Attendre: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Attendre means “to wait”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for attendre, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with attendre, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.”
- “Tu attends Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “You wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”
- “J'ai attendu une réponse depuis hier cette semaine.” — “I have waited for an answer since yesterday this week.”
- “Il attendait le bus tous les matins autrefois.” — “He used to wait for the bus every morning in the past.”
- “Nous attendrons Marie devant la maison demain.” — “We will wait for Marie in front of the house tomorrow.”
- “Tu as attendu une réponse depuis hier cette semaine.” — “You have waited for an answer since yesterday this week.”
- “J'attendrais le bus tous les matins un jour.” — “I would wait for the bus every morning one day.”
- “Il est important que il attende Marie devant la maison.” — “It is important that he wait for Marie in front of the house.”
- “Nous avions attendu une réponse depuis hier avant la fête.” — “We had waited for an answer since yesterday before the party.”
- “Il attendra le bus tous les matins demain.” — “He will wait for the bus every morning tomorrow.”
- “Ils attendent Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “They wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”
- “Attends une réponse depuis hier !” — “Wait for an answer since yesterday!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about for the bus every morning. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how attendre changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of attendre below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “J'attendrai Marie devant la maison demain.” — “I will wait for Marie in front of the house tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai attendu une réponse depuis hier cette semaine.” — “I have waited for an answer since yesterday this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “J'attendrais le bus tous les matins un jour.” — “I would wait for the bus every morning one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Attendre in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of attendre that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, attendre describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is attends: “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, attendre describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is attendait: “Il attendait Marie devant la maison autrefois.” — “He used to wait for Marie in front of the house in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, attendre reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle attendu. The je form is ai attendu: “J'ai attendu une réponse depuis hier cette semaine.” — “I have waited for an answer since yesterday this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, attendre talks about what will happen. The nous form is attendrons: “Nous attendrons le bus tous les matins demain.” — “We will wait for the bus every morning tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, attendre talks about what would happen. The tu form is attendrais: “Tu attendrais Marie devant la maison un jour.” — “You would wait for Marie in front of the house one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, attendre appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is attende, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que j'attende une réponse depuis hier.” — “It is important that I wait for an answer since yesterday.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je attendre le bus tous les matins.”
✓ Right: “Je attends le bus tous les matins.”
The infinitive attendre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form attends.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu attends le bus tous les matins.”
✓ Right: “Tu attends le bus tous les matins.”
attends is the je form. With tu you need attends. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je attends le bus tous les matins hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai attendu le bus tous les matins hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai attendu, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu attends Marie devant la maison.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu attendes Marie devant la maison.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: attendes, not the indicative attends.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je attendu le bus tous les matins.”
✓ Right: “Je ai attendu le bus tous les matins.”
The passé composé of attendre needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle attendu: the full je form is ai attendu.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on attendre. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of attendre in the Present indicative?
- A) attendez
- B) attends
- C) attend
- D) attendons
What is the tu form of attendre in the Present indicative?
- A) attendez
- B) attends
- C) attend
- D) attendons
What is the il/elle form of attendre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as attendu
- B) avons attendu
- C) a attendu
- D) ai attendu
What is the nous form of attendre in the Imperfect?
- A) attendais
- B) attendait
- C) attendiez
- D) attendions
What is the tu form of attendre in the Future?
- A) attendra
- B) attendrons
- C) attendras
- D) attendrai
What is the je form of attendre in the Conditional?
- A) attendriez
- B) attendrais
- C) attendrait
- D) attendrions
What is the il/elle form of attendre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) attendes
- B) attendions
- C) attendiez
- D) attende
What is the je form of attendre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avait attendu
- B) avions attendu
- C) aviez attendu
- D) avais attendu
What is the gerund of attendre?
- A) en étant
- B) en ayant
- C) en attendant
- D) en mangeant
What does attendre mean in English?
- A) to wait
- B) to eat
- C) to be
- D) to have
Answer key
- B) attends — the je form of attendre in the Present indicative is attends. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) attends — the tu form of attendre in the Present indicative is attends. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) a attendu — the il/elle form of attendre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a attendu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) attendions — the nous form of attendre in the Imperfect is attendions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) attendras — the tu form of attendre in the Future is attendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) attendrais — the je form of attendre in the Conditional is attendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) attende — the il/elle form of attendre in the Present subjunctive is attende. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) avais attendu — the je form of attendre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais attendu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en attendant — the gerund of attendre is en attendant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to wait — attendre means “to wait” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does attendre mean in English?
attendre means “to wait”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is attendre regular or irregular?
attendre is regular in every tense. The gerund is attendant and the past participle is attendu.
How do I practise attendre every day?
Say one sentence with attendre in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.”, “J'ai attendu le bus tous les matins cette semaine.” and “J'attendrai le bus tous les matins demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for attendre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of attendre — every tense of attendre in one place.
- Attendre in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Attendre examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Manger conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Être conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Avoir 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 Quiz — practise attendre with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise attendre with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise attendre with the interactive tool.