Introduction

Enlever means “to remove”, and this page covers exactly one thing: enlever in the present tense. The present is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for enlever, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the passé composé, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about enlever in the present. It is used every day in conversation, at work and at home. For example: “Il enlève la boîte tous les jours.” — “He removes the box every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of enlever exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Enlever in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je enlève
tu enlèves
il/elle enlève
nous enlevons
vous enlevez
ils/elles enlèvent
Gerund: en enlevant · Past participle: enlevé
The gerund is en enlevant, which you use after en to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “En enlevant, je commence la journée.” — “While removing, I start the day.” The past participle is enlevé, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: ai enlevé is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present tense is only one part of how enlever is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for enlever, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the present tense of enlever is formed

The present tense of enlever has six forms: j'enlève, tu enlèves, il enlève, nous enlevons, vous enlevez, ils enlèvent. Say them in order — je, tu, il, nous, vous, ils — and notice which forms share a stem and which do not. enlever is a grave-e verb: the stem vowel e becomes è in the stressed forms of the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative — for example je enlève against nous enlevons, which keeps e. The future and conditional keep the è on the stem as well: je enlèverai. Learn the è forms as a set; the rest of the verb follows the regular -er pattern. The present is the tense you will use most, so learn these six forms before you learn any other tense of this verb. Two things about the present of enlever are worth noticing. First, the nous and vous forms are the anchor of the verb: the imperfect is built from the nous form, and the present subjunctive takes its nous and vous forms from the same stem, so learning enlevons and enlevez pays off in three tenses at once. Second, the present is the tense French uses where English would often use the continuous form, so enlève can mean both “I remove” and “I am removing” — context tells the listener which one you mean. Because enlever is irregular in the present, do not try to derive these forms from the infinitive: the table above is the authority, and every form on this page comes from VerbFlow’s verified tables. The irregular tenses of enlever are: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. In the tenses not listed there, enlever follows the regular -er pattern.

When to use the present of enlever

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use enlever in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and enlever is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “J'enlève la boîte à la maison.” — “I remove the box at home.”

2. General truths

Use the present for things that are true in general, not just today. A fact about enlever does not need a time expression, because it is true whenever you say it. Example: “Il enlève la boîte ce matin.” — “He removes the box this morning.”

3. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. French often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with enlever in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Nous enlevons la boîte avec Paul.” — “We remove the box with Paul.”

4. Scheduled future events

French uses the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Example: “Tu enlèves la boîte.” — “You remove the box.”

5. Narration and commentary

In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and enlever in the present is the tense that carries it. Example: “Ils enlèvent la boîte tous les jours.” — “They remove the box every day.”

Present Tense vs Passé Composé: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the passé composé, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the passé composé describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as tous les jours or toujours, while the passé composé sentences use hier or la semaine dernière. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present Tense: “Il enlève la boîte à la maison.” — “He removes the box at home.”
  • Passé Composé: “Il a enlevé la boîte la semaine dernière.” — “He has removed the box last week.”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passé composé sentence is one finished event. Tous les jours points to the present, hier points to the passé composé.
  • Present Tense: “J'enlève la boîte ce matin.” — “I remove the box this morning.”
  • Passé Composé: “J'ai enlevé la boîte ce matin.” — “I have removed the box this morning.”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passé composé sentence is one finished event. Tous les jours points to the present, hier points to the passé composé.
  • Present Tense: “Tu enlèves la boîte avec Paul.” — “You remove the box with Paul.”
  • Passé Composé: “Tu as enlevé la boîte avant la fête.” — “You have removed the box before the party.”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the passé composé sentence is one finished event. Tous les jours points to the present, hier points to the passé composé.

Example sentences: enlever in the present tense

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “J'enlève la boîte à la maison.” — “I remove the box at home.”
  2. “Tu enlèves la boîte ce matin.” — “You remove the box this morning.”
  3. “Il enlève la boîte avec Paul.” — “He removes the box with Paul.”
  4. “Nous enlevons la boîte.” — “We remove the box.”
  5. “Vous enlevez la boîte tous les jours.” — “You remove the box every day.”
  6. “Ils enlèvent la boîte à la maison.” — “They remove the box at home.”
  7. “J'enlève la boîte tous les jours.” — “I remove the box every day.”
  8. “Il enlève la boîte avec Paul.” — “He removes the box with Paul.”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Je enlèves la boîte.” Right: “J'enlève la boîte tous les jours.” Why: The je form is enlève, not enlèves. enlèves is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Nous enlève la boîte.” Right: “Nous enlevons la boîte tous les jours.” Why: Nous needs the nous form enlevons. enlève belongs with je only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “J'enlève la boîte hier.” Right: “J'ai enlevé la boîte hier.” Why: Hier points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passé composé ai enlevé for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Je enlever la boîte.” Right: “J'enlève la boîte tous les jours.” Why: The infinitive enlever never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form enlève.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

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

    • A) enlevez
    • B) enlèverai
    • C) enlève
    • D) enlèvent

  2. What is the tu form of enlever in the Present indicative?

    • A) enlevasses
    • B) avais enlevé
    • C) enlève
    • D) enlèves

  3. What is the il/elle form of enlever in the Present indicative?

    • A) enlève
    • B) enlevait
    • C) enlèves
    • D) enlevât

  4. What is the nous form of enlever in the Present indicative?

    • A) enlèvent
    • B) enlevions
    • C) enlevons
    • D) enlèverions

  5. What is the vous form of enlever in the Present indicative?

    • A) enleviez
    • B) enlevez
    • C) enlevons
    • D) enlève

  6. What is the ils/elles form of enlever in the Present indicative?

    • A) enlèveront
    • B) enlevassent
    • C) ont enlevé
    • D) enlèvent

  7. What is the je form of enlever in the Present indicative?

    • A) avais enlevé
    • B) enlèverai
    • C) aurais enlevé
    • D) enlève

  8. What is the tu form of enlever in the Present indicative?

    • A) avais enlevé
    • B) enlèves
    • C) auras enlevé
    • D) aurais enlevé

Answer key

  1. C) enlève — the je form of enlever in the present indicative is enlève. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  2. D) enlèves — the tu form of enlever in the present indicative is enlèves. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  3. A) enlève — the il/elle form of enlever in the present indicative is enlève. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  4. C) enlevons — the nous form of enlever in the present indicative is enlevons. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  5. B) enlevez — the vous form of enlever in the present indicative is enlevez. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  6. D) enlèvent — the ils/elles form of enlever in the present indicative is enlèvent. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  7. D) enlève — the je form of enlever in the present indicative is enlève. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  8. B) enlèves — the tu form of enlever in the present indicative is enlèves. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.

Frequently asked questions

What does enlever mean in English?

enlever means “to remove”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular, grave-accent (é → è) spelling change verb.

How is the present tense of enlever formed?

The six present forms are: j'enlève, tu enlèves, il enlève, nous enlevons, vous enlevez, ils enlèvent. enlever is a grave-e verb: the stem vowel e becomes è in the stressed forms of the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative — for example je enlève against nous enlevons, which keeps e. The future and conditional keep the è on the stem as well: je enlèverai. Learn the è forms as a set; the rest of the verb follows the regular -er pattern.

When do I use the present instead of the passé composé?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now. Use the passé composé for one finished action in the past. The time words are your best clue: tous les jours points to the present, hier points to the passé composé.

What are the gerund and past participle of enlever?

The gerund is en enlevant and the past participle is enlevé.

Related pages