Entendre in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Entendre means “to hear”, and this page covers exactly one thing: entendre 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 entendre, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about entendre in the present. For example: “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of entendre exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Entendre in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je entends
tu entends
il/elle entend
nous entendons
vous entendez
ils/elles entendent

Gerund: entendant · Past participle: entendu

The gerund is entendant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is entendu, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is ai entendu, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how entendre is used.

How the present of entendre is formed

The present of entendre follows the regular -re pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je entends, tu entends, il/elle entend, nous entendons, vous entendez, ils/elles entendent. The nous and vous forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the imperfect is built from the present nous form, and the present subjunctive is built from the present ils form, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. The gerund entendant and the participle entendu belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise entendre in every tense.

When to use the present of entendre

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

1. Hearing the music in the living room — the everyday use

Entendre is the verb for hearing the music in the living room. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.”

2. Hearing a noise in the night — a second everyday use

Entendre also covers hearing a noise in the night. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu entends un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “You hear a noise in the night every day.”

3. Hearing Marie singing in the morning — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use entendre for hearing Marie singing in the morning. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Il entend Marie chanter le matin tous les jours.” — “He hears Marie singing in the morning every day.”

4. 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 entendre is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous entendons la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “We hear the music in the living room every day.”

5. 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 entendre in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Vous entendez un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “You hear a noise in the night every day.”

Present Tense vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. 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 hier, while the imperfect sentences use autrefois or quand. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.”

  • Imperfect: “J'entendais la musique dans le salon autrefois.” — “I used to hear the music in the living room in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Tu entends un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “You hear a noise in the night every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu entendais un bruit dans la nuit autrefois.” — “You used to hear a noise in the night in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Nous entendons Marie chanter le matin tous les jours.” — “We hear Marie singing in the morning every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous entendions Marie chanter le matin autrefois.” — “We used to hear Marie singing in the morning in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: entendre in the present

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, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “J'entends un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “I hear a noise in the night every day.”

  2. “Tu entends Marie chanter le matin tous les jours.” — “You hear Marie singing in the morning every day.”

  3. “Il entend la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “He hears the music in the living room every day.”

  4. “Nous entendons un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “We hear a noise in the night every day.”

  5. “Vous entendez Marie chanter le matin tous les jours.” — “You hear Marie singing in the morning every day.”

  6. “Ils entendent la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “They hear the music in the living room every day.”

  7. “J'entends un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “I hear a noise in the night every day.”

  8. “Tu entends Marie chanter le matin tous les jours.” — “You hear Marie singing in the morning every day.”

Common mistakes with entendre in the present

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 entendent la musique dans le salon.” Right: “Je entends la musique dans le salon.” Why: The je form is entends, not entendent. Entendent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous entendent la musique dans le salon.” Right: “Nous entendons la musique dans le salon.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: entendons, not entendent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “La musique dans le salon” with the infinitive: “Je entendre la musique dans le salon.” Right: “Je entends la musique dans le salon.” Why: The infinitive entendre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form entends.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je entends la musique dans le salon.” Right: “Il est important que je entende la musique dans le salon.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use entende here, not the indicative entends.

Quiz: entendre in the present

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. Complete the sentence: “Je ______ un bruit dans la nuit.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ Marie chanter le matin.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ la musique dans le salon.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ un bruit dans la nuit.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ Marie chanter le matin.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ la musique dans le salon.”

  • (A) entends
  • (B) entend
  • (C) entendons
  • (D) entendent

7. What does entendre mean in English?

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

8. What is the past participle of entendre?

  • (A) joué
  • (B) entendu
  • (C) sorti
  • (D) parti

Answer key

  1. D) entends — The je form is entends.
  2. D) entends — The tu form is entends.
  3. C) entend — The il/elle form is entend.
  4. C) entendons — The nous form is entendons.
  5. D) entendez — The vous form is entendez.
  6. D) entendent — The ils/elles form is entendent.
  7. B) to hear — entendre means “to hear”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) entendu — The past participle of entendre is entendu; the present is formed with avoir + entendu.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of entendre formed?

The present of entendre is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je entends, tu entends, il entend, nous entendons, vous entendez, ils entendent.

When do I use the present of entendre?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

What is the difference between the present and the imperfect of entendre?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the imperfect describes what used to happen or was happening in the past. Compare “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” with “J'entendais la musique dans le salon autrefois.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it used to be.

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.

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