Espérer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
espérer — “to hope” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find espérer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.” — “I hope for good news today.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for espérer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Example sentences with espérer
In the present tense
- “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui tous les jours.” — “I hope for good news today.”
- “Tu espères une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui souvent.” — “You hope for good news today.”
- “Il espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui chaque matin.” — “He hopes for good news today.”
- “Nous espérons une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui le week-end.” — “We hope for good news today.”
In the passé composé
- “J'ai espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui hier.” — “I have hoped for good news today.”
- “Tu as espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui ce matin.” — “You have hoped for good news today.”
- “Il a espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui la semaine dernière.” — “He has hoped for good news today.”
In the imperfect and the future
- “J'espérais une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to hope for good news today.”
- “Nous espérions une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to hope for good news today.”
- “Tu espéreras une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui demain.” — “You will hope for good news today tomorrow.”
- “Ils espéreront une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui demain.” — “They will hope for good news today tomorrow.”
In other tenses
- “J'espérerais une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui si je pouvais.” — “I would hope for good news today if I could.”
- “Il faut que je espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.” — “It is important that I hope for good news today.”
- “Espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui !” — “Hope for good news today!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “J'avais espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui avant la fête.” — “I had hoped for good news today before the party.”
All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en espérant and the past participle is espéré; the perfect tenses use avoir + espéré, as in ai espéré.
Espérer in context
Dialogue 1: every day
Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how espérer changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.
Marie: “Tu espères une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui tous les jours ?” — “You hope for good news today.” Paul: “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui tous les jours.” — “I hope for good news today.” Marie: “Tu as espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui hier ?” — “You have hoped for good news today.” Paul: “J'ai espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui hier.” — “I have hoped for good news today.” Marie: “Nous espérerons une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui demain ?” — “We will hope for good news today tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous espérerons une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui demain.” — “We will hope for good news today tomorrow.”
Dialogue 2: making plans
Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.
Paul: “J'espérerais une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui si je pouvais.” — “I would hope for good news today if I could.” Marie: “Tu espères une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui souvent ?” — “You hope for good news today.” Paul: “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui souvent.” — “I hope for good news today.” Marie: “Espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui !” — “Hope for good news today!” Paul: “Il faut que je espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.” — “It is important that I hope for good news today.” Marie: “Nous avons espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui hier.” — “We have hoped for good news today.”
Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: espère becomes espères, espères becomes espère, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — espère*, espères, espère, espérons, espérez, *espèrent — in memory.
Common mistakes with espérer
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: “Je espérer une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.”
Right: “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.”
The infinitive espérer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form espère.
Mistake 2: Confusing espérer with désirer
Wrong: “J'espère un café chaud.” (meant as “désirer”)
Right: “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.”
espérer means “to hope” and désirer means “to desire”. They appear in similar situations, but they are different actions — check the meaning before you choose the verb.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the grave accent
Wrong: “espére”
Right: “espère”
The accent on espère is part of the spelling. Without it the form is wrong.
Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: “Il faut que je espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.”
Right: “Il faut que je espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: espère, not the indicative espère.
Mistake 5: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.”
Right: “Tu espères une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.”
After tu you need espères, not the je form espère.
Quiz: espérer in everyday use
What is the je form of espérer in the Present indicative?
- A) espère
- B) espérez
- C) espères
- D) espérons
What is the ils/elles form of espérer in the Present indicative?
- A) espèrent
- B) espérez
- C) espère
- D) espérons
What is the tu form of espérer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avez espéré
- B) ont espéré
- C) avons espéré
- D) as espéré
What is the nous form of espérer in the Imperfect?
- A) espérions
- B) espérais
- C) espérait
- D) espéraient
What is the il/elle form of espérer in the Future?
- A) espérera
- B) espéreras
- C) espérerons
- D) espérerez
What is the je form of espérer in the Conditional?
- A) espéreraient
- B) espérerait
- C) espérerions
- D) espérerais
What is the tu form of espérer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) espère
- B) espérions
- C) espèrent
- D) espères
What is the tu form of espérer in the Imperative (affirmative)?
- A) a espéré
- B) espère
- C) espérons
- D) espérez
What is the past participle of espérer?
- A) espère
- B) espéré
- C) espérais
- D) en espérant
What does espérer mean in English?
- A) to have
- B) to hope
- C) to go
- D) to be
Answer key
- A) espère — the je form of espérer in the present indicative is espère.
- A) espèrent — the ils/elles form of espérer in the present indicative is espèrent.
- D) as espéré — the tu form of espérer in the present perfect (passé composé) is as espéré.
- A) espérions — the nous form of espérer in the imperfect is espérions.
- A) espérera — the il/elle form of espérer in the future is espérera.
- D) espérerais — the je form of espérer in the conditional is espérerais.
- D) espères — the tu form of espérer in the present subjunctive is espères.
- B) espère — the tu form of espérer in the imperative (affirmative) is espère.
- B) espéré — the past participle of espérer is espéré; perfect tenses use avoir + espéré.
- B) to hope — espérer means “to hope” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does espérer mean in English?
espérer means “to hope”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui.” (“I hope for good news today.”).
Which auxiliary does espérer take in the passé composé?
espérer takes avoir: ai espéré. Because the auxiliary is avoir, the participle normally stays invariable.
What is the hardest form of espérer to remember?
Most learners struggle with the irregular forms — for example the present espère and the passé composé ai espéré. Practise those two first, then add the subjunctive espère.
Where can I see the full conjugation of espérer?
On the full conjugation page for espérer, which has every tense, and on the espérer present page, which goes deep on one tense.
Say it yourself
Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I hope for good news today.” should become “J'espère une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui”. Then try the passé composé: “I have hoped for good news today.” should become “J'ai espéré une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui”. Finally, try the future: “I will hope for good news today tomorrow.” should become “J'espérerai une bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.
Related pages
- espérer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- espérer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Desirer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise espérer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise espérer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.