Fermer Conjugation in French
fermer means “close” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for leaving the house, for getting ready for bed, and for finishing a book. 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 fermer — 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: “Je ferme la porte.” — “I close the door.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: fermer
- English: close
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en fermant
- Past participle: fermé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for fermer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for fermer. 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 | ferme |
| tu | fermes |
| il/elle | ferme |
| nous | fermons |
| vous | fermez |
| ils/elles | ferment |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | fermai |
| tu | fermas |
| il/elle | ferma |
| nous | fermâmes |
| vous | fermâtes |
| ils/elles | fermèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | fermais |
| tu | fermais |
| il/elle | fermait |
| nous | fermions |
| vous | fermiez |
| ils/elles | fermaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | fermerai |
| tu | fermeras |
| il/elle | fermera |
| nous | fermerons |
| vous | fermerez |
| ils/elles | fermeront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | fermerais |
| tu | fermerais |
| il/elle | fermerait |
| nous | fermerions |
| vous | fermeriez |
| ils/elles | fermeraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ferme |
| tu | fermes |
| il/elle | ferme |
| nous | fermions |
| vous | fermiez |
| ils/elles | ferment |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | fermasse |
| tu | fermasses |
| il/elle | fermât |
| nous | fermassions |
| vous | fermassiez |
| ils/elles | fermassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai fermé |
| tu | as fermé |
| il/elle | a fermé |
| nous | avons fermé |
| vous | avez fermé |
| ils/elles | ont fermé |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais fermé |
| tu | avais fermé |
| il/elle | avait fermé |
| nous | avions fermé |
| vous | aviez fermé |
| ils/elles | avaient fermé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai fermé |
| tu | auras fermé |
| il/elle | aura fermé |
| nous | aurons fermé |
| vous | aurez fermé |
| ils/elles | auront fermé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais fermé |
| tu | aurais fermé |
| il/elle | aurait fermé |
| nous | aurions fermé |
| vous | auriez fermé |
| ils/elles | auraient fermé |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ferme |
| nous | fermons |
| vous | fermez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ferme |
| nous | fermons |
| vous | fermez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en fermant |
| Past participle | fermé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je ferme la fenêtre.” — “I close the window.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je fermai la fenêtre hier.” — “I closed the window yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je fermais la fenêtre avant.” — “I used to close the window before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je fermerai la fenêtre demain.” — “I will close the window tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je fermerais la fenêtre un jour.” — “I would close the window one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je ferme la fenêtre” — “Although I close the window.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je fermasse la fenêtre” — “Although I close the window.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai fermé la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “I have closed the window this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais fermé la fenêtre avant la fête.” — “I had closed the window before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai fermé la fenêtre pour demain.” — “I will have closed the window by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais fermé la fenêtre hier.” — “I would have closed the window yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “ferme la fenêtre !” — “Close the window!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne ferme pas la fenêtre !” — “Don't close the window!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en fermant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle fermé builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai fermé le livre cette semaine.” — “I have closed the book this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with fermer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je ferme la porte.” — “I close the door.”
- “Tu fermas la fenêtre hier.” — “You closed the window yesterday.”
- “Il fermait le livre avant.” — “He used to close the book before.”
- “Je fermerai les yeux demain.” — “I will close my eyes tomorrow.”
- “Tu fermerais la porte un jour.” — “You would close the door one day.”
- “Il a fermé la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “He has closed the window this week.”
- “J'avais fermé le livre avant la fête.” — “I had closed the book before the party.”
- “Tu auras fermé les yeux pour demain.” — “You will have closed my eyes by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il ferme la porte” — “Although he closes the door.”
- “ferme la fenêtre !” — “Close the window!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je fermer la porte.”
✓ Right: “Je ferme la porte.”
The infinitive fermer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form ferme.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je fermons la fenêtre.”
✓ Right: “Je ferme la fenêtre.”
fermons is the nous form. With je the present form is ferme — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je ferme la porte.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai fermé la porte.”
The present ferme describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai fermé.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je fermai le livre.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai fermé le livre.”
The passé simple fermai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai fermé.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je ferme la porte.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je ferme la porte.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use ferme here, not the indicative ferme.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je fermais les yeux avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai fermé les yeux avant.”
The imperfect fermais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai fermé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on fermer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of fermer in the Present indicative?
- A) ferme
- B) ferment
- C) fermons
- D) fermes
What is the il/elle form of fermer in the Passé simple?
- A) fermâmes
- B) fermas
- C) fermâtes
- D) ferma
What is the nous form of fermer in the Imperfect?
- A) fermions
- B) fermiez
- C) fermais
- D) fermait
What is the tu form of fermer in the Future?
- A) fermeras
- B) fermera
- C) fermeront
- D) fermerai
What is the je form of fermer in the Conditional?
- A) fermerions
- B) fermeriez
- C) fermerais
- D) fermeraient
What is the il/elle form of fermer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) fermiez
- B) fermions
- C) ferme
- D) ferment
What is the je form of fermer in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) fermassions
- B) fermât
- C) fermassiez
- D) fermasse
What is the gerund of fermer?
- A) fermant
- B) buvant
- C) dormant
What is the past participle of fermer?
- A) dormi
- B) bu
- C) fermé
What does fermer mean in English?
- A) drink
- B) close
- C) sleep
- D) open
Answer key
- A) ferme — The je form of fermer in the present indicative is ferme.
- D) ferma — The il/elle form of fermer in the passé simple is ferma.
- A) fermions — The nous form of fermer in the imperfect is fermions.
- A) fermeras — The tu form of fermer in the future is fermeras.
- C) fermerais — The je form of fermer in the conditional is fermerais.
- C) ferme — The il/elle form of fermer in the present subjunctive is ferme.
- D) fermasse — The je form of fermer in the imperfect subjunctive is fermasse.
- A) fermant — The gerund of fermer is en fermant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) fermé — The past participle of fermer is fermé; perfect tenses use avoir + fermé.
- B) close — fermer means “close” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does fermer mean in English?
fermer means “close”. You use it for leaving the house, for getting ready for bed, and for finishing a book. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is fermer regular or irregular?
fermer is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en fermant and the past participle is fermé.
What are the gerund and past participle of fermer?
The gerund is en fermant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is fermé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai fermé.
How do I say “I close” in French?
Say “Je ferme la porte.” — “I close the door.” The je form of the present is ferme, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between fermer and ouvrir?
fermer means “close” while ouvrir means “open” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for ouvrir and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Fermer Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Fermer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Ouvrir conjugation
- Partir conjugation
- Se coucher conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise fermer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise fermer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise fermer with the interactive tool.