Entendre Conjugation in French
entendre means “to hear” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 34 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about hearing the music in the living room, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of entendre — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: entendre
- English: to hear
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: entendant
- Past participle: entendu
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -re verbs; pattern re in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read entendre in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about entendre
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -re pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle entendu. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is entendant and the participle is entendu: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for entendre. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | entends |
| tu | entends |
| il/elle | entend |
| nous | entendons |
| vous | entendez |
| ils/elles | entendent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “J'entends un bruit dans la nuit tous les jours.” — “I hear a noise in the night every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | entendis |
| tu | entendis |
| il/elle | entendit |
| nous | entendîmes |
| vous | entendîtes |
| ils/elles | entendirent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu entendis un bruit dans la nuit hier.” — “You heard a noise in the night yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | entendais |
| tu | entendais |
| il/elle | entendait |
| nous | entendions |
| vous | entendiez |
| ils/elles | entendaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il entendait un bruit dans la nuit autrefois.” — “He used to hear a noise in the night in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | entendrai |
| tu | entendras |
| il/elle | entendra |
| nous | entendrons |
| vous | entendrez |
| ils/elles | entendront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “J'entendrai un bruit dans la nuit demain.” — “I will hear a noise in the night tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | entendrais |
| tu | entendrais |
| il/elle | entendrait |
| nous | entendrions |
| vous | entendriez |
| ils/elles | entendraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu entendrais un bruit dans la nuit un jour.” — “You would hear a noise in the night one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai entendu |
| tu | as entendu |
| il/elle | a entendu |
| nous | avons entendu |
| vous | avez entendu |
| ils/elles | ont entendu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a entendu un bruit dans la nuit cette semaine.” — “He has heard a noise in the night this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais entendu |
| tu | avais entendu |
| il/elle | avait entendu |
| nous | avions entendu |
| vous | aviez entendu |
| ils/elles | avaient entendu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais entendu un bruit dans la nuit avant la fête.” — “I had heard a noise in the night before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai entendu |
| tu | auras entendu |
| il/elle | aura entendu |
| nous | aurons entendu |
| vous | aurez entendu |
| ils/elles | auront entendu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras entendu un bruit dans la nuit pour demain.” — “You will have heard a noise in the night by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais entendu |
| tu | aurais entendu |
| il/elle | aurait entendu |
| nous | aurions entendu |
| vous | auriez entendu |
| ils/elles | auraient entendu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait entendu un bruit dans la nuit hier.” — “He would have heard a noise in the night yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | entende |
| tu | entendes |
| il/elle | entende |
| nous | entendions |
| vous | entendiez |
| ils/elles | entendent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que j'entende un bruit dans la nuit.” — “It is important that I hear a noise in the night.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | entendisse |
| tu | entendisses |
| il/elle | entendît |
| nous | entendissions |
| vous | entendissiez |
| ils/elles | entendissent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu entendisses un bruit dans la nuit.” — “It is important that you hear a noise in the night.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | entends |
| nous | entendons |
| vous | entendez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Entends un bruit dans la nuit !” — “Hear a noise in the night!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | entends |
| nous | entendons |
| vous | entendez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne entends pas un bruit dans la nuit.” — “Do not hear a noise in the night.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en entendant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En entendant la musique dans le salon, je passe un bon moment.” — “While hearing the music in the living room, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | entendu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai entendu la musique dans le salon cette semaine.” — “I have heard the music in the living room this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with entendre, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.”
- “Tu entendis un bruit dans la nuit hier.” — “You heard a noise in the night yesterday.”
- “Il entendait Marie chanter le matin autrefois.” — “He used to hear Marie singing in the morning in the past.”
- “J'entendrai la musique dans le salon demain.” — “I will hear the music in the living room tomorrow.”
- “Tu entendrais un bruit dans la nuit un jour.” — “You would hear a noise in the night one day.”
- “Il a entendu Marie chanter le matin cette semaine.” — “He has heard Marie singing in the morning this week.”
- “J'avais entendu la musique dans le salon avant la fête.” — “I had heard the music in the living room before the party.”
- “Tu auras entendu un bruit dans la nuit pour demain.” — “You will have heard a noise in the night by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il entende Marie chanter le matin.” — “It is important that he hear Marie singing in the morning.”
- “Entends la musique dans le salon !” — “Hear the music in the living room!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form entends.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je entendent la musique dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je entends la musique dans le salon.”
entendent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with entends.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je entendis la musique dans le salon tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.”
The passé simple entendis describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present entends.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je entends la musique dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je entende la musique dans le salon.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use entende here, not the indicative entends.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis entendu la musique dans le salon.”
✓ Right: “Je ai entendu la musique dans le salon.”
The passé composé of entendre is formed with avoir plus the past participle entendu: the je form is ai entendu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “entends” written without its accent
✓ Right: “entends”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on entendre. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of entendre in the Present indicative?
- A) entend
- B) entendons
- C) entendez
- D) entends
What is the il/elle form of entendre in the Passé simple?
- A) entendîtes
- B) entendit
- C) entendis
- D) entendîmes
What is the nous form of entendre in the Imperfect?
- A) entendiez
- B) entendions
- C) entendais
- D) entendait
What is the tu form of entendre in the Future?
- A) entendras
- B) entendrai
- C) entendra
- D) entendrons
What is the je form of entendre in the Conditional?
- A) entendrait
- B) entendrions
- C) entendriez
- D) entendrais
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
What is the il/elle form of entendre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) entendiez
- B) entende
- C) entendes
- D) entendions
What is the je form of entendre in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) entendît
- B) entendissions
- C) entendisse
- D) entendisses
What is the gerund of entendre?
- A) en entendant
- B) en sortant
- C) en partant
- D) en jouant
What does entendre mean in English?
- A) to play
- B) to hear
- C) to go out
- D) to leave
Answer key
- D) entends — the je form of entendre in the Present indicative is entends. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) entendit — the il/elle form of entendre in the Passé simple is entendit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) entendions — the nous form of entendre in the Imperfect is entendions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) entendras — the tu form of entendre in the Future is entendras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) entendrais — the je form of entendre in the Conditional is entendrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- B) entende — the il/elle form of entendre in the Present subjunctive is entende. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) entendisse — the je form of entendre in the Imperfect subjunctive is entendisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) en entendant — the gerund of entendre is en entendant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- 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: it follows the ordinary -re pattern in every tense. The gerund is entendant and the past participle is entendu.
What are the gerund and past participle of entendre?
The gerund is entendant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is entendu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai entendu.
Which auxiliary does entendre take in the passé composé?
entendre takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai entendu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle entendu.
How do I say “I hear” in French?
Say “J'entends la musique dans le salon tous les jours.” — “I hear the music in the living room every day.” The je form of the present is entends, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of entendre — every tense of entendre in one place.
- Entendre in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Entendre examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Sortir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Partir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Jouer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- 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 Conjugator — practise entendre with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise entendre with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise entendre with the interactive tool.