Goûter Conjugation in French
goûter means “taste” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for tasting food while cooking, for talking about wine, and for trying a new dish. 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 goûter — 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 goûte le gâteau.” — “I taste the cake.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: goûter
- English: taste
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en goûtant
- Past participle: goûté
- 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 goûter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for goûter. 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 | goûte |
| tu | goûtes |
| il/elle | goûte |
| nous | goûtons |
| vous | goûtez |
| ils/elles | goûtent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | goûtai |
| tu | goûtas |
| il/elle | goûta |
| nous | goûtâmes |
| vous | goûtâtes |
| ils/elles | goûtèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | goûtais |
| tu | goûtais |
| il/elle | goûtait |
| nous | goûtions |
| vous | goûtiez |
| ils/elles | goûtaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | goûterai |
| tu | goûteras |
| il/elle | goûtera |
| nous | goûterons |
| vous | goûterez |
| ils/elles | goûteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | goûterais |
| tu | goûterais |
| il/elle | goûterait |
| nous | goûterions |
| vous | goûteriez |
| ils/elles | goûteraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | goûte |
| tu | goûtes |
| il/elle | goûte |
| nous | goûtions |
| vous | goûtiez |
| ils/elles | goûtent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | goûtasse |
| tu | goûtasses |
| il/elle | goûtât |
| nous | goûtassions |
| vous | goûtassiez |
| ils/elles | goûtassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai goûté |
| tu | as goûté |
| il/elle | a goûté |
| nous | avons goûté |
| vous | avez goûté |
| ils/elles | ont goûté |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais goûté |
| tu | avais goûté |
| il/elle | avait goûté |
| nous | avions goûté |
| vous | aviez goûté |
| ils/elles | avaient goûté |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai goûté |
| tu | auras goûté |
| il/elle | aura goûté |
| nous | aurons goûté |
| vous | aurez goûté |
| ils/elles | auront goûté |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais goûté |
| tu | aurais goûté |
| il/elle | aurait goûté |
| nous | aurions goûté |
| vous | auriez goûté |
| ils/elles | auraient goûté |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | goûte |
| nous | goûtons |
| vous | goûtez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | goûte |
| nous | goûtons |
| vous | goûtez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en goûtant |
| Past participle | goûté |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je goûte le vin.” — “I taste the wine.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je goûtai le vin hier.” — “I tasted the wine yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je goûtais le vin avant.” — “I used to taste the wine before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je goûterai le vin demain.” — “I will taste the wine tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je goûterais le vin un jour.” — “I would taste the wine one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je goûte le vin” — “Although I taste the wine.”
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 goûtasse le vin” — “Although I taste the wine.”
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 goûté le vin cette semaine.” — “I have tasted the wine this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais goûté le vin avant la fête.” — “I had tasted the wine 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 goûté le vin pour demain.” — “I will have tasted the wine by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais goûté le vin hier.” — “I would have tasted the wine yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “goûte le vin !” — “Taste the wine!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne goûte pas le vin !” — “Don't taste the wine!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en goûtant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle goûté builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai goûté la soupe cette semaine.” — “I have tasted the soup this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with goûter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je goûte le gâteau.” — “I taste the cake.”
- “Tu goûtas le vin hier.” — “You tasted the wine yesterday.”
- “Il goûtait la soupe avant.” — “He used to taste the soup before.”
- “Je goûterai un plat nouveau demain.” — “I will taste a new dish tomorrow.”
- “Tu goûterais le gâteau un jour.” — “You would taste the cake one day.”
- “Il a goûté le vin cette semaine.” — “He has tasted the wine this week.”
- “J'avais goûté la soupe avant la fête.” — “I had tasted the soup before the party.”
- “Tu auras goûté un plat nouveau pour demain.” — “You will have tasted a new dish by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il goûte le gâteau” — “Although he tastes the cake.”
- “goûte le vin !” — “Taste the wine!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je goûter le gâteau.”
✓ Right: “Je goûte le gâteau.”
The infinitive goûter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form goûte.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je goûtons le vin.”
✓ Right: “Je goûte le vin.”
goûtons is the nous form. With je the present form is goûte — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je goûte le gâteau.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai goûté le gâteau.”
The present goûte describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai goûté.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je goûtai la soupe.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai goûté la soupe.”
The passé simple goûtai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai goûté.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je goûte le gâteau.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je goûte le gâteau.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use goûte here, not the indicative goûte.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je goûtais un plat nouveau avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai goûté un plat nouveau avant.”
The imperfect goûtais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai goûté.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on goûter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of goûter in the Present indicative?
- A) goûte
- B) goûtez
- C) goûtent
- D) goûtons
What is the il/elle form of goûter in the Passé simple?
- A) goûtâtes
- B) goûta
- C) goûtas
- D) goûtèrent
What is the nous form of goûter in the Imperfect?
- A) goûtiez
- B) goûtais
- C) goûtions
- D) goûtaient
What is the tu form of goûter in the Future?
- A) goûterez
- B) goûteront
- C) goûteras
- D) goûtera
What is the je form of goûter in the Conditional?
- A) goûterais
- B) goûterait
- C) goûteriez
- D) goûteraient
What is the il/elle form of goûter in the Present subjunctive?
- A) goûtiez
- B) goûtent
- C) goûtes
- D) goûte
What is the je form of goûter in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) goûtassent
- B) goûtassions
- C) goûtasse
- D) goûtât
What is the gerund of goûter?
- A) goûtant
- B) dormant
- C) buvant
What is the past participle of goûter?
- A) goûté
- B) bu
- C) dormi
What does goûter mean in English?
- A) taste
- B) open
- C) sleep
- D) drink
Answer key
- A) goûte — The je form of goûter in the present indicative is goûte.
- B) goûta — The il/elle form of goûter in the passé simple is goûta.
- C) goûtions — The nous form of goûter in the imperfect is goûtions.
- C) goûteras — The tu form of goûter in the future is goûteras.
- A) goûterais — The je form of goûter in the conditional is goûterais.
- D) goûte — The il/elle form of goûter in the present subjunctive is goûte.
- C) goûtasse — The je form of goûter in the imperfect subjunctive is goûtasse.
- A) goûtant — The gerund of goûter is en goûtant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- A) goûté — The past participle of goûter is goûté; perfect tenses use avoir + goûté.
- A) taste — goûter means “taste” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of goûter?
The gerund is en goûtant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is goûté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between goûter and manger?
goûter means “taste” while manger means “eat” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for manger and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Goûter Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Goûter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Manger conjugation
- Cuisiner conjugation
- Boire 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 goûter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise goûter with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise goûter with the interactive tool.