Entendre: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Entendre means “to hear”, 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 entendre, 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 entendre, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.”
  2. “Tu entends un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “You hear a noise in the night every day.”
  3. “J'ai entendu Marie chanter le matin cette semaine.” — “I have heard Marie singing in the morning this week.”
  4. “Il entendait la musique dans le salon autrefois.” — “He used to hear the music in the living room in the past.”
  5. “Nous entendrons un bruit dans la nuit demain.” — “We will hear a noise in the night tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as entendu Marie chanter le matin cette semaine.” — “You have heard Marie singing in the morning this week.”
  7. “J'entendrais la musique dans le salon un jour.” — “I would hear the music in the living room one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il entende un bruit dans la nuit.” — “It is important that he hear a noise in the night.”
  9. “Nous avions entendu Marie chanter le matin avant la fête.” — “We had heard Marie singing in the morning before the party.”
  10. “Il entendra la musique dans le salon demain.” — “He will hear the music in the living room tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils entendent un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “They hear a noise in the night every day.”
  12. “Entends Marie chanter le matin !” — “Hear Marie singing in the morning!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about the music in the living room. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how entendre changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of entendre below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “J'entendrai un bruit dans la nuit demain.” — “I will hear a noise in the night tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai entendu Marie chanter le matin cette semaine.” — “I have heard Marie singing in the morning this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “J'entendrais la musique dans le salon un jour.” — “I would hear the music in the living room 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.

Entendre in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of entendre that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, entendre describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is entends: “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, entendre describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is entendait: “Il entendait un bruit dans la nuit autrefois.” — “He used to hear a noise in the night in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, entendre reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle entendu. The je form is ai entendu: “J'ai entendu Marie chanter le matin cette semaine.” — “I have heard Marie singing in the morning this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, entendre talks about what will happen. The nous form is entendrons: “Nous entendrons la musique dans le salon demain.” — “We will hear the music in the living room tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, entendre talks about what would happen. The tu form is entendrais: “Tu entendrais un bruit dans la nuit un jour.” — “You would hear a noise in the night one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, entendre appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is entende, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que j'entende Marie chanter le matin.” — “It is important that I hear Marie singing in the morning.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je entendre la musique dans le salon.”

✓ Right: “Je entends la musique dans le salon.”

The infinitive entendre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form entends.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu entends la musique dans le salon.”

✓ Right: “Tu entends la musique dans le salon.”

entends is the je form. With tu you need entends. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je entends la musique dans le salon hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai entendu la musique dans le salon hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai entendu, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu entends un bruit dans la nuit.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu entendes un bruit dans la nuit.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: entendes, not the indicative entends.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je entendu la musique dans le salon.”

✓ Right: “Je ai entendu la musique dans le salon.”

The passé composé of entendre needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle entendu: the full je form is ai entendu.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on entendre. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

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

    • A) entend
    • B) entendons
    • C) entendez
    • D) entends

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

    • A) entend
    • B) entendons
    • C) entendez
    • D) entends

  3. What is the il/elle form of entendre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) a entendu
    • B) ai entendu
    • C) as entendu
    • D) avons entendu

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

    • A) entendiez
    • B) entendions
    • C) entendais
    • D) entendait

  5. What is the tu form of entendre in the Future?

    • A) entendras
    • B) entendrai
    • C) entendra
    • D) entendrons

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

    • A) entendrait
    • B) entendrions
    • C) entendriez
    • D) entendrais

  7. What is the il/elle form of entendre in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) entendiez
    • B) entende
    • C) entendes
    • D) entendions

  8. What is the je form of entendre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) aviez entendu
    • B) avais entendu
    • C) avait entendu
    • D) avions entendu

  9. What is the gerund of entendre?

    • A) en entendant
    • B) en sortant
    • C) en partant
    • D) en jouant

  10. What does entendre mean in English?

  • A) to play
  • B) to hear
  • C) to go out
  • D) to leave

Answer key

  1. D) entends — the je form of entendre in the Present indicative is entends. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) entends — the tu form of entendre in the Present indicative is entends. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. A) a entendu — the il/elle form of entendre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a entendu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) entendions — the nous form of entendre in the Imperfect is entendions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) entendras — the tu form of entendre in the Future is entendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) entendrais — the je form of entendre in the Conditional is entendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) entende — the il/elle form of entendre in the Present subjunctive is entende. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) avais entendu — the je form of entendre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais entendu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) en entendant — the gerund of entendre is en entendant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to hear — entendre means “to hear” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does entendre mean in English?

entendre means “to hear”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is entendre regular or irregular?

entendre is regular in every tense. The gerund is entendant and the past participle is entendu.

How do I practise entendre every day?

Say one sentence with entendre 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, “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.”, “J'ai entendu la musique dans le salon cette semaine.” and “J'entendrai la musique dans le salon 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 entendre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages