Aimer Conjugation in French
aimer means “to love, to like” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 18 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about loving chocolate, and 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 aimer — 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'aime le chocolat tous les jours.” — “I love chocolate every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: aimer
- English: to love, to like
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: aimant
- Past participle: aimé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for aimer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read aimer in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about aimer
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -er pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle aimé. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is aimant and the participle is aimé: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for aimer. 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 | aime |
| tu | aimes |
| il/elle | aime |
| nous | aimons |
| vous | aimez |
| ils/elles | aiment |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'aime mes amis de Paris tous les jours.” — “I love my friends from Paris every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aimai |
| tu | aimas |
| il/elle | aima |
| nous | aimâmes |
| vous | aimâtes |
| ils/elles | aimèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu aimas mes amis de Paris hier.” — “You loved my friends from Paris yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aimais |
| tu | aimais |
| il/elle | aimait |
| nous | aimions |
| vous | aimiez |
| ils/elles | aimaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il aimait mes amis de Paris autrefois.” — “He used to love my friends from Paris in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aimerai |
| tu | aimeras |
| il/elle | aimera |
| nous | aimerons |
| vous | aimerez |
| ils/elles | aimeront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “J'aimerai mes amis de Paris demain.” — “I will love my friends from Paris tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aimerais |
| tu | aimerais |
| il/elle | aimerait |
| nous | aimerions |
| vous | aimeriez |
| ils/elles | aimeraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu aimerais mes amis de Paris un jour.” — “You would love my friends from Paris one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai aimé |
| tu | as aimé |
| il/elle | a aimé |
| nous | avons aimé |
| vous | avez aimé |
| ils/elles | ont aimé |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a aimé mes amis de Paris cette semaine.” — “He has loved my friends from Paris this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais aimé |
| tu | avais aimé |
| il/elle | avait aimé |
| nous | avions aimé |
| vous | aviez aimé |
| ils/elles | avaient aimé |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais aimé mes amis de Paris avant la fête.” — “I had loved my friends from Paris before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai aimé |
| tu | auras aimé |
| il/elle | aura aimé |
| nous | aurons aimé |
| vous | aurez aimé |
| ils/elles | auront aimé |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras aimé mes amis de Paris pour demain.” — “You will have loved my friends from Paris by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais aimé |
| tu | aurais aimé |
| il/elle | aurait aimé |
| nous | aurions aimé |
| vous | auriez aimé |
| ils/elles | auraient aimé |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait aimé mes amis de Paris hier.” — “He would have loved my friends from Paris yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aime |
| tu | aimes |
| il/elle | aime |
| nous | aimions |
| vous | aimiez |
| ils/elles | aiment |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que j'aime mes amis de Paris.” — “It is important that I love my friends from Paris.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aimasse |
| tu | aimasses |
| il/elle | aimât |
| nous | aimassions |
| vous | aimassiez |
| ils/elles | aimassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu aimasses mes amis de Paris.” — “It is important that you love my friends from Paris.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | aime |
| nous | aimons |
| vous | aimez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Aime mes amis de Paris !” — “Love my friends from Paris!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | aime |
| nous | aimons |
| vous | aimez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne aime pas mes amis de Paris.” — “Do not love my friends from Paris.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en aimant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En aimant le chocolat, je passe un bon moment.” — “While loving chocolate, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | aimé |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai aimé le chocolat cette semaine.” — “I have loved chocolate this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with aimer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'aime le chocolat tous les jours.” — “I love chocolate every day.”
- “Tu aimas mes amis de Paris hier.” — “You loved my friends from Paris yesterday.”
- “Il aimait lire le soir autrefois.” — “He used to love reading in the evening in the past.”
- “J'aimerai le chocolat demain.” — “I will love chocolate tomorrow.”
- “Tu aimerais mes amis de Paris un jour.” — “You would love my friends from Paris one day.”
- “Il a aimé lire le soir cette semaine.” — “He has loved reading in the evening this week.”
- “J'avais aimé le chocolat avant la fête.” — “I had loved chocolate before the party.”
- “Tu auras aimé mes amis de Paris pour demain.” — “You will have loved my friends from Paris by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il aime lire le soir.” — “It is important that he love reading in the evening.”
- “Aime le chocolat !” — “Love chocolate!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je aimer le chocolat.”
✓ Right: “Je aime le chocolat.”
The infinitive aimer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form aime.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je aiment le chocolat.”
✓ Right: “Je aime le chocolat.”
aiment is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with aime.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je aimai le chocolat tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je aime le chocolat tous les jours.”
The passé simple aimai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present aime.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je aime le chocolat.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je aime le chocolat.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use aime here, not the indicative aime.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis aimé le chocolat.”
✓ Right: “Je ai aimé le chocolat.”
The passé composé of aimer is formed with avoir plus the past participle aimé: the je form is ai aimé. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “aime” written without its accent
✓ Right: “aime”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on aimer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of aimer in the Present indicative?
- A) aime
- B) aimes
- C) aimons
- D) aimez
What is the il/elle form of aimer in the Passé simple?
- A) aima
- B) aimai
- C) aimas
- D) aimâmes
What is the nous form of aimer in the Imperfect?
- A) aimions
- B) aimais
- C) aimait
- D) aimiez
What is the tu form of aimer in the Future?
- A) aimera
- B) aimerons
- C) aimeras
- D) aimerai
What is the je form of aimer in the Conditional?
- A) aimeriez
- B) aimerais
- C) aimerait
- D) aimerions
What is the il/elle form of aimer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai aimé
- B) as aimé
- C) avons aimé
- D) a aimé
What is the il/elle form of aimer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) aime
- B) aimes
- C) aimions
- D) aimiez
What is the je form of aimer in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) aimassions
- B) aimasse
- C) aimasses
- D) aimât
What is the gerund of aimer?
- A) en vivant
- B) en sentant
- C) en restant
- D) en aimant
What does aimer mean in English?
- A) to live
- B) to feel
- C) to stay
- D) to love, to like
Answer key
- A) aime — the je form of aimer in the Present indicative is aime. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) aima — the il/elle form of aimer in the Passé simple is aima. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) aimions — the nous form of aimer in the Imperfect is aimions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) aimeras — the tu form of aimer in the Future is aimeras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) aimerais — the je form of aimer in the Conditional is aimerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) a aimé — the il/elle form of aimer in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a aimé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) aime — the il/elle form of aimer in the Present subjunctive is aime. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) aimasse — the je form of aimer in the Imperfect subjunctive is aimasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en aimant — the gerund of aimer is en aimant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to love, to like — aimer means “to love, to like” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does aimer mean in English?
aimer means “to love, to like”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is aimer regular or irregular?
aimer is regular: it follows the ordinary -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is aimant and the past participle is aimé.
What are the gerund and past participle of aimer?
The gerund is aimant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is aimé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai aimé.
Which auxiliary does aimer take in the passé composé?
aimer takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai aimé. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle aimé.
How do I say “I love” in French?
Say “J'aime le chocolat tous les jours.” — “I love chocolate every day.” The je form of the present is aime, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of aimer — every tense of aimer in one place.
- Aimer in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Aimer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Vivre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Sentir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Rester conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise aimer with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise aimer with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise aimer with the interactive tool.