gerund of aider is en aidant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) aidé — The past participle of aider is aidé; perfect tenses use avoir + aidé.
- D) help — aider means “help” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of aider?
The gerund is en aidant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is aidé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between aider and enseigner?
aider means “help” while enseigner means “teach” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for enseigner and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Aider Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Aider Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Enseigner conjugation
- Inviter conjugation
- Apprendre conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise aider with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise aider with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise aider with the interactive tool.