Devenir: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Devenir means “to become”, 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 devenir, 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 devenir, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je deviens professeur un jour tous les jours.” — “I become a teacher one day every day.”
- “Tu deviens célèbre à Paris tous les jours.” — “You become famous in Paris every day.”
- “Je suis devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “I have become big and strong this week.”
- “Il devenait professeur un jour autrefois.” — “He used to become a teacher one day in the past.”
- “Nous deviendrons célèbre à Paris demain.” — “We will become famous in Paris tomorrow.”
- “Tu es devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “You have become big and strong this week.”
- “Je deviendrais professeur un jour un jour.” — “I would become a teacher one day one day.”
- “Il est important que il devienne célèbre à Paris.” — “It is important that he become famous in Paris.”
- “Nous étions devenu grand et fort avant la fête.” — “We had become big and strong before the party.”
- “Il deviendra professeur un jour demain.” — “He will become a teacher one day tomorrow.”
- “Ils deviennent célèbre à Paris tous les jours.” — “They become famous in Paris every day.”
- “Deviens grand et fort !” — “Become big and strong!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about a teacher one day. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how devenir changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of devenir below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je deviens professeur un jour tous les jours.” — “I become a teacher one day every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je deviendrai célèbre à Paris demain.” — “I will become famous in Paris tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “Je suis devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “I have become big and strong this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je deviendrais professeur un jour un jour.” — “I would become a teacher one day 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.
Devenir in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of devenir that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, devenir describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is deviens: “Je deviens professeur un jour tous les jours.” — “I become a teacher one day every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, devenir describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is devenait: “Il devenait célèbre à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to become famous in Paris in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, devenir reports one finished action, built with être plus the participle devenu. The je form is suis devenu: “Je suis devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “I have become big and strong this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, devenir talks about what will happen. The nous form is deviendrons: “Nous deviendrons professeur un jour demain.” — “We will become a teacher one day tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, devenir talks about what would happen. The tu form is deviendrais: “Tu deviendrais célèbre à Paris un jour.” — “You would become famous in Paris one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, devenir appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is devienne, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je devienne grand et fort.” — “It is important that I become big and strong.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je devenir professeur un jour.”
✓ Right: “Je deviens professeur un jour.”
The infinitive devenir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form deviens.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu deviens professeur un jour.”
✓ Right: “Tu deviens professeur un jour.”
deviens is the je form. With tu you need deviens. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je deviens professeur un jour hier.”
✓ Right: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé suis devenu, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu deviens célèbre à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu deviennes célèbre à Paris.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: deviennes, not the indicative deviens.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je devenu professeur un jour.”
✓ Right: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour.”
The passé composé of devenir needs the auxiliary être plus the participle devenu: the full je form is suis devenu.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on devenir. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of devenir in the Present indicative?
- A) devenons
- B) devenez
- C) deviens
- D) devient
What is the tu form of devenir in the Present indicative?
- A) devenons
- B) devenez
- C) deviens
- D) devient
What is the il/elle form of devenir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) sommes devenu
- B) est devenu
- C) suis devenu
- D) es devenu
What is the nous form of devenir in the Imperfect?
- A) deveniez
- B) devenions
- C) devenais
- D) devenait
What is the tu form of devenir in the Future?
- A) deviendrai
- B) deviendra
- C) deviendrons
- D) deviendras
What is the je form of devenir in the Conditional?
- A) deviendrions
- B) deviendriez
- C) deviendrais
- D) deviendrait
What is the il/elle form of devenir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) devenions
- B) deveniez
- C) devienne
- D) deviennes
What is the je form of devenir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) était devenu
- B) étions devenu
- C) étiez devenu
- D) étais devenu
What is the gerund of devenir?
- A) en devenant
- B) en revenant
- C) en écrivant
- D) en lisant
What does devenir mean in English?
- A) to write
- B) to read
- C) to become
- D) to come back
Answer key
- C) deviens — the je form of devenir in the Present indicative is deviens. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) deviens — the tu form of devenir in the Present indicative is deviens. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) est devenu — the il/elle form of devenir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est devenu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) devenions — the nous form of devenir in the Imperfect is devenions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) deviendras — the tu form of devenir in the Future is deviendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) deviendrais — the je form of devenir in the Conditional is deviendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) devienne — the il/elle form of devenir in the Present subjunctive is devienne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) étais devenu — the je form of devenir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étais devenu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) en devenant — the gerund of devenir is en devenant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to become — devenir means “to become” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does devenir mean in English?
devenir means “to become”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is devenir regular or irregular?
devenir is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is devenant and the past participle is devenu.
How do I practise devenir every day?
Say one sentence with devenir 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, “Je deviens professeur un jour tous les jours.”, “Je suis devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” and “Je deviendrai professeur un jour 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 devenir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of devenir — every tense of devenir in one place.
- Devenir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Devenir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Revenir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Écrire conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Lire conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- 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 devenir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise devenir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise devenir with the interactive tool.