goûter Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of goûter — taste — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. goûter is the verb for tasting food while cooking: it comes up whenever you talk about talking about wine or trying a new dish. This page gives you the complete present table for goûter, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je goûte le gâteau.” — “I taste the cake.”

Present conjugation of goûter

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for goûter. goûter is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — goûter

Person Form
je goûte
tu goûtes
il/elle goûte
nous goûtons
vous goûtez
ils/elles goûtent

The gerund of goûter is en goûtant and the past participle is goûté. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of goûter is formed

The present of goûter is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are goûte, goûtes, goûte, goûtons, goûtez and goûtent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example goûte — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for goûter: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of goûter

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je goûte le gâteau.” — “I taste the cake.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il goûte le vin.” — “He tastes the wine.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous goûtons la soupe.” — “We taste the soup.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je goûte un plat nouveau.” — “I taste a new dish.”

Present vs passé composé: goûter finished, goûter in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with goûter. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je goûte le gâteau.” — “I taste the cake.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai goûté le gâteau cette semaine.” — “I have tasted the cake this week.”

  • Present: “Il goûte le vin.” — “He tastes the wine.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a goûté le vin cette semaine.” — “He has tasted the wine this week.”

  • Present: “Nous goûtons la soupe.” — “We taste the soup.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons goûté la soupe cette semaine.” — “We have tasted the soup this week.”

Example sentences: goûter in the present

Six sentences using only the present of goûter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of goûter

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je goûtons le gâteau.”

✓ Right: “Je goûte le gâteau.”

goûtons is the nous form. With je the present form is goûte.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je goûter le vin.”

✓ Right: “Je goûte le vin.”

The infinitive goûter never takes a subject. After je you need goûte.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai goûté la soupe.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je goûte la soupe.”

A habit needs the present goûte, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je goûte un plat nouveau tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je goûtais un plat nouveau tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect goûtais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu goûte le gâteau.”

✓ Right: “Tu goûtes le gâteau.”

With tu the present form is goûtes, not goûte. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of goûter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  5. What is the vous form of goûter in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the ils/elles form of goûter in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

  8. What is the gerund of goûter?

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

  9. What is the past participle of goûter?

    • A) dormi
    • B) goûté
    • C) bu

  10. What does goûter mean in English?

  • A) drink
  • B) sleep
  • C) open
  • D) taste

Answer key

  1. D) goûte — The je form of goûter in the present indicative is goûte.
  2. B) goûtes — The tu form of goûter in the present indicative is goûtes.
  3. D) goûte — The il/elle form of goûter in the present indicative is goûte.
  4. D) goûtons — The nous form of goûter in the present indicative is goûtons.
  5. B) goûtez — The vous form of goûter in the present indicative is goûtez.
  6. C) goûtent — The ils/elles form of goûter in the present indicative is goûtent.
  7. D) ai goûté — The je form of goûter in the present perfect is ai goûté.
  8. B) goûtant — The gerund of goûter is en goûtant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) goûté — The past participle of goûter is goûté; perfect tenses use avoir + goûté.
  10. D) taste — goûter means “taste” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of goûter?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For goûter that covers tasting food while cooking, talking about wine and trying a new dish.

Is the present of goûter regular?

goûter is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of goûter?

The past participle is goûté. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + goûté.

How do I say “I taste” in the present?

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

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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