Construire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

construire — to build — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -re verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. On this page you will find construire in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the construire conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the construire passé composé tense page.

Example sentences with construire

In the present tense

  • “Je construis la maison tous les jours.” — “I build the house every day.”
  • “Tu construis la maison à la maison.” — “You build the house at home.”
  • “Il construit la maison ce matin.” — “He builds the house this morning.”
  • “Nous construisons la maison avec Paul.” — “We build the house with Paul.”
  • “Vous construisez la maison.” — “You build the house.”
  • “Ils construisent la maison tous les jours.” — “They build the house every day.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai construit la maison hier.” — “I have built the house yesterday.”
  • “Tu as construit la maison la semaine dernière.” — “You have built the house last week.”
  • “Il a construit la maison ce matin.” — “He has built the house this morning.”
  • “Nous avons construit la maison avant la fête.” — “We have built the house before the party.”
  • “Vous avez construit la maison.” — “You have built the house.”
  • “Ils ont construit la maison hier.” — “They have built the house yesterday.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je construisais la maison à la maison.” — “I used to build the house at home.”
  • “Tu construiras la maison bientôt.” — “You will build the house soon.”
  • “Il construirait la maison avec Paul.” — “He would build the house with Paul.”
  • “Il est important que nous construisions la maison tous les jours.” — “It is important that We build the house every day.”
  • “Construis la maison !” — “Build the house!”

Construire in context

Je construis la maison tous les jours. Tu construis la maison à la maison. Il construit la maison ce matin. Nous construisons la maison avec Paul. C’est une partie normale de la routine, et c’est pour cela que le présent de construire est la première forme qu’il convient d’apprendre. Chaque phrase utilise une personne différente, alors lisez-les à voix haute et remarquez comment la forme change — construis, construis, construit, construisons — tandis que le sens reste le même : to build. J'ai construit la maison hier. Tu as construit la maison la semaine dernière. Il a construit la maison ce matin. Nous avons construit la maison avant la fête. C’était une journée normale, mais c’est justement dans des journées comme celle-ci que le passé composé de construire apparaît sans cesse : une action terminée, un moment précis, et l’histoire continue. Comparez ces phrases avec celles du présent ci-dessus : le verbe change de temps, mais le sens de base — to build — ne change pas. C’est la différence entre une habitude et un événement terminé.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je construire la maison.”

✓ Right: “Je construis la maison tous les jours.”

The infinitive construire never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form construis.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je construis la maison.”

✓ Right: “Je construis la maison tous les jours.”

construis is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is construis — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je construis la maison hier.”

✓ Right: “J'ai construit la maison hier.”

Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai construit here, not the present construis.

4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms

✗ Wrong: “Je construisons la maison.”

✓ Right: “Je construis la maison tous les jours.”

construire is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on construire across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of construire in the Present indicative?

    • A) construis
    • B) construirais
    • C) construisent
    • D) construit

  2. What is the je form of construire in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai construit
    • B) avez construit
    • C) construisisse
    • D) aurais construit

  3. What is the il/elle form of construire in the Imperfect?

    • A) construisit
    • B) aurait construit
    • C) construisait
    • D) construit

  4. What is the nous form of construire in the Future?

    • A) construirions
    • B) construirons
    • C) aurons construit
    • D) construisions

  5. What is the tu form of construire in the Conditional?

    • A) as construit
    • B) construirions
    • C) auras construit
    • D) construirais

  6. What is the je form of construire in the Passé simple?

    • A) construisirent
    • B) construisis
    • C) construisîtes
    • D) construisit

  7. What is the nous form of construire in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) construisions
    • B) construise
    • C) construisîmes
    • D) construisissions

  8. What is the gerund of construire?

    • A) créant
    • B) admirant
    • C) considérant
    • D) en construisant

  9. What is the past participle of construire?

    • A) montré
    • B) avoué
    • C) construit
    • D) assisté

  10. What does construire mean in English?

  • A) remove
  • B) build
  • C) notice
  • D) draw

Answer key

  1. A) construis — the tu form of construire in the present indicative is construis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  2. A) ai construit — the je form of construire in the present perfect (passé composé) is ai construit. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  3. C) construisait — the il/elle form of construire in the imperfect is construisait. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  4. B) construirons — the nous form of construire in the future is construirons. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  5. D) construirais — the tu form of construire in the conditional is construirais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  6. B) construisis — the je form of construire in the passé simple is construisis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  7. A) construisions — the nous form of construire in the present subjunctive is construisions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  8. D) en construisant — the gerund of construire is en construisant; 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.
  9. C) construit — the past participle of construire is construit; perfect tenses use avoir + construit. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) build — construire means “to build” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does construire mean in English?

construire means “to build”. You use it whenever you talk about to build in French, in the present, the past and the future.

Is construire regular or irregular?

construire is irregular. construire is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.

What are the gerund and past participle of construire?

The gerund is en construisant and the past participle is construit. The perfect tenses use avoir + construit.

Where can I see the full conjugation of construire?

On the construire conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The construire passé composé tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for construire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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