Commenter Conjugation in French
commenter means “to comment” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 228 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a non-reflexive, regular -er verb, and this page gives you its complete conjugation — 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: “Je commente le livre tous les jours.” — “I comment the book every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: commenter
- English: to comment
- Verb type: Non-reflexive, Regular
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: en commentant
- Past participle: commenté
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for commenter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for commenter. 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 | commente |
| tu | commentes |
| il/elle | commente |
| nous | commentons |
| vous | commentez |
| ils/elles | commentent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commentai |
| tu | commentas |
| il/elle | commenta |
| nous | commentâmes |
| vous | commentâtes |
| ils/elles | commentèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commentais |
| tu | commentais |
| il/elle | commentait |
| nous | commentions |
| vous | commentiez |
| ils/elles | commentaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commenterai |
| tu | commenteras |
| il/elle | commentera |
| nous | commenterons |
| vous | commenterez |
| ils/elles | commenteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commenterais |
| tu | commenterais |
| il/elle | commenterait |
| nous | commenterions |
| vous | commenteriez |
| ils/elles | commenteraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai commenté |
| tu | as commenté |
| il/elle | a commenté |
| nous | avons commenté |
| vous | avez commenté |
| ils/elles | ont commenté |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais commenté |
| tu | avais commenté |
| il/elle | avait commenté |
| nous | avions commenté |
| vous | aviez commenté |
| ils/elles | avaient commenté |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai commenté |
| tu | auras commenté |
| il/elle | aura commenté |
| nous | aurons commenté |
| vous | aurez commenté |
| ils/elles | auront commenté |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais commenté |
| tu | aurais commenté |
| il/elle | aurait commenté |
| nous | aurions commenté |
| vous | auriez commenté |
| ils/elles | auraient commenté |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commente |
| tu | commentes |
| il/elle | commente |
| nous | commentions |
| vous | commentiez |
| ils/elles | commentent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | commentasse |
| tu | commentasses |
| il/elle | commentât |
| nous | commentassions |
| vous | commentassiez |
| ils/elles | commentassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | commente |
| nous | commentons |
| vous | commentez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | commente |
| nous | commentons |
| vous | commentez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en commentant |
| Past participle | commenté |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je commente le livre tous les jours.” — “I comment the book every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu commentas le livre la semaine dernière.” — “You commented the book last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il commentait le livre ce matin.” — “He used to comment the book this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Nous commenterons le livre.” — “We will comment the book.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Vous commenteriez le livre.” — “You would comment the book.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ils ont commenté le livre hier.” — “They have commented the book yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “J'avais commenté le livre hier.” — “I had commented the book yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu auras commenté le livre la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have commented the book next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il aurait commenté le livre ce matin.” — “He would have commented the book this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il est important que nous commentions le livre tous les jours.” — “It is important that We comment the book every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mostly in formal and literary French. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous commentassiez le livre hier.” — “It was necessary that You comment the book yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Commentez le livre !” — “Comment the book!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With commenter this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ne commente pas le livre !” — “Do not comment the book!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en commentant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En commentant, je commence la journée.” — “While commenting, I start the day.” The past participle commenté is used with avoir in the perfect tenses, as in j'ai commenté — “I have commented the book yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with commenter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je commente le livre à la maison.” — “I comment the book at home.”
- “Tu commentas le livre ce matin.” — “You commented the book this morning.”
- “Il commentait le livre avec Paul.” — “He used to comment the book with Paul.”
- “Je commenterai le livre demain.” — “I will comment the book tomorrow.”
- “Tu commenterais le livre tous les jours.” — “You would comment the book every day.”
- “Il a commenté le livre la semaine dernière.” — “He has commented the book last week.”
- “J'avais commenté le livre ce matin.” — “I had commented the book this morning.”
- “Tu auras commenté le livre demain.” — “You will have commented the book tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il commente le livre tous les jours.” — “It is important that He comment the book every day.”
- “Commente le livre !” — “Comment the book!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je commenter le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je commente le livre tous les jours.”
The infinitive commenter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form commente.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je commentes le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je commente le livre tous les jours.”
commentes is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is commente — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je commente le livre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai commenté le livre hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai commenté here, not the present commente.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je commentons le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je commente le livre tous les jours.”
commentons is the nous form. The je form is commente — the two persons never share a form in the present of commenter.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis commenté le livre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai commenté le livre hier.”
commenter takes avoir in the compound tenses, not être: ai commenté, never the être form.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous commentons le livre.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous commentions le livre.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use commentions here, not the indicative commentons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on commenter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of commenter in the Present indicative?
- A) commente
- B) aurais commenté
- C) commenterai
- D) commentai
What is the il/elle form of commenter in the Passé simple?
- A) commentera
- B) commentai
- C) commenterait
- D) commenta
What is the nous form of commenter in the Imperfect?
- A) aurions commenté
- B) commentions
- C) commentâmes
- D) commenterions
What is the tu form of commenter in the Future?
- A) commenteras
- B) avais commenté
- C) commentes
- D) commentais
What is the je form of commenter in the Conditional?
- A) commenterait
- B) commenterais
- C) commenterions
- D) commente
What is the il/elle form of commenter in the Present subjunctive?
- A) commentent
- B) commentes
- C) commenta
- D) commente
What is the nous form of commenter in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as commenté
- B) commentions
- C) aurons commenté
- D) avons commenté
What is the gerund of commenter?
- A) préparant
- B) ajoutant
- C) adoptant
- D) en commentant
What is the past participle of commenter?
- A) commenté
- B) construit
- C) contrôlé
- D) considéré
What does commenter mean in English?
- A) admire
- B) comment
- C) remove
- D) lower
Answer key
- A) commente — the je form of commenter in the present indicative is commente. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) commenta — the il/elle form of commenter in the passé simple is commenta. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) commentions — the nous form of commenter in the imperfect is commentions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) commenteras — the tu form of commenter in the future is commenteras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) commenterais — the je form of commenter in the conditional is commenterais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) commente — the il/elle form of commenter in the present subjunctive is commente. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) avons commenté — the nous form of commenter in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons commenté. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) en commentant — the gerund of commenter is en commentant; it is used with en for actions happening at the same time as the main verb. The other options are the present participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) commenté — the past participle of commenter is commenté; perfect tenses use avoir + commenté. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- B) comment — commenter means “to comment” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn commenter in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je commente, tu commentes, il commente, nous commentons, vous commentez, ils commentent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: ai commenté shows the pattern, and the participle commenté is the same in every perfect tense. Third, add one new tense a day, always in a sentence, and test yourself the next day before you learn the next one. A verb you can use in a sentence is learnt; a verb you can only recite is not. Use the Verb Quiz and the Verb Conjugator to check what has stuck, and compare commenter with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does commenter mean in English?
commenter means “to comment”. It is a non-reflexive, regular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is commenter regular or irregular?
commenter is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none. commenter is regular: every form follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict.
What are the gerund and past participle of commenter?
The gerund is en commentant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is commenté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in j'ai commenté.
How do I say “I comment” in French?
Say “Je commente le livre tous les jours.” — “I comment the book every day.” The je form of the present is commente, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce commenter?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for commenter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- commenter in the present tense
- commenter examples and quiz
- Comparer conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Se laver conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise commenter with the interactive tool.
- Conditional Helper — practise commenter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise commenter with the interactive tool.