Descendre Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

descendre — “to go down” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find descendre in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues 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. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “Je descends les escaliers lentement.” — “I go down the stairs slowly.”

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

Example sentences with descendre

In the present tense

  • “Je descends les escaliers lentement tous les jours.” — “I go down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Tu descends les escaliers lentement souvent.” — “You go down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Il descend les escaliers lentement chaque matin.” — “He goes down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Nous descendons les escaliers lentement le week-end.” — “We go down the stairs slowly.”

In the passé composé

  • “Je suis descendu les escaliers lentement hier.” — “I have gone down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Tu es descendu les escaliers lentement ce matin.” — “You have gone down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Il est descendu les escaliers lentement la semaine dernière.” — “He has gone down the stairs slowly.”

In the imperfect and the future

  • “Je descendais les escaliers lentement quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to go down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Nous descendions les escaliers lentement quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to go down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Tu descendras les escaliers lentement demain.” — “You will go down the stairs slowly tomorrow.”
  • “Ils descendront les escaliers lentement demain.” — “They will go down the stairs slowly tomorrow.”

In other tenses

  • “Je descendrais les escaliers lentement si je pouvais.” — “I would go down the stairs slowly if I could.”
  • “Il faut que je descende les escaliers lentement.” — “It is important that I go down the stairs slowly.”
  • “Descends les escaliers lentement !” — “Go down the stairs slowly!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “J'étais descendu les escaliers lentement avant la fête.” — “I had gone down the stairs slowly before the party.”

All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en descendant and the past participle is descendu; the perfect tenses use être + descendu, as in suis descendu.

Descendre in context

Dialogue 1: every day

Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how descendre changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.

Marie: “Tu descends les escaliers lentement tous les jours ?” — “You go down the stairs slowly.” Paul: “Je descends les escaliers lentement tous les jours.” — “I go down the stairs slowly.” Marie: “Tu es descendu les escaliers lentement hier ?” — “You have gone down the stairs slowly.” Paul: “Je suis descendu les escaliers lentement hier.” — “I have gone down the stairs slowly.” Marie: “Nous descendrons les escaliers lentement demain ?” — “We will go down the stairs slowly tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous descendrons les escaliers lentement demain.” — “We will go down the stairs slowly tomorrow.”

Dialogue 2: making plans

Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.

Paul: “Je descendrais les escaliers lentement si je pouvais.” — “I would go down the stairs slowly if I could.” Marie: “Tu descends les escaliers lentement souvent ?” — “You go down the stairs slowly.” Paul: “Je descends les escaliers lentement souvent.” — “I go down the stairs slowly.” Marie: “Descends les escaliers lentement !” — “Go down the stairs slowly!” Paul: “Il faut que je descende les escaliers lentement.” — “It is important that I go down the stairs slowly.” Marie: “Nous sommes descendu les escaliers lentement hier.” — “We have gone down the stairs slowly.”

Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: descends becomes descends, descends becomes descend, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — descends*, descends, descend, descendons, descendez, *descendent — in memory.

Common mistakes with descendre

Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: “Je descendre les escaliers lentement.”

Right: “Je descends les escaliers lentement.”

The infinitive descendre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form descends.

Mistake 2: Confusing descendre with monter

Wrong: “Je descends dans le train à huit heures.” (meant as “monter”)

Right: “Je descends les escaliers lentement.”

descendre means “to go down” and monter means “to go up”. They appear in similar situations, but they are different actions — check the meaning before you choose the verb.

Mistake 3: Using avoir for the passé composé

Wrong: “J’ai descendu les escaliers lentement.”

Right: “Je suis descendu les escaliers lentement.”

With descendre the passé composé is formed with être: suis descendu.

Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: “Il faut que je descends les escaliers lentement.”

Right: “Il faut que je descende les escaliers lentement.”

After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: descende, not the indicative descends.

Mistake 5: Mixing up the persons

Wrong: “Tu descends les escaliers lentement.”

Right: “Tu descends les escaliers lentement.”

After tu you need descends, not the je form descends.

Quiz: descendre in everyday use

  1. What is the je form of descendre in the Present indicative?

    • A) descendent
    • B) descendons
    • C) descends
    • D) descendez

  2. What is the ils/elles form of descendre in the Present indicative?

    • A) descends
    • B) descendent
    • C) descend
    • D) descendez

  3. What is the tu form of descendre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) êtes descendu
    • B) sommes descendu
    • C) es descendu
    • D) suis descendu

  4. What is the nous form of descendre in the Imperfect?

    • A) descendions
    • B) descendait
    • C) descendiez
    • D) descendaient

  5. What is the il/elle form of descendre in the Future?

    • A) descendra
    • B) descendront
    • C) descendrez
    • D) descendras

  6. What is the je form of descendre in the Conditional?

    • A) descendriez
    • B) descendraient
    • C) descendrait
    • D) descendrais

  7. What is the tu form of descendre in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) descendent
    • B) descende
    • C) descendions
    • D) descendes

  8. What is the tu form of descendre in the Imperative (affirmative)?

    • A) descendons
    • B) descendez
    • C) descends
    • D) descendent

  9. What is the past participle of descendre?

    • A) descends
    • B) descendu
    • C) descendais
    • D) en descendant

  10. What does descendre mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to go down
  • C) to go
  • D) to have

Answer key

  1. C) descends — the je form of descendre in the present indicative is descends.
  2. B) descendent — the ils/elles form of descendre in the present indicative is descendent.
  3. C) es descendu — the tu form of descendre in the present perfect (passé composé) is es descendu.
  4. A) descendions — the nous form of descendre in the imperfect is descendions.
  5. A) descendra — the il/elle form of descendre in the future is descendra.
  6. D) descendrais — the je form of descendre in the conditional is descendrais.
  7. D) descendes — the tu form of descendre in the present subjunctive is descendes.
  8. C) descends — the tu form of descendre in the imperative (affirmative) is descends.
  9. B) descendu — the past participle of descendre is descendu; perfect tenses use être + descendu.
  10. B) to go down — descendre means “to go down” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does descendre mean in English?

descendre means “to go down”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je descends les escaliers lentement.” (“I go down the stairs slowly.”).

Which auxiliary does descendre take in the passé composé?

descendre takes être: suis descendu. Because the auxiliary is être, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

What is the hardest form of descendre to remember?

Most learners struggle with keeping the six persons apart — descends*, descends, descend, descendons, descendez, *descendent. Say them in order every day, and use the dialogues above to practise them in real sentences.

Where can I see the full conjugation of descendre?

On the full conjugation page for descendre, which has every tense, and on the descendre present page, which goes deep on one tense.

Say it yourself

Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I go down the stairs slowly.” should become “Je descends les escaliers lentement”. Then try the passé composé: “I have gone down the stairs slowly.” should become “Je suis descendu les escaliers lentement”. Finally, try the future: “I will go down the stairs slowly tomorrow.” should become “Je descendrai les escaliers lentement”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.

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