goûter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

goûter — taste — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. goûter is the verb for tasting food while cooking: it comes up whenever you talk about talking about wine or trying a new dish. On this page you will find goûter in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts 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.

Example sentences with goûter

In the present tense

  • “Je goûte le gâteau.” — “I taste the cake.”
  • “Tu goûtes le vin.” — “You taste the wine.”
  • “Il goûte la soupe.” — “He tastes the soup.”
  • “Nous goûtons un plat nouveau.” — “We taste a new dish.”
  • “Vous goûtez le gâteau.” — “You taste the cake.”
  • “Ils goûtent le vin.” — “They taste the wine.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai goûté le gâteau cette semaine.” — “I have tasted the cake this week.”
  • “Tu as goûté le vin cette semaine.” — “You have tasted the wine this week.”
  • “Il a goûté la soupe cette semaine.” — “He has tasted the soup this week.”
  • “Nous avons goûté un plat nouveau cette semaine.” — “We have tasted a new dish this week.”
  • “Vous avez goûté le gâteau cette semaine.” — “You have tasted the cake this week.”
  • “Ils ont goûté le vin cette semaine.” — “They have tasted the wine this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je goûtais le gâteau avant.” — “I used to taste the cake before.”
  • “Je goûterai le vin demain.” — “I will taste the wine tomorrow.”
  • “Je goûterais la soupe un jour.” — “I would taste the soup one day.”
  • “Bien que il goûte un plat nouveau” — “Although he tastes a new dish.”

goûter in context

Je goûte le gâteau. Tu goûtes le vin. Il goûte la soupe. Nous goûtons un plat nouveau.

I taste the cake. You taste the wine. He tastes the soup. We taste a new dish.

J'ai goûté le gâteau. Il a goûté le vin. Nous avons goûté la soupe.

I have tasted the cake this week. He has tasted the wine this week. We have tasted the soup this week.

Common mistakes with goûter

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je goûter le gâteau.

Right: Je goûte le gâteau.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form goûte.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je goûtons le vin.

Right: Je goûte le vin.

goûtons is the nous form. With je, use goûte.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je goûte la soupe.

Right: Hier, j'ai goûté la soupe.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai goûté, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je goûte un plat nouveau.

Right: Bien que je goûte un plat nouveau.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive goûte.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je goûtais le gâteau hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai goûté le gâteau hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on goûter

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

  1. What is the tu form of goûter in the Present indicative?

    • A) goûte
    • B) goûtes
    • C) goûtez
    • D) goûtent

  2. What is the nous form of goûter in the Present indicative?

    • A) goûtes
    • B) goûtez
    • C) goûtent
    • D) goûtons

  3. What is the il/elle form of goûter in the Present perfect?

    • A) ai goûté
    • B) a goûté
    • C) as goûté
    • D) avez goûté

  4. What is the je form of goûter in the Imperfect?

    • A) goûtaient
    • B) goûtions
    • C) goûtais
    • D) goûtait

  5. What is the nous form of goûter in the Future?

    • A) goûtera
    • B) goûterons
    • C) goûterez
    • D) goûterai

  6. What is the tu form of goûter in the Conditional?

    • A) goûterais
    • B) goûteraient
    • C) goûteriez
    • D) goûterait

  7. What is the je form of goûter in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) goûtiez
    • B) goûtes
    • C) goûte
    • D) goûtions

  8. What is the il/elle form of goûter in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) goûtasse
    • B) goûtassent
    • C) goûtassions
    • D) goûtât

  9. What is the gerund of goûter?

    • A) dormant
    • B) buvant
    • C) goûtant

  10. What is the past participle of goûter?

  • A) goûté
  • B) dormi
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. B) goûtes — The tu form of goûter in the present indicative is goûtes.
  2. D) goûtons — The nous form of goûter in the present indicative is goûtons.
  3. B) a goûté — The il/elle form of goûter in the present perfect is a goûté.
  4. C) goûtais — The je form of goûter in the imperfect is goûtais.
  5. B) goûterons — The nous form of goûter in the future is goûterons.
  6. A) goûterais — The tu form of goûter in the conditional is goûterais.
  7. C) goûte — The je form of goûter in the present subjunctive is goûte.
  8. D) goûtât — The il/elle form of goûter in the imperfect subjunctive is goûtât.
  9. C) goûtant — The gerund of goûter is en goûtant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. A) goûté — The past participle of goûter is goûté; perfect tenses use avoir + goûté.

Frequently asked questions

What does goûter mean in English?

goûter means “taste”. You use it for tasting food while cooking, for talking about wine, and for trying a new dish.

Is goûter regular or irregular?

goûter is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en goûtant and the past participle is goûté.

How do I say “I taste” in French?

Say “Je goûte le gâteau.” — “I taste the cake.” The je form of the present is goûte.

Where can I see the full conjugation of goûter?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Goûter Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise goûter this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with goûter out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — le gâteau, le vin and la soupe — and change only the person, so you hear how goûte, goûtes and goûte sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai goûté and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en goûtant and goûté in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for goûter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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