Arrêter Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of arrêter — “to stop” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for arrêter, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'arrête la voiture devant la maison.” — “I stop the car in front of the house.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for arrêter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of arrêter
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for arrêter. arrêter is a regular -er verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — arrêter
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | arrête |
| tu | arrêtes |
| il/elle | arrête |
| nous | arrêtons |
| vous | arrêtez |
| ils/elles | arrêtent |
The gerund of arrêter is en arrêtant and the past participle is arrêté. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of arrêter is formed
For a regular -er verb, the present tense is built on the stem arrêt- (the infinitive arrêter without its -er ending) plus the present tense endings: je → arrête, tu → arrêtes, il/elle → arrête, nous → arrêtons, vous → arrêtez, ils/elles → arrêtent. So arrêter gives arrête, arrêtes, arrête, arrêtons, arrêtez, arrêtent.
When to use the present tense of arrêter
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with arrêter: “J'arrête la voiture devant la maison tous les jours.” — “I stop the car in front of the house.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with arrêter: “Tu arrêtes la voiture devant la maison en général.” — “You stop the car in front of the house.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with arrêter: “Il arrête la voiture devant la maison maintenant.” — “He stops the car in front of the house.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with arrêter: “Nous arrêtons la voiture devant la maison demain.” — “We stop the car in front of the house.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with arrêter: “Ils arrêtent la voiture devant la maison souvent.” — “They stop the car in front of the house.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: arrêter now, arrêter later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “J'arrête la voiture devant la maison tous les jours.” — “I stop the car in front of the house.”
Future: “J'arrêterai la voiture devant la maison demain.” — “I will stop the car in front of the house tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu arrêtes la voiture devant la maison maintenant.” — “You stop the car in front of the house.”
Future: “Tu arrêteras la voiture devant la maison demain.” — “You will stop the car in front of the house tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous arrêtons la voiture devant la maison en classe.” — “We stop the car in front of the house.”
Future: “Nous arrêterons la voiture devant la maison demain.” — “We will stop the car in front of the house tomorrow.”
Example sentences: arrêter in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of arrêter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “J'arrête la voiture devant la maison tous les jours.” — “I stop the car in front of the house.”
- “Tu arrêtes la voiture devant la maison chaque matin.” — “You stop the car in front of the house.”
- “Il arrête la voiture devant la maison souvent.” — “He stops the car in front of the house.”
- “Nous arrêtons la voiture devant la maison maintenant.” — “We stop the car in front of the house.”
- “Vous arrêtez la voiture devant la maison en général.” — “You stop the car in front of the house.”
- “Ils arrêtent la voiture devant la maison le week-end.” — “They stop the car in front of the house.”
Common mistakes with arrêter in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je arrêter la voiture devant la maison.”
Right: “J'arrête la voiture devant la maison.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form arrête.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu arrête la voiture devant la maison.”
Right: “Tu arrêtes la voiture devant la maison.”
After tu you need arrêtes, not the je form arrête. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “J'arrêterai la voiture devant la maison.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “J'arrête la voiture devant la maison tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (arrêterai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai arrêté la voiture devant la maison tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “J'arrête la voiture devant la maison tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: arrêter in the present tense
What is the je form of arrêter in the Present indicative?
- A) arrêtes
- B) arrêtez
- C) arrête
- D) arrêtons
What is the tu form of arrêter in the Present indicative?
- A) arrêtes
- B) arrête
- C) arrêtez
- D) arrêtent
What is the il/elle form of arrêter in the Present indicative?
- A) arrête
- B) arrêtez
- C) arrêtons
- D) arrêtent
What is the nous form of arrêter in the Present indicative?
- A) arrête
- B) arrêtes
- C) arrêtons
- D) arrêtez
What is the vous form of arrêter in the Present indicative?
- A) arrêtons
- B) arrêtez
- C) arrêtes
- D) arrête
What is the ils/elles form of arrêter in the Present indicative?
- A) arrêtent
- B) arrêtons
- C) arrêtez
- D) arrête
What is the gerund of arrêter?
- A) arrête
- B) en arrêtant
- C) arrêté
- D) arrêterai
What does arrêter mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to go
- D) to stop
Answer key
- C) arrête — the je form of arrêter in the present indicative is arrête.
- A) arrêtes — the tu form of arrêter in the present indicative is arrêtes.
- A) arrête — the il/elle form of arrêter in the present indicative is arrête.
- C) arrêtons — the nous form of arrêter in the present indicative is arrêtons.
- B) arrêtez — the vous form of arrêter in the present indicative is arrêtez.
- A) arrêtent — the ils/elles form of arrêter in the present indicative is arrêtent.
- B) en arrêtant — the gerund of arrêter is en arrêtant.
- D) to stop — arrêter means “to stop” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of arrêter formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is arrête and the ils form is arrêtent.
When do I use the present tense of arrêter?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (arrête), while the future is for what will happen (arrêterai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of arrêter?
On the full conjugation page for arrêter, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of arrêter in order, without looking: arrête, arrêtes, arrête, arrêtons, arrêtez, arrêtent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using arrête, ai arrêté and arrêterai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- arrêter in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- arrêter examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Continuer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Esperer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise arrêter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise arrêter with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.